PUBLIC STATEMENT OF THE SOCIETY OF HUMAN RIGHTS- SOURTHERN CALIFORNIA- May 10th

Society for Human Rights in Iran-Southern California PUBLIC STATEMENT OF THE SOCIETY OF HUMAN RIGHTS- SOURTHERN CALIFORNIA May 10, 2010 Once again Iranian court upheld death sentences for 5 political activists, 4 men and one woman. These prisoners of conscience who were executed in Evin prison on May 9th, 2010 were: Ms. Shirin Alam-Hooli Farzad Kamangar Ali Heydariyan Farhad Vakili Mehdi Eslamiyan Shirin Alam Hooli, the young woman who was executed had appealed her sentence, but no judgment was rendered. The attorneys of these prisoners were not informed of the judgment and the phone of the notorious Evin Prison was disconnected prior to the executions. This is an alarming act and it is done with the intention to create a state of fear and intimidation a month away from the disputed Iranian election on June 12th. The election which was followed by mass demonstration and the widespread opposition of Iranian people. The surge in executions in the last 11months is an indication that the Iranian authorities are using the death penalty to silence political dissidents. The execution of these prisoners of conscience brings the chilling memories of execution of activists, especially Kurdish activists in the early years of the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran and once again opens the wounds of the massacre of Iranian political prisoners during 1980s. These harsh violations of basic human rights and execution will only amplify the demand of Iranian people to end death penalty and free all political prisoners. The Society of human rights in Iran-Southern California expresses it's deep condolences to the families of these political activists and calling on the International community at large United Nations Secretary General, UN Security Council and High Commissioner for Human Rights to hold Iranian government accountable for these crimes against humanity and condemn this latest hideous act.

Letter by Iranian Women’s Rights Activists to Members of the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council

27 April 2010

Your Excellencies,
The shocking news of the Iranian government’s candidacy for membership in ECOSOC’s Commission on Statues of Women (CSW) has astonished women’s rights activists worldwide. According to the available information, ECOSOC members will vote on Iran’s candidacy for a vacant seat from the Asia region on 28 and 29th of April.
We, a group of gender-equality activists, believe that for promotion and development of women’s rights globally, an empty seat for the Asia group on CSW is much preferabe to Iran’s membership.
In the short time available before this vote takes place, the signatories to this letter express their protest and warn against the ramifications of Iran’s membership in this international body.
In recent years, the Iranian government not only has refused to join the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), but has actively opposed it. The Iranian government has earned the international recognition of a gross violator of women’s rights. The government, with discrimination against women codified in its laws, as well as in executive and cultural institutions, has consistently sought to preserve gender inequality in all places, from the family unit to the highest governmental bodies.
Aren’t the government’s actions and laws, as enumerated here, enough cause to demonstarte that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not believe in gender equality: Dicriminatory laws against women such as lack of ability to choose one’s husband, no independent right to education after marraige, no right to divorce, no right to custody, violent treatment of girls and women in public spaces, insitutting quotas for women’s admission at universities, arrest and imprisonments of peaceful women’s rights activists, etc.
In the past decade, many Iranian women’s rights activists have launched several campaigns to remove disriminatory laws and practices in social and political domains, which have affected the global women’s movement.
However, the only standard for membership at CSW appears to be regional quotas and not a government’s record on promoting and protecting women’s rights. A government, that according to much evidence and documentation, has no basic belief in gender equality, will persuit what goals at CSW? We wish to remind you that CSW’s mission is to remove gender inequalities and promote and protect the statues of women.
The Iranian government does not respect or implement the Beijing Decleration and Platform. In practice, this government has doen much to prevent the implementaion of this platform. After fifteen years of gains on this front worldwide, Iran believes that Beijing Platform has been failed.
In recent years, the government has actively sought to justify paternalism and gender-inequality under the guise of traditional values and cultural reletivism. Providing an international platform to such government is a serious threat to women’s rights globally, and not just in Iran.
We, a group of gender-equality activists, caution you that Iran’s membership in CSW is a serious threat to the goals and mission of this institution. The Iranian government will certainly use this oppurtunity to curtail progress and advancement of women.
We write this letter hoping that you will oppose Iran’s membership. If Iran’s membership at CSW is inevitable, then we urge you to require its government to make serious committments to international conventions on gender equality, particularly in implementing the Beijing Decleration and Platform and becoming a party to CEDAW.

Respectfully
please send your signature against this shocking news to the following address:
<mab.ngotc@gmail.com

Kurdish National Congress of North America Commemorates Armenian Genocide

NASHVILLE, TN—The Kurdish National Congress of North America issued the following statement on Saturday commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The KNC, a non-profit and member-driven organization representing Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan living in the United States and Canada, was founded in 1988. Its objective is to unite Kurds living in North America to work for common goals, to promote the idea of a United Free Kurdistan, and to strengthen the voice of all Kurds living in the USA and Canada. The KNC is a democratic organization.

