Category Archives: Government Oppression

It is late on a Wednesday evening and in Niknaz Aftahi's second-floor Richmond apartment an underground class is just about to start.

"Has anyone new joined?" asked Aftahi, looking at the video conferencing site where her students are gathering.

Aftahi is preparing to teach English for Architecture to a handful of students logged in from her native Iran. It is, for Aftahi, a chance to give something back to people who had given her so much.

"I want to give back to this Institute that gave me the privilege of becoming educated," Aftahi said.

Aftahi is referring to the Baha'i Institute For Higher Education or BIHE. Formed 30 years ago, the BIHE is an underground university in Iran educating members of the Baha'i faith. The Baha'i, Aftahi says, are being systematically oppressed by the religious government of Iran. One way in which that happens is making it difficult, if not impossible, for young Baha'i to pursue higher education.

Which is where BIHE comes in.

The BIHE has no campus or buildings. Professors meet their students in the kitchens, living rooms, and basements of sympathetic homeowners. It is not without risk, though. The government has, at times, raided homes and jailed professors.

Aftahi graduated from BIHE in 2010.

"Teaching at BIHE in Iran means any day you can go to prison, so they put their lives (one the) line," Aftahi said. "I always see that as a big sacrifice and the did that for me."

After graduating BIHE, Aftahi moved to the United States and was accepted to study for a Master's Degree in Architecture from U.C. Berkeley.

Now established as a working architect for a firm in Berkeley, Aftahi dedicates her early mornings and late evenings to her students in Iran. It is risky for them even to take her class.

Aftahzi also realizes that, until government attitude toward the Baha'i changes, she will not feel safe traveling back to Iran to see her family. A nephew of hers died last year but she didn't return for the funeral.

"That was hard," Aftahi said. "Very difficult but it was my choice. And I made that choice."

Aftahi hopes that by shedding light on a school that operates in the shadows pressure will build on the government of Iran to change its position.

Until then, she will keep teaching long distance, hoping for big change.

Published at 10:58 PM PDT on Apr 27, 2017 | Updated at 8:00 AM PDT on Apr 28, 2017

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Berkeley Architect Fights Religious Oppression With Education: Teaches At Illegal, Underground University - NBC Bay Area

Tess Holgate | April 28th, 2017 03:36 PM |

For the first time, Russia has made the list ofthe worlds worst oppressors of religious freedom, according to a new report.

Russiasongoing crackdown on religious minorities, foreign missionaries and evangelism has earned it a spot among the worst offenders list produced by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), released on April 26.

The list alsoincludes the Central African Republic, China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Vietnam.

Russias Supreme Court officially declared Jehovahs Witnesses an extremist group

The report says, Russias continued use of its anti-extremism law as a tool to curtail religious freedoms is one of the reasons USCIRF has recommended for the first time that Russia be designated as a country of particular concern.

On April 20, Russias Supreme Court officially declared Jehovahs Witnesses an extremist group and banned all their activity.

The judge ordered all 395 local chapters and its Russian headquarters to close and authorised the government to seize all property. Under the ruling, distributing copies of The Watchtowermagazine, discussing their beliefs in public, andeven worshipping at a meeting hall have become crimes.

In July 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a suite of new anti-terrorism laws that appeared to severely restrict evangelism and missionary activity.

Under the new laws, it is illegal to share the Christian faith in homes or anywhere except recognised church buildings. The legislation gives the government more access tosurveillance of internet activity, and forbids Russian Christians from sendingemail invitations to any event designed to recruit someoneinto a religious group. Fines are up to $US780 for an individual and $US15,500 for an organisation.

The legislation gives the government more access to surveillance of internet activity

The Russian government views independent religious activity as a major threat to social and political stability, an approach inherited from the Soviet period, the report says.

After 70 years of Communist rule, the government once again treats the Russian Orthodox Church as the state church, it says.

Religious groups not affiliated with state-controlled organisations are treated with suspicion. Over time, the Russian government has come to treat the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (MPROC) as a de facto state church, strongly favouring it in various areas of state sponsorship, including subsidies, the education system, and military chaplaincies; this favouritism has fostered a climate of hostility toward other religions.

Many observers have become numb to violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. USCIRF report

Some of Russias violations are not directly targeted at religion, but may focus on requirements for building permits or restrictions on association.

