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Tag: Human Rights
It is Time that Iran be Held Accountable
Posted on November 10, 2020 by admin-hr
Evin, Execution, HRANA, Human Rights, Iran, prisoners
HRANA – Last month the world turned its attention to Iran for its seemingly arbitrary transfer of a detained British-Australian academic. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was detained in September 2018 and is serving a ten-year sentence, was moved from the notorious Evin Prison to an unspecified location. When Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) released the report, nearly every major media publication across the globe once again jumped to denounce her detention. Widespread speculation as to Moore-Gilbert's whereabouts ensued.
As a human rights professional who focuses on Iran, it was gratifying to see such a swift and appropriate response. However, what about the countless grave and horrific human rights violations that happen every day in this country? Violations that are so numerous that they have become seemingly rote.
In the week following Moore-Gilbert's transfer, peaceful protestors outside Iran's Ministry of Petroleum were violently attacked by Regime Security Forces. In the month of October, at least 130 Iranians were arrested for activities related to their political or ideological beliefs; 83 of which involved the detention of individuals participating in peaceful gatherings related to the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
Iran carried out 19 hangings in the month of October alone, sentencing an additional 8 to that same fate throughout the month.
At least 12 members of the Bahá'í religious minority were barred from entering university based solely on their religious beliefs. One man received 80 lashes for converting to Christianity; a thief was sentenced to having his hand amputated.
Iranian courts tried more than 70 political cases which resulted in convictions that totaled 295 years in prison and 2,590 lashes. A cleric was summoned to court for suggesting there was no problem with women riding a bicycle, an activity for which all women in the country are banned. Two women, sentenced to 33 months each for writing a letter requesting the resignation of the Supreme Leader, were summoned by authorities to begin serving their time. A teacher was sentenced to 45 lashes for drawing a cartoon.
This list is by no means exhaustive.
These violations are not a secret. HRANA, the very source that initially reported on Moore-Gilbert's move, reported and continues to report on the numerous human rights violations happening daily in Iran against Iranians, as well as dual and foreign nationals. There remains little to no response.
Detained British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert
Why is this?
I do not have the answer to that question, but I do know the differences these cases bear. The violations listed above are against Iranian citizens; Moore-Gilbert is a foreigner. Her case is, therefore, more appealing to the press it garners a more widespread response – and outcry.
I'm reminded of a quote from Howard Bakerville, a young American who famously became a martyr of Iran's Constitutional Revolution; he once said, "The only difference between me and these people is my place of birth, and that is not a big difference." Today I fear there are times, unacceptably so, that this is the difference between life and death, between respect for rights and deprivation thereof. Will the world only shine the light on Iran when a Westerner is tangled in its web? Under international human rights law, States have a duty to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of those within their jurisdiction. It's time that Iran be held accountable to its own citizens just as it is to those dual and foreign nationals that find themselves trapped within the confines of a state where deprivation of fundamental human rights continues to be the norm.
Moore-Gilbert has since been returned to Evin Prison. Her return, much like her move, was documented extensively. The reason for her move remains unknown.
Skylar Thompson
Skylar Thompson is a Senior Advocacy Coordinator with Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI). For inquiries please contact email: [email protected]
Posted in OtherTagged Evin, Execution, HRANA, Human Rights, Iran, prisonersLeave a Comment on It is Time that Iran be Held Accountable
18 Dervishes starving to death; prison warden says "So what?"
Posted on September 23, 2018 by admin-hr
Prisoners, Religious Minorities
dervish hunger strike, dervish iran, Gonabadi Dervish, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, prison hunger strike, prisoner hunger strike, prisoner of conscience, religious minorities in iran
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – In the past month alone, eighteen hunger striking Gonabadi Dervish prisoners in Iran have been beaten with batons, tased, and electrically shocked – and now, the prison's warden has outwardly stated that it is not his concern if they die.
The prisoners were first beaten by prison guards at Great Tehran Penitentiary on August 29th, after they held a sit-in to protest the beating of female members of their religious minority in Gharchak Prison in Tehran's east. After guards violently broke up the sit-in, 18 Dervishes were transferred to solitary confinement, and all 18 went on hunger strike in protest. To date, they have not had a single meal, or any food at all, in more than 30 days.
When some of their fellow cellmates expressed concerns about the physical conditions of some of the hunger strikers, the prison's warden, known only as Farzadi, responded thusly: "So what if they die?"
According to Majzooban Noor, a news website that focuses on Dervish issues, the hunger strikers are suffering from vertigo and reduced blood pressure. Specifically, the physical condition of Mojtaba Biranvand has been described as critical. He had previously been sent to a clinic due to severe physical weakness. Refusing to break his hunger strike, he has rejected supplemental injections.
Abbas Dehghan, another hunger striker held in the same penitentiary, has only one kidney and is greatly suffering from the toll the strike has taken on him.
The August 29th attack targeted Dervishes in ward 3 of the prison. Eighteen Dervishes from Section 4 who protested the treatment of their fellow prisoners were also sent to solitary.
Previously, on September 1st, HRANA reported that three Dervishes had gone on hunger strike: Ali Bolboli, Salehodin Moradi and Mohammad Reza Darvishi. On September 2nd, Majzooban Noor added six more hunger strikers to the list: Abbas Dehghan, Ali Mohammad Shahi, Mojtaba Biranvand, Ali Karimi, Jafar Ahmadi, and Ebrahim Allahbakhshi, On Monday, three more people joined them: Heydar Teymoori, Majid Yarahmadi, and Saeed Soltanoor. On Tuesday, five more dervishes joined the hunger strike: Babak Taghian, Ehsan Malekmohammadi, Sekhavat Salimi, Reza Bavi and Akbar Dadashi. The last Dervish to join was Majid Rashidi.
The Dervishes demand the end to the house arrest of their spiritual leader, Noor Ali Tabandeh. Their other demands include releasing female dervish prisoners from Gharchak Prison and reuniting all imprisoned dervishes in one single section of the GTP.
All of the Dervishes were arrested in relation to what has become known as the Golestan Haftom incident, named after the street on which it occurred. The incident occurred when a gathering of several hundred Gonabadi Dervishes was violently confronted by Iranian police and plainclothes members of the Revolutionary Guard's Basij faction outside the residence of their spiritual leader, Noor Ali Tabandeh. The Dervishes had gathered to prevent his possible arrest.
In the violence that followed, hundreds were injured and many arrested. Though Iranian judicial authorities estimate that around 300 people have been arrested in connection with Golestan Haftom, HRANA has thus far published the names of 324 arrestees and estimates that the actual number is considerably higher.qqqgonabado
Posted in Prisoners, Religious MinoritiesTagged dervish hunger strike, dervish iran, Gonabadi Dervish, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, prison hunger strike, prisoner hunger strike, prisoner of conscience, religious minorities in iranLeave a Comment on 18 Dervishes starving to death; prison warden says "So what?"
Against doctor's orders, authorities take Arash Sadeghi back to prison after surgery
Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Arash Sadeghi, golrokh iraee, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, Prisoners of conscience
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Arash Sadeghi, a human rights activist imprisoned in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, underwent a critical operation on September 12th for malignant bone cancer at Imam Khomeini hospital and was returned to prison just three days later, against the orders of his doctor.
According to an informed source, an individual introducing himself a judicial official insisted on the early transfer against the clear orders of doctors.
Sadeghi's doctor had instructed that he be hospitalized under close medical supervision for at least 25 days following a very difficult surgery, said the source. According to the source, the doctor explained that Arash needs to stay in the hospital as he requires a medical team in case of stroke, infection, or severe fever. Furthermore, the medical team needs the 25 days to determine whether a patient will require chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or additional surgery."
A source with information about Sadeghi's condition told HRANA that specialists had determined Sadeghi needed to be hospitalized three days prior to his surgery, due to an irregular heartbeat and severe weakness, so Sadeghi could be prepared for the intensive surgery through proper nutrition and vitamin injections.
The surgical department had contacted the prison several times on September 8th, asking for Sadeghi's transfer. Prison officials claimed, however, that the prosecution office had not issued the necessary permits for his early hospitalization. Just one day remaining until his surgery, the authorities finally transferred Sadeghi to the hospital on September 11th.
The source added that there was a heavy presence of plainclothes agents, whose organizational affiliation was unclear, in the cancer department of the hospital since early Tuesday, before Arash arrived.
Sadeghi's surgery time had been given to another patient due to his late transfer, however, the doctor responsible for Sadeghi reportedly managed to secure an operating table. Sadeghi underwent a 7.5-hour operation, beginning on the morning of Wednesday, September 12th. Doctors removed a bone tumor from his right arm and collarbone, and samples were collected from areas suspected of metastasis, such as his rib cage and underarm. Bone taken from his pelvis was mixed with platelets and special [injectable] cement to replace the removed sections of his arm bone.
The source said that agents imposed restrictions on Sadeghi from the moment the surgery ended, thus complicating his recovery process. They prevented his stay in the recovery room as required by post-surgery procedure.
"While he was still unconscious, they handcuffed and shackled his left hand and leg, and blockaded the area around his bed, a move that prevented his doctor's required constant checkups, and which was protested by his doctor," the source said.
According to the source, Sadeghi suffered from wounds similar to bedsores from having to lie on his back due to handcuffs on one hand and operation bandages on the other.
Sadeghi was allowed to use the bathroom only three times a day, accompanied by three agents each time. The inhumane conditions and the restrictions imposed on Sadeghi provoked negative reactions from the hospital staff, and in several cases led to verbal altercations between them and the security agents.
Arash Sadeghi was not allowed any visitors during his stay at the hospital. His wife, Golrokh Iraee, remains imprisoned at Evin Prison serving a six year sentence.
