Category Archives: Government Oppression

The prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and his government have been accused of trying to sabotage the countrys independent human rights watchdog to prevent accountability for mounting abuses and oppression.

Legislators, activists and lawyers told the Guardian that Khans government punished and immobilised Pakistans National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) over reports that it had produced into human rights abuses and torture carried out by the military, which plays a powerful role in running the country.

On Monday, Islamabad high court directed the government to fill the vacant post of the head of the NCHR, after it was accused of deliberately obstructing the appointments of the new commission members and chairperson for nearly two years, leaving the watchdog in a state of limbo and unable to carry out its duties in holding the government to account.

Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, chairman of the senate committee on human rights, said: Ever since Imran Khans government came to power, the NCHR has been dysfunctional. We raised this issue two or three times times, and after that the senate commission on human rights came to the conclusion that the government is consciously trying to sabotage the commission.

The period of almost two years during which the NCHR has not functioned has coincided with a decline in press freedom and human rights in Pakistan, as well as accusations of a rise in enforced disappearances carried out by military-linked agencies.

The NCHR is a relatively new body in Pakistan. Its remit includes conducting independent investigations into human rights abuses, advising the government on human rights issues and legislation, reviewing the governments implementation of human rights laws, and promoting the issue on the national political agenda.

Although it was established in 2012, it took three years for the commission to begin working properly. The first term of the commission came to an end in May 2019 and it was the responsibility of the governments ministry of human rights to oversee the appointment of its new members, who are supposed to be non-political appointees.

However, almost two years later, no one has been appointed to the watchdog. Khokar said the gloomy human rights record of Khans government was the reason the NCHR had been immobilised.

Imran Khan has been brought into power by the [military] establishment and it does not want to be challenged or held accountable, said Khokar. If such an independent organisation is allowed to function properly, then the true image of this government would be revealed internationally They do not want the human rights violations to be highlighted.

An advert for positions on the committee was first placed in May 2019, but then withdrawn without explanation. Another advert was issued in July 2019, but unlike before, a condition was included that no member of the commission should be more than 65 years old, which was then challenged as illegal.

Akhtar Cheema, a lawyer and former legal adviser to Pakistans senate, said the age-limit restriction was a method of delaying the appointments to the NCHR. The government knew it would be challenged in the court of law and delay the process of the selection, as it was against the law,. And thats what happened, said Cheema.

Pakistan is a signatory of several international conventions on human rights, political rights and torture, and Cheema alleged that one of the ways the NCHR had angered the government was by monitoring the violations of those conventions, mainly by the military.

He cited the examples of NCHR reports, which were not liked by the authorities in power, into the systematic violation of minority rights, and allegations by farmers in Okara, Punjab, that their lands were forcibly occupied by the military.

There are many grey areas in Pakistan and the commission had the judicial power to start inquiries, receive private complaints on human rights violations, conduct research and investigate and publish their reports, all of which bothered the government and the establishment, she said.

NCHR tried to report a few cases of human rights violations and hence it was punished.

Pakistans human rights minister, Shireen Mazari, denied that the government was obstructing the watchdog and said it had readvertised the NCHR posts in October 2020. She blamed the delay on the failure of the leader of the opposition, Shahbaz Sharif, to approve their recommendations for the posts, as is required to prevent the NCHR appointments being political.

The prime minister of Pakistan sent a list of preferences to the leader of the opposition in December, but the opposition leader hasnt sent their nominations to us yet, said Mazari. We have reminded them time and again to send their preferences. The laziness is from the side of the opposition, not the government.

However, when the government sent its preferences to the opposition leader, he was in jail. Sharif was arrested on 28 September last year on allegations of money laundering.

The first chairman of the NCHR, Ali Nawaz Chowhan, said the commission published 35 reports in the span of four years, including a detailed report on the existence of torture in Pakistan, which angered Khans government, who denied the abuses existed.

Chowhan said the previous government had also put restrictions on the commissions work, but the worst had come after Khan came to power in 2018.

It was clear that Pakistan is not implementing the torture conventions. Instead of punishing the commission for its work or reporting, the government should work on resolving human rights issues, Chowhan said, adding that it should have taken just one month, not two years, to appoint new members after May 2019.

They want us to lie to represent a positive image of Pakistan, but I believe it is better to uplift the image of Pakistan by ensuring human rights.

Link:

Pakistani government accused of 'sabotaging' rights watchdog - The Guardian

Xiyue Wang was a captive of the Iranian government for 40 months. He spent some of that time imprisoned with journalists, academics, former government officials and religious minorities. Before his 2019 release, they had a request.

"We need you to tell the world and for the world to better understand the malign behavior and oppression of the regime," Wang told Fox News. "And today, I think I must do that."

Wang has become an active participant in the renewed debate over American Iran policy. Hes writing, tweeting and speaking a warning to the new administration: The United States cannot return to the 2015 nuclear agreement without extracting deeper concessions from Irans government.