The state of affairs for international religious freedom is worsening in both the depth and breadth of violations. The blatant assaults have become so frightening attempted genocide, the slaughter of innocents, and wholesale destruction of places of worship thatless egregious abuses go unnoticed or at least unappreciated. Many observers have become numb to violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the report says.

Egypt and Iraq, whichspent six and eight years on the list respectively, have both been removed from the list this year, because of improvements in religious freedom conditions.

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Russia makes 'world's worst' list for religious oppression - Eternity News

JALANDHAR, PunjabInteracting with media on April 28 at Jalandhar, the President of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann said that the ruling BJP wants to oppress the minorities in Indian sub-continent. He further said that the BJPs student wing ABVPs hooliganism was rising in educational institutes and it needs to be controlled.

Accusing the Narendra Modi led Union government of India for not welcoming Canadian Defense Minister S. Harjit Singh Sajjan properly, S. Simranjit Singh Mann said that the Prime Minister meets minor officialsof other countries, however he didnt meet Canadian Defense minister S. Harjit Singh Sajjan as he was a Sikh.

Lashing out at Captain Amarinder Singh led Congress government for not delivering onto pre-poll promises, S. Mann said that the Congress government has completely failed in controlling Drug menace in Punjab. He said that the drugs were being sold in villages of Punjab openly as the Punjab government couldnt unearth the kingpins of Drug mafia.

Bhai Resham Singh California, Bhai Sukhjit Singh Daroli Klan, S. Gurdial Singh UK, S. Sulakhan Singh Shahkot, S. Sarabjit Singh Bajuha, S. Avtar Singh Aneja, S. Sahib Singh Jalandhar etc. were present on this occasion.

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Simranjit Singh Mann Blames BJP For Continued Oppression of Minorities in India - Sikh24 News & Updates

Former lawmakers Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung Chung-hang have vowed to fearlessly resist political oppression following theirsurprise arrest on Wednesday morning.

Dont dream that the government will reconcilewith the opposition camp it will only continue oppressingvoices forself-determination. But we will fearlessly fight for our ideals, Yau said outside the Central Police Station on Wednesday afternoon.

Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching met the press outside the Central Police Station. Photo: Apple Daily.

The pair are facing one charge of allegedly participating in an unlawful assembly, and an alternative charge of forced entry. They paid HK$3,000 bail money and will appear at the Eastern Magistrates Courts on Friday.

But they said it is very unlikely that they will plead guilty to the charges.Leung added that three of their former assistants are facing similar charges and will appear in court together with them on Friday.

Wednesdays arrests were related to a chaotic episode at the legislature onNovember 2 last year, when the pairtriedto barge into a meeting room following Legislative Council President Andrew Leungs decision to bar them from attending any meetings. At the time, the duo were facinga judicial review case filedby the government challenging the validityof their oaths of office.

The chaos left three security guards injured and hospitalised. The pro-Beijing camp and the Legislative Council Secretariatcalled police for assistance.

Unreasonable and unacceptable

Two weeks after the incident, the High Court ruled that the oaths of Yau and Leung were invalid, thereby disqualifying them from the legislature. Baggio Leung argued that they were still lawmakers before the ruling.

A security guard was sent to the hospital duringthe chaos lastNovember 2. File Photo: Stanley Leung/HKFP.

Hedescribed the charge ofunlawful assembly as bizarre, unreasonable and unacceptable on the basis that lawmakers are entitled to attend meetings to fulfil their duty.

He added that he and Yau were politicallytargeted because technicallyunlawful assembly takes place every day. He gave the example of Tuesdays football match at Mong Kok stadium whereChinese football fans unfurled an anti-Hong Kong independence banner.

That was also unlawful assembly, and they harassed a lot of HongKong people, Leung said.

Politicalgroup Civil Human Rights Front also argued that the pair should have been considered lawmakers on the day in question.

[Yau and Leung] were entitledto attend the meeting. Those who unreasonably prevented the pair from fulfilling their duty as lawmakers should be condemned, it said.

It alsoaccused incumbent leader Leung Chung-yingof cleansing the camp of dissident voicesin preparation ofthe assumption of office by incoming chief executive Carrie Lam in July. It said political oppression had intensified since the Legislative Council election last September.

Iturged the pro-democracy camp and civil groups to stand united.Even if we disapprove of their ideologies, we will fight to the death to defend their political rights, it added.

Former lawmakers Baggio Leung (L) and Yau Wai-ching (R) outside the High Court. File photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP.