Posted in Freedom of Expression, PrisonersTagged Arash Sadeghi, golrokh iraee, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, Prisoners of conscienceLeave a Comment on Against doctor's orders, authorities take Arash Sadeghi back to prison after surgery
Baha'i Crackdown Intensifies with Three More Arrests in Karaj
baha'i arrests iran, baha'is in iran, Evin Prison, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, religious minorities in iran
Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) – Crackdowns on Iran's Baha'i community continued this week with the arrest of three residents of the northwestern Tehran suburb of Karaj, who were transferred to Evin Prison on Sunday, September 16th and are now being held on approximately $23,000 USD (3 billion IRR) bail.
Maryam Ghaffarmanesh, Jamileh Pakrou, and Kianoush Salmanzadeh–participants in an environmental education session led by Ghaffarmanesh and hosted in the private residence of Ramin Sedighi–were arrested when intelligence agents showed up demanding their cell phones and pressing them to fill out personal information forms.
After confiscating Sedighi's hard drive, pamphlets, and religious materials, the agents moved on to search Pakrou's residence, a close source told HRANA.
Ghaffarmanesh, Pakrou, and Salmanzadeh were transferred to Evin Prison. Ghaffarmanesh's family learned of her bail some 20 hours later, on a call with her from ward 209 of the prison.
The same day, HRANA reported that intelligence ministry agents had arrested and searched the homes of six Baha'i residents of the central Iranian city of Shiraz: Soudabeh Haghighat, Noora Pourmoradian, Elaheh Samizadeh, Ehsan Mahboob Rahvafa, and a married couple, Navid Bazmandegan and Bahareh Ghaderi.
Shiraz had already seen a string of Baha'i arrests one month earlier that landed a number of its residents in an intelligence ministry detention center.
On the morning of September 19th, Baha'i Yazd resident Mehran Bandi Amirabadi was released after being held in custody for 43 days without a warrant. After being tried with six other Baha'i citizens in Branch 3 of Yazd Appeals Court, located in central Iran, Amirabadi was sentenced to one and a half years in prison and one year in exile to be served in Divandareh, a remote city in Iranian Kurdistan.
Mehran Bandi Amirabadi
Iranian Baha'i citizens are systematically deprived of religious freedoms, in contravention of international treaties including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Based on unofficial sources, more than 300,000 Baha'is live in Iran. Iran's Constitution, however, only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not acknowledge the Baha'i faith as an official religion. Consequently, the rights of Baha'is are systematically violated in Iran.
Posted in Prisoners, Religious MinoritiesTagged baha'i arrests iran, baha'is in iran, Evin Prison, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, religious minorities in iranLeave a Comment on Baha'i Crackdown Intensifies with Three More Arrests in Karaj
Author and Humorist Kiyumars Marzban Detained
Cultural, Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Evin Prison, freedom of expression, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, iranian filmmaker, iranian satirist, kioomars marzban, kiyumars marzban, prisoner of conscience
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – On August 26, 2018, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence forces arrested author and satirist Kiyumars Marzban in his home, confiscating several personal items including his mobile phone and laptop.
Last year, Marzban, 26, came back to Iran after eight years abroad to visit his ailing grandmother. While he entered the country without event, Branch 1 of the Evin Prosecutor's Interrogation office opened up a case file and arranged for his arrest within his first year back home.
While Marzban alleges he never traveled to the U.S., a state-affiliated news site has accused him of "Networking in Iran" on contract with American partners. The same news site accuses Marzban, who also teaches art, of entering Iran with the intent to sensationalize and divide the community with his classes. As of the date of this report, no further information was available about the reasons for Marzban's arrest.
Human Rights Watch revealed in a press release that he has not been allowed to visit his family yet.
Kiyumars Marzban began his career with filmmaking in 2005. By 2009 he had produced eight short films and left Iran to develop his portfolio in Malaysia. Shortly afterward, via Facebook, he launched the world's premier Persian-language comedy podcast, called "Radio Sangetab" (Sangtab, the name of a village in northern Iran, is also a cooking method using hot stones). His works include "Kham Bodam Pokhte Shodam Balke Pasandideh Shodam" (I was raw, I became ripe and rather pleasant) and "Aziz Jan" (Dear darling).
Posted in Cultural, Freedom of Expression, PrisonersTagged Evin Prison, freedom of expression, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, iranian filmmaker, iranian satirist, kioomars marzban, kiyumars marzban, prisoner of conscienceLeave a Comment on Author and Humorist Kiyumars Marzban Detained
Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!
Baha'i Arrests Persist in Karaj
Baha'i, baha'is in iran, Bahais, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, Jamileh Pakrou, Kianoush Salmanzadeh., Maryam Ghaffaramanesh, peyman manavi, religious minorities in iran
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- Iranian authorities continued in their raid of the Iranian Baha'i community with the arrest of another Baha'i resident of Karaj, a northwest suburb of Tehran, on Sunday, September 16th, 2018.
An informed source told HRANA that Ministry of Intelligence agents raided the Andisheh Karaj residence of Peyman Manavi on Sunday, September 16th, confiscating his mobile phones, personal computers, and books before taking him into custody at an unknown location. The source observed more than 10 arrest warrants listed on papers the agents were holding.
In last few hours, HRANA reported on the arrest and transfer to Evin prison of three other Baha'i Karaj residents: Maryam Ghaffaramanesh, Jamileh Pakrou, and Kianoush Salmanzadeh.
Posted in Religious MinoritiesTagged Baha'i, baha'is in iran, Bahais, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, Jamileh Pakrou, Kianoush Salmanzadeh., Maryam Ghaffaramanesh, peyman manavi, religious minorities in iranLeave a Comment on Baha'i Arrests Persist in Karaj
Reformist Ex-deputy Minister Summoned for Interrogation
Freedom of Expression, Other
Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, Mostafa Tajzadeh
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Mostafa Tajzadeh, a leading reformist politician who was previously imprisoned on political grounds for seven years, has been summoned by Branch 4 of the interrogation office of the city of Qazvin, 90 miles northwest of Tehran.
Tajzadeh is a leading member of a group known as the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO), as well as a central council member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF). Both organizations have been banned by the Iranian authorities.
On September 18th, Tajzadeh published a note on social media attributing the summons to a speech he had made in the house of Ayatollah Ghavami.
"The note says that I have five days to present myself, otherwise I am to be arrested," his note said.
Tajzadeh complained about being summoned in the same year that Iran's Supreme Leader issued new year's vow not to arrest citizens exercising their freedom of speech.
"It will soon be known who this summons order came from," Tajzadeh wrote.
After Tajzadeh's September 15th speech, he reported that the Intelligence Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps summoned a number of those in attendance.
Tajzadeh, who was a deputy interior minister during the self-proclaimed reformist government of President Mohammad Khatami, was previously arrested amid widespread protests known as the Green Movement that broke out across Iran after the 2009 presidential election. Convicted of both "gathering and collusion aimed at disrupting national security" and "propaganda against the regime," he was sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Salavati in Branch 15 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court. An appeals court later confirmed the sentence.
While in prison, he wrote critical letters addressed to Iran's Supreme Leader, which put him on the radar of the IRGC. This culminated in an additional charge of "propaganda against the regime," for which he was convicted and subsequently sentenced to a year in prison by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Moghiseh. He served a total of seven years in prison before his June 4, 2016 release.
Tajzadeh was also summoned to court last December, pursuant to complaints from Tehran prosecutors.
Posted in Freedom of Expression, OtherTagged Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, Mostafa TajzadehLeave a Comment on Reformist Ex-deputy Minister Summoned for Interrogation
Intensified Muharram Rituals Becoming Unbearable for Residents
Freedom of Expression, Other, Religious Minorities
Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, muharram in iran, Religious Minorities
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Muharram in Iran has so far delivered on its annual promise of month-long public dirges and processionals in honor of the 3rd Shiite Imam Hossein, who died in battle in the 7th century AD. Filling side streets and alleyways with self-flagellation, drumbeats, and wailing, observers of this religious holiday have more recently come to serve the additional purpose of encroaching on religious minority groups.
If noise pollution, traffic jams, and road blockades don't seem major issues on their face, religious-minority citizens and eyewitness reports describe Muharram as a month-long "psychological persecution" that has enjoyed a history of strong government sponsorship, especially in non-Shiite locales [1].
Ararat, Tehran resident and member of a religious minority he preferred not to name, told HRANA that the eve of Muharram this year turned "ghastly" when the ceremonies reached his home on Ejarehdar Street and jolted his pregnant wife from her sleep.
"Suddenly, the windows started to tremble from the incessant drumming. You cannot imagine how she was woken up, and how she was shaking," Ararat said. "Worried that something could have happened to the baby, we decided to go to the hospital."
Making their way through streets clogged with parades, the route to the hospital that night was a long one.
"We moved in with my wife's parents in Jajroud [north of Iran]. We were worried something terrible could happen, so we escaped for the safety of our baby."
The Muharram rituals, according to Ararat, were bearable until a few years ago. Over the past decade, due in part to the failing economy, religious hubs have multiplied in tandem with a decreased public interest in worship. To address waning public participation, Ararat said, congregations have purchased audio equipment to broadcast their Muharram lamentations across greater distances.
"Most congregations consist of only a dozen people with flags and drums, slapping their chests or engaging in self-flagellation," Ararat said. "They are led by a van carrying loudspeakers blasting the monodies [melodic laments]."
Revelations last year that the city of Tehran had given $14 million USD (55 billion IRR) to religious congregations caused such a stir among Iranians that the current mayor and city council have made clear that such funding would not be available this year. According to HRANA reports and eyewitness accounts, however, the disproportionate national and municipal budgets allocated to associations funding Muharram rituals has already mobilized the practice of such rites into a deliberate and systematic violation of religious minority rights.
