Posted on 05/11/2007 3:39:11 PM PDT by freedom44
Majlis Speaker Gholam ali Haddad Adel said on Wednesday that the noble Iranian nation thanks to their self-reliance have scored remarkable successes.
Speaking at the annual meeting of commanders of Basij (voluntary) forces, he said the self-reliance of the revolutionary people of Iran and its officials has brought dignity and glory for the country and enabled it to have the final say in the region.
The Iranian nation has achieved such significant successes in various fields thanks to its self-reliance, he said.
The country's stability and tranquility in the turbulent Middle East region should be praised with the Basij forces playing the main role to this end, the Majlis speaker said.
Basij should be regarded as a huge and invaluable asset of the Islamic Revolution, he underlined.
Given negative propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, he said only in the past year some Iran attracted 53 percent of the total investments made by foreigners in the region and this is a good indication of security, stability and tranquility.
During the ceremony, a number of exemplary Basij commanders received awards from the Majlis speaker.
* The Basij have been criticised as belonging to the paramilitary forces using child soldiers because of their underage recruitment practices and for having relied extensively on "human wave" defensive attacks during the Iran-Iraq War, particularly around Basra.[1][2][3] Many were used as cannon fodder and for mine-clearing martyrdom. [2]
* Following the UNHCR "tens of thousands of Basijis had been ordered to prowl about every factory, office and school to ensure that everyone adhered to the Islamic code. [...] After the summer 1992 riots Basij units were revived, rearmed and sent out into the streets to help enforce Islamic law. The Basijis are reportedly under the control of local mosques. It was further said that the Basijis set up checkpoints around the cities and stopped cars to sniff their occupant's breath for alcohol and check for women wearing make-up or travelling with a man not their close relative or husband. It was reported that the Law of Judicial Support for the Basijis, published in the Official Gazette No. 13946 of 8.10.1371 (December 1992), provided no redress against arbitrary detention by the Basijis." Iran's permanent representative to the U.N. denied these charges.[4]
* Amnesty International tells that "investigations by Parliament and the National Security Council indicated that actions by Revolutionary Guard officials and Basij (Mobilization) forces, among others, precipitated the unrest and injuries following the July 1999 students demonstrations".[5]
* In July 1999, Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad was shot dead in Tehran University dormitory by a member of Basij military force. The event initiated a huge demonstration.
* In 2001, a member of the Basij, Saeed Asgar attempted to assassinate Saeed Hajjarian a leading reformist and political advisor to reformist Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. Asagar was arrested and sentenced to spend 15 years in jail, but was released after spending only a short term in prison.
* Human Rights Watch informs that the Basij belong to the "Parallel institutions" (nahad-e movazi), "the quasi-official organs of repression that have become increasingly open in crushing student protests, detaining activists, writers, and journalists in secret prisons, and threatening pro-democracy speakers and audiences at public events." Under the control of the Office of the Supreme Leader these groups set up arbitrary checkpoints around Tehran, uniformed police often refraining from directly confronting these plainclothes agents. "Illegal prisons, which are outside of the oversight of the National Prisons Office, are sites where political prisoners are abused, intimidated, and tortured with impunity." [6]
* On 13 November 2006, Tohid Ghaffarzadeh, a student at Sabzevar University was murdered by a Basij member at the University. The murderer reportedly said that what he did was according to his religious beliefs. Tohid Ghaffarzadeh was talking to his girlfriend when he was approached and stabbed with a knife by the Basij member.[7]
Dear Speaker Gollum - your country stinks like a hot steaming
load of camel poop.
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