A Princeton University graduate student, in August 2016, Wang was preparing to return home from Tehran after about fourmonths of studying Persian language and history. Iranian intelligence called him in for questioning and confiscated his passport and computers. Less than three weeks later, authorities arrested him.

"They told me explicitly that you're here because you're American, because we want a deal to get Iranian prisoners back and to get Iranian assets back from the United States," said Wang. "Obama engagement didn't change Iranian behavior for better, but actually aggravated its malign behavior."

IRAN HAS BUILT NEW BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCH POSITIONS, SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW

In May of 2018, the Trump administration withdrew the US from the nuclear deal and restored the considerable economic sanctions that the agreement had lifted. The administration initiated a maximum pressure campaign designed to economically and diplomatically isolate Iran.

The Biden administration has offered to engage with Iran and the other US allies that are still part of the nuclear agreement. The US has offered to return to compliance if the Iranian government does so first.

"Should that happen, we would then seek, as weve said, to build a longer and stronger agreement, but also to engage on some of the other issues where Irans actions and conduct are particularly problematic," said Blinken last week at NATO headquarters in Brussels, citing Irans destabilization of countries in the region and ballistic missile program.

Irans government has demanded the US return to the agreement first.

Congressional Republicans remain as opposed to the deal as they were when the Obama administration initially signed on to the agreement in 2015.

"The Iranian regime is controlled by radicals who hate America, but for some reason, the Biden administration believes Irans corrupt and brutal leaders will negotiate in good faith," said Senator Marco Rubio. "There can be no good faith negotiations with a regime that uses terrorism as a tool against our allies, pledges our destruction, and has absolutely no respect for human rights."

SEN. BILL HAGERTY WARNS BIDEN OF 'INCREASING AGGRESSION' FROM IRAN, SAYS REGIME TESTING US RESOLVE

Wang is advising the Biden administration to take the Obama administrations initial approach: more pressure.

"If the Biden administration really wants to safeguard the Obama legacy, it has to understand pressure is what made the negotiation eventually work," he said. "That the Trump administration, despite its confusing rhetoric, actually adopted the same approach as Obama pressure backed by credible deterrence."

Wang said he is also motivated to shape US policy by the renewed death sentence of one of his fellow inmates, Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic. Earlier this month, United Nations human rights experts released a statement demanding his release, calling his situation "truly horrific," as hes been held in "prolonged solitary confinement for over 100 days with the constant risk of his imminent execution laying over his head."

Wang also said he would like to share his experience with the State Department, though he said no current officials have contacted him.

In response, a State Department spokesperson said:"We have been in touch with several families of current or former detained, abducted or missing U.S. Citizensin Iran. These conversations are ongoing, and we value the unique perspective they bring."

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During his first week at State, Secretary Blinken also met virtually "with almost all the families with loved onescurrentlyheld hostageand wrongfully or unlawfully detainedabroad," according to the spokesperson.

After more than 3 years in captivity, Wang has returned to his wife and young son, and to his dissertation.Originally, his work focused on a comparative study between Iran and Russia from the early 1900s to the 1930s.

"That project, which has to rely on our Iranian archives, is no longer possible, also, because of my extraordinary experience," he said. "I have shifted my interest and research to the more contemporary issue that is Russia and China's interaction with Iran since the 1970s leading up to the present day."

Continued here:

American held captive by Iran warns against return to 2015 nuclear deal without gaining concessions - Fox News

COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is facing backlash on social media after sharing an article about the controversial claim that the COVID-19 virus was created in a lab in Wuhan, China.

Husted shared an article that quotes Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying he believes the virus was manipulated in a Wuhan research laboratory to make it more contagious for research purposes and that the virus "escaped" from the lab.

In the interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Redfield expressed those ideas, but stressed they were strictly his opinion.

In February, a World Health Organization expert said the coronavirus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab and is more likely to have jumped to humans from an animal.

Husted shared the article on Twitter Friday evening, writing "So it appears it was the Wuhan Virus after all?"

Many people responded to Husted's tweet, condemning him for pushing a "dangerous narrative" and promoting anti-Asian racism at a time where violence and harassment against the Asian and Asian American community are heightened.

Unsubstantiated claims such as the one shared by Husted Friday evening have been the target of many advocating for the Stop Asian Hate movement across the country.

Thousands of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have turned to social media to support the movement using the hashtag #StopAsianHate, which became a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the Atlanta spa shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women.

Events aimed at stopping the violence and harassment directed at the Asian community have popped up across the state, with the most recent being a Stop Asian Hate rally and march held Sunday afternoon in Downtown Cleveland.

After the surge of backlash, Husted doubled-down on his original statementattempting to add clarity to his meaning but not apologizing for how his tweet was received.

"To be clear, the tweet above referred only to the Chinese GOVERNMENT. A government of oppression that imprisons people of faith, silences dissenters and the media, manipulates its currency and steals our technology," Husted wrote on Saturday. "Would anyone be shocked to learn they also lied about a communicable disease that caused a pandemic?"

