The British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) website celebrates its first anniversary this week.
BAFS was created in December 2004 to lobby on behalf of Ahwazi Arabs and attract international attention to their cause, which has never received the coverage it deserves. The Ahwazis endure ethnic persecution, high levels of poverty, forced displacement and state terrorism, despite being indigenous to one of the world's most oil-rich regions.
BAFS's position has been to support Ahwazi groups that are committed to non-violent means to foster change and promote human rights, equality ande democracy in Iran. It works in collaboration with the Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz (DSPA), the Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO), the Ahwaz Studies Centre, the Ahwaz Education and Human Rights Foundation and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO).
The organisation's website was launched in March 2005 during the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, where Mansour Silawi-Ahwazi of the DSPA and Sanjukta Ghosh representing the Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation - both officers of the BAFS - met with UN officials to highlight issues affecting Ahwazis ( click here for article ).
The Ahwazis hit the headlines the following month when an intifada in Al-Ahwaz (Khuzestan) was brutally put down by security forces, leading to more than 160 deaths. The unrest was sparked by the leak of a letter written by former Vice President Mohamed Ali Abtahi calling for the "ethnic restructuring" of Khuzestan to reduce the Arab population from 70 per cent to 30 per cent of the province's total ( click here for article ). BAFS was the first website to report the uprising and to publish the translation of the letter.
In July, UNHCR's Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari spoke of his outrage over the forced displacement of Ahwazi Arabs. Kothari's findings and BAFS's lobbying efforts prompted MEPs such as Paulo Casaca to include the condemnation of the forced migration of Ahwazi Arabs in a motion on Iran in October. The motion was sponsored by all the European Parliament's political groups and represented a major breakthrough for the Ahwazi lobbying campaign.
BAFS's coverage of the Ahwazi struggle against persecution and poverty has attracted plaudits from leading journalists, politicians, human rights groups and lobbyists. Many would not have known about the plight of the Ahwazis without BAFS's reputation as the only source of news and information on Ahwaz in the English language. Within just one year and with few resources, BAFS has helped transform the Ahwazi struggle from an unknown local dispute into an issue with important regional and international importance. Just this month, BAFS's work was acknowledged in feature articles in the Washington Times and Shaarq magazine, the UK's only English language publication the British Arab community.
BAFS Chairman Daniel Brett said: "The coming year will be crucial for the Ahwazi cause, which risks being drowned out by the arguments over Iran's nuclear programme. In the year ahead, we will be holding meetings at the House of Commons in London and the European Parliament and Commission in Brussels and will continue to build on our success in raising the profile of Ahwazis among NGOs, the United Nations and the media. We believe that the Ahwazis can only win freedom, peace and justice with international solidarity, not with bullets and guns."
Highlights of the past year:
Click on headline to view article
March 2005:
Ahwazi Women's Rights at the UN
Ahwazis with UNPO at Geneva
April 2005:
A tragic week in the history of Ahwaz
Ahwazi unity in EU appeal
May 2005:
HRW condemns Iran's violence in Khuzestan
Ahwaz hunger strike
Former Iranian MP in Ahwazi appeal
June 2005:
Ahwaz Arab voice at the UN in Geneva
Bodies of tortured Ahwazis found in Karoon River
Bomb blasts in Ahwaz City, Iran
UNPO Votes in Support of Indigenous Ahwazi Arabs in Iran
Ahwazi Arab Political Prisoner Released in Iran
July 2005:
Britain's Costain Group Condemned Over Iran Investment
Iran's Execution of Gays Part of Ethnic Repression
Anti-Government Demonstrations Erupt in Ahwaz
August 2005:
Iran: UN steps up criticism of minority discrimination
Iranian parliament rejects oil revenue to help poor
September 2005
Oil wells sabotaged in Ahwazi Arab homeland
Iran's mass arrest of Ahwazi tribal leaders and intellectuals
Basra Insurgency and Iran's Militarisation of Ahwaz
October 2005
Iran's Militarisation of the Shatt Al-Arab
Ahmadinejad reveals his policy in Ahwaz
Ahwaz link to Iran-backed insurgency in Iraq's Basra province
European Parliament Condemns Iran's Persecution of Arabs
Ahwaz bomb attack
Iran-UK Relations Threatened as New Bomb is "Discovered"
Abadan Refinery "Bomb Plot"
Iran uses Ahwazi Homeland as Terrorist Smuggling Route
November 2005
Amnesty Concern Over Bawi Brothers Death Sentence
UNHCR Highlights Plight of Ahwazi Refugees in Iraq
Details Emerge of Iran's Eid Crack-Down in Ahwaz
December 2005
Iran to build nuclear facility in Ahwazi Arab homeland
Iranian minorities parties meet with EU authorities
Majlis members protest at Karoon River diversion in Ahwaz
January 2006
Freed Ahwazi Arab prisoner speaks of treatment
Iran security forces attack Ahwazi anti-government protest
Iran's crack-down as Ahwaz Eid protests continue
Iran authorities arrest hundreds and shoot demonstrators in Ahwaz
Iran is ethnic cleansing Ahwazis claims senior European politician
Ahwaz bombings come after weeks of unrest
Joint Ahwazi statement against Ahwaz bomb attacks
Iran regime fails evidence test on Ahwaz bombings
Photos of two Ahwazis martyred by Iran
Khuzestan MPs threaten mass resignation over river diversion
February 2006
Ahwazi children in Iran's custody at risk of torture: Amnesty
Iran increases repression in Ahwaz
Iran sentences seven over Ahwaz bombings
Amnesty condemns Iran's treatment of ethnic minorities
Ahwaz tribal leader in appeal to Iran president
Bomb explodes in Ahwaz, no casualties Iran floods Ahwaz Arabs out of their homes
Ethnic Cleansing in full force in Iran
Al-Ahwaz witnesses three explosions
March 2006:
Regime executes Ahwazis, abuses pregnant woman and child
Executed: Young Ahwazi Men Hung
Bomb in Ahwaz City hours after executions
Mayor among the latest Ahwazis arrested by Iran regime
Iran's oil exports in danger due to rising Ahwaz unrest
Iran imprisons pregnant Ahwazi women and children - new details
Pictures: Ahwazi demonstration against Iranian fascism in London
Iran Slammed for 'Barbarian' Treatment of Ahwazi Arabs
Iran Criticised over Ahwaz Crisis at UNCHR
Teacher faces execution for bombings
Second attack on Ahwaz-Abadan pipeline?
Amnesty appeal for release of Ahwazi women and children
Labels: activism
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi arabistan khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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