NEWS))))))

U.N. Rights Council Approves Investigator on Iran

Finally after a decade, U.N. Human Rights Council authorized a special investigator on Iran on March 24 to examine reports of excessive use of death penalty, executions by stoning and inhumane treatment of political opponents. “The United States and other partners are gravely concerned about the situation in Iran, where respect for fundamental human rights has deteriorated dramatically in recent years,” U.S. Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said during council debate in Geneva. “Today we have been able to see the council respond to a chronic, severe human rights violator, which is Iran, and we’re very pleased at this development,” Donahoe said later. The council voted 22–7 with 14 abstentions for the resolution, proposed by Sweden, to appoint a special rapporteur on human rights in Iran. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a report to the Human Rights Council on March 14, called on the Iranian regime “to fully guarantee freedom of expression and assembly and to open up greater space for human rights lawyers and activists.” In other news the Canadian Parliament has condemned human rights violations in Iranian regime. The petition was introduced by Liberal MP and former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler in the House of Commons which was unanimously adopted last week by the Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Human Rights. The motion condemns “the deteriorating crisis in human rights” in Iran under the clerical regime, saying the regime is “engaged in widespread and systematic assaults on the human rights of its own people, including a state-orchestrated wave of arrests, detentions, beatings, torture, disappearances, and executions.”It also points out that “the rate of executions in Iran has dramatically escalated in 2011.” “The human rights crisis in Iran be a priority for Canadian foreign policy,” the motion says. It also calls on the government of Canada to “sanction the major human rights violators responsible for the ordering of, and complicity in, the wanton executions and massive assaults on human rights, and put them on notice that they will be held accountable before the law.”

Female political prisoner in Iran in coma after denial of medical treatment

Zahra Jabbari a political prisoner has gone into coma and transferred to a hospital on Saturday after she was refused

medical treatment by the regime’s agents in prison for her critical heart condition. Zahra Jabbari, who was also imprisoned in the 1980s, was arrested for having family ties

with members of the main opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf, in

Iraq. She is diagnosed with a serious heart condition and acute rheumatism, but has been refused medical treatment on the orders of Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the regime’s prosecutor in Tehran, and interrogators in prison.

Behnoud Ramezani’s Brutal Beatings by Regime Forces Resulted in Death

Daneshjoo News reported on March 23^rd that Behnoud Ramezani , a second term student at Nooshiravani University of Technology in Babol, was killed on the night of the Iranian Fire Festival charshanbe souri at the hands of basij forces in Tehran. His body was eventually delivered to his family two days after his death, under the condition that he be buried outside of Tehran. The two initial forensic reports described the cause of death as “multiple blows to the head by a hard object”. The “final” cause of death was announced by the Iranian regime as a result of “explosion of a hand grenade”. Security forces banned any burial ceremonies for Behnoud Ramezani in Tehran, so this 19 year old studetn, was finally buried on Friday, March 18th, in his native village of Gharakhil in the province of Ghaem Shahr.

Spring began Sunday March 20, 2011 @ 19:20:45

In harmony with rebirth of nature, the Persian New Year Celebration, or Noerooz, always begins on the first day of spring, March 20th of each year. Noerooz ceremonies are symbolic representations of two ancient concepts - the End and Rebirth. About 3000 years ago Persian's major religion was Zoroastrianism, named in honor of its founder Zoroaster, and arguably the world's first monotheistic religion. Zoroastrians had a festival called "Farvardgan" which lasted ten days, and took place at the end of the solar year. It appears that this was a festival of sorrow and mourning, signifying the end of life while the festival of Noerooz, at the beginning of spring signified rebirth, and was a time of great joy and celebration. Noerooz was officially acknowledged and named "Noerooz" by mythical Persian emperor, Shah Jamshid, from Achaemenid Dynasty (500 BC). Ashaemenied created the first major empire in the region and built Persepolis complex (Takhte Jamshid) in the city of Shiraz. Noerooz in Persian means "New Day" and brings hope, peace and prosperity to the world and has been celebrated among people regardless of ethnic background, political views or religion in many countries around the globe such as Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Georgia, Iraq, Tajikistan, Syria ,Armenia and India. Some of the activities during Noerooz are spring cleaning, buying new cloths, painting eggs, family reunion, giving presents, visiting neighbors and friends and celebrating by having a picnic on the 13th day of Spring.