Unsatisfied with Husted's explanation, many Twitter users spoke out again, calling his words "irresponsible," "dangerous," and "reckless."

RELATED: Northeast Ohio groups show solidarity for Asian community after violence, harassment

See more here:

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted facing backlash following series of controversial tweets - News 5 Cleveland

Angela Davis, arenowned activist and author. Her event at Butler was cancelled without student input. Photo courtesy of Trident Booksellers and Cafe.

ROUA DAAS |GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | rdaas@butler.edu

On March 29, without warning or discussion, Butler University administration canceled an event titled Joint Struggle and Collective Liberation, which featured a conversation with the revolutionary author, abolitionist and anti-racist activist Angela Davis. The administration abruptly and unilaterally canceled the event without the input of and without even notifying the student leaders who spent four months of tireless planning, coordination and collaboration on the event.

The event, which was set to take place on April 1, sought to highlight the advancements against racism and state violence against Black, Indigenous, People of Color, commonly written as BIPOC. It was to be hosted by the Butler Student Government Association, and co-sponsored by the Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, the Hub for Black Affairs and Community Engagement and the Diversity Center.

The world-renowned political activist, author and philosopher was anticipated to discuss topics such as antiracism, U.S. and international solidarity movements and the impacts of policing on communities of color, which would have been an unparalleled opportunity for Butler students to learn from and speak with a true Civil Rights icon and prominent leader in intersectional social justice movements.

Butler staff and administration gave an array of inconsistent and unfounded justifications for its racist and authoritative cancelation: failure to follow procedure, too high of an honorarium and inappropriate timing. Currently, they are claiming that due to obscure procedural errors, this event must be postponed and will not occur this school year. Although a statement released by the Student Government Association stated that the event will be postponed, Angela Davis team, along with the behind-the-scenes conversations with university officials, indicated that the contract had been terminated and the event was canceled.

Students working on the event have planned countless past events for which these procedures have not been enforced. The decision to arbitrarily enforce these procedures now is an attempt to specifically censor Angela Davis. It is grounded in the schools history of racism and highlights the lack of genuine support for students of color, academic freedom and political engagement at Butler University, a predominantly-white institution.

Days before Butler Universitys shameless censorship of Angela Davis, the Student Government Association was bombarded by pressure from Zionist students who claimed to oppose Davis event because of her support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement a grassroots demand for nonviolent economic pressure against Israels illegal military occupation of Palestine. This is not the first time this school year that these students have attempted to silence free speech and prevent political events on campus. Many will recall failed attempts this past fall to use student senate resolutions to cancel student organization events and place limits on topics that could be discussed.

This is also not the first time that Zionists have attempted to deplatform Angela Davis for her supportive stance on Palestine. Whether it be the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Northeastern University or Butler University, institutions which silence the voices of Black radicals such as Davis are complicit in the systems of racism and oppression which hurt BIPOC people within and beyond Butler University.

Simply put, Butler administrators are trying to silence marginalized voices in order to maintain systems of power and privilege. While Butler University claims to be an institution that supports diversity, equity and inclusion, their actions speak otherwise. In the face of opposition, they immediately rescinded support for their students of color and allowed unfounded complaints to derail a major student-organized event to the detriment of the entire Butler community.

Members of Butler Universitys academic community, as well as allied members of the Indianapolis community, released a statement demanding that the Butler Administration formally apologize to Dr. Angela Davis and immediately reinstate and affirm their support of the event.

Related

Excerpt from:

