Honourable members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen. As the spokesperson of the Balochistan People’s Party (BPP) which is a liberal democratic party, fighting for the right of national sovereignty of Baloch people, I sincerely thank you and value the opportunity of being here to speak about the pain and abuse that our people are suffering in the hands of the theocratic and fanatic regime of Iran. Our heartfelt thanks to the British people and their Conservative Party’s Human Rights commission, for facilitating such a valuable hearing, here in the British Parliament.

Prior to discussing Balochistan’s current political situation I have to go very briefly into its geopolitical importance and a short history:

Balochistan, the historical land of Baloch inhabitants, is located on the northern coast of the Hormoz Straight where 40% of the world’s oil is shipped through the straight from the Persian Gulf’s surrounding countries. Balochistan is the centre of the political and military activities of the region. The provinces of Nimrouz, Farrah, and Helmand are the centre of confrontation among Taleban / Alqaedah and NATO / Afghanistan army forces.

Balochistan has large reservoirs of oil, gas, gold, copper, Sulphur, uranium and many other natural resources unearthed according to Iran, Pakistan and international researches and investigations.

Central Asian countries can only have access to international waterways through Balochistan. Pakistan and Iran are competing to connect Central Asian countries to the sea through Balochistan while China is already concluding a deep sea port at Gwadar in Eastern Balochistan (Pakistan).
Both Iran and Pakistan are heavily dependent on the coastal borders of Balochistan Sea which extend from Strait of Hormoz to Karachi.

Iran is considering constructing a gas pipeline through Balochistan to export gas to Pakistan and India and perhaps through Pakistan to China. Pakistan's main ports are in Balochistan. Iran is trying to develop the port of Chabahar in Balochistan to shorten the rout and safeguard the delivery of diverse import and export products. Iran and Pakistan also planning to build highways and rail ways to promote trade in Afghanistan and Central Asian countries through Balochistan as well.

Balochistan is the historical land of Baloch people. The tough nature of the motherland Balochistan, has adapted tough and determined inhabitants to its geographical conditions. They have survived fatal adverse conditions for thousands of years, be it Alexander the Great or Mongolian Genghis khan or natural disasters including famines.

In the 18th century, the Khanate of Kalat included nearly the entire settling area of the Baloch and declared its sovereignty in 1747. It was the British Empire who divided the settling area of the Baloch in the course of the formation of British India in the 19th century. In 1871, The British Empire agreed with Persian on the so-called Goldsmith line dividing Balochistan in Eastern/Western part, and established the border to Afghanistan with the Mortimer-Durand line in 1893. However, administration of Balochistan was not done by the British themselves, because it was thought that the peripheral areas of the empire were best pacified by granting the Baloch far-reaching autonomy.

In 1948, after the British Empire withdraws from the region, the Eastern Balochistan Under the leadership of the Khanate of Kalat became occupied by Pakistan Army. In 1928 Western Part of Balochistan which had its own sovereignty under the Khanate of Doust Mohammad Khan, was forcibly annexed by Reza Shah Pahlavi and executed the Khan. Balochistan is a member of the UNPO: http://www.unpo.org/member_profile.php?id=66

Since then the policies of the Iranian regimes in Balochistan are characterised by persistence violation of human rights. Under the previous monarchist and the current Islamic regimes of Iran, the Baloch people have always been deprived of their cultural, social, economic, and other fundamental human rights and being treated as the third class citizens of Iran. The first class citizens being the Persians Shias, 2nd class are the none Persian Shias and the 3rd class are those who are not Persians and not Shias.
The main policy of the ruling elite of Persian's Shias have been based on forceful assimilation of none Persians to have one language, one culture and one religion i.e. to implement the policy of Persianisation.

- Baloch children are barred from receiving education in their mother tongue, and do not receive proper education facilities, hence not equipped with the competent knowledge to enter in the Iranian Universities.
According to the Iranian government’s criteria based on primary school education, 27% of the Iranian population are illiterate. While according to UNESCO’s criteria it should have been based on children’s ability to fluently read and write in their mother tongue. Baloch children are not only denied this right but deliberately deprived of having even equal opportunity in Persian education, hence falling behind academically and not being competent in the fields of higher education and job market. Those who succeed after passing many hurdles are excluded in other processes where religion affiliations are tested.
There has not been one minister, deputy minister, general, ambassador and even high ranking official in Iran from the Baloch community in modern history. While our immigrant Baloch in our neighbouring Arabian countries are serving as ministers and ambassadors. The life expectancy in Balochistan is fifteen years less than the average in Iran. From 700 academic staff of different universities in Balochistan, only ten of them are Baloch. From 70,000 students in Balochistan, only 1,000 of them are Baloch. Three students under the Shah and two students under the present regime were given scholarship for studying abroad while hundreds of thousands of students from other Iranian provinces have been granted scholarship to study abroad.

- Successive Iranian governments have been engaged in demographic manipulations to systematically reduce the Baloch people population to a minority in their own homeland.

