ONCE AGAIN ON SANCTIONS

http://ghandchi.com/61-Again_Sanctions.htm

 

 

I am sure Dr. Mohammad Parvin of MEHR IRAN organization (http://www.mehr.org) will respond to anyone regarding his view on sanctions, which has been posted on Payvand, along the view of the ones who support  *unconditional* removal of sanctions.  Dr. Parvin has clearly stated that he does *not* want sanctions on foods and medicine, etc.

 

http://www.payvand.com/news/00/jul/1100.html

 

What puzzles me is when people speak of not politicizing sanctions, but are asking for *unconditional* lifting of sanctions. This is exactly the politics of it, when one supports *unconditional* removal of sanctions.  All of this is politics of whitewashing Islamic Republic of Iran, and not saying anything about the barbaric anti-human Rights laws and practices of Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

Don't these people know that in Iran, the *law* allows execution of people for heresy.  Don't they know that the people who have set bounty to kill Salman Rushdie are legally collecting money to pay hit men to kill Salman Rushdie and nobody arrests them.

 

Don't they know that Qessas Laws are practiced in Iran. Here are some pictures of Afghanestan to show one what Qessas is.  Unfortunately I do not have pictures of Iran, but the Islamic Republic of Iran itself makes announcements of its Qessas actions, in its own papers, all the time, so have no doubt about the practice of this barbarism by Iran's Islamic Republic as well:

 

http://www.rawa.org/handcut3.htm

 

Here is what I wrote about sanctions a while back, where I noted that Mandela, even at the last stages of the fall of Apartheid in South Africa, asked the Western countries *not* to lift the sanctions against South Africa:

 

http://www.ghandchi.com/60-sanctions.htm

 

Any punishment of any state, even defense against an aggressor, or a terrorist state, hurts the people of that country as well, but does that mean not to do so, especially when there is no promise or commitment from them to stop such crimes against humanity by them!

 

I am collecting signatures to send a letter to Iran's Parliament to Abolish Qessas Laws.  Let's see how much Iranian government can correct

its violations of human rights, before one can fully support lifting of sanctions against Islamic Republic of Iran:

 

http://www.ghandchi.com/58-QessasPetition.htm

 

I believe that any approach towards Islamic Republic of Iran, and improving relations, should be done *conditionally*.  Even the brother of Iran's president has spoken of gross violations of human rights in Iran, and the blood of Foruhars is still not dry and the info about their murder is still not being openly shared and Akbar Ganji, who questioned it, was sent to jail.

 

It was just a few weeks ago that Iran's vigilantes again attacked the nonviolent gathering of Iranian students with rocks and chains, the same ones who have support of the information ministry and police, the same ones who killed Foruhars, the same ones who threaten Salman Rushdie to death.

 

I think Iranian democratic-minded people need to see a lot more action from Iranian government, in changing barbaric laws, and upholding human rights by removing practices such as tortures, stonings, amputations, and executions, and ending its religious apartheid, before we can support *unconditional* lifting of sanctions against Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

Sam Ghandchi, Publisher

IRANSCOPE

http://www.IRANSCOPE.com

July 24, 2000

 

P.S. Related articles:

http://www.ghandchi.com/319-IRISanctions-plus.htm

 

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* The above article was first posted on SCI (soc.culture.iranian) Usenet newsgroup on July 24, 2000