Rafsanjani,"Leave the people if they do not want you."

Influential cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivers his sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University

The complete video of Rafsanjani's sermon is available on YouTube. All of the clips are posted here:
Voice of Democratic Iran: Khandaniha

From Nico Pitney at Huffington Post:

Rafsanjani's most important line? Via email, Portland State University professor R. Kevin Hill writes:

There was subtext and not-so-sub-subtext in several of Rafsanjani's remarks, based on the transcript of a live-blogger (caveats about accuracy, accuracy of translation, etc.) excerpt of which follows. If this is accurate, and I'm reading the oblique sermon style correctly, he's articulating a principle of popular sovereignty and calling on the government to resign. I've highlighted the crucial remark:

"The Imam [Khomeini] would always quote the Prophet [Muhammad] who would say to Ali [Muhammad's successor]: leave the people if they do not want you.

From Ian Black at the Guardian:

Tehran University's prayer hall has been the stage for high drama since the early days of the Islamic revolution, and Hashemi Rafsanjani'sappearance today was another of many electrifying moments in Iran's recent history.

Surrounded by heavy security under the cantilevered roof, the former president spoke out in public for the first time since last month's disputed election, warning that the country was "in crisis."

That may be a statement of the blindingly obvious – but it carries force precisely because of Rafsanjani's special place in Iranian politics: he is both hugely influential and deeply unpopular, a bitter rival of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and – crucially – one of the surviving giants of the revolutionary era.

Whatever he said, his very presence at such a tense time would have guaranteed rapt attention – one reason why his sermon was not, as is usual, broadcast live on state TV whose cameras are mounted permanently in the university mosque.

The sense of excitement was heightened because of the presence of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims to have beaten Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 12 June and who rejects the election result as "illegitimate." His fellow candidate, the reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi, was also there.

Rafsanjani's calls to restore trust by releasing prisoners, freeing the media, using only legal means, and by dialogue between opposition and the regime, were couched in the language of legitimacy and justice. "Don't let our enemies laugh at us by putting people in prison," the cleric urged. "We must search for unity to find a way out of our quandary."

Specific proposals had been laid before the expediency council (an advisory body to the supreme leader) he said, a reminder that he has a real role to play.

"His demands were in line with what the reformists want but he did not explicitly challenge the legitimacy of the Ahmadinejad government," concluded one veteran Iranian political analyst. "This was an effort to play the role of power-broker – the role that Khamenei should have played but did not."

Rafsanjani also stressed the importance of the "republic" in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a deliberate riposte to those hardliners who stand accused of planning an Islamic dictatorship. His references to Ayatollah Khomeni praised the late leader's positive attitude towards ordinary people – a clear invitation to make an unflattering comparison with Khamenei.

The sermon was not an overt challenge to the regime, but it did graphically underline the divisions he was warning about: as he was speaking the crowd burst into competing slogans of "death to the dictator" and "death to opponents". No one could have had any doubt who was who. Predictably, trouble erupted in the streets immediately afterwards.

Normally, Friday prayers at Tehran University are a showcase for the regime, which makes sure that thousands of its loyal supporters are bussed in to fill the hall and shout familiar slogans: death to America, death to Israel, and other favourites. That makes it a regular port of call for foreign journalists, invited to witness the peculiarly Iranian combination of religion and politics, prayer and agitprop. Foreign media coverage has been drastically reduced as part of the post-election crackdown. But profound divisions, not defiant unity, are now on open display.

Much more at:
Nico Pitney on the Uprising in Iran - Huffington Post
rafsanjani-speaks-out-at-friday-prayers


“Listen to the reeds as they sway apart,
hear them speak of lost friends.”
-Rumi

Videos of Protest in Iran - Friday Prayers - July 17, 2009

Update:
Video of Rafsanjani's Speech Linked Here:
Rafsanjani Video - July 17, 2009




RT @jimsciuttoABC Cellphone vid of 2day's protests, cn hear chants of 'Allah Akhbar' Video of July 17, 2009 #iranelection #rafsanjani

RT @france7776: AP: Rafsanjani got tears in eyes said how prophet Mohammad respected the rights of ppl #iranelection #iran #tehran #gr88


onlymehdi describes the image as "President Mousavi in the Friday Prayers" - July 17, 2009


“Listen to the reeds as they sway apart,
hear them speak of lost friends.”
-Rumi

Apollo 11 Astronauts Land on the Moon 40 Years Ago Today

Photograph courtesy NASA

From National Geographic:

"Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin deploys a foil sheet for collecting solar particles near the Eagle lunar lander in July 1969. July 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. Today Aldrin advocates a return to space targeted at Mars and other long-distance exploration missions."