Letter to the Editor: Students demand answers, action - The Butler Collegian

The Telegraph

Smart motorways were designed without enough thought for "human error", a widows report has found, as it highlights how live lane breakdowns have increased more than 200 per cent. A transport expert hired by Claire Mercer, whose husband died on the M1, has concluded that motorways where the hard shoulder has been scrapped and four lanes of traffic are running have "the lowest level of intrinsic safety". The 220-page dossier insists that the continued roll-out of smart motorways "is not justified" because they have the "highest rate of people killed or seriously injured". Sarah Simpson, a transport specialist at the engineering consultancy Royal Haskoning DHV, has spent a year analysing Highways England data to try to establish whether smart motorways are safer than traditional ones. "I am in no doubt the All Lane Running smart motorway has the lowest level of intrinsic safety of any form of motorway," she writes in her report, sent to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Highways England. She accuses the Government-owned company of having failed to fully use a process called "Safe Systems", which attempts to reduce deaths and injuries by factoring in how "people are fallible with physical vulnerabilities, and that human error occurs" because motorists can make "unwise decisions". The author says Highways England only adopted the "Safe Systems" approach in 2015, seven years after the transport select committee said it warranted "proper exploration for adoption". She adds how new technology - such as CCTV cameras and gantries with speed limits - "can give people the impression that they are safe, even when they are not". The report found that "the risk of being in a live lane breakdown increases 216 per cent" where the hard shoulder has been scrapped and emergency refuges are dotted along the roads. Simpson says that it appears Highways England adopted a "value engineering approach used to compromise safety in order to reduce cost savings" when developing smart motorways. Highways England has rejected repeated criticism of smart motorways by "mathematically offsetting risk" by pointing to other elements in their design that enhance safety, the report adds. Mrs Mercer, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said: "Smart motorways are death traps. This report vindicates what I and other campaigners have been saying for some time. The report author warned me that she would only write what she found to be true, so it is independent. "How many more people have to suffer the heartbreak of losing a loved one or suffer life-changing injuries before action is taken?" The report, called An Independent Review of All Lane Running Motorways in England, was commissioned by the law firm Irwin Mitchell which is representing Mrs Mercer, 44, whose husband Jason, 44, died in 2019. A total of four coroners investigating deaths on smart motorways - including Mr Mercers - have written reports warning how the removal of the hard shoulder poses a risk to life. Helen Smith, a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, which is representing Mrs Mercer, said the report "lays bare more shocking details about how a cost-driven, value engineering approach is compromising the publics safety". She added: It follows on from a number of concerns raised by key figures, including a police commissioner and coroners, about the safety of smart motorways. All of this just adds to the growing groundswell of opinion that more needs to be done to improve safety on smart motorways, which operate on some of the countrys major routes. We call on the Department for Transport, Grant Shapps, and Highways England to acknowledge that the development and roll out of ALRs was flawed. They must act in accordance with their legal duties and take action to improve safety, or face formal legal action. Claire, and other families whose lives have been tragically impacted by crashes on smart motorways, are determined to bring about change for the better. "Well continue to support them in their campaign. If there are witnesses to similar accidents on smart motorways, we encourage them to get in touch with us to support the campaign. A Highways England spokesperson said they will respond to the report. Every road death is a tragic loss of life and we are determined to reduce the number of fatal incidents, and injuries, on our roads," she added. The Governments evidence stocktake of the safety of smart motorways analysed a wealth of data and found that in most ways they are as safe as, or safer than, conventional motorways. We are committed to delivering the stocktake actions to further raise the bar on smart motorway safety."

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Douglas Murray on oppression and the true passport to success - Yahoo News UK

Theres no disadvantage with state and local government police system, as argued by opponents of the agitations to decentralise the police force.

The only one touted is that police at the levels of state and local government may be used to intimidate political opponents, by Governors, local government chairmen or the ruling political party at any point in time.

This fear is not entirely baseless, but it is exaggerated; and there are antidotes to it. In support of their fears, opponents of sub-national (state and local government) police system often refer to what native authority police was allegedly used for by politicians in the first republic, by which political opponents were said to have been hounded using the instrumentality of native authority police.Nonetheless, these are some of the antidotes to the fear of misuse of federal, state and local government police forces:

1. To avoid misuse of the police at all levels, we must establish a democratic police system. In this regard, the legal and policy framework of the police system whether federal, state or local government must institute accountability, professionalism, independence in command decision, and transparency in the police system. Thats not the case even now with the single, federally controlled Nigeria Police Force. For instance, the Governor of a State cannot be questioned in any court of law for the direction he gives to the state police commissioner, talk less of the President whenever he gives direction to the Inspector General of Police. Thats a typical example of an undemocratic police system.

2. The people must be bold and alive to their responsibilities by standing up firmly against any oppressive treatment in the hands of the police and law enforcement agencies, generally. After all, thats the essence of democracy. The people cannot labour to mandate a government through their votes and become docile in the face of oppression.

3. The legal profession and civil society must be vigilant against misuse of the police by anyone including the governor of a state and or the ruling political class or party. As its said, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. In practical sense, the legal profession must organise itself to offer pro bono services to anyone subjected to oppressive treatment on account of political differences or disputes.

4. The press and social media must be massively deployed against any authority that uses the police to oppress anyone because of political differences.

5. Full advantage should be taken to enforce the fundamental rights of victims of political oppression. In other words, anyone whos subjected to police abuse which amounts to violation of fundamental rights should take maximum advantage of the fundamental rights enforcement processes. In this connection, the legal profession must stand up to encourage the judiciary to play its role in providing succour as envisaged by the constitutional guarantee of fundamental rights. The judiciary must be encouraged to exhibit courage to protect citizens who are victims of right abuses.

These and more will blunt misuse of the police at whatever level. The devil is in the details.

Omoregie, a Professor of law writes from Abuja.

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Blunting misuse of the police at all levels - Guardian

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called on citizens to take inspiration from the struggle of the Spiritual Baptist community, and work together to overcome the hardship, suffering, and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day message, she said the vibrant and thriving community is an example of resilience, triumph, and hope in the face of overwhelming odds.

Persad-Bissessar said the strength and the faithfulness of the Baptist community continue to provide her with motivation and the drive to keep going even when she feels disheartened.