Through its construction projects alone, city administrators seem to harbor a wish to maintain Shiite presence in neighborhoods where very few of them live. As one Isfahan tourist put it, Christian, Jewish, and other minority localities look deceivingly like the most Shiite-dominated areas of the city. Shiite congregations dot the map of Tehran's Felestin (Palestine) neighborhood, which is home to many Jewish residents; the Villa neighborhood in Tehran, predominantly inhabited by Christian Armenians, is home to three Shiite mourning congregations; and several Shiite religious associations are housed in Tabriz's Barnava district, as well as in the Christian-Armenian neighborhoods of Julfa and Isfahan's Sangtarashha quarter.
As eyewitnesses attest to a growing fervor in sectarian rituals this year, and as religious-minority neighborhoods become host to some of the largest, most cacophonous dirges in the city, the slight against minority residents is twofold: their local taxes are not only being funneled away from projects that would otherwise benefit them, they are also being pooled into the government's ideological propaganda campaign. Not to mention the noise.
"You cannot believe the horrendous conditions of our street," said Ararat, who lives on an arterial sidestreet of Tehran's Imam Hussein Square, one of many feeder streets into a larger collective mourning ceremony that brings loudly-wailing passersby, at all hours of the day and night, to the square. "I tried to reason with the parade administrators, but they told us it was all for Imam Hussein. They claimed there was nothing we could do, and advised us to stay up these nights to reap our benefits in the afterlife!"
An atheist Tabriz resident told HRANA that in order to escape the 24/7 stream of noise this year, he retreated to a vacation home and took a 10-day leave from work.
"Perhaps those who are religious won't believe me, but I can't stand even a second of monodies and chest slapping. We have seen enough of this on TV, at school, and at our universities. Every year, the number of congregations [that carry out these activities] increases. It is as though, by virtue of not being Muslim Shiites, we have no rights, and we do not even exist."
Government backing of these observances not only violates the rights of religious minorities acknowledged in the Constitution–namely Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians–but also infringes on the rights stipulated in constitutional articles 19 [2] and 20 [3] pertaining to all Iranian citizens, including Baha'is, Dervishes, Yareshan, Mandayis, and others not expressly protected by law.
[1] Heya'at, religious associations or congregations, are formed via municipal permit process prior to Muharram, the Islamic month in lunar calendar marked by rituals commemorating Imam Hossein. The rituals include the broadcast of loud monodies broadcast through loudspeakers and processions held in the streets, where participants clad in black walk the streets while slapping their chests and chanting.
[2] Article 19: The people of Iran enjoy equal rights, regardless of the tribe or ethnic group to which they belong. Color, race, language, and other such considerations shall not be grounds for special privileges.
[3] Article 20: Members of the nation, whether men or women, are equally protected by the law. They enjoy all the human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that are in compliance with the Islamic criteria.
Posted in Freedom of Expression, Other, Religious MinoritiesTagged Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, muharram in iran, Religious MinoritiesLeave a Comment on Intensified Muharram Rituals Becoming Unbearable for Residents
Anemic Political Prisoner Denied Medical Treatment on 10th Day of Hunger Strike
Freedom of Expression, Other, Prisoners, Women
Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, iran protests, janujary protests, Mahin-Taj Ahmadpour, Political Prisoners
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – On the shore of the Caspian Sea in the city of Tonekabon, authorities at Nashtaroud Prison are still withholding medical care from political prisoner Mahin-Taj Ahmadpour, who has now been on hunger strike for ten days.
Sentenced to 10 months in prison for her participation in the January protests, Ahmadpour has been on hunger strike since September 10th, in protest of her restricted access to both medical care and the prison telephone.
Her strike is also a revolt against prison authorities who, as a form of coercion or harassment, reportedly threatened to open new charges against her.
An informed source told HRANA that prison officials have displayed apathy toward Ahmadpour's anxiety about her condition. "On Thursday, September 13th, Ms. Ahmadpour felt sick and asked prison authorities for a transfer to an outside hospital, or to allow her family to bring medications to her, but the authorities ignored her pleas," the source said.
Concerned at her frail state and steep drop in blood pressure, Ahmadpour's ward mates brought her to authorities again in hopes of obtaining her treatment. A few hours later, the ward mates learned she had instead been transferred to solitary confinement.
"They said that she would be held there until she broke her hunger strike," the source said. "She was sent back to the ward last night, without having been treated, and still on strike."
Per her treatment plan for anemia, Ahmadpour should receive seven units of blood every month. An informed told HRANA that monthly blood infusions were also recommended for her as a preventative measure against leukemia. Despite her diagnosis and supporting medical documentation, however, prison authorities are adamant about denying her requests for a medical transfer.
Mahin-Taj Ahmadpour is a 46-year-old resident of Tonekabon. A peddler by trade, she was arrested along with 14 other residents during widespread rallies that took place in January 2018 across Iran, known as the January Protests. The Revolutionary Court of Tonekabon sentenced eight of these arrestees to 28 months' imprisonment, divided among the defendants. Branch 101 of Criminal Court No. 2 of Tonekabon, presided over by Judge Ebrahimi, also sentenced six of the arrestees to 24 collective months of prison time.
Ahmadpour was first sentenced May 2, 2018, in Branch 101 of Tonekabon Criminal Court No. 2 to serve a six-month prison sentence on a charge of "disrupting the public peace through participation in an illegal gathering." On August 11, 2018, Tunekabon's Revolutionary Court compounded the sentence with four months' imprisonment for "propaganda against the regime." As evidence against her, the court cited a combination of law enforcement reports and images and video taken during the January protests in Tonekabon.
HRANA previously reported on Ms. Mahin-Taj Ahmadpour's third day of hunger strike in Nashtaroud Prison.
Posted in Freedom of Expression, Other, Prisoners, WomenTagged Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, iran protests, janujary protests, Mahin-Taj Ahmadpour, Political PrisonersLeave a Comment on Anemic Political Prisoner Denied Medical Treatment on 10th Day of Hunger Strike
Journalist Motahereh Shafiei Walks away from Appeal with Suspended Sentence
freedom of expression, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, iranian journalists, jailed journalists, motahereh shafie, persecuted journalists
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – The former sentence of Motahereh Shafiei, editor of the politics beat of the Arman newspaper in Iran, was appealed to a six-month suspended prison term Monday, September 17th, Ensaf News reports.
Shafiei was previously tried and sentenced to six months in prison, plus a two-year ban on both media-related and political activity, by Judge Salavati in Branch 15 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court.
As of the date of this report, there are no details available on her charges or the reason behind her conviction. She is among a group of reformist journalists arrested in 2012 by the Ministry of Intelligence during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency.
Fars News Agency, an organization with close ties to the Iranian security establishment, reported in 2012 that these journalists were being investigated for "their contacts with foreign media."
Posted in Freedom of ExpressionTagged freedom of expression, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Iran, iran human rights, iranian journalists, jailed journalists, motahereh shafie, persecuted journalistsLeave a Comment on Journalist Motahereh Shafiei Walks away from Appeal with Suspended Sentence


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This Jan. 14, 2015 file photo shows El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, Calif.
10-Year-Old: 1; El Capitan: 0
Newser — Arden Dier
A 10-year-old has conquered the massive rock wall that is El Capitan, a dangerous challenge even for rock-climbing legends. Selah Schneiter, whose climbing-guide father had her in harnesses soon after she could walk, had dreamed of scaling the 3,000-foot granite rock face in Yosemite National Park since she was 6 or 7, and finally put in a hard five days' work last week, reports the Fresno Bee.
"There were a few times where I would be sore and tired and sunburned, and that would kind of get me going a little bonkers. But overall, it was just great to be up there away from the world," says Selah, whose dream was achieved at 5:45pm on June 12.
She's the youngest documented person to climb El Capitan's "Nose route," up the center of the rock face, according to Outside, which reports an 11-year-old boy climbed the same route twice in 2001.
The climb—involving aid and free climbing, and ropes for protection—was extra special for Selah since it was the first one her parents did together, per ABC News.
"The family history behind it really made me want to have this experience, and feel the way that my mom and my dad felt when they were up there together," she tells the Bee.
"She was just so upbeat … she just kept plugging away," adds dad Mike Schneiter, who guides out of Colorado. He accompanied his daughter—camping out on a portaledge (essentially a hanging cot)—along with family friend Mark Regier.
And while Selah found the whole endeavor rather difficult, she says "it doesn't take necessarily a super special person to do something like that. You have to put your mind to it." Once at the top, however, her mind drifted.
"I want pizza," she said, per Outside. "I've been dreaming about it forever."
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This article originally appeared on Newser: 10-Year-Old: 1; El Capitan: 0

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text:
Here's The Deal With Your PMS Symptoms
Story from Body
Everything That's Happening To Your Body During PMS — & How To Deal
Sara Coughlin
Women are fed a lot of platitudes during their Time Of The Month — your period is a natural sign of your womanhood, it's a beautiful reminder that you can bring life into this world, and so on. And though it's true that in some ways your period is pretty rad, there are plenty of things you probably wouldn't miss if they mysteriously disappeared — namely, all of your PMS symptoms.
PMS, or premenstrual syndrome, is a common phenomenon: roughly 15 out of every 20 women who menstruate experience at least some of the many signs of it, per the National Library of Medicine. So you're not alone if, among other things, your breasts hurt, your head hurts, you feel extra emotional, or your stomach feels like it's revolting against you in the seven to 10 days leading up to your "special time."
For the majority of women, PMS symptoms are minor. In fact, some women report feeling their best and most clearheaded during the premenstrual phase of their cycles. But for others, PMS is frustrating, and for still others, it's severe enough to interfere with activities.
While experts think cycling hormones probably have something to do with PMS, they're not sure exactly what's behind it. For example, studies show that women who experience it don't necessarily have abnormal levels of hormones. "We don't really know what causes PMS as a general thing, so all of the theories are just that — they're theories," Raquel B. Dardik, MD, clinical associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone's Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health, tells Refinery29. Various other factors, like stress levels, other medical conditions, even cultural influences seem to play a role. Women born into Western cultures like the U.S. tend to experience more mood swings, for example, suggesting that there's something specific to our pressures at play.