I am listening to Clint Mansell's haunting score to Duncan Jones' film Moon.
It seems fitting 40 years after Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon that a richly nuanced and psychologically motivated film has been created by the son of the man who gave us Space Oddity in November 1969 in the wake of the first moon landing.



The score is available now on itunes :
Clint Mansell - Moon - Soundtrack to the Film
More on Moon at:
AppleTrailers for ipod - Moon

The Song - ترانه - Taraneh

The Song - ترانه - Taraneh
Gregg Chadwick
12"x12" oil on wood 2009

"First there was Neda. Then there was Sohrab. Now there is Taraneh."

"The names and stories of the Iranians who have been brutalized or killed in the aftermath of the post-election protests are gradually seeping into a memorial vault of the faces of suffering and endurance in the name of sociopolitical reform.

One by one, the faces of protest are providing an essential yearbook of the individuals who comprise the protest masses, and a catalogue of the Iranian government's treatment of political activists.

On Friday July 19, a large group of mourners gathered at the Ghoba mosque in Tehran to await a speech about the martyrs of the post-election protests by presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. According to one Iranian blog, 28-year-old Taraneh Mousavi was one of a group of people that was arrested by plainclothesed security forces for attending the gathering.

Taraneh, whose first name is Persian for "song", disappeared into arrest."
-Shirin Sadeghi

The full, sad story at:
Taraneh: Prison Abuse of Iran's Protesters

Nods from Le Figaro and the Los Angeles Times

Delphine Minoui

Thanks to Delphine Minoui in Tehran for Le Figaro and also Jahd Khalil in Beirut for the Los Angeles Times for linking to my post on Rumi and U2.

Both Delphine Minoui's site Chroniques Orientales, which is decribed by Le Figaro:

"Le blog de Delphine Minoui, correspondante du Figaro à Téhéran, répond à l'envie d'aller au-delà des titres effrayants de l'actualité. Il donne la parole aux hommes et aux femmes qui rythment le quotidien du Moyen-Orient."

and Jahd Khalil's site Babylon & Beyond provide important information and insight into Iran and the Middle East. I am indebted to their journalistic bravery, The pen is truly mightier than the sword.
Below is a bit of Jahd Kahlil's post:

The text reads “Listen! Listen! Listen!” which one blogger attributed to "The Song of the Reed Flute," by famous Persian poet Jalaladdin Rumi.

Persian poetry and Rumi in particular are some of the strongest sources of Iranian national pride.

The history of a violent crackdown behind the original song coupled with Rumi adds some intellectual weight to the visual spectacle of a rock concert.

It looks like the selection of the work itself was not coincidental. A reading of the poem suggests allusions to the violent crackdown in Iran as well as the disputed elections:

“Listen to the reeds as they sway apart,
hear them speak of lost friends.”
…
“This reed bends to spent lovers and friends,
its song and its word break the veil…”

More at:
IRAN: U2's green-tinted tributes to Iranian protesters

Weapons of Beauty - U2 Goes Green Again For Iran - "Sunday Bloody Sunday" in Paris & Thoughts on Sussan Deyhim and Shirin Neshat

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday in Green for Iran (Live 12 July 2009 @ Stade de France, Paris)

In their latest series of concerts before U2 breaks into Sunday Bloody Sunday, the Iranian artist Sussan Deyhim's track Beshno Az Ney can be heard. (Unfortunately it does not appear on the videos I have found. If you come across a version that includes Sussan Deyhim's intro please let me know.)
You can find the track here on itunes:
Sussan Deyhim's Beshno Az Ney

Sussan Deyhim's haunting vocals grace the soundtracks to many of the moving films of Iranian-American artist Shirin Neshat.

