حزب مردم بلوچستان  Balochistan People’s Party  بلوچستانءِ اُستمانءِ گــَل

Iran raising wall along border with Pakistan

www.dawn.com
By Saleem Shahid

Quetta, March 1: Iran has started building a concrete wall along its border with Pakistan, from Taftan to Mand, to stop illegal border crossings.

According to reports received here, the wall will be built from near the border town of Taftan, about 700km west of Quetta.

"The Iranian authorities started work on the wall about a month ago," according to Barkat Ali Khan, a Pakistani border town administration official.

"The concrete wall will be 10 feet high and 3 feet wide," he said, adding that hundreds of workers could be seen building the wall.

He said that the Iranian authorities appeared to be in a hurry to complete the project.

"I think they want to seal the border with Pakistan to stop illegal crossings from both sides and check drug smuggling," Mr Barkat said, adding that the wall would be up to the Mand area in the Turbat district of Balochistan.

Pakistan and Iran already fenced their border at different points a long time ago.

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Canadians preach gospel of federalism in Baluchistan

The province is home to separatist forces alienated from the Pakistani government

05-03-2007
By SONYA FATAH
Special to The Globe and Mail

ISLAMABAD -- Former Canadian politicians joined tribal leaders, political activists and elected officials in Pakistan's capital over the weekend to offer Canada's experience to efforts to bring stability and democracy to the country's largest and most alienated province.

Baluchistan has become a key concern for Ottawa as Canadian troops fight the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. With many in the restive province openly hostile to Pakistan's national government, and the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan becoming mobile across the country's border with the region, the weekend conference addressed the root causes of the conflict, hoping to help find long-term solutions to Pakistan's deeply entrenched problems.

Using Canadian federalism as an example of a system that works, the politicians shared their provincial and federal government experience with Pakistani politicians, activists and journalists.
"It's a hard reality that the intellectual, religious and financial centre of the Taliban is as much in Pakistan as in Afghanistan, " former Ontario premier Bob Rae, who also attended a conference in January, said.
"The difficult truth about Pakistan is that this government is still a military dictatorship . . . we're all looking to the elections for change."

Anne McLellan, a cabinet minister in the former Liberal government, gave a presentation on the ownership, control and management of natural resources in Canada. Another former Liberal minister, Martin Cauchon, explained the workings of the Canadian taxation system. He also drew parallels between Quebec and Baluchistan, both of which have had strong separatist movements.
"The challenges here are tough," Ms. McLellan said at the close of the two-day conference. "The challenges in Baluchistan were here long before Sept. 11. The so-called war on terror makes it harder, because the focus is on the Pakistan government and other issues. The focus ends up being on the short term."
The timing of the conference is significant. The Baluchi sense of alienation from Pakistan has deepened since the summertime military bombing in which a noted Baluchistan tribal elder was killed.

"After the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti we cannot take Pakistan's name in Baluchistan, " said Hasan Bizenjo, secretary of the National Party.
The main issues under discussion were Pakistan's increased military action in their area, economic projects controlled in Islamabad rather than locally, and inequitable distribution of resource wealth from the province.

Ms. McLellan emphasized the importance of natural resources in building a strong local and national economy. "The backbone of our country continues to be, as it was 140 years ago, when our country was created, our natural resources," she said.
At the heart of the debate, however, lay the question of a return to democracy and the end of military rule.
"We appreciate Canadian involvement. We think this may provide us with ways to resolve the situation," Pakistani Rukhsana Zuberi said. "We need the international community to get us out of a uniformed president."

The discussion was the last in a series conferences organized by the Washington-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and supported by a grant from the Canadian Foreign Ministry.

Participants, who represented nine political parties, drew parallels and differences between Canadian federalism and the Pakistan experience, but they all agreed that military rule was not conducive to real change.
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Urgent Action by AI (Amnesty International) on behalf of detained Iranian Azerbaijani activists

Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic rights activists
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/027/2007
09 March 2007

UA 61/07 Prisoners of conscience/ torture

IRAN Esma’il Javadi (m), aged 31, journalist
Ebulfezl Alilu (m)
Ramin Sadeghi (m)
Qahreman Qanbarpour (m)
Adel Allahverdipour (m)
Jelil Qanilu (m)
Safar Ali Kho’ini (m)
Ja’far Haqnazari (m)

The Iranian Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic rights activists named above were arrested at around the time of peaceful demonstrations marking the 21 February International Mother Language Day, intended to celebrate linguistic diversity. They were arrested in various towns and cities in Iranian Azerbaijan. Amnesty International considers them prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful expression of their conscientiously held beliefs and their right to freedom of association.