We present the letter bellow:

Honorable Armenian Friends
Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the Kurdish National Congress of North America I would like to extend our heartfelt sympathy to you for the “Armenian Genocide” at the hand of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Dear friends, for Turkey to stubbornly continue to deny the genocide of the Armenians while striving to reconsolidate its position as a democratic nation at the regional and international stages could only be seen as a hypocritical and deceptive maneuver to further solidify its arrogant stand before the world. Because, the fact of the matter is that the world community has become more cognizant and lauder than ever before to support the Armenians and recognizes what the Turkish Ottoman Empire committed against the innocent Armenians was a preplanned, organized, and all out genocidal campaign to eradicate the Armenian roots in the region.

Turkey sheds “crocodile tears” for the Palestinian children and supports the Palestinian cause. However, Turkey’s denial of accepting the responsibility for murdering Armenian children in 1915, and suppressing the very basic human rights of the Kurdish children to speak their native language is inhumane and unjust.

Further, Turkey carries a badge of democracy while eulogizing an old empire that was establish on cruelty and suppression against non-Muslims such the ancient Armenians is morally wrong and cannot be supported by any ethical or legal standard in the modern world.

Furthermore, adhering to an inherently racist and myopic Constitution and deny the Armenian genocide and the existence of more 20 million Kurds in Turkey is an insult to every aspect of human integrity. Therefore, it is imperative for the Turkish authorities to realize that a bright future cannot be built on the ruins of the past. For Turkey to be accepted as a viable member of the democratic and civilized world, Turkey has to accept the responsibility for the Armenian genocide and recognize the Kurdish national and democratic rights.

Kind regards,

Kurdish National Congress of North America
www.kncna.org

http://www.vokradio.com/content/view/1165/23/

Roxana Saberi

The Struggle For Human Rights In Iran

Monday, April 26 at 7:30 PM Royce Hall Free Admission Please call 323-933-8294 for more information.

Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist who was arrested in Iran in January of last year on falsified charges of espionage, will be giving a human rights lecture at Royce Hall on April 26th, 2010. Ms. Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran but later released on appeal in May of 2009. As the keynote speaker of this event, Ms. Saberi will share her experiences regarding her imprisonment and shed light on international human rights abuses, as well as religious and political persecution. Having experienced the biased legal system and horrific confinement conditions that Iran’s political prisoners face, Ms. Saberi will be able to explain Iran’s current culture of intolerance and social suppression. After the 90 minute program she will hold a book signing.

Auril Thompson "painting Life" -World's Women For Life

Auril Thompson painting Life-World's Women For Life -Part 1



Part2.wmvAuril Thompson painting Life-World's Women For Life

Auril Thompson painting Life-World's Women For Life_Part 3.wmv

Soraya Fallah and Cklara Moradian at Cal State Fullerton March 6, 2010

Eren Keskin










Turtle can fly










pictures from all my
Mothers
see on Eren Keskin

"Free Berivan" Protest in LosAngeles, March2010 - VOKRadio

A report by Soraya Fallah:



VOKRadio presents a report on protest at Turkish Consulate in LA by Human Rights Activists to Demand freedome of Kurdish minor,Berivan.For more information please visit www.vokradio.com
On March 24,2010,a coalition of Armenian and Kurdish organizations gathered in front of the Turkish Consulate to demand the release of 15 year old Berivan a young Kurdish girl sentenced to 8 years in prison

This video has been prepared by Soraya Fallah exclusively for VOKRadio

In this video two of the organizer has been interviewed:
Vache Thomassian: he is a Board Member of the Shant Student Association (one of the organizations which cosponsored the event). He has been chairman of the Armenian Youth Federation (another co-organizer of the event). He went to UCBerkeley and he is currently at Loyola Law School.
Sanan Shirinian the chairperson of the United Human Rights Council (UHRC).She is also a member of the Armenian Youth Federation. She currently attend UCLA pursuing a bachelors degree in Women's Studies.

Hppay Newruz

-A message from Hilary Clinton



Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today offered a message of friendship to all those who celebrate Nowruz


Secretary of State Washington, DC March 20, 2010
On behalf of the American people, I offer best wishes to all those around the world celebrating Nowruz. For Iranians, Afghans, Kurds, Azeris, and people across Central Asia, Nowruz marks the beginning of a new year full of promise and possibility. Families and friends will gather to rekindle old ties and make plans for the future. And in the United States, hundreds of thousands of Americans will honor their heritage and history.

The spring equinox is a time of reflection and renewal across cultures and continents – signifying the hope of rebirth, health, and prosperity. This is an opportunity to remember how much we have in common -- the aspirations we all share for a peaceful and prosperous future – and to reaffirm the human rights and fundamental freedoms that are our universal birthright. As the Iranian poet Simin Behbahani writes, “we are all parts of the same body, similar in essence.” On this Nowruz, we honor those common bonds.