In an interview with Tyler Green, Shirin Neshat said,"I try to find beauty in the middle of the horror, and vice versa," she says. "Sometimes, really horrible things — you can turn into a weapon of beauty."



Sussan Deyhim and Shirin Neshat
Logic of the Birds



Shirin Neshat
Untitled
1996
b/w RC print and ink
photo: Larry Burns
Courtesy Barbara Gladstone

From Le Figaro:

Après Barcelone et Milan, le groupe de rock irlandais était au Stade de France, ce 12 juillet. Pendant le concert, la scène était inondée de lumière verte, tandis qu'un poème de Rumi - poète soufi du 13ème siècle - défilait au rythme de « Sunday, bloody Sunday » (une chanson très symbolique, puisque composée à la suite d'une répression violente contre un rassemblement pacifique au Nord de l'Irlande).

Text of the Rumi Poem Here:
U2 Scrolls Rumi Poem During Barcelona Concert

July 7, 2009 Video in Milan Can Be Found Here:
U2Goes Green Again for Iran in Milan



"Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time."
-Huston Smith

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet !

"Rue Mosnier with Flags"
Édouard Manet
25 3/4 x 31 3/4 in. oil on canvas 1878
Getty Museum, Los Angeles
photo by Gregg Chadwick

Édouard Manet's "Rue Mosnier" was painted two years before July 14th was declared the French national holiday in 1880. The holiday is known as the Fête Nationale in France and commemorates the Fête de la Fédération of 1790, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris by an angry mob on 14 July 1789, sparking the revolution that rid France of its monarchy. Manet painted the scene as if he is looking down from his second story studio onto the flag decked street below. Manet's brush is fluid and the color scintillating but the weary amputee on crutches, perhaps a war veteran from the disastrous Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, is the figure with which we enter the painting. In essence we as viewers enter the scene carrying a ladder just behind the man on crutches bearing the "costs and sacrifices" of nationalism and national pride. With this in mind, the swirling strokes of red, white and blue that make up the French tricolor flag are not as joyous as a cursory glance would suggest.

And also on this Bastille Day, I look forward to a future Evin Day in Tehran, when that horrible prison is at last closed down.
In the United States and France we celebrate our freedoms and our revolutions and we remember the brave souls fighting with words - tweets and blogs - against tyranny in Iran.

From the Getty's description of Manet's " Rue Mosnier with Flags":
" The French government declared June 30, 1878, a national holiday: Fête de la Paix (Celebration of Peace) which marked France's recovery from the Franco-Prussian War and the divisive Paris Commune that followed.

The urban street was a principal subject of Impressionist and Modernist painting; many artists aimed to show not only the transformation and growth of the Industrial Age but how it also affected society. Manet's eyes saw both elegant passengers in hansom cabs and, in the foreground, a worker carrying a ladder."

Modernkicks has more on the birth of Liberté.

Bonne fête !

Joan Baez at Santa Monica Pier: An Evening in Green Under a Violet Sky

Joan Baez
Santa Monica Pier July 9, 2009
photo by Gregg Chadwick


We Shall Overcome w/ Verse in Farsi for Iran
Joan Baez
Santa Monica Pier
July 9, 2009

Eleanor Antin's Classical Frieze at LACMA

"Pompeii, especially, with its grand murals and flourishing gardens haunted by the dark shadow of Vesuvius, has always suggested uncomfortable parallels with our contemporary world, especially here in Southern California, where the sunlit life also turns out to have dark shadows in which failure and death lurk at the edge of consciousness. Now, in these times, we have even closer parallels with those ancient, beautiful, affluent people living the good life on the verge of annihilation."
—Eleanor Antin on Classical Frieze


Eleanor Antin
The Artist's Studio from "The Last
Days of Pompeii," 2001 (detail)
chromogenic print
46 5/6 x 58 5/8 inches


Eleanor Antin
The Tree from "The Last
Days of Pompei," 2001
chromogenic print
60 x 48 inches

Eleanor Antin's film and photo work, Classical Frieze, re-imagines Pompeii and the classical Roman world as if seen through the eyes of a contemporary filmmaker paying homage to the sword and sandal film epics of the 1950's which are then viewed through a scrim of French neoclassical painting from the 1800's. Eleanor Antin's work was chosen to illuminate a contemporary viewpoint or perhaps fantasy of the Roman world and is featured alongside LACMA'S current exhibition Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples.