Lawmaker Long Hair Leung Kwok-hung saidthe government should take all the blame on the basis that the chaos would not haveoccurred had the duosoaths not been challenged.

He added that Andrew Leung should also be partly responsible as he decided to bar Yau and Leung from attending meetings.

The pro-democracy Demosisto party said in a statement that the politically driven arrest on Wednesday showed it was unrealistic to expect the new government to mend its relationship with the pro-democracy camp.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Starry Lee, leader of the pro-Beijing DAB party said everyone should take responsibility for their actions if a security officer is hurt: We have to trust our police and our relevant department[s].

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'Absolutely unreasonable': Ousted Hong Kong lawmakers vow to 'fearlessly' resist political oppression after arrest - Hong Kong Free Press

The Badger Herald

While socialism breeds oppression, capitalism spurs democracy, economic prosperity The Badger Herald Not only has capitalism increased quality of life wherever is it adopted, but it encourages the establishment of democratic forms of government. The hypothesis of the link between economic freedom and political freedom was put forward by Nobel ...

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While socialism breeds oppression, capitalism spurs democracy, economic prosperity - The Badger Herald

For those non-minority parents who struggle to pay their childrens college tuition, things may get worse.

On Tuesday, the student government at Western Kentucky University voted, 19-10, in support of free tuition for black students as a means to apologize for slavery.

The reparation bills co-author, Andre Ambam, said that it will level the economic playing field for black students who cannot afford to go to WKU as well as be a symbolic apology by the current generation of white students for racial oppression:

If you really care about diversity, if you really care about inclusion, if you really care about making this campus safe and accessible to everybody, having the student governments support of reparation[s] for black students would be amazing, Ambam said.

If adopted by the administration, black students would be easily admitted; tests administered to students for admittance would be dropped for blacks seeking to enroll, and blacks in certain sections of the country where they are disadvantagedone presumes this means the inner city and Southwould be automatically enrolled.

But not everyone in the student senate is in favor of free tuition for blacks and notes that it will place the economic burden on other students and their parents, and hence would create a new type of discrimination.

While acknowledging there is an obvious disadvantage to African-American students, student senate member William Hurst stated that it will disadvantage other people from getting the same education. Hurst and his compatriots argue that others will have to pay higher taxes or tuition to implement these reparations.

Moreover, Hurst and other dissenters from the resolution see injustice in making white students suffer for oppression against blacks that they had nothing to do with.

Of these critics, Senator Lilly Nellans sees a scramble to keep their historically racial advantage over blacks:

A lot of times equality can feel like oppression for those who are losing their advantage. She adds, but thats not a reason we shouldnt fight for equality,

Against those who state that free tuition should either be for everyone or no one, the resolutions co-author Brian Anderson disagrees and sees political symbolism as more important than anything else:

This is something that I think is more importantly about sending a clear message than it is about actually trying to strive for the institution to actually give out free tuition to everybody, he said.

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Free College Tuition For Black Students: Whites Must Pay For Racial ... - The Liberty Conservative

The Israeli government conspired and formed an alliance with this criminal who came from Australia, and is a Jew for the burning of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque.

Taissir Rajab Al Tamimi 2004

On the morning of August 21, 1969, the South Eastern wing of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was set ablaze by an Australian Jew. It triggered a surge of resentment and grief among the Muslimpopulation across the world. They had already carried out massive protests in 1967 against Israeli occupation of Jerusalem and aggression in Jordan, Syria and Egypt but now,this incident called for a greater action. Hence, the leaders of the Muslim Arab and non-Arab nations came together in an Islamic summit conference to discuss the grievances faced by the Muslim brotherhood at the hands of the Israelis and to devise strategies to ensure Israels withdrawal from all Arab territories that were occupied in 1967. It also pledged support for Palestinian people in struggle for their liberation. With the recognition of unity and support of the participating countries, the conference established the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 1969 with the permanent secretariat located in Jeddah. To date, the organisation has 57 member states, including Pakistan, and declares that it is the collective voice of the Muslim world. OIC has been speaking against the ongoing Syrian governments oppression of the protestors and also suspended its membership in 2012. However, it has not been able to do anything substantialto prevent international involvement into the conflict and resolving the refugee problem.

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Past in Perspective - The Nation

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) An argument before the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday hinged on whether Cisco Systems intentionally assisted the Chinese government in its persecution of practitioners of a religion called Falun Gong.

The appellants claim a federal judges decision in 2014 that a group of Chinese and U.S. citizens could not pursue their claims against Cisco due to jurisdictional issues was incorrect.

