[Mb-civic] FW: VOA: Human Rights Report On Iran

[Golsorkhi]

Michael,  ..and they allow and give lip service to Khatami.  What BS.
Regards,  Reza
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From: Samii Shahla <shahla at thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2005 22:33:26 -0400
Subject: VOA: Human Rights Report On Iran

VOA


Human Rights Report On Iran


05 April 2005



The State Department has released a report on what the United States is
doing to help people struggling for liberty in some ninety countries.
In announcing the report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that
freedom, democracy, and human rights are not just American or Western
values:

  "These ideals are shared by all people. They are the non-negotiable
demands of human dignityŠWe are working tirelessly to support democracy
and human rights in every country where these principles are not
completely fulfilled."

  In Iran, the report points out, the human rights situation got worse
over the past year. Tehran's clerical regime "continued to commit
numerous, serious abuses, including summary executions, disappearances,
extremist vigilantism, widespread use of torture, and other degrading
treatment." Iranian authorities have "suppressed almost all independent
domestic media outlets, arresting or effectively silencing their
journalists."

  The last forum for free debate, internet journals called "weblogs,"
have come under increasing pressure. The clerical regime arrested
several weblog writers and forced them to sign false confessions.

  In Iran, religious and ethnic minority groups, such as the Baha'i
community, as well as Jews, Christians, and Sunni and Sufi Muslims, are
discriminated against and harassed. Workers' rights, including freedom
of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively, are
severely restricted. In addition, there are continuing reports of the
government's stoning women to death in rural Iran.

  The United States does not maintain diplomatic relations with the
Iranian government. But calling on Tehran's ruling clerics to start
respecting the Iranian people's rights is, in the words of the State
Department report, "central to the United States overall policy
approach."

  The report says that "President Bush and senior-level U.S. officials
repeatedly expressed their support for the Iranian people in their
quest for freedom, democracy and a more transparent and accountable
government." The U.S. is also urging its friends and allies to
condition improvements in their relations with Iran on "positive
changes in Iran's human rights policies and other areas of concern."

The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United
States government.

  ---

http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2005-04-06-voa2.cfm

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