NEWS))))))
Germany doesn’t want Iranian regime in UN human rights body
Association Press reported on March 3rd that Germany’s foreign minister says countries should vote against Iran when it seeks a seat later this year on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Guido Westerwelle says having Iran in the 47-nation body would be an 'affront' to human rights. Westerwelle told the council Wednesday that Iran was undeserving because it has violated many of its citizens’ human rights, including during a postelection crackdown on protesters last year. Iran is expected to run for a seat when countries vote for new members in May. Iranian regime was heavily criticized last month at the council’s first review of how it upholds human rights.
Amnesty International: Iraqi forces continue to make life difficult for Camp Ashraf residents
The latest report by Amnesty International regarding the situation of human rights in Iraq says: 'On 28 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, home to about 3,500 Iranian refugees and detained 36 residents. The 36 were subsequently reported to have been tortured, including by being beaten with batons and guns. Several people needed medical treatment for their injuries.' 'The Iraqi government has continued to threaten Iranian refugees living in Camp Ashraf with forcible removal from the camp. On 28 July Iraqi security forces raided and took over the camp, in Diyala Governorate, which houses some 3400 members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition group. 'The camp had been under US military control since 2003 until the SOFA agreement came into force at the beginning of 2009. In video footage filmed at the time, Iraqi forces could be seen deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of unarmed protesting camp residents. Further, live ammunition was used resulting in at least nine residents being shot dead. The 36 remained held in al-Khalis police station, also in Diyala, although an investigative judge ordered their release. They were moved to Baghdad and only released in October after international protests. ‘The Iraqi government reportedly wanted to move Camp Ashraf residents to another camp in southern Iraq and gave the residents an ultimatum to move by 15 December 2009 or they would be moved by force. However, by late February 2010 no forced removal had taken place, although Iraqi security forces continue to make life difficult for the residents.
Iranian regime prepares forces to wage sectarian war in Iraq in case of nationalists’s victory
Natioanl Council of Resistance of Iran in its statement dated March 6, said: “Just ahead of the Iraqi elections, Iranian regime has heightened efforts to influence the election results by widespread rigging and has increased its plot against nationalist and independent figures and movements to unprecedented levels. These actions take place in fear of increasing isolation of its affiliated groups and in response to immense support for independent and nationalist movements that oppose mullahs’ regime domination in Iraq.”
NCRI added: “On one hand the Iranina regime has assigned Qods Force’s special groups to assassinate Iraqi figures who oppose Iranian regime while on the other hand they have prepared their affiliated forces to wage a sectarian war, in case of victory by the Iraqi alternative.
Assessments by Iranian regime’s Supreme National Security Council, as well as reports that are reviewed regularly by Khamanei, indicate that if the election take its natural route, there will be a great chance of victory by nationalist and independent movements resulting in the loss of hegemony by regime and its affiliated parties in Iraq. The reports are prepared by Iranian regime’s Qods Force, Embassy in Baghdad, special Iraqi affairs headquarters and their manufactured political parties in Iraq. According to NCRI, "Khamanei and the regime’s Supreme National Security Council have assigned Ghasem Soleimani, head of the Qods Forces, to execute a specific plan to eliminate nationalist and independent Iraqi figures. According to a report that reached Qods Force on 3 March, 2010, about 400 operations in Baghdad and other cities have been executed by special groups during the past 25 days."
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Monday, March 8 is the International Women’s Day. Although women celebrate their achievement in political, social, economic arena, in many countries including Iran, more than 100 years since the first protest on March 8 1907, women are struggling for their basic rights. They don’t have the rights of assembly, the rights to keep their children after a divorce, the rights of freedom of speech and thoughts,... For the women of Iran in particular it’s crime to get involve in an anti government rally, after enduring imprisonment, torture and rape, lies the execution. But what is certain is that the Iranian women are hopeful and won’t back down. As Neda Agha sultan said to her family before she was killed on the street of Tehran last summer, even if a bullet rips my heart, I will continue to protests. And that is what the dictatorship in Iran is afraid of. No matter what, women will shout louder and louder for their rights. To celebrate this important day and to protest the women’s condition in Iran, Miss Aram Bayat and her KHORSHID KHANOOM Dance Group has Invited all WOMEN & MEN to gather and Dance in Front of the Iranian regime’s Embassy @ 245 Metcalfe Street in Ottawa from 1 to 3 pm. You are encouraged to wear your beautiful and colourful costume. Miss Bayat told Irava in an interview which was broadcasted in our Persian segment today that she is not organizing a concert like event just for people's enjoyment, but it is a way to show how women’s rights is being violated in Iran for the past 31 years. Here is a part of the dance in front of the Iranian regime's embassy in Ottawa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB7w3pYfEIQ
Happy international women's day