Happy Noerooz

Happy Chaharshanbe Suri

Chaharshanbe-Suri meaning Wednesday Feast, from the word sour which means feast in Persian is an ancient Iranian festival dating back to at least 1700 BC of the early Zoroastrian era. Also called the Festival of Fire, it is a prelude to Noeruz, which marks the arrival of spring. The words Chahar Shanbeh mean Wednesday and Suri means red. Bonfires are lit to "keep the sun alive" until early morning. The celebration usually starts in the evening, with people making bonfires in the streets and jumping over them singing zardi-ye man az to, sorkhi-ye to az man, meaning my ills for you and your glow for me. The literal translation is, my sickly yellow paleness is yours, your fiery red color is mine. This is a purification rite. Loosely translated, this means you want the fire to take your paleness, sickness, and problems and in return give you redness, warmth, and energy to me. There is no religious significance attached to Chaharshanbeh Soori and it serves as a cultural festival for the Iranian people: Persian, Azeri, Kurds, Jews, Muslims, Armenians, and Zoroastrians. It is said that this celebration, in particular the significant role of fire, is likely to hail from Zoroastrianism but some believe that it could be pre Zorostrian.

Another tradition of this day is to make special ajeel, or mixed Dry nuts and berries. People wear disguises and chadors and go door to door knocking on doors. Receiving of the Ajeel is customary, as is receiving of a bucket of water, Similar to Halloween and trick or treating.

Eversince the mullahs took power in Iran, their enemosity with the National celebrations such as Charshanbe souri, Noeruz, Sade, Mehregan, Sizdabedar and other cultural identities has grown greatly. Last year the mullahs and Ali Khamenie went so far as announcing Fatwa against charshanbe souri. Ali Khamenie the regime’s supreme leader said that Charshanbe Soori has "no basis in sharia (Islamic religious law) and creates a lot of harm and corruption, (which is why) it is appropriate to avoid it." For decades the Iranian people and youths in particular have transformed charshanbe souri into regime’s worst nightmare. This year is no different. No matter how many fire crackers are confiscated, how many people are arrested or how many stores are shut down, the Iranian people will fight the mullahs and victory will be theirs.

NEWS))))))

Teachers protest in Tehran villages

A statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran reads Female teachers in remote and underprivileged villages in Tehran province carried out demonstrations to mark International Women’s Day, according to reports. They were also protesting months of no pay and lack of medical access and benefits. The education ministry has instead threatened to expel the teachers if they refuse to end their protests, according to the teachers. The protests took place in Boumehen, Roudehen and other villages in Tehran.

The Iranian regime is using “child soldiers” to suppress protesters

The Guardian reported that Iran‘s Islamic regime is using “child soldiers” to suppress anti-government demonstrations, a tactic that could breach international law forbidding the use of underage combatants, human rights activists have told the Observer. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says troops aged between 14 and 16 have been armed with batons, clubs and air guns and ordered to attack demonstrators who have tried to gather in Tehran. The youths – apparently recruited from rural areas – are being deployed in regular riot police roles and comprise up to one-third of the total force, according to witnesses. One middle-aged woman, who said she was attacked by the youths, reported that some were as young as 12 and were possibly prepubescent. They had rural accents, which indicated they had been brought in from villages far from Tehran, she said. Some told her they had been attracted by the promise of chelo kebab dinners, one of Iran’s national dishes. “It’s really a violation of international law. It’s no different than child soldiers, which is the custom in many zones of conflict,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the campaign’s executive director. “They are being recruited into being part of the conflict and armed for it.” The UN convention on the rights of the child requires states to take “all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities”.

Exodus of capital triggered by fearful regime officials

The Iranian regime officials are transferring large sums of money outside the country amid fears about the regime’s stability, a French newspaper reported on Wednesday. Les Echo, which reports on economic developments, underlined growing anxiety within the regime about its future, saying, “Officials started transferring their assets to foreign banks in mid-January, a trend that only accelerated in February.” The daily added, “The assets, worth over tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, have been wired not to western banks but mostly to Asian financial institutions in Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Bangladesh.” According to Les Echo, Turkish banks have confirmed a case where over $180 million has been transferred to the country. A Malaysian bank has also confirmed the transfer of more than $220 million by regime officials. “Some portions of the (ruling) fundamentalist faction in the regime are also mulling ways to reroute their assets to China,” the report added.