You should never hesitate to talk to a doctor if your periods have recently become especially severe or suddenly irregular. Hiccups happen, but major shifts can be a sign of a medical issue like a pregnancy, an infection, or something else. Dr. Dardik explains that "the most important thing is for people to actually track their symptoms along with their cycle." Doing so will help you differentiate something that is premenstrual syndrome [from] something that's a lot more chronic and should be evaluated."
But if you're wondering how to ride out those less troublesome, but still nagging, PMS symptoms, look no further. Here are some tips for solving symptoms, and more info on why they're happening to you in the first place.
PMS Physical Mental Health Symptoms
Body • Beauty • The Latest • Wellness
written by Sara Coughlin
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Gunma (群馬) Prefecture is situated at what is almost the center of Japan. It is also part of north part of Kanto region. Because there is no sea side but surrounded by mountains, there are many beautiful natures. Because of the pure water from those mountains, there are many food you can enjoy, like soba or udon. Wood products like creative Kokeshi is also one of the interesting face of Gunma Prefecture.
Moutains range across the northwestern part of the prefecture. Most notable are the three Jyomo mountains of Mt Akagi, Mt Haruna and Mt. Myogi. They are host to over four hundred rivers of every size, almost all of which converge with the Tone River. THe mountain rivers of Gunma Prefecture are both beautiful and rich in variety. Most hot springs can be found throughout the prefecture.


text:
Newsline - May 23, 1995
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 99, 23 May 1995
YELTSIN VETOES DUMA ELECTORAL LAW.
President Boris Yeltsin vetoed the Duma electoral law and plans to send amendments back to the legislature, ITAR-TASS reported on 22 May quoting reliable sources in the Kremlin. Yeltsin objects to three features of the version approved by the Duma, according to presidential chief of staff Sergei Filatov. First, he believes that electing 50% of the Duma members by party ticket is too many. Second, he wants to peg the necessary turnout for the elections to be considered valid at 50%, rather than the current bill's proposal of 25%. Third, Yeltsin objects to the provision that requires public servants and government officials who run for the Duma to suspend their professional activities two months before the elections. Since Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and most of his government are running for the Duma, Filatov argued that such a requirement would leave Russia without leadership. Yeltsin's veto was unexpected because his aides had been saying he would sign the law and immediately propose amendments to correct the features he found unacceptable. * Robert Orttung
RYBKIN CALM ABOUT VETO.
Even before Yeltsin had vetoed the law, Duma Speaker Ivan Rybkin said he did not see "anything special" in the president's move. He told Interfax on 22 May that electing only 150 members on party lists is "quite acceptable." Nor did he object to making changes to address Yeltsin's other concerns. However, Galina Starovoitova, Co-Chair of the Democratic Russia Party, said Yeltsin's proposals could wreck the elections and increase the chances of another coup attempt. She called on all parties to demand that the president "not create obstacles to free elections." * Robert Orttung
ALL-RUSSIAN PEOPLE'S CONGRESS FOUNDED.
Promising to promote the interests of the middle class and revive Russian science and culture, the All-Russian People's Congress (VNK) held its founding conference in Moscow, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on 23 May. Duma deputy Nikolai Stolyarov, formerly of the New Regional Policy faction, will lead the new movement. Unlike many political parties, which are hoping to receive the necessary 5% of the vote nationwide to enter the Duma from party lists, the VNK will concentrate its resources on electing Duma deputies in single-member constituencies. Stolyarov said his group will cooperate with "a broad spectrum of organizations" interested in "stabilizing the situation" in Russia. * Laura Belin
BABURIN: "UNITE NATIONAL AND SOVIET VALUES."
Russian Public Union (ROS) leader Sergei Baburin told an interviewer in the 20 May edition of Pravda that his party wishes to form an electoral bloc with "patriotic" and "left-wing" organizations. Baburin said he regretted that the Communist and Agrarian parties plan to campaign for parliament independently. He named Stanislav Terekhov's Officers' Union as a possible partner but rejected cooperation with Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party or Alexander Rutskoi's Derzhava movement. Baburin said Russia's revival depends on uniting "our national traditions with the values of the Soviet period and the practical achievements of the Soviet Union." * Laura Belin
CHANCES OF POLITICAL PARTIES DURING ELECTIONS ASSESSED.
The democratic parties have a strong chance of doing well in the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to an analysis of the results of previous elections, Izvestiya reported on 23 May. Izvestiya identified the fragmentation of the democratic parties themselves and the possibility of electoral fraud on the part of the federal and local executive branch authorities as posing a threat to the democratic parties' chances. Assuming that the elections are ultimately conducted honestly, the paper recommends that the democrats overcome their disunity by conducting primaries to ascertain which of their candidates is the most popular and then rally behind him or her in the December elections. In an analysis of Russia's political spectrum, Moskovsky komsomolets gives good chances to Gennady Zyuganov's Communist Party, especially outside the major cities. The paper predicts that Vladimir Zhirinovsky's party will have greatly reduced representation in the new Duma. Chernomyrdin's bloc is also unlikely to attract mass support among the voters. * Robert Orttung
RUSSIA TO CONTINUE NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH IRAN.
Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Viktor Mikhailov announced on 22 May that Russia intends to sign a contract later this year to build a 40 megawatt research light-water nuclear reactor in Iran, Interfax and AFP reported the same day. Mikhailov accused the West of inconsistency in acting to thwart Russian plans to train some 20 to 40 Iranian experts, while "thousands" are studying in the West. Responding to criticisms that Iran lacks the funds to pay for the Bushehr power reactors, Mikhailov said the Iranians will pay "because it is a matter of prestige for them." Contradicting earlier statements from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mikhailhov said no decision has been made on whether to supply Iran with gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment. He argued that the centrifuges are unrelated to nuclear weapons and even Germany and Japan have them. * Michael Mihalka
DUMA BUDGET COMMITTEE CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT.
The Duma Budget Committee has accused the government of exaggerating progress in cutting the budget deficit and stabilizing the economy, international media reported on 22 May. In a draft resolution responding to a cabinet report on the implementation of the budget in the first quarter, the committee said that although revenues exceeded planned levels by 3%, that reflected the sale of gold and profits from currency speculation rather than improved economic performance, Interfax reported. The committee noted that revenues from privatization and import and export tariffs were lower than planned and that government spending was underfinanced by 18%. It also challenged the government's assertion that it will finance the budget deficit from noninflationary sources, noting that deficit financing is 36% below target. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry said it intends to make 50.4 trillion rubles ($10 billion) available for government spending in the second quarter, that is 91% of planned expenditure. * Penny Morvant
TAX ARREARS CONTINUE TO GROW.
According to the Federal Tax Service, the amount of taxes owed to the federal budget grew from 7 trillion rubles ($1.4 billion) at the beginning of the year to 16.3 trillion rubles ($3.2 billion) by 1 May, Interfax reported on 22 May. Tax arrears to budgets at all levels totaled 28.5 trillion rubles ($5.7 billion). VAT arrears amounted to 8.5 trillion rubles ($1.7 billion) and profits tax arrears to 3.4 trillion rubles ($670 million). The government is currently debating changes in the tax system to make collection more efficient. * Penny Morvant
TRADE UNION ELECTION PLANS.
Mikhail Shmakov, the chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FNPR), called on 22 May for regional unions to support the association Russian Trade Unions in the election campaign, Interfax reported. He said the federation had signed a declaration of intent to form an electoral bloc with Vladimir Shcherbakov's Russian United Industrialists' Party and Yury Petrov's Union of Realists and that it is still considering the possibility of cooperating with other blocs. The FNPR will finalize its election platform at a meeting of its general council on 1 June. * Penny Morvant
YELTSIN RENOMINATES PARAMONOVA AS CENTRAL BANK HEAD.
Presidential aide Alexander Livshits said that President Yeltsin intends to renominate Tatyana Paramonova for the post of Central Bank head, Segodnya reported on 20 May. Paramonova has been acting head since Viktor Gerashchenko was dismissed in the wake of "Black Tuesday" last October. The Duma rejected her candidacy the first time round in protest at the dismissal of her predecessor. Paramonova's performance as bank head has generally been positively assessed, and Yeltsin's renomination of her is viewed as evidence of his commitment to curbing inflation. Segodnya argued that if Paramonova's appointment is approved, tension is likely to increase between the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank, as the bank attempts to restrain the inflationary aspirations of the executive. In earlier confrontations between the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank, the former was the stronger defender of financial stabilization policies. * Penny Morvant
CENTRAL BANK HEAD ON RESERVE REQUIREMENTS.
Paramonova said on 22 May that a sharp reduction in the compulsory reserves of commercial banks at the Central Bank was out of the question at present, Interfax reported. She said such a move would "intentionally promote higher inflation . . . We cannot endanger the country's economic interests to meet those of major commercial banks." The Association of Russian Banks has been calling for the mandatory reserve requirements to be reduced from 20% to 10% on ruble accounts and from 1.5% to 0.5% on hard currency accounts, arguing that high rates hinder investment in industry. * Penny Morvant
ARMENIA SETS CONDITIONS FOR FUTURE PARTICIPATION IN KARABAKH TALKS.
The pipeline supplying Armenia with natural gas from Turkmenistan was damaged by an explosion near the Georgian frontier during the night of 21-22 May, according to Reuters and Interfax. Gas supplies to Armenia were suspended, according to Reuters, but it is unclear for how long. This is the ninth attempt to sabotage the pipeline in two years. The Armenian Foreign Ministry accused Azerbaijani agents of causing the explosion and announced that Armenia would not participate in the next round of OSCE-mediated talks on a settlement of the Karabakh conflict in Helsinki next month until the Armenian government received unspecified guarantees that its energy supplies would not be further disrupted. * Liz Fuller
U.S. CHIEF OF STAFF OFFERS MILITARY AID TO GEORGIA.