She said: "Today, as we face trying times and challenges in our nation, let us take inspiration from the struggle of the Spiritual Baptist community, and work together to overcome the hardship, suffering, and challenges posed by the pandemic. But even as we continue to do our part in this health crisis, we must also tackle the other pressing issues that hamper our progress - inequality, high unemployment, crime, and limited opportunities for our young people. These challenges can be overcome, and with the strength, determination, and indomitable spirit of our people, we will prevail over this crisis and emerge stronger and more united."

Furthermore, the opposition leader stated that their survival in the face of unjust government oppression during the prohibition years by the colonial authorities is a true testament to their determination.

She noted from 1917 to 1951, for 34 years the Spiritual Baptist faith was banned in Trinidad.

However, she said they endured, and after many hardships and persistent efforts, they gained the freedom to practice their faith.

Persad-Bissessar said she is also proud to be part of apolitical party that took a central role in righting this wrong by granting the Baptist community an official holiday in 1996 on the anniversary of the repeal of the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance.

She added: "Then again under my Government, the completion of their very own school in 2012. Thank you to the Baptist community for inspiring us all with your continued strength and resilience."

Persad-Bissessar said as we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Spiritual Baptist community are unable to celebrate as they have done in past years.

She said: "I know this is difficult, and even though we may grow weary of the measures we have followed since the start of the pandemic, remember why we are doing this and why it is important - to protect your health and that of your families. I urge everyone to continue to be responsible and do your part to prevent the spread of the virus."

Go here to see the original:

Kamla: Let us unite to overcome challenges ahead - Loop News Trinidad and Tobago

By Opinion Mar 28, 2021

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Dr Lehlohonolo Kennedy Mahlatsi

Athi Nyokanas article A Case for the Abandonment of the Freedom Charter published in the Sunday Independent of March 21 presents an ideological offensive against the liberation movement and it seeks to discredit the Freedom Charter. His attack of the Freedom Charter and the non-racial perspective is baseless.

The Africanists never saw anything wrong with the non-racial alliance when its foundation was laid in 1946. In that year, Dr AB Xuma (then president of the ANC) entered into an agreement with Dr Y M Dadoo (then president of the Transvaal Indian Congress) and Dr G M Naicker (president of the Natal Indian Congress) by which the African and Indian congresses would work together on all matters of common concern in their fight against white domination.

This agreement is commonly known as the Dadoo-Xuma-Naicker Pact or Three Doctors Pact. It was this alliance which launched the National Day of Protest on June 26, 1950. It was this alliance which unleashed and waged the campaign for the defiance of unjust laws on June 26, 1952. It is this same alliance that produced the epoch-making document the Freedom Charter on June 26, 1955.

The Freedom Charter nowhere pretends that blacks were not oppressed and were therefore enjoying equal rights with their white countrymen.

The preamble of the Freedom Charter first rejects the racist premise of South African constitutional life, and recognises that the real South Africa is inhabited by all who live in it.

It then proceeds immediately to challenge the authority of a government founded on national oppression, by asserting that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality.

In this way, the Freedom Charter, in approaching the national question in South Africa, focuses unambiguously and accurately on the national relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed.

The Freedom Charter recognises the linkage between capital and discriminatory inequality to the extent of calling for the return of the country's wealth to the people, the nationalisation of the mineral wealth beneath the soil, and public ownership of the banks and monopoly industry.

Our people gathered together in Kliptown to speak of freedom. Of the 2 884 delegates, 721 were women. There were 2 186 African delegates, 320 Indian delegates, 230 coloured delegates, as well as 112 whites.

Hundreds of delegates were prevented from coming by the action of the police on June 26, 1955. A heroic and epoch making Congress of the People was convened in the face of fierce intimidation and victimisation by the racist regime and its police force.

From every corner of South Africa delegates and representatives of the people assembled at Kliptown and despite harassment by hundreds of heavy armed police they drew up a Freedom Charter, which became a blue-print of the political, economic and social structure that the people of South Africa demanded.

The imperialists, quite obviously, hate the Freedom Charter, and would love to see the South African people opt for a less revolutionary document, some kind of reforms or even, for that matter, one document that looks super-revolutionary in form but which is reactionary in essence.

* Dr Mahlatsi is SACP Free State PEC Member. He writes in his personal capacity.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

Link:

Attack on the Freedom Charter and the non-racial perspective is baseless - Independent Online

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Irans Regime Took Oppressive Measures in Persian New Year

The Iranian regime has increased its oppressive measures, simultaneous with the start of the New Persian Year.

Fearing Irans restive society, the regimes police force held a maneuver on the Eve of the Persian New Year of 1400 in Tehran. This maneuver further confirms mullahs fear of another uprising. Coinciding with the last day of [Persian New Year of] 1399, the Tehran Police held a military maneuver on Saturday morning, March 21, 2021. This maneuver was held in the presence of the State Security Force Commander, Tehran Police Chief, and Tehran Governor Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandapi in Azadi Square. Greater Tehran police forces demonstrated their capabilities in Azadi Square, wrote the state-run Fars news agency on Sunday, an outlet linked to the regimes Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

The State Security Force Commander, Tehran Police Chief, and Tehran Governor Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandapi in Azadi Square

In another similar development, Hossain Salami, head of the IRGC, in a message to the regimes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, announced the creation of three IRGC bases to implement Khameneis so-called orders to combat corruption and increase production.