Art21 on PBS describes Eleanor as "a cultural chameleon, masquerading in theatrical or stage roles to expose her many selves." Eleanor has a long and influential record as a visual and performance artist, as well as a filmmaker and photographer. Eleanor Antin "delves into history—whether of ancient Rome, the Crimean War, the salons of nineteenth-century Europe, or her own Jewish heritage and Yiddish culture—as a way to explore the present. "

I find Eleanor's Classical Frieze to be lightly provocative and very humorous. At the same time, the work which is ravishing in its color reminds me of the rich chroma in David Lynch's Blue Velvet. In that film and Antin's work, as Eleanor suggests," the sunlit life also turns out to have dark shadows in which failure and death lurk at the edge of consciousness" Antin sees that "Pompeii, especially, with its grand murals and flourishing gardens haunted by the dark shadow of Vesuvius, has always suggested uncomfortable parallels with our contemporary world, especially here in Southern California, ... Now, in these times, we have even closer parallels with those ancient, beautiful, affluent people living the good life on the verge of annihilation."

"Pompeii and the Roman Villa illustrates how the Trojan War and the death and wandering of the great Greek heroes were the moral and aesthetic tropes of Roman culture. Whereas for us, the romance of the Roman Empire, with its deliciously decadent affluence and military power, lies deep in modern Western consciousness. The great 19th-century colonial powers that preceded us saw themselves as the new Rome, bringing civilization to primitive peoples, not unlike the way we see ourselves today. At the same time, we are uneasy and haunted by the great empire that owned but then lost the world."


Art:21 | Eleanor Antin | Inventing Histories

May 14, 2009–October 4, 2009 | LACMA - Art of the Americas Building

U2 Goes Green Again for Iran - Sunday Bloody Sunday Live in Milan

Text of the Rumi Poem Here:
U2 Scrolls Rumi Poem During Barcelona Concert



"Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time."
-Huston Smith

Photos From Today's Protests in Iran - July 9, 2009

"Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time."
-Huston Smith

July 9, 2009 Anti-riot forces attacking with teargas. People chanting 'don't be afraid, we're all together' #iranelection

July 9, 2009
Anti-riot forces attacking with teargas. People chanting 'don't be afraid, we're all together' #iranelection

فیلم فوق مربوط به لحظاتی است که تظاهر کننده ها به تقاطع طالقانی ولی عصر رسیده و به طرف میدان ولی عصر راهی شدند.
ساعت 6:23 بعد از ظهر
مدت زمان راه پیمایی از وصال به طرف ولی عصر حدود 25 دقیقه بود تا هنگام رسیدن به تقاطع طالقانی ولی عصر، نیروهای انتظامی و سپاه متعرض جمعیت نشدند ولی مسیرهای پشت سر جمعیت را برای جلوگیری از افزایش جمعیت می بستند. بعد از رسیدن به تقاطع طالقانی-ولی عصر جمعیت مسیر خود را به طرف میدان ولی عصر ادامه دادند که این فیلم مربوط به این لحظات است. در این لحظات نیروهای ضد شورش به طرف جمعیت گاز اشک آور پرتاب نموده و با موتور سیکلت به تعقیب آنان پرداختند و جمعیت را به طرف خیابان طالقانی راندند.
من بعد از آن به طرف چهار راه ولی عصر رفتم که به مردم اجازه رفتن به طرف میدان انقلاب را نمی دادند. و حتی نیروهای سپاهی سوار بر موتور به زدن مردم عادی در پیاده رو با باتوم پرداختند. در مسیرم به ایستگاه مترو، تعداد زیادی ماشین زره پوش حامل نیروهای ضد شورش را دریدم در جهت شرق به غرب خیابان جمهوری حرکت می کردند. احتمالا برای کمک به نیروهای مستقر در حوالی میدان انقلاب.
My friends report on this video:
This video shows the time when protestors arrived at the intersection of Taleghani and Valiasr ave, heading toward Valiasr Square.
The duration of this rally was about 25 minutes and before arriving at Taleghani intersection, riot forces were not interfering but closed behind the crowd to block the accumulation of people. After arriving at the intersection of Taleghani and Valiasr ave, people continued toward Valiasr Square, as shown in this video. At this time, the anti riot forces shot teargas and followed people on motorcycles forcing the crowd to Taleghani ave.
I continued toward Chahar-rah Valiasr where people were blocked from going to Enghelab Square. The revolutionary guards on motorbikes hit pedestrians with batons. On my way to the subway station I saw a lot of military cars full of anti riot guard heading west, apparently to help their forces stationed at Enghelab square.

