Freedom is extremely limited in Iran as Freedom House even
ranks Iran a six out of a score of seven in 2012. The freedom scale gives a country a high score to indicate a
status of not free. Human rights
violations by authorities continue to be committed against political and social
activists, women, ethnic and religious minorities, human rights defenders, and
students in response to the extreme lack of freedom of expression. The limited freedom of the citizens and
their restrained abilities within the country has lead to several arrests of activists. But the punishment doesn’t end at arresting
opposition activists and groups that I mentioned, torture, and even execution
has and does occur.
Within
the last five weeks the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) has received
reports, which point to the arrests of an estimated 188 Ahwazi Arabs. Iranian authorities without justifiable
reasoning of why they are being punished arrest these Ahwazi Arab
activists. In fact, several of the
Ahwazi Arabs that were arrested in recent weeks, in the Khuzestan province, were
said to have never taken part in political activism. On the other hand, the other arrests are against cultural,
political, and religious activists.
Many of the detainees are early adulthood and the whereabouts of their detainment
is largely unknown.
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| Ahwazi Arabs being detained |
The
escalation of arrests by Iranian authorities is thought to halt or alleviate
the protests in April, which is the anniversary month for the protests that
took over the city of Ahvaz in 2005.
A second reason for this increase in harassment by Iranian authorities
is because it is right before the presidential elections. The presidential elections could change
Iranian society dramatically, in which authorities at this time are taking
advantage of their power.
The
arrest of these Ahwazi Arabs only slightly identifies the lack of freedom and
justice citizens in Iran have.
Baha’is, a religious minority group among others faces sever repression
by Iranian authority. Torture of
these individuals is common followed by execution.
We
should care vary much about the repression that devastates many citizens in
Iran. Arrest, torture, and even
execution of minority groups, activists, women, and even students are a
daunting issue and have struck the Middle East. The lack of freedom to the citizens has lead to a very
corrupt government and a society that is unable to communicate. We should care about this issue also
because an activist will eventually say enough and act.
With
ongoing arrests put forth by unjustly officials, a protest by the repressed is
likely to occur. The tolerance
level of these groups will run out.
If there is enough participation, a massive movement could occur. The key is to gather a large group in
order to protest against their lack of freedom. With the upcoming elections it will be interesting to see
what happens – will the oppressed finally retaliate to defend their right to
freedom? Or will they wait for the presidential elections to dictate the future
of where they stand?
Work Cited
Iran – Overview.
Freedom House. Web. 17
April 2013.
“Ongoing Wave of Arrests in Khuzestan, Families
Unaware of Whereabouts of Detainees.”
Iran Human Rights Documentation
Center 11 April 2013. Web. 17
April 2013.
It is important to care that these human rights violations are being made. However, what should be done? If anything? The government is going to punish all individuals or groups that openly oppose the regime. And if the international community gets involved then things will just become more messy in the Middle East. Is there anything that we can do to stop these human rights violations?
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it seems as though the regime in Iran lead by Ahmadinejad shows no signs of slowing down with committing human rights violations. Not only is the regime punishing individuals or groups that openly oppose the regime, they are targeting minority citizens that don't actively go against the regime as well. They victimize minorities for sometimes no reason at all. With the election coming up, these atrocities could diminish. I think the international community should hesitate to intervene until these elections, if intervene at all. Because I do agree with the statement that involvement of the international community will make the situation worse, Iran needs to establish more institutions. The regime needs to realize the benefits an increase of institutions will bring. In order to shift toward this new line of thinking, it seems that a non-violent mass protest needs to occur. The regime needs to weaken their defense for this to happen and foresee the potential cooperation could have on a society.
ReplyDelete