A group supporting a separate state for Al-Ahwaz (Khuzestan) has claimed responsibility for this week's bomb attacks in Ahwaz City, which killed nine people and maimed at least 40.
In a statement on the separatist "Ahwazi Arabic Revolution" website based in Canada, a group calling itself the "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" said that it had carried out explosions that targetted a private bank and a government environmental office. The statement can be downloaded here . In the past, the group has claimed responsibility for other bomb attacks in Ahwaz along with a number of other little-known separatist groups.
Ahwazi democrats have condemned the use of violence and stated that the only people that will benefit from terrorism is the regime. Ahwazi Arabs in Iran have overwhelmingly condemned the attacks in demonstrations in Ahwaz City. Although the city has witnessed massive anti-government protests in recent weeks, Ahwazis are rejecting terrorism and violence carried out in their name.
The Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (DSPA), which represents the Ahwazis at the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), has released a statement condemning all violence and terrorism on its website: www.alahwaz.info . The DSPA campaigns on a platform of social justice, devolution, human rights and peace, a message that it broadcasts to Iran through the Al-Ahwaz television station .
The British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS), which campaigns alongside Ahwazi democratic and human rights groups, has also issued its own statement, which has been sent to all members of the European Parliament. BAFS's statement has the support of the DSPA and the Ahwaz Studies Centre . It states: "We, the groups supporting Ahwazi Arab rights and democracy, condemn all political violence and killings in Iran, no matter what their origin. We stand by the principle of non-violent resistance and embrace all like-minded movements that support minority rights and democracy in Iran, no matter their ethnicity, religion or gender. We do not support separatism, but advocate a devolved federal system of government similar to the systems adopted by some of the world's largest democracies."
BAFS spokesman Nasser Bani-Assad said: "We want the world to know that the vast majority of Ahwazis oppose the killing of civilians in their name. We do not know whether the group that claimed responsibility is in fact behind the attacks. Previous bombings have been claimed by a number of different publicity-seeking organisations. We also do not rule out the idea that the regime itself is responsible to undermine democratic Ahwazi Arab opposition to the regime and to portray the British government as a sponsor of terrorism.
"An extremist minority is present in any nation or people, but unfortunately the world is not paying attention to the vast majority of Ahwazis who want an end to poverty and tyranny through non-violent means. There have been no reports in the international media of state killings in Ahwaz and the regime's ethnic cleansing programme in Khuzestan. There has been a complete media blackout on months of peaceful protests by Ahwazis against their oppression by the regime.
"From past experience, we know that these attacks will be followed by an intensification of martial law in Khuzestan, further mass arrests of Ahwazi Arabs, torture, executions and the repression of cultural and political expression. The bomb attacks will serve as justification for the brutalisation of Ahwazi Arabs.
"Ahwazi Arabs need international support for their rights more than ever. The international community needs to hear the voice of the peaceful majority and not let it get drowned out by extremists and the propaganda of the Iranian regime. That is why we urge the European Union and the UNCHR to send a mission to Iran to carry out an objective investigation of the condition of the Ahwazi people and their plight. This is all we are asking for."
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