And the World Bears Witness in China: The Heroism of Tursun Gul

"Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time. Rarely was this more evident than in Tiananmen Square in 1989 when I saw a million students rise up in protest. My friend climbed atop our taxi and shouted, 'Democracy is not only for America! Democracy is not only for China! Democracy is for the whole world!'"
-Huston Smith


The images from around the world bear witness to a global reality. "We are not sheep", they cry from the streets of Tehran to the streets of Urumqi. In both Iran and China, the ruling forces have duped many of the poor, rural citizens of their country into acting as proxy agents for their power grab. In China especially in Tibet and the Uighur regions, much like the British did during the height of their empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, ethnic groups are set against each other to distract the people away from the real foe - the unjust government.

The riots this week in China were bloody and many innocents died. It is time for the Han Chinese and the Uighurs to realize that their common enemy is the corrupt government that wants to keep all the citizens of China in bondage.

Background from the New York Times:

"Many Han migrants, at the encouragement of the Chinese government, have settled among the Muslim Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking race that is the largest ethnic group in oil-rich region of Xinjiang. The influx of Han, the dominant ethnic group in China, has transformed Xinjiang: the percentage of Han in the population was 40 percent in 2000, up from 6 percent in 1949.

But migration has fueled ethnic tensions, as Uighurs complain about the loss of jobs, the proliferation of Han-owned businesses and the disintegration of their own culture.

On Sunday at least 156 people were killed in the deadliest ethnic violence in China in decades. Raging Uighurs battled security forces and attacked Han civilians across Urumqi.

The riot had evolved from a protest march held by more than 1,000 Uighurs to demand that the government investigate an earlier brawl between Han and Uighurs in southern China."

Now we must look at the image of Tursun Gul standing fearlessly against the iron war horses of the Chinese military much like the celebrated photo of Man against tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Huston Smith, probably the world's foremost scholar on religion was in China and at Tiananmen Square during the uprising in 1989. Huston writes in his just published autobiography, "Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time. Rarely was this more evident than in Tiananmen Square in 1989 when I saw a million students rise up in protest. My friend climbed atop our taxi and shouted, 'Democracy is not only for America! Democracy is not only for China! Democracy is for the whole world!'"

From ABC News:

Her name is Tursun Gul. She is a migrant worker and she is not from Urumqi. In person, she looks younger than she does in the pictures but her eyes are tired. She was injured in a car accident and now uses a crutch to help her walk.

She told us why she took to the streets in protest on Tuesday.

“My husband, younger brother and older brothers, 5 in all, were arrested,” she said, “We were eating when it happened. The police came and took them away and they never returned. I don’t know why they took them.”

When we asked if she was not frightened walking up to a line of heavily armed soldiers she retorted, “How could I be afraid when I did not commit any crime? We’re just migrant workers from another part of Xinjiang. We’re not guilty of anything.”

Tursun, a mother of two young children, said she does not know where her brothers and her husband are being held and she does not know when, or if, they will be released. And she does not know how she will support her family now.

“There is no one to take care of us,” she lamented.

Other local residents we spoke to told us that more than 20 men were taken from the area. None of them have been seen since. According to official figures, more than 1400 people have been arrested in connection with this week’s violence.

More at:
Uighur Woman Who Stood Against Soldiers - ABC News
Buy Huston Smith's Autobiography at:
Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine, an Autobiography by Huston Smith

July 9, Tehran #iranelection

July 9, Tehran #iranelection, originally uploaded by .faramarz.

