Doc's Talk: One Week of Rouhani's "Moderate" Islamic Republic of Iran

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

One Week of Rouhani's "Moderate" Islamic Republic of Iran

Shadi Paveh

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4345/rouhani-moderate-iran

According to Article 110 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution, the Supreme Leader must oversee all matters. Even the release of one single prisoner is not possible without his signature. Presidents are just paraded around for the sake of the West.
Silent executions continue under Rouhani. Political prisoners remain without medical aid but with prolonged well-planned torture, to kill them without formal executions.
The only difference seems to be that now prisoners are taken to hospital, photographed in an examination gown and returned to prison without treatment -- to create the appearance that the prisoner was treated, to appease human rights organizations.
Crimes committed against Baha'is are not punished in Iran: according to Islamic law, they are considered non-persons.

Internationally, the Islamic Republic of Iran is still basking in having falsely attained a "moderate" status for President Hassan Rouhani and a seat on five sub-committees of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, including the Commission on the Status of Women. Inside Iran, however, daily life still consists of systematic arrest, torture, persecution of minorities and accelerated executions.

In just one week under the Islamic Republic:
Roya Nobakht, a dual British-Iranian citizen who lived in Stockport, England, was sentenced on May 30 to twenty years in prison for a comment she posted on Facebook during her three week holiday in Iran. The comment simply stated that the government was "too Islamic." According to HRANA News Agency, she was among eight others sentenced to a total of 128 years for similar comments. All were charged with "endangering national security, insulting Islam and gathering crowds."
The arrest of four men (Bahman Tafazolinasab, Afshin Zemanati, Reza Tejareh and Davood Afrooz) was also reported by HRANA on May 30 for "Facebook activities" in the city of Dehdasht. Three social media users (Saleh Tamouli, Hamzeh Zargani and Adel Sadooni) from Ahwaz were sentenced -- after being severely tortured for two months -- to three years each on charges of administrating pages in Facebook. Facebook, Twitter and, most recently, Instagram are strictly banned in the Islamic Republic.
Gholam-Reza Khosravi was hanged at dawn as an "enemy of God" on June 1 for donating approximately $500 to an opposition TV station. According to the Boroumand Foundation in Washington D.C., there have been 11 unofficial executions reported for June, and a total of 340 officially documented for 2014.

Gholam-Reza Khosravi (right, pictured with his son) was hanged on June 1, for donating approximately $500 to an opposition TV station.

That comes to, on average, 17 persons hanged each week by the Islamic Republic -- a number equal to the executions in 2010 after the 2009 uprisings during President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad's far-from-moderate-reign.
Reminiscent of the widely reported brutal attack on political prisoners in Ward 350 of Evin prison in April 2014, the INU News Agency reported that despite the international outrage, prisoners in Bandar Abbas and Zahedan prisons were attacked by prison authorities on May 25 and May 28 respectively. The prisoners were brutally beaten and some left in the scorching sun without access to water or lavatories.
Of all the prisons in Iran, Bandar Abbas is regarded as having the most inadequate conditions, making this attack even more objectionable. Nearly 3,800 prisoners are housed in a facility meant to support only 400, making water and toilets scarce.
INU also reported on May 31 that 70 members of Iran's security forces raided Section 10 of Rajai-Shahr prison, which houses nearly 100 Sunni Muslim prisoners of conscience. The officials insulted the prisoners and their Sunni religion by throwing religious books at them, and looting and confiscating valuables.
In Iran, a predominately Shiite country, members of its Sunni Muslim minority are systematically persecuted. Based on the regime's own court documents, many of these prisoners have been sentenced to death. Presently, the whereabouts and fate of ten Sunni men who were arrested in mid-April by intelligence services for celebrating Sunni holidays remain unknown.
In just the last week, four Baha'i's were arrested -- three in the city of Mashhad and one in Sermnan. Baha'is in Iran have been persecuted as a matter of government policy since the 1979 revolution. During the first decade after the revolution, 200 were executed, and hundreds tortured to give up their faith and accept Islam. Tens of thousands lost their jobs, pensions, businesses, right to education and the right to religious gatherings. Crimes committed against Baha'is, their property or their businesses are not punished by the authorities in Iran: under Islamic law, they are considered non-persons.
The arrest of a children's rights activist, Saeed Shirzad was also reported in Tabriz on June 3. He will join many other prisoners of conscience, including human rights lawyers, activists, journalists, bloggers and religious minorities.
According to information received from sources inside Iran on June 3, conditions are also getting worse for Ayatollah Boroujerdi, the dissident clergyman who has been imprisoned, routinely tortured and denied urgent medical treatment for the past eight years, merely for speaking against the violent crimes of political Islam.
The authorities are still refusing treatment for Boroujerdi's serious health conditions, which include acute heart disease, Parkinson's, and ocular, pulmonary and respiratory disorders, mostly due to years of torture. As a new form of psychological torture, he is being filmed and watched at all times, even while in the shower or bathroom -- an abuse that is causing him great distress. According to the source, Boroujerdi has been told that if he writes a letter to human rights organizations informing them that he is now receiving medical care and that he is in good health, this treatment will stop.
Despite an urgent appeal on April 10 from five UN human rights experts to the Iranian government, to provide immediate medical care for . Boroujerdi, along with imprisoned blogger Mohammad Poursharaji, both men are still in grave condition.
Zaynab Jalalian, a female political prisoner who is suffering from a serious eye disease (Pterygium) directly as a result of trauma sustained during torture, was again refused treatment by prosecutor's office on June 1.
Mushallah Hayeri, 59, who was is serving 15 years in Rajai-Shahr prison for participating in the 2009 protests, went into a coma on June 5 due to lack of medical care for his cardiovascular disease. He was reportedly taken to a facility outside prison, but it is not yet clear if he is receiving medical care or simply being photographed for the media. Hayeri's daughter has been repeatedly arrested for demanding medical aid for her father.
The Islamic Republic continues to exterminate its political prisoners silently, through well-planned and prolonged torture that includes denial of medications and medical treatment -- to kill the prisoner without formal execution. This practice has not changed since Rouhani's election; many prisoners claim that since his arrival, the situation is even worse.
The only difference seems to be that now prisoners are taken to hospital, photographed in an examination gown and returned to prison without treatment. This charade is intended to create the appearance that the prisoner was treated in order to appease human rights organizations. This deception was visited on prominent imprisoned workers' activist Reza Shahabi, in dire need of spinal surgery for injuries sustained during torture. Immediately after the visit of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to Iran in March, Shahabi was taken to a hospital outside prison and photographed. Although pictures of him on a hospital bed in a gown were posted on social media, he was taken back to prison that evening without any treatment.
Most recently, on June 2, Shahabi was transferred to Rajai-Shahr prison along with six other political prisoners from Ward 350 of Evin Prison. Rajai-Shahr's conditions are much harsher than Evin's; usually prisoners with serious medical conditions do not survive this transfer.
It is alarming how the world continues to casually refer to President Rouhani as moderate even when the evidence shows very much the contrary.
Perhaps, however, it is wrong to blame the President of Iran alone; it may be more accurate to take a closer look at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Article 110 of the Islamic Republic's constitution, the Supreme Leader must oversee all matters -- big or small. Even the release of one single political prisoner is not possible without his personal signature. Iran's presidents are simply figureheads paraded around for the sake of the West and the Iranian people.
In reality there has been only one man -- Ali Khamenei -- who has ruled Iran since June 4, 1989, when he was given his omnipotent title. As such, it is he who is to blame for the sadistic and homicidal practices of the regime.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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