The regimes police force held a maneuver on the Eve of the Persian New Year of 1400 in Tehran.

The regimes police force held a maneuver on the Eve of the Persian New Year of 1400 in Tehran

Your excellency should know that we will fight corruption. We will mobilize Basij groups and defeat the enemy, and prevent them from implementing their policies. We will free the social media from idleness; we will stay in the field, we will cross the enemy strategy and help the [regime] to [circumvent] sanctions, read Salamis message.

Salami and Khamenei speak of combatting corruption, while the IRGC and Khamenei dominate Irans economy and control the large, organized network of corruption in Iran. According to Behzad Nabavi, a government minister in several administrations in Iran: There are four institutions which control 60 percent of the national wealth. This includes Executive Headquarters of Imams Directive (Setad Ejraie Farman Imam), Khatam-alAnbia Base, Astan-e Quds, and Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled. None of these institutions are in connection with the government and parliament. All these four institutions are under Khameneis supervision. This is in addition to 10 other powerhouses under the IRGC and Khamenei control, which dominate Irans economy.

The real purpose of creating these bases and Khameneis orders is to control the society and further increase oppression.

In His speech on the occasion of Nowruz, Khamenei admitted his regime is in a deadlock, underlined the regime is in a sensitive situation and called for management of the social media.

Some try to create a negative impression and show that we are headed for a dead-end The year 1400 is sensitive and important, Khamenei said in his annual Nowruz speech on Saturday, adding, In June, we have important elections ahead that can significantly impact the future of the system. Enemies make the most of cyberspace. Unfortunately, in our countrys cyberspace, the necessary observations are not made, despite all the emphasis I have had. All the countries of the world are managing their cyberspace. But we are proud to have abandoned cyberspace. This is not an honor. This is not an honor at all; Cyberspace must be managed

Khamenei desperately intends to control restive society in different ways. But, these oppressive measures no longer work.

Abbas Abdi, one of the regimes officials from the rival factions, underlined the regimes failed oppressive measures during the Persian Fire Festival, Chaharshanbe Suri, and warned officials about peoples backlash.

The clear lesson from Chaharshanbe Suri: The [regime] is like a wood saw. If we want to saw iron with this wood saw, not only will it be unable to saw the iron, but all the ribs of this wood saw will be damaged. As is the case with the existing power, Abdi wrote on Twitter on March 17.

More:

Irans Regime Took Oppressive Measures in Persian New Year - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Tuesday, 30 March 2021, 5:05 pmOpinion: John W Whitehead

By John W Whitehead & NishaWhitehead

The church mustbe reminded that it is not the master or the servant of thestate, but rather the conscience of the state. It must bethe guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool.If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it willbecome an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritualauthority.Martin Luther King Jr. (AKnock at Midnight, June 11, 1967)

Inevery age, we find ourselves wrestling with the question ofhow Jesus Christthe itinerant preacher and revolutionaryactivist who died challenging the police state of his time,namely, the Roman Empirewould respond to the moralquestions of our day.

For instance, would Jesusadvocate, as so many evangelical Christian leaders have donein recent years, for congregants to submit to yourleaders and those in authority, which in the Americanpolice state translates to complying, conforming,submitting, obeying orders, deferring to authority andgenerally doing whatever a government official tells you todo?

What would Jesus do?

Study the life andteachings of Jesus, and you may be surprised at how relevanthe is to our modern age.

A radical nonconformist whochallenged authority at every turn, Jesus spent his adultlife speaking truth to power, challenging the status quo ofhis day, pushing back against the abuses of the RomanEmpire, and providinga blueprint for standing up to tyranny that would befollowed by those, religious and otherwise, who came afterhim.

Those living through this present age ofgovernment lockdowns, immunity passports, militarizedpolice, SWAT team raids, police shootings of unarmedcitizens, roadside strip searches, invasive surveillance andthe like might feel as if these events are unprecedented.However, the characteristics of a police state and itsreasons for being are no different today than they were inJesus lifetime: control, power and money.

Much likethe American Empire today, the Roman Empire of Jesus daywas characterized by secrecy, surveillance, a widespreadpolice presence, a citizenry treated like suspects withlittle recourse against the police state, perpetual wars, amilitary empire, martial law, and political retributionagainst those who dared to challenge the power of thestate.

A police state extends far beyond the actionsof law enforcement. In fact, a police state is characterizedby bureaucracy, secrecy, perpetual wars, a nation ofsuspects, militarization, surveillance, widespread policepresence, and a citizenry with little recourse againstpolice actions.

Indeed, the police state inwhich Jesus lived (and died) and its striking similaritiesto modern-day America are beyondtroubling.