Protests marking the 10th anniversary of the 1999 student killings (by the basij) at Tehran University

More photos from July 9, 2009 can be found here:
Photos of the 10th anniversary protests in Tehran

Reports ppl coming out of their homes, standing in their own streets, shouting Allah Akbar and death to the dictators. #iranelection #gr88



RT @oxfordgirl Basij reported to be in retreat for first time, perhaps not happy being led by Khamenei son?! #iranelection #gr88

From the New York Times:

Update | 12:07 p.m. The New York Times has received two e-mail messages from a witness to the protests on Thursday in Tehran, whose name we will withhold for that person’s safety.

This first e-mail message was sent just over one hour ago:

The phones are completely out. I’m hiding in an international hotel…. riot police wanted to break in but the managers convinced them. The crowd is running in the thousands, starting in Enqelab where riot police and basij started beating people. Saw one middle-age woman with blood stains. Then they pushed up kargar st to laleh park, squads of 25 police would run up the streets with batons beating people. I hid in a clock shop, like many other people who would hide in street shops and come out once these attack squads went up the streets.

Fires of trash are burning in main streets. Everyone honking, women and men of all ages out, even kids in cars (most families have driven their cars and blocked the streets). No phone so hoping there will be internet later. One 55-year-old housewife said to me proudly “This is Iran. We are all together,” in front of Fatemi street where the crowd stretches as far as the eye can see, but again crowd is moving because riot police is moving as well as the basij on motorcycles. Lots of people chanting “Down with Dictator!” and “Moussavi! Moussavi!” and “God is Almighty.”

This second e-mail message was sent to The Times about 40 minutes ago:

The crowds are too huge to contain. Riot police running up and down Fatemi Street beating people, barely got out of the way. The crowds just get out of their way and come back. Saw two undercover Basij, one was actually a late 40s businessman in a suit, whipped out a collapsible metal baton and started beating someone with a camera. He was beaten until the baton broke, another Basij came on motorcycle to help but crowds started surging and booed them away. Someone threw a water bottle but otherwise crowd is peaceful — keep chanting “Please Stop!” and chased the two Basij away.

Then riot police came back up. More fires in the street as trash and various containers are burned. Tear gas everywhere, no gunshots yet I think but again undercover Basij everywhere. Again I stress crowds in thousands and this is just one street. One 27-year guy in black shirt said “We don’t want war. We just want freedoms. Here, [he signals getting shot] no matter. Down with the dictator,” and people joining in the chant. Also [chanting] “God is Great!”

The main theme is that people are surprisingly non-violent. They seem very hopeful and energetic. People from all levels of society are out. No one is throwing rocks but people have been setting fires in the street.

Follow the events at:
New York Times Lede Blog: Latest Updates on Iran Election Protests

Open Letter by Shirin Ebadi to Ahmadinejad

June 6, 2009


Shirin Ebadi, the Chair of the Defenders for Human Rights Center has issued an open letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, requesting the removal of a ban placed on the operation of the DHRC, and an end to security and political pressures on civil, political and human rights activists by governmental bodies and officials in his administration. In this letter, Ebadi has reviewed the pressures imposed on the members of the Defenders of Human Rights Center over the past six months. She has further asked the President if these actions and pressures, which are all in contradiction to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are in fact in line with the best national interests of the government and the country. The letter issued by Shirin Ebadi appears below:

The honorable President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

As you know, after the victory of the Revolution in February 1979, limitations were placed on female judges and they were disallowed from serving in this position. As such, I was forced to resign from my position as a Judge, in which I took great pride. As an Iranian woman I felt it my duty to work toward the realization of human rights, which is aspiration resulting as a result of continuous human struggle over the past several centuries. As such, with the cooperation and collaboration of a number of social activists and human rights lawyers, I took steps to establish the Society for the Protection of Children’s Rights, the Defenders of Human Rights Center, and the Organization for Mine Cleanup.
After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and given the critical situation of our country, I felt it my national and religious duty as a human being to work even harder for the realization of human rights in our country, because clearly the receipt of such an award brings with it certain responsibilities.