Amnesty International has received the names of approximately 100 Iranian Azerbaijanis who were reportedly detained. Peaceful demonstrations were organised in different parts of Iranian Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the country calling for education in Azerbaijani Turkic. Most of those detained have reportedly now been released, generally on bail, but scores may still be detained incommunicado, and may be at risk of torture or ill treatment. An unknown number of detainees, possibly including minors, have reportedly been tried summarily.

Journalist Esma’il Javadi was detained in Orumiye on 18 February. He is detained in a facility controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence in the Dokkuz Pille area of Orumiye and has been severely beaten. He is in urgent need of medical care. Family members who have been permitted to meet with him have reportedly been threatened by security officials and told that they should not speak about Esma’il Javadi to anyone.

According to ASMEK (Azerbaycan Siyasi Mahpuslarını Müdafaa Komitesi), the Committee for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners, up to 50 people were detained in Orumiye on 21 February. Among them was shopkeeper Ebulfezl Alilu. The authorities have shut down his shop in Orumiye Bazaar. He too is reportedly detained in the Dokkuz Pille detention facility, where he has been tortured.

ASMEK has reported that on 21 February at least 25 people were detained in Naqadeh (called Sulduz in Azerbaijani Turkic), including Qahreman Qanbarpour and Adel Allahverdipour. Some of those detained in Naqadeh have reportedly been transferred to detention facilities in Orumiye. They have reportedly been denied access to legal representation and put through summary trials.

ASMEK has also reported scores of arrests in the city of Miyandoab (Qoshachay) including Ja’far Haqnazari, a member of the editorial board of a student publication called Bulud.

Human rights activist Ramin Sadeghi was one of around 20 arrested in Ardabil on 19 February. He is believed to have been held in a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence and was reportedly transferred to Section 1 of Ardabil prison on 3 March. He has reportedly gone on hunger strike, but the authorities have denied him any visits. He is believed to be in poor health and in urgent need of medical care.

Jelil Qanilu and Safar Ali Kho’ini were among at least 25 people detained during International Mother Language Day demonstrations in Zenjan on 21 February.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Article 15 of Iran’s Constitution states that Persian is the official language of Iran and that “official documents, correspondence, and texts, as well as textbooks, must be in this language and script.” It adds that “the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian.”

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, French, Persian, Azerbaijani (Arabic or Latin script), Turkish or your own language:
- calling on the authorities to release the eight men (naming them) immediately and unconditionally, as well as anyone else detained solely for the peaceful expression of his or her conscientiously held beliefs, including peaceful advocacy of the right to education through the medium of Azerbaijani Turkic;
- expressing concern for the health of Esmail Javadi and Ramin Sadeghi;
- calling on the authorities to give Esmail Javadi, Ramin Sadeghi and all other detainees immediate access to all necessary medical treatment, including access to medical treatment outside prison where necessary;
- urging the authorities to grant all those who remain in custody immediate and regular access to their families and legal representation;
- asking for details of any charges that have been brought against any of the eight men.

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
istiftaa@wilayah.org
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
(via website) www.president.ir/email

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: Please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian site of the website: http://www.iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html
The text of the feedback form translates as:
1st line: name; 2nd line: email address; 3rd line: subject heading, then type your email in text box.
Salutation: Your Excellency

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 20 April 2007.

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KARACHI: BNP chief urges workers for peaceful struggle

Dawn.com
By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, March 12: The Balochistan National Party chief, Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Monday urged his party?s workers not to be cowed by oppressive forces and unite and continue their peaceful struggle till they secured their rights.

He made these remarks on Monday while speaking to a two member BNP team comprising Hameed Sajna and Mehrullah Mengal which met him after the hearing of his case in the anti-terrorism court set up in the Central Prison.

He said the Baloch had faced the English for over 200 years, so they were not afraid of launching of a struggle against oppressive forces and the struggle would continue till they acquired control over their resources.

He said that when the government agencies ?picked up? people and they were not presented in the courts, it showed that the government did not trust its courts and also that the writ of the government was slipping.

He said that suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, who was asking questions from the government on incidents of disappearances of a large number of people, was a clear sign the rulers were becoming unnerved and feeling uneasy when such questions were asked by the judiciary.

He also urged party workers to spread awareness among the people regarding their rights.

Meanwhile the participants of a demonstration on Monday demanded that all Baloch youth, taken away by the secret agencies be released immediately.

Speaking at the demonstration held at the Karachi Press Club to mark the 200th day of token hunger strike by the family of Gohram Saleh, who, according to the family had been taken away by the government agencies more than 32 months ago from Gawadar.

The family said that taking away people like this was not only violation of their basic human rights but was also against basic rights as enshrined in the constitution. They said that such actions of the government were against various international human rights conventions signed by the country.

A large number of people, besides the wife, sister, children of Mr Saleh, participated in the demonstration and chanted slogans demanding the immediate recovery of all ?disappeared people.?