Apr 08, 2009

Letter, Ahwazi Arab People Democratic Popular Front


Although they were unable to participate, the Ahwazi Arab People Democratic Popular Front sent a letter to be read at the conference. It is reproduced below.

 

 

For a copy of the letter in PDF format, please click here.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen who are assembled here for supporting the rights of all peoples of the world in gaining freedom and expressing their political and cultural views.


There is no doubt that you Ladies and Gentlemen fully believe in the international conventions, notably the United Nations Charter, in particular Articles 1 and 55, that stress "the right to self‐determination" for all the peoples of the world, without exception.

And certainly, the Ahwazi Arabs, numbered about eight million, are an integral part of the same peoples of the world. In this presentation, signed by several organizations, parties and active Ahwazi figures, which has emerged from the heart of the Arab people of Ahwaz, and therefore bears the hopes and aspirations about the exercise of the right to self‐determination in the territory occupied by Iranians since 1925.

At the same time that we consider the Iranian government as an occupier, we do not intend to make arbitrary accusations to this State, but mainly refer to the terms of international law applicable to all signatory States, including Iran. The continuation of the status, and the lack of any fair solution accepted by the Arab people of Ahwaz, is contrary to the United Nations Charter which affirms the need for implementation of security and peace throughout the world. Certainly, the Arab people of Ahwaz before the occupation enjoyed peace and security, and the State of Ahwaz fully extended its control over this clearly defined region as it had internal and external obligations which emphasize the independence and sovereignty of the State.

The Persian State (Iran) launched its illegal war of aggression, with the aim of expanding its geographical extent and to gain more influence in the region. Especially before the military occupation, the territory was not permissible in their public domain, but inhabited by its indigenous people, namely the Arab People of Ahwaz. After the Persian state extended its influence to Ahwaz it did not fulfil its responsibilities and obligations as an Occupying Power to the Arab people of Ahwaz, show by many documented physical and moral abuses against the people.

Since the occupation of Ahwaz in 1925, the Persian State denied to give any aportunity to Ahwazi citizens to play their role in the society in which they live, despite being members of the community. It is supposed, that the Ahwazi citizens enjoys a set of rights and fundamental freedoms, as these are parts of the international law for occupyed areas. The problem of Ahwaz has been exacerbated due to the way the Iranian government has treated this territory.

Although human rights are considered to be natural rights derived from laws of nature which govern the universe, the extent of the rights and fundamental freedoms of the Ahwazi citizens has depended mainly on the desire of the occupiers in implementing these laws during successive regimes in Iran since the date of occupation. It has been the desire of the rulers of Iran, to avoid the obligations of the State of Iran, including signed agreements and treaties emphasizing the need to respect the rights of the Ahwazi Arab People.

If Ahwaz has been forcibly annexed to the Iranian territory, and has lost its international status, it does not prevent the intervention of the United Nations to protect the Arab people of Ahwaz and their territory according to United Nation’s duties and obligations towards the people and the need to respect the rights and fundamental freedoms. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is essential and necessary for lasting peace. The denial of the Iranian government rights and freedoms of the people of Ahwaz creates an obligation on the United Nations and all nations of the world to provide adequate guarantees for the respect of those rights to achieve peace and security.

On the basis of the rights and freedoms established by the international law, the Arab people of Ahwaz should have the right to participate in ruling their territory, either directly or through representatives chosen by free elections, and have the right to choose the system of government that suits them.

The Iranian occupation of Ahwaz has led to deprivation of Arab people of Ahwaz from all their rights recognized by international laws and conventions, which some of them summed up as follows: The right to health care, to litigation, religious freedom, the right of ownership, the right to education, the right to work and freedom of movement and residence. It is known that the people are deprived of all these rights.

The continuation of the status in Ahwaz including the Iranian martial law, and the denial of the right of Arab people of Ahwaz of self‐determination, are clear challenges to the Charter of the United Nations in general and, in particular, violation of articles 55 and 56 and encouraging universal respect for the actual human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings without discrimination due to race, language or religion.