Of course, I should mention that when I received the Nobel Peace Prize, I did not receive much kindness from officials who were in power at that time. Still I took steps to set up a human rights organization. According to the law no permit is required for the establishment of organizations, irrespective of their focus or activity. Article 26 of the Constitution and the” regulations governing the establishment of political parties and organizations”, both state that no permits are required to establish organizations. Clearly this is the case with several organizations and political entities which are active and have seen no reason for requesting a permit for the purpose of their carrying out their activities. These include: the Society of Resisting Clerics, the Society of Qom Seminarians, Abadgaran political party, to name only a few. Still in order to benefit from the advantages of being registered, we requested a permit on February 2004 from the Commission on Article 10 on the Registration of Political Parties [and organizations] within the Ministry of the Interior. In September of 2006, the Political Deputy of the Ministry of the Interior announced that our request for a permit was approved by the Commission.

Despite all this, the Ministry of the Interior has not abided by its duty as defined in Article 9 of the Law on Operations of Political Parties which was adopted as law by the Parliament in 1981 and has to date refused to provide the not provided a permit for the operation of the Defenders of Human Rights Center with a permit for operation. This has taken place despite the fact that the Defenders of Human Rights Center, due to its membership in the International Federation of Human Rights, has been registered as an international human rights entity.

It is worth mentioning that the Defenders of Human Rights Center has been conducting its human rights and civil activities for over 8 years. With the collaboration and cooperation of political, social and cultural activists we have established two important institutions, “the Committee to Defend Free, Fair and Healthy Elections,” and “the National Council on Peace.” Most recently, in March of this year another important effort to end the execution of minors who commit crimes while still under the age of 18 has been launched by the Defenders of Human Rights Center and aims to work on this issue at the national and international levels.

While at the start of the operation of the Defenders of Human Rights Center pressures were imposed on us, from different sectors, but mostly from those associated with the state, still the last four years and especially after the end of the Presidency of George W. Bush in the US and the coming to power of the Democrats and President Obama, I along with my colleagues at the DHRC have come under unprecedented pressures and limitations. It is regretful that the rights of Iranian citizens have turned into a bargaining chip for the political games of the government carried out against foreign powers.

Perhaps you are aware that as human rights defenders we have objected to the aggressive policies of war adopted by the government of George W. Bush with all our might. We have condemned the policies in support of war from all the platforms available to us. Of course this claim has been documented in many important centers and universities, research centers and in the international press. At the same time, we have worked tirelessly to ensure peace and democracy in our country and have taken full advantage of all civil and legal means in doing so.

We invite you to judge based on your conscience whether the actions and activities of the Defenders of Human Rights Center has not work to defend national interests, and are they not more in line with religious and human rights teachings than the actions of some security institutions under your direction which are consistently violating the principles of human rights and in so doing are presenting a bleak picture of the situation of our country at the international level?
With a brief examination of the pressures and limitations placed on myself and the members of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, any objective onlooker will understand the level of pressure your government has placed on the defenders of human rights in Iran and the illegal and inhumane treatment you have imposed on them. These extreme pressures have taken place despite the fact that our government in line with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, voted and adopted by the UN members including Iran in 1999, has committed to cooperate with human rights defenders, and to provide them with immunity from prosecution with respect to their human rights activities.

I would like to only address a portion of the pressures which we as human rights defenders have faced in the past 6 months:
1) On December 21, 2008 security officials shut down the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, without presenting a court order allowing them to do so. It is worth mentioning that on that day the Defenders of Human Rights Center had planned to hold a ceremony in honor of the anniversary of the Universal Declarations on Human Rights.

2) On December 22 and December 29, 2008 my offices were searched by individuals claiming to be from the office of taxation and all my client’s case files, computers and CDs in the office as well as my personal writings and documents which were unrelated to my taxes were illegally seized by these officials. While much of the property seized has since been returned, it remains unclear which documents have yet to be returned and which documents still remain in the possession of these security officials.

3) The former secretary of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Jinous Sobhani, was arrested on January 14, 2009, for no reason. She was released on bail after enduring 55 days in detention.