As we look to the year ahead, let us redouble our efforts to promote mutual understanding and respect. Working together, we can meet the common challenges and seize the shared opportunities of this new year and this still new century.
Eid-eh Shoma Mobarak

The Day the Sun Never Rose (for the Children of Halabcha

February 3, 2008 by Cklara Moradian

I awoke far before the sun rays could creep in with their playful hands through the thick colorless curtains of my father’s house and bring the message of dawn to our perhaps dreamless sleeps and silently whisper that she has arrived. I awoke and wore a dress of the bluebell’s and violet’s grace and set out to the fields of my mother’s land. I walked among the grass that grew knee high and the crimson flowers who had not yet unveiled from their gentle moonlight rest. With such childlike innocence I flouted like a butterfly that has come to greet the blooming spring. Only days before Nowruj and already I felt revived, already I could smell through the passing breeze the New Year, taste in the melted snow of the racing rivers a new beginning, could touch the purity of my land as I plugged a flower from the fields. I stood far from the city and looked down from a hill, admiring every scent, every breeze, every sight, every inch of what stood before me, of the metamorphosis that I was given the privilege to witness. As the sun was rising and the glorious dawn was withstanding its triumph upon the winter night, an unnatural wind began to blow behind me and my long dark hair and colorful dress moved about violently. My heart began to pound upon my fragile chest as the birth of day was stopped by a monster shaped helicopter, flying right above me towards the city I had first opened my eyes to see. Fear began to entangle itself around me, squeezing my body, making it hard to catch the ever escaping air. The flying monsters continued to follow and without a sound or trace left as sudden as they had come only to return again and again to pierce the fear through me. I could not move and stood where I had first set eyes upon them and as I could no longer see or hear their terrifying sight, I began to run towards my home, hoping to find comfort in my mother’s embrace. I ran as fast as my small feet permitted and as I began to get closer to my city, I could smell the sweet scent of apples and pears but could no longer take long deep breaths and see clearly. My feet began to tremble beneath me and shook as I was walking through the streets of my city. I put my hands on my face covering my mouth and nose and absent minded walked towards my home. There, in the corner of the street, a boy I had often played with, lied motionless, his eyes still open yet hollow, the only movement upon his face was a stream of blood running down his nose…My eyes were burning and tears began to run down my cold cheeks, and as I continued to walk, I was faced with the most terrifying scenes of a morbid city. Another boy carrying a cart was standing, his feet in the same position they had been when he had made his last stop. A man lied faced down, on the concrete of his front yard, a woman, frozen, was sitting in the corner of her door and her spilled milk was still running, a young mother, carrying her child upon her back was half way up the stairs of her house but she remained unmoved, her child was fast asleep. I passed neighbors, classmates, friends, family, no one spoke, no one raised their heads, no one waved or said “hello”, they all lied like statues upon the rocky roads of the streets and the only movement upon the city was the torment of the wind that carried the agonizing sound of shouts, weeping mothers and terrified children who had remained awake. As I was getting closer to my father’s house, I had become somehow empty as a drum and I knew that I would not find comfort in my mother’s embrace, for although my vision was blurry, I could still see enough of the darkness that had come with sunrise. I ran the last few steps inside to find a lethal silence that tore me apart. I fell on my knees and screamed as my mother lied by my father on the breakfast spread, the tea cold, the glass still between my father’s fingers. I continued to scream and cry for I could do nothing else, the room was illuminated by the sky’s light but it created a mocking irony upon the depth of misery that had come upon my world. I shook my father’s cold body, asking him to awaken, telling him that it is too late to still be asleep, yet he remained where he had been. I threw objects around thinking that maybe somehow my mother would awaken and scold me for misbehaving, but no one said a word, no one was there to silence me…

The only survivor of my family, I was left to carry them all to their graves, left to pick up the crumbled pieces of life. I was left, like so many others, in a city that was shaken, broken, left to horror and merciless pain, to mourn for those innocent souls whose only crime was being born. I wonder if I would have been set free if I had been buried by their side today. There was no Nowruj that year or the years that followed. The only ceremonies that we attended were one funeral after another and the only emotion that filled my emptiness was the penetration of pain. So often did I sit before my window and longed to see those crimson flowers once again, but they had all died, on that day when the sun never rose…

This is not just a young girl’s personal story; it is the story of the Kurdish people of Halabcha, of the survivors who were left to carry their loved ones on their bruised knees to mass graves, of the massacre that left the innocent people to clean the bloodshed of the blood thirsty tyrants. It is the story of the Kurdish holocaust and Hiroshima. That Friday morning, on March 16th of 1988, in the city of Halabcha, the city of the strong and brave, the sun did not rise, nor did the winter leave or the spring arrive. That Friday morning in the city of Halabcha was only the beginning of what continued to be a day of genocide upon humanity and it left thousands of Kurds dead and a never ending chain of people sick, and almost two decades later, still no flowers or sincere joy grow . Here we stand, remembering the day the sun never rose and attempt to show our sympathy, strength, our pride, our dignity, which has withstood the test of misery. Here we stand, and although we can not mend the wounds of the Kurdish children of Halabcha, we take a moment of silence to remember them, to remind ourselves that no matter what they do to us, we will never bow down and kneel. How can we ever forgive or forget? We stand here today to raise the voice of the silenced orphans left behind by the corpses of their mothers and fathers. We stand to let them know that they will never be forgotten…

An Appeal on Behalf of those in Irans DEATH R