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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Iran Kurds form reformist front to fight for rights | |
| 2006-01-03 | |
| TEHRAN: Thousands of ethnic Kurds in Iran, headed by a prominent former MP, have created a movement aimed at obtaining rights they say have been "neglected" by the Islamic Republic during the past 26 years. "A large number of prominent Kurdish activists and NGOs have come together in an independent front to peacefully demand the rights that the Kurds have been denied," the founder of the reformist Kurdish United Front, Bahaeddine Adab told reporters Monday. One of the group's aims was "to raise awareness among Kurds of their rights and help them choose the right representatives in town councils and the Parliament as these are the only ways they can get through to the authority," Adab said. Adab is an outspoken former MP who was barred from running again in 2004 when the Council of Guardians disqualified him and thousands of other candidates. He insisted that the front was not a formal political party or NGO, which need to be authorized by the state if they are to advertise, hold meetings and take new members. "The Kurds have had very little say in the decisions made about them and they have been denied their rights mentioned in the Constitution," he said, citing the soaring unemployment and addiction rates in Kurdish populated provinces and the restrictions on Kurdish language press. One of the largest ethnic groups in Iran, more than six million Kurds live in the western border provinces, which are among the most underdeveloped in Iran. Adab said the Front would not pursue separatist goals, unlike most Kurdish opposition parties which seek autonomy and self-determination in a region which has large Kurdish populations in neighboring Iraq and Turkey. "We insist on working within the framework of law and avoiding violence," he said, adding that the decision was hastened by August 2005 clashes with authorities in at least two western provinces with a substantial Kurdish population.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 One of the group's aims was "to raise awareness among Kurds of their rights and help them choose the right representatives in town councils and the Parliament as these are the only ways they can get through to the authority," Adab said. Adab is an outspoken former MP who was barred from running again in 2004 when the Council of Guardians disqualified him and thousands of other candidates. He insisted that the front was not a formal political party or NGO, which need to be authorized by the state if they are to advertise, hold meetings and take new members. And right there, in a nutshell, is why political activism will not succeed in Iran. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-01-03 11:09 |
| #1 But they are Kurds, not Shiites. That makes them quite obviously inferior, probably even infidels. And we all know what we have to do to infidels. |
| Posted by: Slaviting Slolutle4367 2006-01-03 08:13 |