4) On January 1, 2009, under the pretense of defending the people of Gaza, a mob of basiji students attacked my building where my home and offices are both located. The mob shouted violent slogans against me and wrote similar slogans on the walls outside. Despite the fact that the police were present on the scene, they did nothing to stop the mob, and only watched as the violence unfolded. This occurred despite the fact that the Palestinian Human Rights Organization, which is supported by all Palestinian political groups, had condemned the closure of the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Center and had invited me to travel to Palestine and the Gaza Strip.

5) By pressuring another secretary who worked for the Defenders of Human Rights Center, security officials have forced her to resign her position. Additionally she has been denied a permit allowing her to carry out her legal internship and clerkship positions as part of her studies to become a lawyer. It is worth mentioning that she was pressured despite the fact that she had passed her bar exam and the only reason she is currently facing pressures and is denied the opportunity to conduct her required legal internships is because she was employed by my offices.

6) The translator working at my offices too has been pressured and as a result was forced to resign her position at my office.

7) In the last few months several members of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, the Committee to Defend Free, Healthy and Fair Elections and the National Council of Peace have been summoned for interrogation. During these interrogations, they have been encouraged to end their cooperation with the mentioned organizations and efforts.

8) The arrest of Mr. Mehdi Mo’tamdi -Mehr, a member of the Committee on Free, Healthy and Fair Elections, is yet another example of these pressures and the violation of human rights during this period.

9) Attempts to prevent the convening of meetings of several efforts affiliated with the Defenders of Human Rights Center, is yet another example of pressures we have faced during this period. Those scheduled to attend these meetings were contacted by security officials and threatened and in the end the meetings were obstructed and prevented from taking place when police arrived on the scene to disperse those present.

10) The official governmental news agency, the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency, IRNA has accused me and my daughter of being followers of the Bahai faith. By making these false claims they have attempted to damage my image and influence negatively public perceptions of me.

11) In a special news report, IRNA has accused the Deputy Chair of the Defenders of Human Rights Center of “spreading propaganda against the state,” despite the fact that no summons in this relation has been received by her from judiciary officials.

12) Several members of the Defenders of Human Rights Center and the National Council of Peace have been illegally barred from travel outside the country. These actions are yet more examples of human rights violations and the pressures placed on the DHRC.

13) The entrance of security officials into the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Center and scuttles that arose as a result are yet further examples of the pressures placed on members of the Defenders of Human Rights Center.

Mr. President, are the above actions, which are in complete contradiction with the laws of the Islamic Republic, in line with the best national interests of the state and our country?

Another perplexing question which comes to the mind of any unbiased observer is this: You have repeatedly claimed at the international level that “Iran is the freest country in the world” and seeks to bring kindness and justice to the world and wants to impose a justice order on the world, so how is it that at the national level human rights defenders who have committed no crimes but defending the basic rights of the people, are treated in such an abhorrent manner? I ask you, are such actions reflective of kindness, love, respect for human rights or respect for civil rights of Iranians? Aren’t such actions against human rights defenders inside the country who are not seeking to gain political power, who are working only to promote human rights based on their commitment to this cause, and who are utilizing lawful means in promoting their cause, in contradiction to the proclamations of the government of the Islamic Republic at the international level to uphold human rights standards? If defense of human rights is indeed a big sin and a crime, which subjects its defenders and promoters to such criminal pursuit, why then did your government apply last year for membership in UN Council on Human Rights?—a request which of course was denied. I will leave it up to the good citizens of Iran and all those who work for freedoms at the international level to pass judgment with respect to these issues and questions.
Mr. President,

In 2010 Iran will be up for a Universal Periodic Review on Human Rights. One of the important issues addressed in the Universal Periodic Review will be the manner in which Iranian officials and governmental institutions have treated human rights defenders. Clearly it will not be in the national interest to have the negative actions of the government on human rights and the treatment of human rights defenders questioned at the international level.

In the end as a citizen, as a human rights activist, and the Chair of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, I urge you to:
1) Take necessary actions to re-open the offices of the Defenders of Human Rights Center; and
2) Prevent the continued political and security pressures placed on civil, political and human rights activists by institutions under your leadership.

Shirin Ebadi
Chair, Defenders of Human Rights Center
June 6, 2009