My distinguished Ladies and lords

The time, of course not enough to address all the breaking national and international laws by the Iranian regime, and their aggressive acts against Ahwazi People and other non Persian nations in Iran, but we try to number some of the heinous crimes against Ahwazi Arabs:

Ahwaz, with five rivers, has no healthy water for drinking, and no enough water for agricultures, Ahwaz with 80%of the Iranian national income, have over 40% unemployment, at the Iraqi Borders villages and towns, still anti human mines are not withdrawn from the battle fields after 23 years of peace between Iraq and Iran, In one university for 5 million people in our homeland, Alahwaz, there are only 12% of the students are Arabs and most of them are Basigies (militias), More than 90% of the unfarmed lands given to non Arabs invited from different provinces while Arab people making over 80% of the population of (Khuzestan province), Tens of Ahwazi people executed every year, as Amnesty International reported their were 374 execution in Iran in 2008, dozens of them were active Arabs.

All these and many more of anti Arab activities happened to force Arab people to leave their homeland and be replaced by non Arabs, and this caused Hundreds of thousands of Arabs people to leave their homeland towards the depth of Iran or to live and work as immigrant labour in the Arab Gulf Countries, 40,000 of them in Kuwait. There is no better example of the veracity of these statements, such as those fateful document of the Office of the President of Iran, "Mohammad Khatami," which was signed by the director of his office, "Mohammad Ali Abtahi". The document states that the displacement of one third of the population of the Ahwazi Arabs, and disperse them to various areas of Iran to be assimilated and disbanded in a non Arab Communities and bring huge numbers of non‐Arabs, and to change their national and social development.

Geographically, Ahwaz hugeness was 185,000 square kilometre on 1925, but today, its just 65,000 and this happened because most of the area’s land included to non Arab neighbourhood provinces. Added to that, in last 10 years more than 600 thousands of hectares (according to official Iranian sources) of Arabs farmed lands have been taken from them by force for new comers of non Arab farmers and Agricultural companies, and what left are: threatened either by looting, marginalization, drying rivers, added: the pollution of drinking water due to toxic waste from the factories and enterprises of Iran and the imaginary as a sugar cane huge farms. The acts of looting and forced displacement of indigenous peoples, systematic ethnic cleansing, in addition to the Impoverishment of Arab people economically, culturally, displacement, abduction, torture and executions and killing innocent Arabs.

All these can not be tolerated in any way.

So today we, call the international society through you Ladies and Gentlemen to listen to the voices of millions Ahwazi people, and calling you to help for Practical application of the international law in our homeland, Alahwaz. Then what we are expecting from the international society, is confirmation of the principle of the rule of international law for the interest of the international community, these will bring to Ahwazi Arabs, the region and the international community: security, stability, we strongly believe that Ahwazi People should be supported, in their struggle for human rights and, to have the choice of their own future and have the right of their international recognized “self determination” right, through referendum, which must contain more than one selection, includes the right of independent state, and the referendum must include all members of the Ahwazi Arab people, Under consideration of the United Nations Organization and international guarantees for the implementation of this human right and this of course should be effective after the withdrawal of Iranian forces and all its institutions, which monitors Ahwazi people in all their movements, in order to ensure that the imposition of any physical pressure or moral practice from the regime,

01/04/2009

 

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Abbas Kaabi on: [email protected] 21620261100 00

Mhamoud Mazreh on: [email protected] 00447861662452

Ahmad Mawla on: [email protected] 0031614340386

Adel Swedi on : [email protected] 0031636206565


Signatures:

1) Arab Front for the Liberation of Ahwaz

2) the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz

3) Ahwazi national organization (Arabistan)

4) Ahwazi Arab People’s Democratic,Popular Front Ahwazi (Mahmoud Mazreh)

5) Ahwazi National Front

6) the Popular Resistance for the Liberation of Ahwaz

7) Ahwazi caltural Centre of Ben Skeet

8) Ahwazi Cultural Association in Sweden

9) Ade Sweedi, the Director of Arabistan Site: www.arabistan.org

10) Ali al‐Musawi, head of the national delegation to Egypt (Norway)

11) Nasser Alkanaani political activist and a member of the national delegation (Sweden)

12) H. Ashour, political activist and a member of the national delegation (Germany)

13) Mohammad Ahwazi, writer

14) Ali Ahwazi, writer

15) Nasser Kadhim political activist (Austria)

16) Ali Qassimi, the general supervisor of the (Ahwazi Press)

17) Abu Younis Ahwazi political activist (Denmark)

18) Arab Students Association (Eccupied Ahwaz)

19) Adel Alaber, Witer

20) Ali Abd al‐Jabbar al‐Taei Alahwazi(Germany)

21) Daniel Ahwazi, Ahwazi activist (Great Britain