[Mb-civic] FW: Batebi's story and the 'Youngbloods'

[villasudjuan]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla at thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 16:29:14 -0400
Subject: Batebi's story and the 'Youngbloods'



National Review
August 03, 2005

Youngbloods
Meet a key to a golden Iranian future.

By Rachel Zabarkes Friedman

You may not know or recognize his name, but you¹ve probably seen Ahmad
Batebi¹s face. In the picture that made him famous six years ago, Batebi,
then just 21, his longish dark hair held back with a cloth band, is holding
a bloody t-shirt above his head. That picture was taken at a student
demonstration in Tehran in July of 1999, and the t-shirt belonged to a
colleague of Batebi¹s, a victim of government-backed violence against the
peaceful protesters.

Soon after that demonstration, The Economist ran Batebi¹s photo on its
cover. Unwittingly transformed into a symbol of the Iranian student
movement, a diverse and sizeable pro-liberty force, Batebi was thrown in
jail for tarnishing the Islamic republic¹s image. His sentence was
originally death, though it was later reduced to 15 years in prison, 17
months of which Batebi has so far spent in solitary confinement.

He had been a participant in dissident activities long before that July day,
and some say he became one of the student movement¹s foremost
representatives thereafter ‹ but Batebi could do little good from his prison
cell. That¹s largely why, about four months ago, he chose not to return to
Evin Prison from a brief furlough he had been granted (as political
prisoners in Iran sometimes are). Now on the run inside his own country, he
is using his newfound semi-freedom to work to combat the regime.

³He¹s working around the clock, despite all the difficulty,² says an Iranian
based in California who has been communicating with Batebi and who at times
helps him to secure lodging; she asked that her name not be used in order to
protect her family in Iran. ³Because of the warrant for his arrest, he is
going from city to city. His fans and followers find a place for him to
stay, either with members of their families, or they rent somewhere for him,
but he only stays around a week.² She says authorities raided the home of
Batebi¹s father, who spoke truthfully when he told questioners he had no
idea where his son was. Batebi regularly communicates via Internet and cell
phone with colleagues inside Iran and others around the world, but very few
if any know where he is from day to day.

On the Run Toward Freedom
In a recent phone interview with National Review Online, Batebi explained
(through a translator) why he opted to risk his life in hiding rather than
return to prison. Since his escape he has been working to organize the
opposition, in part with direction from dissidents still in prison who
communicate to him through smuggled letters. He also wants to communicate to
the West, and particularly leaders and citizens of the United States, about
conditions inside Iran.
Asked what he hopes to accomplish through his efforts, Batebi says, ³What I
want is international pressure for all the political prisoners who have been
so horribly treated. I want all these human-rights activists, these Amnesty
Internationals, to put their resources together to give more attention to
the political prisoners in Iran.² Batebi and other dissidents are worried
that under new president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who takes office this week,
government crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations will increase, making
Iranians even more fearful of expressing their dissatisfaction with the
regime. Further, with their intellectual and political leaders in jail,
opposition groups are struggling to organize themselves and act effectively.
³The importance of these people, the political prisoners, is that they are
an underground organization for combating this regime,² says Batebi¹s
California-based contact. ³Each was the head of a big network and now all
are behind bars, so there is a lack of leaders, a lack of direction.²

Batebi believes the Bush administration has some good instincts when it
comes to supporting Iran¹s political prisoners and the aspirations of the
Iranian people generally. ³President Bush has started this positive war,
combating terrorism and theocracy and fanaticism. It is greatly appreciated
by all the people inside the country, because of the repression we face.²
But he also has words of criticism for the administration, suggesting the
U.S. hasn¹t been consistent enough in its policy toward Tehran. ³Whenever
the Iranian people or the government hears that the U.S. doesn¹t have a plan
or doesn¹t have a policy regarding regime change in Iran, this is like fresh
blood in the veins of these mullahs.² Tehran¹s support for the violence in
Iraq, enabled by high oil prices, seems to have achieved its aim, he says,
distracting Americans from the problems in Iran. And the ongoing nuclear
negotiations between Europe and the Islamic republic have in his view been a
boon to the mullahs, allowing them to buy time in power.