General John Shalikashvili, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Tbilisi on 22 May that the U.S. is prepared to assist Georgia in building and strengthening its armed forces, ITAR-TASS reported. Shalikashvili--whose father was born in Georgia--had just met with Georgian Parliament Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze and Defense Minister Vardiko Nadibaidze. He added that American assistance should be accompanied "not by rivalry but rather by cooperation with Russia." * Doug Clarke
KARIMOV AND BHUTTO ON KASHMIR, AFGHANISTAN.
During Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's visit to Uzbekistan on 21 and 22 May, several agreements on increasing economic cooperation, tourism, and science were signed, Western news agencies reported. Talks between Bhutto and her Uzbek counterpart Abdul Hassan Mulatov and President Islam Karimov focused on bilateral trade issues as well as Kashmir, which Pakistan and India are at loggerheads over, and the situation in Afghanistan. Although Uzbekistan has traditionally maintained close ties with India, Karimov called for UN-sponsored talks between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir conflict. Bhutto for her part said she was "encouraged" by Uzbek support on Kashmir and voiced "satisfaction that our views coincide." Karimov said Bhutto's visit would strengthen joint efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and Tajikistan; Islamabad pledged to support a UN Security Council initiative to impose an arms embargo on Afghanistan. Some 15 agreements between Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been signed since 1991. Both sides are seeking to increase rail and road links and are committed to establishing a road that will connect Pakistan with Central Asia and Xinjiang, China. * Lowell Bezanis
FORECASTS ON EMIGRATION FROM CENTRAL ASIA.
During hearings at the Russian Federation Council, the Federal Migration Service (FMS) revealed official statistics on the number of registered refugees and the amount of expected emigres in the coming year, Interfax reported on 22 May. Since July 1992, a total of 702,500 refugees have been registered from the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union and unstable regions of the Russian Federation. The actual number of refugees is likely to be considerably higher than the figures for registered refugees would indicate. In the coming year, the FMS expects 180,000-195,000 people to emigrate from Kazakhstan; 85,000-95,000 from Uzbekistan; 66,000-75,000 from Kyrgyzstan; 35,000-40,000 from Tajikistan; and 14,000-16,000 from Turkmenistan. Ukraine is also expected to generate about 180,000-200,000 emigrants. * Lowell Bezanis
EU FINANCE MINISTERS MEET WITH EAST EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS . . .
European Union finance ministers held the first formal talks with their Central and East European counterparts on 22 May, international agencies reported. Discussions focused on the EU Commission white paper outlining how EU applicants can bring their legislation and institutions into line with EU standards. French Finance Minister Alain Madelin, who holds the EU's rotating Presidency, said Eastern Europe has made considerable progress but some countries have a longer way to go than others. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke commented there is still much to be done by both the EU and the applicants. Ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia attended the session. The white paper is expected to be approved at the EU summit in June. * Michael Mihalka
...AND AGREE ON AID TO UKRAINE.
The EU finance ministers agreed to extend aid to Ukraine to balance its payments on the condition that Kiev closes the Chornobyl nuclear power plant by 2000, Ukrainian Radio reported on 22 May. The new credit would be worth 200 million ECU ($254 million), to be released in two 100 million ECU installments, in addition to an 85 million ECU credit promised earlier. In other news, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Pynzenyk told Interfax that the second tranche of World Bank credits (worth a total of $250 million) cannot be used to pay off Ukraine's gas debt to Russia. Pynzenyk said that Kiev was obliged to show the World Bank customs declarations of imports for which the credits are used; since imports of Russian gas are not declared, no such documents exist. Ukraine has to pay Russia $100 million for gas deliveries in June. * Ustina Markus
CRIMEAN DEPUTIES PROPOSE COMPROMISE WITH KIEV.
Crimean lawmakers have offered to cancel a referendum on the recently banned Crimean Constitution if the Ukrainian parliament rescinds its decision to annul the document and allows it to be restored without those articles that contravene the Ukrainian Constitution, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 May. The deputies said they would also seek to bring Crimean legislation into line with Ukrainian law if Kiev overturns its decision to abolish the region's Presidency. The legislators said their compromise offer was based on recommendations by the OCSE, which recently hosted a special round-table discussion on Crimea in Locarno, Switzerland, attended by representatives of the peninsula's separatist movement and the Ukrainian authorities. * Chrystyna Lapychak
BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT DISMISSES PROSECUTOR-GENERAL.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka on 22 May issued a decree replacing Prosecutor-General Vasil Shaladonau with Vasil Kapitan, a department chief from the Prosecutor-General's Office, Interfax reported. Shaladonau reportedly tendered his resignation earlier this month. The president's investigative services have gathered information alleging that Shaladonau illegally privatized an apartment for himself and one for his son. He is also blamed for not imposing controls on the adoption of Belarusian children by foreigners. Shaladonau is running for the parliament and has made it to the second round of elections, which are to be held on 28 May. * Ustina Markus
THREE ESTONIAN DAILIES ANNOUNCE MERGER.
The Tallinn dailies Paevaleht, Hommikuleht, and Rahva Haal on 22 May announced that they will merge to put out a new newspaper called Eesti Paevaleht beginning 5 June, BNS reported. The main reason for the merger appears economic, since Hommikuleht and Rahva Haal have both been operating at considerable losses. The three newspapers have a combined print run of about 50,000 and a total of 400,000-500,000 readers. * Saulius Girnius
LITHUANIAN, LATVIAN SEA BORDER.
Lithuanian and Latvian Presidents Algirdas Brazauskas and Guntis Ulmanis met on 20 May in the town of Maisiagala, 15 kilometers north of Vilnius, where they signed a memorandum on the delimitation of their sea border, RFE/RL reported on 22 May. Prime Ministers Adolfas Slezevicius (Lithuania) and Maris Gailis (Latvia) also attended the meeting. It was decided that Lithuania and Latvia would sign associate membership treaties with the European Union on 12 June. Brazauskas, in his weekly Monday radio broadcast, said Ulmanis accepted his invitation to pay an official visit to Lithuania on 5-6 June. * Saulius Girnius
POLISH POLICEMEN ON TRIAL FOR FATAL BEATING UNDER MARTIAL LAW.
Two former policemen went on trial in Warsaw on 22 May accused of beating to death the 19-year-old Grzegorz Przemyk, who was arrested in May 1983 in Warsaw. A former chief of the Police Investigation Office also appeared in court on charges of destroying documents in 1990 to cover up police responsibility for the boy's death, Polish and international media reported. Przemyk's death became a symbol for martial law illegalities and his grave a site of pilgrimage. * Jakub Karpinski
CZECH OPPOSITION PARTY CONTINUES TO GAIN SUPPORT.
The gap in popularity between the leading Czech government party, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), and the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) narrowed sharply from 10 to 5.5 percentage points over the last month, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion Research. Support for the ODS dropped from 27% to 25%, while the CSSD's rating rose from 17% to 19.5%. Over the past six months, the CSSD has almost doubled its popularity rating, while those of government parties have declined. The Civic Democratic Alliance's popularity dropped from 8% to 6.5%, its lowest rating since the June 1992 elections. Support for the Christian Democratic Union-People's Party fell from 7% to 5%, the threshold for gaining parliamentary representation. But if the poll results were translated into parliamentary seats, the governing coalition would have 117 deputies (compared with the present 111) while the opposition would have 83 (instead of 82). * Steve Kettle
SLOVAK POLICE TO REVIEW OPPOSITION PARTY'S ELECTION LISTS.
Narodna obroda on 22 May reported that police have begun to check the signatures on the Democratic Union's election lists. The ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) has questioned the validity of the 10,000 signatures collected by the DU in order to run in last fall's parliamentary elections. Interior Ministry spokesman Peter Ondera told Pravda on 23 May that the police are checking the lists on the basis of a request by a Bratislava resident to the prosecutor-general in January. Both the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court have dismissed HZDS complaints, which are viewed as an attempt to gain more parliamentary seats for the ruling parties. DU Deputy Chairman Jan Budaj said that the HZDS wants to "discredit the DU and renew fear in Slovak society" by investigating citizens who signed the petition list. * Sharon Fisher
CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST SLOVAK INFORMATION SERVICE DIRECTOR?
Sme on 23 May reported that former SIS director Vladimir Mitro has filed criminal charges against current director Ivan Lexa for breaking his secrecy oath. Until recently, Lexa headed the Separate Control Organ (OKO), which was set up by the parliament in November to oversee the SIS. Following the presentation of an OKO report to the parliament on 5 May, coalition deputies approved a no-confidence motion in President Michal Kovac. The report has triggered a series of accusations: Lexa filed charges against Mitro and former SIS intelligence director Igor Cibula earlier this month, and chairman of the opposition Christian Democratic Movement Jan Carnogursky filed suit against members of the OKO. * Sharon Fisher
BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER EXPECTS SERBIAN RECOGNITION.
Haris Silajdzic told Radio Bosnia and Herzegovina on 23 May that he expects Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to recognize his embattled republic soon because that "is the only way to peace." A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman told a Western agency the previous day that Belgrade will make a decision later this week. The Bosnian Serb parliament began an emergency session at which it is expected to condemn any recognition of the Sarajevo government by Serbia. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic again said that any Serbian recognition of the Bosnian government is a matter for his people alone and that "we will never do it." Meanwhile in New York, the UN Security Council extended sanctions against the Bosnian Serbs for another four months because Pale refuses to accept the current peace plan, international media reported. * Patrick Moore
RIFTS AMONG SERBS.