Instead, their attorney Paul Hoffman argued Cisco manufactured a surveillance software program with explicit knowledge the Chinese government would use it to identify, arrest and in some cases torture and kill members of a religious sect.

Ciscos attorney Kathleen Sullivan acknowledged the human-rights violations laid out in the complaint were odious, but said Cisco didnt bear any responsibility.

This lawsuit is inappropriate to bring against a company that lawfully exported internet infrastructure to China, Sullivan told the three-judge panel.

To punish U.S. companies for the actions of a foreign government amounts to an end-around of U.S. foreign policy and opens a Pandoras Box, she said.

But Hoffman said the case was akin to others where a company actively participated in a program they knew was being used to violate human rights.

The allegations go far beyond that, Hoffman said.

The Chinese Community Party has attempted to suppress Falun Gong since the 1990s.

The Falun Gong is a religion with both Buddhist and Taoist influences, combining meditation and spiritual exercises with a moral philosophy that emphasizes truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

After its founding in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, the modern mind-body practice spread quickly throughout China, garnering as many as 70 million followers in 1999.

Around that time, the Chinese Communist Party began to view the religion as a threat, and enacted a crackdown and propaganda effort aimed at snuffing out the burgeoning practice.

This effort reportedly involved forced conversions, labor camps, extrajudicial killings, psychiatric abuse and other abusive forms of brainwashing perpetrated by the Chinese government.

Hoffmans clients, consisting of an assortment of U.S. and Chinese citizens, say they were subjected to the abuses and claim Cisco was at least partially responsible.

In their 2011 lawsuit, the members of Falun Gong say Cisco developed a surveillance software called Golden Shield and then customized it with the specific intent to help the Chinese government identify and track down members despite knowing about the human-rights violations.

They didnt just develop the software, they developed an entire system to designed to collect information and these peoples backgrounds, and that information was used for the advancement of this persecution Hoffman said at the hearing.

The lawsuit was initially dismissed by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila on technical grounds, agreeing with Cisco that the federal courts are not the appropriate venue for the case.

Circuit Judge Marsha Berzon attempted to delve into whether the softwares development in San Jose could trigger jurisdiction. But Sullivan said the religious groups claims about Ciscos actions in the Silicon Valley are vague and unspecific.

At one point, Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt asked whether Ciscos actions could be compared to a company that makes the nerve gas Syrian President Bashar Assad used on his own people last month, and whether that constituted aiding and abetting.

Yes, but that is not what happened in this case, Sullivan said, adding none of the Cisco executives named in the lawsuit knew or believed they were aiding and abetting Chinas human-rights violations.

The panel is expected to rule in the coming weeks.

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Cisco Had a Hand in Chinese Oppression, Sect Says - Courthouse News Service

Srinagar: Wearing black shrouds as a mark of protest and shouting slogans against Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, activists of Jammu and Kashmir Youth National Conference (JKYNC) took out a protest march on Tuesday, against the use of force and harassment by the government, from the party headquarter Nawai-Subah to Press Enclave in Srinagar. Led by its president Salman Sagar, the activists condemned the use of force against people including students. Sagar said the protest was against the unprecedented force used by the government against the people, especially against the students of various colleges, on Monday. He expressed solidarity with the students and claimed that even while Kashmir was burning the government was not waking up from its sleep. We do not even see any condemnations from them on the viral videos. If this government thinks that nothing is happening, then it is blind, deaf and dumb. We want them to see, hear and say something as the people had given them a mandate. We want the Governors Rule to be imposed in the state so that people get respite, Sagar said. Sagar said their protest was symbolic and the organisation wants to warn the government that if it does not stop oppression on people, the NC will come out on roads.

Education, Kashmir Students rise, Kashmiri students, National Conference

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In black shrouds, NC activists protest 'oppression' - Kashmir Reader - Kashmir Reader

DW: The confrontation between government and opposition in Venezuela is continuing, with no sign of reconciliation. The power struggle is increasingly taking place on the street, and it's now claimed another two victims, including a 14-year-old boy who was shot and killed. How can the spiral of violence in Venezuela be stopped?

Henrique Capriles: We Venezuelans are not violent; I think the world has realized that. We are a peaceful people trying to escape this crisis by means that are written into the constitution. What will end the phase in which our country currently finds itself? Allowing free and democratic elections and respecting the constitution, to put a stop to this coup d'tat that's being staged and controlled by Maduro together with the Supreme Court.