Batebi also thinks Americans may not understand the level of fear among
ordinary Iranians, partly due to our lack of intelligence. As a result, we
expect the kind of mass demonstration unlikely to take place under current
conditions. ³We were working so hard for the anniversary of the July 9
dormitory events² ‹ when forces attacked Tehran University students
following a peaceful protest in 1999 ‹ ³but the rallies didn¹t happen,
because even when small groups of people gather innocently, they can be
detained by the anti-riot police, and asked to bring two to three months¹
salary for release. This policy has created a lot of fear.²

Demanding that Tehran respect basic rights is therefore not just a matter of
principle. Fred Saberi of Sweden¹s Iranian Liberal Network, who has also
been working to help Batebi and other political prisoners, says, ³When human
rights are not so much abused and are respected in Iran, then you will see
how much people will demonstrate. The U.S. should put pressure on the
Europeans to put the issue of human-rights negligence in Iran on the same
level of importance as respecting the laws of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty.²

"'Why Are these People Still in Prison?'"
Batebi¹s experience is confirmation of the importance of international
attention for prisoners and other dissidents. ³After my solitary
confinement,² he says, ³my case became internationalized, and there were so
many eyes on me, they didn¹t treat me as horribly because I was very much in
the spotlight. Compared to a lot of unknowns inside the prison, I was
treated relatively well.²
He also became an internationally recognized figure. Gary Metz, founder and
coauthor of the popular Regime Change Iran blog, which features Batebi¹s
picture on its homepage, says Batebi is ³one of the best-known symbols of
the Iranian opposition out there today. He¹s an icon to both the Iranian
people and many people in the world community. Simply because of that photo
he was arrested and has been a prisoner ever since. His case is such a
strong example of the injustice of the regime.²

Suzanne Gershowitz, a research assistant at the American Enterprise
Institute and the author of a profile of Batebi in the winter 2005 issue of
the Middle East Quarterly, points out that ³half of Iran¹s population is
between 15 and 24. Batebi is now older than 24, but he symbolizes the
dynamism of the student movement, and its commitment to achieving human
rights (and democracy) in Iran.² Gershowitz says the administration has not
taken a strong enough stance on Iranian human rights ‹ for example, the
State Department has yet to make noise about Batebi. While the official
American support for hunger-striking journalist Akbar Ganji has been
impressive, many others have also suffered for expressing their beliefs.

³Our government has been far too silent on these matters,² says Metz. ³They
will publish a list from time to time, things of that nature, but in terms
of actually asking, 'Why are these people still in prison?', there are major
people in our State Department who ought to be reminding the world of these
individuals and their situations.² Take, for example, Amir Abbas Fakhravar,
a friend of Batebi¹s who courageously spoke to the press during his last
furlough from prison. Or Manuchehr Mohammadi, another student activist and
prisoner who reportedly slipped into a coma recently after being on hunger
strike for nearly a month.

Did Ahmad Batebi ever imagine that he would be a fugitive, working to
organize the opposition while hiding from his captors? ³I was very young
when I went to prison,² he says. ³It was a shock for me, because I was so
young and I never expected it. But a lot of other prisoners were like big
brothers to me. They taught me to be patient, and to be more resilient. In
my blood I was a real warrior, so all the things I¹ve learned made me more
determined in the cause I was pursuing. That was a turning point in my life,
my experience in prison.²

One Iranian commentator has used the phrase ³Iran¹s golden children² to
describe such freedom fighters as Ahmad Batebi, Akbar Ganji, and numerous
others who are all too often unnamed. Many hope to see the day when they are
Iran's ruling class. Until then, Western leaders at least have the power to
consistently call attention to them, and in doing so to help protect them.
It's a power some golden lives may depend on.

‹ Rachel Zabarkes Friedman is a former associate editor of National Review.

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