"Only solidarity saves the Serbs" is the historic Serbian motto, but Serbian and international media on 23 May suggested that unity is in short supply as Serbian forces prove increasingly vulnerable on the battlefield. The Krajina Serbs are divided over whether to draw closer to Pale or to trust Belgrade. The Bosnian Serbs are similarly split between hard-liners Karadzic and Chief-of-Staff General Manojlo Milovanovic, on the one hand, and pro-Milosevic army commander General Ratko Mladic and his backers Generals Zdravko Tolimir and Milan Gvero, on the other, AFP reports. Karadzic is quoted by a Western agency as saying that "only the [Serbian Orthodox] Church can now preserve the unity of the Serbs." * Patrick Moore
SERBS TAKE GUNS, KILL THREE IN SARAJEVO.
Bosnian Serb forces staged a pre-dawn raid on a UN heavy weapons collection point near the Bosnian capital on 22 May, taking two artillery pieces with them. They subsequently resumed shelling the town and renewed sniper fire, killing three and wounding six, international media reported. It is not clear whether the two cannons seized were used in the latest attacks, but artillery and rockets seem to be the Serbian response to their recent defeats by Muslims and Croats on various fronts. Meanwhile in Banja Luka, Croatian Bishop Franjo Komarica on 23 May entered the sixth day of his hunger strike. He is protesting Serbian attacks on Croats, the clergy, and churches, Vecernji list repored. * Patrick Moore
SLAVONIAN SERB REFUGEES MOVE INTO EASTERN SLAVONIA.
Nearly 4,000 Serbs displaced by the Croatian Operation Blitz on 1-2 May have left their temporary shelters in Bosnian Serb-held territory for eastern Slavonia, or Sector East, as the UN calls it. It is widely believed that Milosevic intends to hold onto that area--even if he turns his back on the rest of Krajina--since eastern Slavonia is rich in gas, oil, and first-class agricultural land. Not all of the refugees were enthusiastic about moving into Sector East, AFP said on 21 May. It appears that Belgrade wants to use the refugees to consolidate its hold on eastern Slavonia and Kosovo as well. Elsewhere, the Croatian authorities have admitted that at least 20 Serb civilians were killed in crossfire during Operation Blitz. UN investigators are on the scene, news agencies reported on 22 May. But previous UN reports said that the Croats behaved properly toward Serbian civilians, whose confidence they are anxious to gain. * Patrick Moore
MILOSEVIC REJECTS U.S.-BACKED PEACE PLAN.
The New York Times on 23 May reported that Milosevic has rejected a US-backed plan providing for the suspension of sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia in exchange for Belgrade's recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Milosevic reportedly insists that "the United Nations permanently lift all sanctions . . . rather than conditionally suspend them." * Stan Markotich
KOSOVO UPDATE.
A Pristina court has sentenced Pal Krasniqi, secretary of the Independent Teachers Trade Unions of Kosovo, to two months in prison for calling a meeting of his trade union branch at the premises of a Pristina secondary school on 17 November 1994. Meanwhile, the Serbian authorities in Rahovec have said they will accommodate Serbian refugees from western Slavonia in a local secondary school. According to the Democratic League of Kosovo, the school building has already been converted into a hotel and the first batch of refugees are expected to move in soon. The school has not been used since 1990 owing to the lack of Serbian students in the town. Local Albanian students have been attending classes in private homes, Kosova Daily Report said on 22 May. * Fabian Schmidt
MACEDONIA, U.S. AGREE ON MILITARY COOPERATION.
Macedonian Defense Minister Blagoj Handziski, on returning from an eight-day official visit to the U.S. on 20 May, said Macedonia and the U.S. have agreed on new forms of military cooperation, MIC reported. Macedonian military personnel will receive training in the U.S. in September, and the 1996 U.S. draft budget will allocate $1 million for Macedonia from the funds intended for member states of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Handziski said that "a new page" in U.S.-Macedonian relations has been turned as a result of Macedonia's constructive internal and foreign policy and its efforts to preserve peace in the region. * Stefan Krause
ROMANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH TRADE UNION LEADERS.
Ion Iliescu on 22 May received the leaders of Romania's five main labor organizations: the Alfa Cartel, the Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions in Romania, the National Confederation of Romania's Free Trade Unions-The Brotherhood, the National Labor Bloc, and the Convention of Non-Affiliated Trade Union Confederations. The meeting was also attended by a government team led by Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu. The union leaders handed over a memorandum to Iliescu asking for the dismissal of the current cabinet for mismanaging the economy. Iliescu said he did not have the power to dismiss the cabinet but pledged to continue mediating in the conflict between the government and unions, Radio Bucharest reported. * Dan Ionescu
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CRITICIZES ROMANIA.
Amnesty International, in a report released on 22 May, said there were "grave violations of human rights" in Romania. The report criticized Romania for ill-
treating detainees, imprisoning homosexuals, and failing to protect its Gypsy minority. Anne Burley, Amnesty's regional director, told a press conference in Bucharest that the organization was "concerned by Romanian laws allowing people to be imprisoned for their opinions, and by the country's delay in implementing international treaties which it signed on the defense of human rights." Romanian police and a spokesman for the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania denied any systematic violation of human rights and suggested that the report referred to isolated cases only. * Dan Ionescu
LEBED TO ATTEND DUMA HEARINGS.
Lt. Gen. Alexander Lebed, commander of the 14th Russian Army headquartered in Tiraspol, has been given permission to participate in a Russian State Duma hearing on 23 May on the situation in the Dniester region and the role of the 14th Army. ITAR-TASS reported the previous day that the Russian Defense Ministry gave Lebed permission to attend at the request of Duma Chairman Ivan Rybkin. In a draft resolution published in advance of the debate, Russian parliamentarians expressed concern about planned changes in the 14th Army command and appealed to the government to reject them. * Dan Ionescu
BULGARIA, RUSSIA TO LAUNCH JOINT ARMS PRODUCTION.
A bilateral defense commission on 22 May signed an accord on military-industrial cooperation, Reuters reported the same day. The agreement was signed by Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Kiril Tsochev and Genady Voronin, deputy chairman of Russia's Defense Industry Committee. In 1994,a bilateral commission was established on restoring links between the Bulgarian and Russian defense industries. * Stefan Krause
JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES IN GREECE.
Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and the U.S. began military maneuvers in southern Greece on 22 May, AFP reported the same day. The "New Spirit 1995" exercise, which is part of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, is to held over five days in the town of Kalamata, where more than 300 soldiers will practice an urgent, coordinated response to major earthquakes. It is the first time that Albanian soldiers are taking part in maneuvers outside their own country. AFP cited a military expert in Athens as saying that the exercise is symbolic because it shows the deep interest of the U.S. in the Balkans and "the links between certain countries in this sensitive region." * Stefan Krause
CONFERENCE OF ALBANIAN, TURKISH POLICE.
Representatives of the Turkish and Albanian police are meeting in Ankara from 22-25 May, Rilindja Demokratike reported on 23 May. The conference is focusing on organized crime, drug trafficking, and possible cooperation on educational projects. The Turkish and Albanian interior ministers are expected to meet later this year. * Fabian Schmidt
[As of 12:00 CET]
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave


text:
Huns Contents
Tele Contents
Literature Index Sources
Ethnonyms Sak and Kypsak
Yu.Zuev Seyanto Kaganate and Kimeks
Narrative History of Kimeks Datelines Alan Dateline
Kipchak Khanate Synopsis
http://holmogor.livejournal.com/5441927.html
The offered modification of the article addresses some social aspects of the Kipchak Khanate, frequently overshadowed by political play and internecine strife. Notably, the conventional term "Golden Horde" refers only to the western wing of the Kipchak Khanate state, it was once an honorable moniker for the seat of the Western Wing ruler that has fossilized in Russian language, and is ambiguously applied to both the whole state and to its western part; the English term "Golden Horde" is an English calque incorrectly applied to the whole Juchi Ulus and its successor Kipchak Khanate. The British Encyclopedia correctly prefers the name Kipchak Khanate.
Kipchak Khanate, Juchi Ulus, called by the Slavic and Russian sources "Golden Horde", was a feudal state founded in the first half of the 13th c. by Juchi-Khan's son Batu-Khan in Khorezm and North Caucasus, and Eastern Europe. In 1236-1255 Baty conquered the Itil Bulgars territories, N.Pontic steppe, Crimea, Rus principalities, and Western Siberia. In the middle of the 14th c. the Kipchak Khanate was one of the largest countries in Europe and Asia. Its southern territories included Tabriz (modern Iran), the northern territories included Rus principalities, Itil Bulgars and Bashkiria, in the west it included modern Moldova to the Danube and Danube Bulgaria, and in the east to the rivers Ob and Irtysh. Under Orda-Khan's grandson Köchü-Khan, the domain of the Juchi Ulus included the territory of Ghazna and Bamiyan (Northern Afganistan).
Kipchak Khanate
Extent of the Siberian part
State flag with tamga
In the Kipchak Khanate and Eastern sources the Juchid state was usually denoted by the term "ulus", with the addition of an epithet or the name of the ruler: "Ulug ulus" (Great Ulus), "Ulus Juchi", "Ulus Berke". In the western sources it was called "Tataria", Tartaria", and "Kipchak Khanate" or "Kipchak". The word "horde" designated the capital of the ruler. The combination "Golden Horde" (Altyn Ordu, in Persian sources "Urdu-i Zarrin") for "golden ceremonial chadyr (tent)" is found in the sources in relation to the residence of Chengis-Khan and Guyuk-Khan, and in the 14th c. to the residence of Chengisids, including the ruler of the Ulus Juchi Uzbek-Khan. The list of the Kipchak Khanate rulers numbers a line of 63 Khans, 12 of them were Great Khans ruling both Eastern/(White Horde) and Western (Blue Horde) Wings (Kanats), the ruler of the Western (Blue Horde) Wing served as viceroys of the Great Khan: Batu-Khan was a viceroy of the Great Khan Ordu-Khan in the Western (Blue Horde) Wing. According to the Lateral Order of Succession, on the death of his senior brother Ordu-Khan (1251), Batu-Khan advanced to the position of the Great Khan (1251-1255), and Sartaq-Khan advanced to the position of the Western (Blue Horde) Wing Viceroy Khan position. Within his wing, the Khan had full autonomy and unlimited power, checked only by the Great Khan as a matter of deference. The dependencies within his wing were ruled by the Wing Khan, thus the Rus Principalities had to deal exclusively with the Western Wing administration, and the Slavic appellation "Golden Horde" applied exclusively to the Western Wing of the Kipchak Khanate.