- In addition, among the many repressive policies is the destruction of the homes of poor Baloch people and their displacement. This is done in order to provide the best located land to the non-Baloch, specifically to the Security Forces, which are brought in from other parts of Iran to carry out the regime’s chauvinistic policies.
The Government’s policy has been based on easy access of non-Bloch people to purchase best agricultural, business and residential land at a cheap price and set up governmental sourced and facilitated businesses.
Alongside with the social and cultural, the economical discrimination has associated with Balochistan’s geographical location to be the neighbour of the world’s largest narcotic producer, hence causing the highest rate of unemployment and addiction in Iran to be amongst the young generation of Baloch people. This is a gradual and slow motion national genocide and ethnic cleansing for the Baloch nation planned by the Tehran Regimes since the annexation of Balochistan. http://www.balochpeople.org/eng/2006/pressRel/MiniDublinGroup.htm

It is common knowledge in Balochistan that the Iranian intelligence and security forces facilitate the passage of narcotic consignments from Afghanistan through Balochistan and the rest of Iran to the Western world as it was admitted openly in an interview by the interior minister two months ago.
While the international community, international media and opinions are occupied by the Iranian nuclear threat and its support for terrorism, the Iranian regime in Balochistan is involved in a brutal and ruthless arrest and executions of mostly educated Baloch youth under the disguise of fighting drug smuggling and so-called banditry. Every day, all across Balochistan, young Baloch get executed by the decree of Hojjatol Islam Mohammad Ibrahim Nekoonaam the Islamic revolutionary judge for Balochistan, as well as being kidnapped and killed by the Special secret force of spiritual leader Ayatollah Khamenehei named “Mersad” or get killed in “planned” accidents leaving every day some Baloch families mourning for the loss of their beloved ones.
There is a long list of executed young Baloch since their uprising for their democratic rights of equal opportunities. But here are some examples of killing innocent young Baloch just during the last 4 months:

Amnesty International published an appeal in April 07 in which it announced 700 Baloch people have been condemned to death just in one year. http://www.balochpeople.org/eng/2007/hr/HR.htm#2
Mindful of local anger and backlash, many of those detainees have been transferred to neighbouring provinces for the purpose of execution. Fifteen of them were executed in Khorasan province, while two were hanged in Hormozgan and one in Kerman province respectively.

As a result of people’s resistance towards ethnic cleansing activities of the regime, the Iranian news agency, IRNA, reported on 20th May that 1653 Baloch have been arrested only in one month, Mr Nasrollah Shanbehzahi a young man who was taking photo by his mobile phone from a scene of a bus explosion in the capital of Balochisatn which has been carrying regime’s revolutionary guards, tortured and executed two days after his arrest in 19th February 2007 http://www.balochpeople.org/eng/2007/feb/ExecutionPhotosShambezai.htm

http://www.balochpeople.org/eng/2007/pressRel/ExecutionOfShanbehzai.htm

Recently (Wed 28th May 2007) the regime executed a 17-year old boy called Saeed Qanbarzaei Dozaap ( Zahedan) after subjecting him to constant barbarous tortures since his arrest despite amnesty international’s appeal to the Iranian authorities. The Iranian judiciary executed further five Baloch on the following day in Dozaap's (Zahedan’s) prison’s executions yard. http://www.balochpeople.org/eng/2007/pressRel/SavingBalochTeenerFromExecution.htm

In cold blood the Iranian security forces shot dead a 12-year old girl called Roya Sarani in front of her brother opposite their house in (Dozaap) Zahedan on Sunday 24th May 2007. http://www.radiobalochi.org/BH_Rights/Letter_to_AI_from_RBF070527.html

On the 13th of June 2007 the dead body of a 23 years old young man Waheed Mirbalochzahi, who was arrested at the same time as Saeed Qanbarzahi, was found in an abundant area in Dozaap (Zahedan) which has been tortured to death.

This regime can not tolerate any organised activity amongst the oppressed nationalities, even under its own civil rules and regulations.
There is only one youth association in the whole Balochistan, based in the capital city of Balochisatn, which is tightly controlled by the regime. Couple of months ago after a peaceful gathering of local authorities and people organised by the association, suddenly, all of its management committee members were arrested and detained which still many of their parents and relatives are not aware of their whereabouts.

Balochistan People’s Party appeals to the international community to do not allow the Iranian regime to use its current nuclear crisis with the international community to suppress Baloch and other oppressed nations by accusing them of being Western powers corporate. We request the international community to send a fact finding mission to see the damage that have been caused by the latest military operation, persecution, arrests and executions in Balochistan.
Our Party strongly believes that we the people of Iran historically have suffered and still suffering from not having the opportunity to exercise our humanitarian and basic democratic rights.
For the achievement of our rights, change of the theocratic regime of Iran towards establishing a democratic system is the first and inevitable step.
At the same time we believe that the right of self determination for the suffered and oppressed ethnics in Iran would be the core of implementing democracy in Iran. With out solving this principal and historical crisis of national sovereignty, there ever never would be a practical and lasting democratic and peaceful system in Iran.
 

Finally, Balochistan People’s Party believes that the only way to save the people of Iran, Middle East, Central Asia and of course the world from the respectively oppression, interference in internal affairs, terrorist activities of this regime, is to change it before it acquires nuclear weapons.
We should act together before it is too late, and before this fanatic regime arms itself with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Under nuclear protection this regime will spread and support international terrorism and extremism more actively and will continue to suppress harsher its own people.

Unlike past years, now, there is a united opposition against the Iranian government. The Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran http://www.iranfederal.org/ that is consisting of almost all national and regional political parties and cultural organizations which struggling to establish a federal, secular and a democratic government, based on parity of the constituent parts in Iran, can serve as a catalyst and organizing factor for a united opposition to change the extremist government of Iran.

The opposition amongst the oppressed nationalities because of their experience of the former monarchist regime and the current theocratic regime are becoming more organised and united, during the last few years they have closely worked together for a federal structure that could put Iran to a democratic path after the regime change.

Rahim Bandoui, 2e spokesperson for the Balochistan People's Party.

Contact@BalochPeople.org