Secrecy, surveillance and rule bythe elite. As the chasm between the wealthy andpoor grew wider in the Roman Empire, the ruling class andthe wealthy class became synonymous, while the lowerclasses, increasingly deprived of their political freedoms,grew disinterested in the government and easily distractedby bread and circuses. Much like America today, withits lack of government transparency, overt domesticsurveillance, and ruleby the rich, the inner workings of the Roman Empire wereshrouded insecrecy, while its leaders were constantly on the watchfor any potential threats to its power. The resultingstate-wide surveillance was primarily carried out by themilitary, which acted as investigators, enforcers,torturers, policemen, executioners and jailers. Today thatrole is fulfilled by the NSA, the FBI, the Department ofHomeland Security and the increasingly militarized policeforces across the country.

Widespread policepresence. The Roman Empire used its military forcesto maintain the peace, thereby establishing a policestate that reached into all aspects of a citizens life.In this way, these military officers, used to address abroad range of routine problems and conflicts, enforced thewill of the state. Today SWAT teams, comprised of localpolice and federal agents, are employed to carryout routine search warrants for minor crimes such asmarijuana possession and credit cardfraud.

Citizenry with little recourse againstthe police state. As the Roman Empire expanded, personal freedomand independence nearly vanished, as did any real senseof local governance and national consciousness. Similarly,in America today, citizenslargely feel powerless, voiceless and unrepresented inthe face of a power-hungry federal government. As states andlocalities are brought under direct control by federalagencies and regulations, a sense of learned helplessnessgrips the nation.

Perpetual wars and amilitary empire. Much like America today with itspractice of policing the world, war and anover-arching militarist ethos provided the framework for theRoman Empire, which extended from the Italian peninsulato all over Southern, Western, and Eastern Europe, extendinginto North Africa and Western Asia as well. In addition tosignificant foreign threats, wars were wagedagainst inchoate, unstructured and socially inferiorfoes.

Martial law. Eventually,Rome established a permanent military dictatorship that leftthe citizens at the mercy of an unreachable and oppressivetotalitarian regime. In the absence of resources toestablish civic police forces, the Romans reliedincreasingly on the military to intervene in all matters ofconflict or upheaval in provinces, from small-scale scufflesto large-scale revolts. Not unlike police forces today, withtheir martiallaw training drills on American soil, militarizedweapons and shoot first, ask questions later mindset,the Roman soldier had theexercise of lethal force at his fingertips with thepotential of wreaking havoc on normal citizenslives.

A nation of suspects. Just asthe American Empire looks upon its citizens as suspects tobe tracked, surveilled and controlled, the Roman Empirelooked upon all potential insubordinates, from the commonthief to a full-fledged insurrectionist, as threats to itspower. The insurrectionist was seen as directlychallenging the Emperor. A bandit, or revolutionist,was seen as capable of overturning the empire, was alwaysconsidered guilty and deserving of the most savagepenalties, including capital punishment. Bandits wereusually punished publicly and cruelly as a means of deterring othersfrom challenging the power of the state. Jesusexecution was one such public punishment.

Actsof civil disobedience by insurrectionists. Startingwith his act of civil disobedience at the Jewish temple, thesite of the administrative headquarters of the Sanhedrin,the supreme Jewish council, Jesus branded himself apolitical revolutionary. When Jesus with the help of hisdisciples, blocks the entrance to the courtyard andforbids anyone carrying goods for sale or trade fromentering the Temple, he committed a blatantly criminaland seditious act, an act that undoubtedly precipitatedhis arrest and execution. Because the commercial eventswere sponsored by the religious hierarchy, which in turn wasoperated by consent of the Roman government, Jesus attackon the money chargers and traders can be seen as an attack on Romeitself, an unmistakable declaration of political andsocial independence from the Romanoppression.

Military-style arrests in the deadof night. Jesus arrest account testifies to thefact that the Romans perceived Him as a revolutionary.Eerily similar to todays SWAT team raids, Jesus wasarrested in the middle of the night, in secret, by a large, heavilyarmed fleet of soldiers. Rather than merely asking forJesus when they came to arrest him, his pursuerscollaborated beforehand with Judas. Acting as a governmentinformant, Judas concocted a kiss as a secret identificationmarker, hinting that a level of deception and trickery mustbe used to obtain this seemingly dangerousrevolutionists cooperation.

Torture andcapital punishment. In Jesus day, religiouspreachers, self-proclaimed prophets and nonviolentprotesters were not summarily arrested and executed. Indeed,the high priests and Roman governors normally allowed aprotest, particularly a small-scale one, to run its course.However, government authorities were quick to dispose ofleaders and movements that appeared to threaten the RomanEmpire. The charges leveled against Jesusthat he was athreat to the stability of the nation, opposed paying Romantaxes and claimed to be the rightful Kingwere purelypolitical, not religious. To the Romans, any one of thesecharges was enough to merit death by crucifixion, which wasusually reserved for slaves, non-Romans, radicals,revolutionaries and the worst criminals.