The Khan's power was unlimited. Besides the members of his house (sons, brothers, and nephews), the Khan was surrounded by main members of the Kipchak Khanate's nobility - Beks (Noyons). Beklyare Bek (Prince of Princes) headed state affairs, Viziers headed separate departments. To the cities and uluses were sent Darugachis, their main duty was to monitor collection of taxes and duties. Along with Darugachis were appointed army commanders - Baskaks. The state structure had a semi-military character. The order of succession was Lateral Succession.
The most important positions were held by members of the ruling dynasty, the Princes (Oglans), who were allotted control over ulus subdivisions in the Kipchak Khanate, and headed the troops. The Beks (Noyons) and Tarkhans constituted major military command staff: Tumans (10,000), Millenaries (1000), Centurions (100), and Bakauls (officials in charge of military supplies, payroll, booty, etc.). The state was located in a very convenient location of the state: through it ran the trunk-line of the ancient Silk Road caravan trade, it was close to the other Mongolian states. To the Sarai-Batu were coming with their goods merchants from distant Egypt, Central Asia, Caucasus, Crimea, Volga Bulgar, Rus principalities, Western Europe, and India. The Khans patronized trade and crafts. On the banks of the Itil (Volga), Yaik (Ural), in the Crimea and other territories were built cities.
The remnants of the first capital of the Kipchak Khanate Sarai-Batu ("Batu City") near a modern village Selitrennoe strike with their size. They run along the left bank of the Akhtuba (a channel of Itil), spread out over numerous hills, for more than 15 km. The city was founded between 1242 and 1254 and has grown very quickly. At the beginning of the 14th c. it was a capital with continuous rows of houses, mosques (13 mosques were Cathedral mosques), palaces with the walls shining with mosaic decorations, with ponds filled with clear water, with large markets and warehouses. On the highest hill above the Akhtuba bank stood the Khan's palace. The Khan's palace was decorated with gold, so later the Russian historians composed a legend explaining why in Russian the Kipchak Khanate state was called Golden Horde. Still today in the area near the village Selitrennoe can be found tiles with bright oriental ornaments, coins minted in the13th-14th centuries, ceramic fragments, fired clay water pipes, etc. The city had ceramic, foundry, jewelry, etc. workshops.
Sarai had ethnically diverse population and numerous faiths. The ruling Mongol conquerors were a small minority of the population. They dissolved in the mass of the conquered people, mostly Türkic, first of all Kipchaks. The cultural belt on the lower Itil was so close to the steppes that it easily combined the sedentary and nomadic economies. The main population of the cities and steppes were Kipchaks. In the steppe also ruled a traditional law, all land was distributed by the elected local chieftain who led the ordinary nomads. That system preceded the appearance of the Rus and Kipchak Khanate states by many centuries, and with interruptions and distortions it outlived both of them, reaching the times of zemstvo (local self-rule) in the 19th c. and kolkhoz (collective farm) in the 20th c. In the Middle Asia, peasantry continued to live with a system of feudal economy brought about by the Samanids. According to the fake Russian historiography, all medieval cities located on the banks of the Itil and its channels were flooded and residents had to abandon them. History knows differently: buildings were ransacked, deconstructed, everything of value was taken for the construction of the neighboring Russian fortresses and farms of half-of-the-millennium influx of settlers.
Until the early 14th c. the main religion among the Mongol tribes was their traditional ancestral religion Tengriism, for historical reasons syncretized with Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Nestorian Christianity. They shared Tengriism with most of the Eurasian Türkic tribes. The Middle Asian and western Türkic tribes mostly professed Islam, which took root in the 8th-10th centuries in the Middle Asia and Itil Bulgaria, and European-style Christianity, which was proselytized and imposed on them in the 8th-12th centuries. The traditional Mongolic and Türkic religious tolerance and open-minded tendency to syncretism dominated religious attitudes, everyone was free to profess their religion, and the religious institutions were protected and free from taxation. Sarai was a home to the Christian bishopric subordinated along with other Eastern European churches to the Byzantine Orthodox hierarchy, the Khanate and its capital had substantial Jewish population and institutions. The wealth of the religious denominations survived to the time of the Russian conquest in the 16th-17th centuries.
The Kipchak Khanate flourished in trade, economic, political, and ideological terms. The European countries, under severe stress from the threats to their very existence and independence from the nomadic conquerors, turned to their most potent weapon, religious counterattack, already successfully tested for suppression of the European peoples. The Kipchak Khanate was inundated with Byzantine Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christian missionaries and emissaries. The Kipchak Khanate remained mostly Islamic, with prominent Muslim centers in the Bulgaria, Crimea, Caucasus, Khorezm, and in most of the Middle Asia. In the history of Kipchak Khanate, religion has played an important role, but not as a means of political unification of the state on a new ideological platform, but as a mobilizing force, first of the national liberation movement against political dependence, and then of the colonial wars.
From 1257 to 1266 Berke-Khan ruled the Kipchak Khanate, during that period Islam was universally accepted by the ruling elite. By that time, the Islam leadership was overtaken by the Türkic people. Then, the center of Islam was in Cairo in Egypt, that was the time of the "shadow" Abbasid Caliphate, Egypt was ruled by Mamluks, mostly Türkic-led army primarily of the Bulgars and Kipchaks, brought to the various Islamic dynasties as military recruits, and pretentiously translated with nonsensical term "slaves", although an armed slave would always rule his inept master. Egypt and its dependent Syria was ruled by the Mamluk Sultan Baibar (1260–1277). In 1262 Berke-Khan send an embassy to the Sultan Baibars, to notify him that the ruling dynasty of the Kipchak Khanate accepted Islam.
Mengu-Timur ben (son of) Tukan ben Batu ben Juchi (1266-1282) was the first Juchi Ulus ruler, who proclaimed himself a head of independent Kipchak Khanate. Mengu-Timur coins were minted only in his name, and with his personal tamga at all four mints, in Bulgar, Crimea, Sarai, and Khorezm_, and with Arabic legend. The first extant yarlyk (certificate) for freeing the Rus Church from tribute to the Kipchak Khanate was written in the name of Mengu-Timur, who was a Tengrian. The Rus clergy were exempt from military service, and insulting Orthodox religion (inclusive by the Muslims) was punishable by death. Muslim merchants were not appointed as tax collectors for the Rus peasants. In 1261, Metropolitan Cyril founded an Orthodox diocese in Sarai. The Sarai Orthodox bishop Afinogen was appointed a head of the Tatar mission to Constantinople.
During the reign of Uzbek-Khan (1312 to 1342) the Muslim religion spread. In that period in the Kipchak Khanate were build mosques and madrasas, the state was rising to its rightful place in the Muslim world. A notable traveler and historian of that time Ibn Arabshah wrote: "Sarai has become a focus of science and a fountain of benefactors, and in a short time there assembled a good and healthy portion of scientists and celebrities, linguists and artists, all kinds of deserving people, the likes of which has not collected neither in the crowded parts of Egypt, nor in its villages." With the spread of Islamic religion, in the country began growing sciences: mathematics and astronomy, history and geography, medicine and philosophy. Especially rapidly began progressing linguistics.
The Mongol documentation at first used the Uigur script, written in columns left to right. Eastern Europe had numerous entrenched scripts and literature traditions, associated with the religious and ethnic cultures. In the steppes were different versions of the Türkic runiform scripts, the Arabic script predominated in the Islamic centers, were used versions of the Greek script, especially its Slavic version Cyrillic, the Armenian script was used in the Caucasus and Armenian diaspora and its neighbors elsewhere, the Georgian script was used in the Caucasus within and without Georgia, Jews and Khazars used ancient Hebrew alphabet. The adoption of Islam by the ruling dynasty facilitated the spread of the Arabic script across the nation. The domes, gates, doors, most important public buildings carried citations from the Koran and excerpts from the eastern classical literature. The Arabic script was used even on everyday objects like dishes. Books were written by hand using reeds and bird feathers, in the Itil region were gradually introduced metal styluses for writing, including for copying the Koran.
Bulgars and Kipchaks, and probably all other Türkic people continued the ancient Scythian and Türkic tradition of installed gravestones over kurgan burials. Adoption of Christianity and Islam impacted the form of the tombstones, but the Tengrian traditions of the kurgan burials lingered on, and were syncretized with both new religions. The tombstones became inscribed in the local scripts and languages, the Arabic script inscriptions precipitously replaced the older forms, carrying citations from the Koran, the name of the deceased, the time of his death, and good wishes. The tombstone inscriptions continued the carved image traditions, and added the raised letters form.
Most of the Türkic population in the Kipchak Khanate were Bulgars and Kipchaks. In the period from the 7th c. until the 10th c. the ancient Ogur languages of the Bulgars, Huns, Akathyrs, Scythians, and other Türkic peoples were gradually replaced by the Oguz languages of the migrants from the Middle and Central Asia, and it is believed that after the 10th c. the Oguz-type languages came to dominate the Eastern Europe. The very first Bulgar literary works of the 8th -9th cc. were already written in the Uighur-Oguz type Türki language. Soon enough, the Kipchak language became a literary and state language, called Türki (Türki Tele). Since then, most languages of the Türkic peoples drew closer and are often mutually understood without translation.
Although in the Kipchak Khanate religion was at times used as a political tool, it never reached the malicious nature suffered in the Christian and Islamic dominions. The Tengrian traditions largely mitigated hate and greed that drove the spread of the "world" religions, and the non-hierarchical and communal Tengrian model prevented creation of self-perpetuating domineering and autocratic religious hierarchy, ensuring a relative tolerance of the Khanate's version of Islam. Tengrianism has not been fully stamped out, and in the Khanate endured the influence of the old beliefs, including among people and the Juchid aristocracy.