What is the limit of the violence the opposition is prepared to endure?

The violence is being promoted by the government itself. The government has paramilitary groups - armed civilians - that operate on the fringes of legality. We've also seen repression by state security forces. What we've experienced is rampant oppression, and the government has to stop this. The government is violating human rights. A thing like that has no statute of limitations. All democratic governments and international organizations have spoken out about this. Maduro has to understand that he can't place himself above the constitution, or on the fringes of the constitution, and that violating the constitution has consequences.

Protesters have clashed with police during anti-Maduro rallies in Caracas

What role should the international community play?

We've now heard a clear position from the international community for the first time. This explicitly calls on Maduro to respect the constitution. There's been a breach of the constitutional order, which must be reinstated. This is the position Germany and the European Union have taken. Just recently, it was announced that my political rights were being revoked for 15 years. The European Union and Germany responded to this, too.

What political scope do you still have now that your political rights have been withdrawn?

I don't recognize this decision. Of course I will fight for it to be rescinded. Maduro believes that by doing this he can prevent me from standing as a candidate and becoming president. He believes that when they decide to call an election, he can choose who gets to stand. He believes he can choose his opposition. That is absolutely unacceptable to the Venezuelan people.

Henrique Capriles Radonski is regarded as the opposition's most promising candidate for the coming elections in 2018. The Venezuelan politician is currently governor of the federal state of Miranda. Last week the government withdrew his right to hold public office for 15 years. What effect this has on his post as governor remains unclear.

The interview was conducted by Ana Plasencia

Violent protests erupted across the country following a Supreme Court decision in late March to strip the legislative branch of its powers. Amid an international outcry, President Nicolas Maduro reversed the decision, but it was too late. Thousands have taken to the streets in the weeks since to call for new elections. They show no signs of stopping.

As of March, Venezuela's inflation rate surpassed 220 percent, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics. The country's largest bill - the 100 bolivar note - was worth just $0.04 at the end of last year. Shopping trips now require stacks, or even bags, of cash to buy the bare necessities.

An estimated 80 percent of food items and other basics were in short supply by last year. Venezuelans spend more than 30 hours a week waiting in lines to shop, and are often confronted with empty shelves when they finally can enter a store. President Maduro blames the crisis on US price speculation. The opposition, however, accuses the government of economic mismanagement.

In Colombia, Venezuelans are collecting medical supplies to send home, as seen in this picture. Hospitals around the country have compared conditions to those seen otherwise only in war zones. As patient deaths rise, health officials have sounded the alarm on the rise of malaria and dengue fever.

Electricity blackouts and fuel shortages have also driven Venezuelans to desperation. Despite Venezuela's possession of the world's largest oil reserves, drivers face long lines at the gas pump. A 50-percent collapse in oil prices in 2014 devastated the oil-dependent economy. In 2013, revenues were $80 billion. That figure dropped to $20 billion by 2016, according to IMF figures.

Lower poverty rates, better education and health, and economic growth: These are all part of the legacy of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013. Equally part of the socialist's legacy was mismanagement. Not only did he fail to keep the state oil company up to date under increased government control, but his government also overspent despite a drop in oil production after 2006.

Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, has been in office for four years and has two more to go. The opposition center-right coalition, which has controlled the National Assembly since 2015, has accused him of "abandoning his post" by failing to stem the economic devastation. It has also denounced him for rights abuses.

The most recent example of Maduro's rights abuses was to silence opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, pictured above. In early April, Capriles was banned from seeking public office for 15 years due to "administrative irregularities" in his role as a governor. Capriles had been at the forefront of demands for a referendum on Maduro. The ban further inflamed tensions with protesters.

Aside from protests, the opposition collected 2 million signatures for a referendum last year, roughly 10 times the number required. And in a move against the Supreme Court - and in lieu of impeachment hearings - it also held a symbolic trial for Maduro. Numerous attempts to stymie its attempts to pressure the government have only emboldened these lawmakers.

Last September saw some 1 million Venezuelans march on Caracas. The opposition hopes April 19 protests - "the mother of all protests" to coincide with Maduro's fourth annivesary - will be even bigger. Meanwhile, the international community looks on with concern. The Organization for American States is mulling a suspension for Venezuela unless it calls elections to emerge from "dictatorship."

Author: Kathleen Schuster

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Capriles: 'The government is promoting the violence' - Deutsche Welle