Balochistan People’s Party

MONITORING DESK ; Aaj TV, 2008

KARACHI ( 2008-09-02 ) :Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Republican Army (BRA), and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) announced cease-fire for indefinite period, Aaj TV reported.

Quoting the spokesman of Baloch Liberation Army and Baloch Republican Army, Beberq Baloch and Sarbaz Baloch the channel said that all three organisations have announced cease-fire for indefinite period and it will continue after the holy month of Ramazan too.

The spokesmen further said that they have no deal with the government and if they were attacked, they will retaliate with full force.

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Baloch Human Rights Council & Baloch Community ( UK ) are organizing a memorial meeting to honor The great Baloch Hero Yaqoob Mehrnehad who was Martyred by Barbaric fascist Regime of Iran.

All Baloch and sympathizers are requested to attend the meeting to pay tributes and respect to this great son of Balochistan who lived & died for safeguarding human rights, peace & prosperity, education, welfare & health development for his people and condole the grieved family & friends and Baloch Nation.

Location: Room 3c, University of London Union Building
Mallet Street, London WC1E 7HY
Date : 14 September 2008
Time: 3 Pm.

Samad Baloch- 07825087032, Abdullah Baloch-07737141325,
Mir Ghulam Husain- 07506696954

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Quetta-Zahidan rail traffic suspended after explosion

By Our Staff Corresponden ; dawn.com

QUETTA, Sept 5: Railway traffic between Pakistan and Iran was suspended on Friday night after a powerful explosion damaged rail tracks near Wali Khan Railway station near Mastung.

According to police, the explosives were planted on the main track linking Quetta with Zahidan.

“The blast damaged the railway line and some sleeper compartments. There was no casualty,” said a police official.

This is the first subversive act since three Baloch militant organisations announced suspension of their movement for an indefinite period. Till Friday night, no one had claimed responsibility for the blast.

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09-09-2008

TEHRAN (AFP) — A Sunni rebel group has released one of a group of Iranian policemen it said it kidnapped in southeastern Iran in June, a police commander said on Tuesday.

The Jundullah (Soldiers of God) group said they captured 16 Iranian border policemen on June 12 at a checkpoint in Saravan, in restive Sistan-Baluchestan province, before taking them across the border into Pakistan.

"The terrorist group called Jundullah released one of our policemen a few days ago and he has returned home," said the deputy chief of Iranian police, Colonel Hossein Zolfaghari on state-run television's website.

"Based on his account, the rest of the kidnapped police are alive," he added.

The group said last month they have killed several of the hostages and vowed to carry out two more executions each week unless Tehran agreed to their demands for the release of 200 of the group's detained fighters.

Zolfaghari, quoted by Fars news agency, said the number of policemen seized was 15 and not 16 as reported by the rebel group. Iran made no concession for the policeman's release, he said.

He also accused Pakistani authorities of "not being serious in releasing the rest of the kidnapped police".

The group has been blamed for a string of attacks and kidnappings in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province, which is home to a large ethnic Baluch community and straddles the border with Pakistan.

Jundullah leader Abdolmalek Rigi said last month the group was ready for talks with the Tehran government, offering to law down its arms if the Sunni minority in predominantly Shiite Iran was granted full political rights.

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The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale of 1,000 small diameter bunker-buster missiles to Israel, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The notification of the possible sale to Congress was made over the weekend by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the branch of the Pentagon responsible for evaluating foreign military sales. The bunker-buster missile Israel has asked for is called GBU-39.

The deal is valued at $77 million and the principal contractor will be Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

In addition to the missiles, Israel has also asked for 150 mounting carriages, 30 guided test vehicles as well as two instructors to train the Israeli Air Force how to load the missiles on its aircraft.

In its recommendation to Congress, the DSCA wrote that Israel's strategic position was "vital to the United States' interests throughout the Middle East."

Congress has 30 days to obstruct the deal.

"It is vital to the US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives," the statement read.

The DSCA announcement came amid growing concern in Israel that the Pentagon was not willing to sell Israel advanced military platforms such as bunker-buster missiles in an effort to dissuade Jerusalem from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Bunker-buster missiles are a vital component of a potential airstrike since many of the Iranian facilities, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, have been built underground in heavily fortified bunker-like facilities.

During the Second Lebanon War Israel reportedly received an emergency shipment of bunker-buster missiles from the US to use to attack underground Hizbullah facilities. The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to have a 50 percent chance of hitting its target within 5-8 meters, thereby minimizing collateral damage. It is also said to be capable of penetrating several meters of thick reinforced concrete.

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Following the arrest of 5 Baloch human rights activists on Sunday 7 September [2008] two more civil society campaigners were arrested [10 September 2008]. Mohammad Hussain Khalili and Mohammad Reza Rakhshani who run a cultural society were violently arrested and taken to an unknown location.

This new round of arrests began after the Islamic Republic of Iran demolished a Sunni mosque and school in Baluchistan on 27 August 2008. The Iranian authorities have ruthlessly violated the human rights in Baluchistan in spite of universal of Declaration of Human Rights Charter as the article 18 states,

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

The human rights activists condemned widely the demolition of the school in which 800 students were studying. The school and mosque were completely financed by the people. The buildings were donated to the school by the people.

The reports suggested the human rights activists who criticised the demolition of Sunni mosque were identified and arrested. According to Baluchistan Human Rights Watch and Sunnionline.com, the following human rights activists have been arrested.

Abdoulrahman Shahbakhsh (The brother of Moulavi Hafez Mohammad Ali, the Headmaster of Imam Abuhanifa sunni religious school).
Noor Mohammad Shahbakhsh (The brother of Moulavi Hafez Mohammad Ali, the Headmaster of Imam Abuhanifa sunni religious school).
Abdoulkarim (The nephew of Moulavi Hafez Mohammad Ali, the Headmaster of Imam Abuhanifa sunni religious school).
Abdoulghader Naroui
Azizullah Naroui
Mohammad Hossein Khalili
Mohammad Reza Rakhshani

In addition to these activists whose identities have been disclosed, dozens of more Baluch people have been arrested in the last few days. The Isna news Agency reported that 26 Baluch have been arrested last week. Mowlavi Ahmad Narouee, a prominent religious leader and a lecturer was arrested about a month ago and nobody knows what has happened to him.

The families of those who have been arrested were not informed of their charges or the location of the prison. These human rights activists have been arrested in breach of article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter as it states:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

The crackdown on Baluch political movement and human rights activities is in response to Baluch People's demands for full participation in the political process of Iran and participation in the government as the article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter clearly indicates that every citizen of a country is entitled to have a part in the government of his country. Since the Baluch people have been completely deprived of their legal rights of participation in the government of Iran, they began to demonstrate their grievances against the central government of Iran and demanded the implementation of the declaration of human rights charter.

Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

Every time the Baluch people demand justice and implementation of United Nations Charters and Conventions, the Islamic Republic of Iran reacts with violent and ruthless measures which further violate the human rights of the Baluch people. Furthermore, the Iranian authorities have prohibited cultural activities of Baluch people who have a very distinct and rich cultural heritage despite Article 27 that says,
"(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits."

The Baluch people strive to restore their dignity and respect and secure their religious and political rights. Baluchistan is the most backward province in Iran while a United Nations research proved that the children in Baluchistan had the highest IQ in the country. The Iranian government is continuously repressing the most talented people of Iran. The international community and human rights organizations must condemn the violations of human rights in Baluchistan and pressurise the government to respect the rights of its citizens and facilitate their full participation in political, economic and cultural activities.