Jesus waspresented to Pontius Pilate as a disturber ofthe political peace, a leader of a rebellion, apolitical threat, and most gravelya claimant to kingship,a king of the revolutionary type. After Jesus isformally condemned by Pilate, he is sentenced to death bycrucifixion, the Roman means of executing criminalsconvicted of high treason. The purpose of crucifixion wasnot so much to kill the criminal, as it was an immenselypublic statement intended to visually warn all those whowould challenge the power of the Roman Empire. Hence, it wasreserved solely for the most extreme political crimes:treason, rebellion, sedition, and banditry. After beingruthlessly whipped and mocked, Jesus was nailed to across.

As Professor Mark Lewis Taylorobserved:

The cross within Roman politicsand culture was a marker of shame, of being a criminal. Ifyou were put to the cross, you were marked as shameful, ascriminal, but especially as subversive. And there werethousands of people put to the cross. The cross was actuallypositioned at many crossroads, and, as New Testament scholarPaula Fredricksen has reminded us, it served as kind of apublic service announcement that said, Act like thisperson did, and this is how you will endup.

Jesusthe revolutionary,the political dissident, and the nonviolent activistlivedand died in a police state. Any reflection onJesus life and death within a police state must take intoaccount several factors: Jesus spoke out strongly againstsuch things as empires, controlling people, state violenceand power politics. Jesus challenged the political andreligious belief systems of his day. And worldly powersfeared Jesus, not because he challenged them for control ofthrones or government but because he undercut their claimsof supremacy, and he dared to speak truth to power in a timewhen doing so couldand often didcost a person hislife.

Unfortunately, the radical Jesus, the politicaldissident who took aim at injustice and oppression, has beenlargely forgotten today, replaced by a congenial, smilingJesus trotted out for religious holidays but otherwiserendered mute when it comes to matters of war, power andpolitics.

Yet for those who truly study the life andteachings of Jesus, the resounding theme is one of outrightresistance to war, materialism and empire.

Ultimately,as I point out in my book BattlefieldAmerica: The War on the American People, this is thecontradiction that must be resolved if the radicalJesusthe one who stood up to the Roman Empire and wascrucified as a warning to others not to challenge thepowers-that-beis to be an example for our modernage.

After all, there is so much suffering andinjustice in the world, and so much good that can be done bythose who truly aspire to follow Jesus Christsexample.

We must decide whether we will follow thepath of least resistancewilling to turn a blind eye towhat Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as the evils ofsegregation and the crippling effects of discrimination, tothe moral degeneracy of religious bigotry and the corrodingeffects of narrow sectarianism, to economic conditions thatdeprive men of work and food, and to the insanities ofmilitarism and the self-defeating effects of physicalviolenceor whether we will be transformednonconformists dedicated to justice, peace, andbrotherhood.

As King explained in a powerful sermondelivered in 1954, This command not to conform comes [from] Jesus Christ, the worlds most dedicatednonconformist, whose ethical nonconformity still challengesthe conscience ofmankind.

Furthermore:

We need torecapture the gospel glow of the early Christians, who werenonconformists in the truest sense of the word and refusedto shape their witness according to the mundane patterns ofthe world. Willingly they sacrificed fame, fortune, and lifeitself in behalf of a cause they knew to be right.Quantitatively small, they were qualitatively giants. Theirpowerful gospel put an end to such barbaric evils asinfanticide and bloody gladiatorial contests. Finally, theycaptured the Roman Empire for Jesus Christ The hope of asecure and livable world lies with disciplinednonconformists, who are dedicated to justice, peace, andbrotherhood. The trailblazers in human, academic,scientific, and religious freedom have always beennonconformists. In any cause that concerns the progress ofmankind, put your faith in thenonconformist!

Honesty impels me to admit thattransformed nonconformity, which is always costly and neveraltogether comfortable, may mean walking through the valleyof the shadow of suffering, losing a job, or having asix-year-old daughter ask, Daddy, why do you have to goto jail so much? But we are gravely mistaken to thinkthat Christianity protects us from the pain and agony ofmortal existence. Christianity has always insisted that thecross we bear precedes the crown we wear. To be a Christian,one must take up his cross, with all of its difficulties andagonizing and tragedy-packed content, and carry it untilthat very cross leaves its marks upon us and redeems us tothat more excellent way that comes only throughsuffering.

In these days of worldwide confusion, thereis a dire need for men and women who will courageously dobattle for truth. We must make a choice. Will we continue tomarch to the drumbeat of conformity and respectability, orwill we, listening to the beat of a more distant drum, moveto its echoing sounds? Will we march only to the music oftime, or will we, risking criticism and abuse, march to thesoul saving music of eternity?

ABOUT JOHNW. WHITEHEAD

Constitutional attorney and authorJohn W. Whitehead is founder and president The RutherfordInstitute. His books BattlefieldAmerica: The War on the American People andAGovernment of Wolves: The Emerging American PoliceState are available at http://www.amazon.com.He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The RutherfordInstitute. Information about The Rutherford Institute isavailable at http://www.rutherford.org.

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