In the capital of the Kipchak Khanate the Sarai-city peacefully coexisted theologians of different madhhabs (doctrines), such as Maliki and Shafi'i and various Sufi communities.
After the disastrous reign of Tohtamysh (1378–1397) started a fragmentation of the Kipchak Khanate. In the 15th c., the Kipchak Khanate broke into Kazan Khanate (1438), Crimean Khanate (1443), Nogai Horde (ca. 1445), Astrakhan Khanate (1459), Great Horde Khanate (1466), and Siberian Khanate (1490). During the extended time period, when internecine bedlam confused everybody, the poor Russians did not know who to report to, and finally decided that they must live on their own. Out of caution, however, they continued minting silver and copper coins with the Kipchak Khanate insignia for some more time after the dissolution of the Kipchak Khanate.
Last bilingual Tatar-Rus coin
struck in Novgorod 1470s-1480
Denga of Moscow, 1470s-1480s
The Arabic legend reads "This is a denga of Moscow"
Türkic ""


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Hitler and the Arabs
How Can They Have Missed It?
By Jan Willem van der Hoeven,
Director International Christian Zionist Center
"Hitler, Goebbels, Goering and the rest of the Nazis, inadequate to a man, were both pathological and pragmatic liars. They lied so convincingly and so hugely that most statesmen from other countries could not believe that what they were hearing was a lie "One of Hitler's biggest lies was constantly to assure the world of peaceful intentions while obviously planning war by building up massively strong armed forces." [John Laffin, "Hitler warned us."]
When Saddam Hussein grew up, he did in the shadow of a giant portrait that hung on the wall of his father's house, a portrait of the face of a man his father adored above every other political leader. It was the face of Adolph Hitler!
Writing in Inside Asia, Joseph Gunther said: "The greatest contemporary hero (in the Arab) world is Hitler."?
Even Anwar Sadat, a man deemed by many in the West to be a moderate Arab
leader, as a young man wrote the following words to the leader of the Third Reich, (whom he assumed was still alive and in hiding after the war):
My dear Hitler,
I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart. Even if you appear to have been defeated, in reality you are the victor. You succeeded in creating dissensions between Churchill, the old man, and his allies, the Sons of Satan. Germany will win because her existence is necessary to preserve the world balance. Germany will be reborn in spite of the Western and Eastern powers. There will be no peace unless Germany once again becomes what she was.1
Anis Mansour, editor of the Egyptian paper October and a Sadat confidant who accompanied the Egyptian leader to Jerusalem wrote: "The World is now
aware of the fact that Hitler was right, and that the cremation ovens were the appropriate means of punishing [the Jews].
Hitler's book, Mein Kampf, is still required reading in various Arab capitals and universities, and is widely distributed by others.
Samuel Katz writes in The Hollow Peace:
The Arab attitude is pointedly and incisively expressed in modern Arabic literature, which is chock-full of unbridled hatred of Israel, of Zionism and of the Jewish people. The idea of the destruction of Israel is expressed in hundreds of books published on the subject of the "dispute" itself, and anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist teaching has even been incorporated in school text-books, even, improbably enough, in arithmetic books.
The only reason that the Arabs have not yet done to the Israeli Jews what Hitler did to their forefathers in Europe is that they have thus far lacked the military means and weapons of mass destruction which were at Hitler's disposal, to do so.
Had there not been an Israeli Defense Force to defend the remnant of European Jewry that immigrated to Israel, the Arabs would have gladly fulfilled Hitler's dream a long time ago by finishing off those of the Jews the Nazi megalomaniac had left alive.
That the Arabs have not done so to date has not been due to any reluctance on their part, but because, this time, there has been this difference: The Jews in Europe had no army to defend them. Thank G-d, the Jews in Israel have!
This deeply entrenched hatred of the Jews and love for Hitler and the Nazis surfaced during the time of one of the first Palestinian leaders, the Grand
Mufti Haj Amin el Husseini, during the 1930's.
It is evident in what the Mufti said on Berlin radio while he was Hitler's guest in Germany. His words prove that there was total agreement between the Palestinian leader and this murderer of G-d's people:
Kill the Jews - kill them with your hands, kill them with your teeth - this is well pleasing to Allah!
No, the crux of the Middle East problem has never been as has generally been held the Palestinian Arab problem. It has been and still is the Palestinian Jewish problem. It was this problem that had to be solved by the Arabs, even as has been well documented in cooperation with the Nazis. They have used the Palestinian Arabs as their front and excuse to achieve their Hitler-like goal: The extinction of a sovereign Jewish nation in their Muslim midst!
Maybe it is because many Israelis have themselves swallowed the lie that they are unable to formulate a convincing line of defense. As Joan Peters writes so perceptively in her wonderful book From Time Immemorial:
Goebbels, Nazi exponent of Hitler's "Big Lie" averred that if a lie were repeated often enough and long enough, it would come to be perceived as truth. What he did not add was that the victim of the lie may also grow to believe it.
Many young Israeli "Palestinian" Jews react with anxiety, empathy, and concern about their alleged culpability, in response to widespread perceptions about the Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank, and the myth of the "three-or-four million Arab Palestinians excluded from their homeland inhabited by them since time immemorial" For so long the propaganda has reiterated that "Jews displaced Arab natives" in "Palestine" without even any factual framework for evaluating sick allegations, that many Jews feel they must bear that guilt.
When interviewed recently by a woman for a Dutch programme I was asked, after I had related the terrible violence and murders the Israeli people have to live with, whether it was not also true that the Israelis are sometimes guilty of using excessive force. My answer was, that though the Allied forces bombed whole cities in Germany as a response to Nazi violence and aggression, I had never heard this kind of criticism about them using excessive force by the Allies. Right or wrong people did not criticize the West or Allied armies for using too much force to free Europe from the scourge of Nazidom.
Why, then, does Israel subject herself again and again to this worldly wise criticism by nations who, when it came to the defense of their own best interest used far more force and destruction that Israel has ever allowed herself to use against those who, like Hitler, threaten her with extinction through gas and other weapons of mass destruction that will soon be in their hands!
Has Israel bombed and obliterated whole cities as the Allied forces did to Dresden, Darmstadt, Berlin and others? Or has Israel done as the U.S. did to bring Japan to her knees by - flattening Hiroshima and Nagasaki thus killing (as a Christian Western nation) 250,000 Japanese civilians! Has Israel ever done such a thing to rid herself of the enemies that wish and dream to one day do to them as the Nazis did? And yet it is Israel, who does not thus defend herself as the West has done, is blamed, scolded and censured by the governments of these very same Western nations!
It is truly amazing how hypocritical nations can be when it comes to Israel. There is a word for this double standard: Anti-Semitism.
For those in and outside Israel who would still scorn the accuracy of these related facts it may be good to end this article with a quote from Dr. Yahya al-Rakhaw, an Egyption in the issue of Al-Ahrar the organ of the Liberal Party! (July 19, 1982). He writes:
When the State of Israel was established and won the good-will of the world and was recognised by many in both East and West, one of the reasons for this recognition was the desire of the people in the East and West to get rid of as many as possible of the representatives of that human error known as "the Jews." Behind this motive there was an additional, secret purpose; to concentrate them in one place, so that it would be easier to strike them at the right moment. There can be no doubt that such hopes occupy the thoughts of politicians more intelligent than Hitler but at the same time more cowardly than he was.
And for us, we must remember, among both bombardments and negotiations, both speeches and landmines, that we are all - once again - face to face with the Jewish problem, not just the Zionist problem; and we must reassess all those studies which made a distinction between "the Jew" and "the Israeli" and we must redefine the meaning of the word "Jew" so that we do not imagine that we are speaking of a divinely revealed religion, or a minority persecuted by mankind. Every word has an origin, a development and a history, and it seems that the word "Jew" today has changed its content and meaning.
We thus find ourselves face to face with the essence of a problem which has recently donned the gown of religion and concentrated itself on a piece of land. In this confrontation we cannot help but see before us the figure of that great man Hitler, may Allah have mercy on him, who was the wisest of those who confronted this problem, and who, out of compassion for humanity, tried to exterminate every Jew, but despaired of curing this cancerous growth on the body of mankind. And now they virtually confirm the accuracy of his intuition.
May Israel be wiser in relation to this death wish of her neighbours, than the Jews in Europe were. They belittled the writings and speeches of Hitler and the Nazis and were massacred as a result. May it not happen again!
1. Sadat's letter, Al Musawwar, No. 1510, September 18,1953, cited in D.F. Green, ed., Arab Theologians on Jews and Israel (Geneva, 1976 ed.), p. 87. Quoted also by Gideon Hausner, November 16, 1971, at New York. Also see Harkabi, Arab Attitudes, pp. 276-277, for other examples.
MEMRI: Special Dispatch - Egypt, April 27, 2001, No. 212
"Thanks to Hitler" Again!
Al-Akhbar (Egypt), April 25, 2001.
In his short daily column in the Egyptian government daily Al-Akhbar, entitled "Half a Word," columnist Ahmad Ragab reiterates his thanks to Hitler. MEMRI first reported this sentiment in Special Dispatch No. 208, "Thanks to Hitler,"
April 20, 2001. Now, in a defiant manner, Al-Akhbar publishes:
"[Insistently] for the second time, thanks to Hitler, of blessed memory, who on behalf of the Palestinians, revenged in advance, against the most vile criminals on the face of the earth. Although we do have a complaint against him for
his revenge on them was not enough."
This page was produced by Joseph E. Katz
Middle Eastern Political and Religious History Analyst
Portions Copyright © 2000 International Christian Zionist Center,
Portions Copyright © 2001 Joseph Katz