assaulted Baha'is in outlying villages trying to force them to recant their faith: Now, therefore, be it 1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that (a) in ac3 cordance with our own history and national traditions of op4 position to religious persecution, as well as in full respect for 5 international law and custom, the United States condemns 6 and opposes the religious persecution of peoples of the Baha'i 7 faith by the Government of Iran. 8 (b) The President and other official representatives of 9 the United States should at every opportunity before interna10 tional forums reiterate and emphasize the extent to which we 11 deplore and condemn the religious persecution of peoples of 12 the Baha'i faith by the Government of Iran. QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREDDONS Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, Federal Republic of, The Commission on Human Rights, Guided by the principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 Noting that it is imperative for all Member States of the United Nations to fulfil their obligations on the basis of international instruments to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all individuals without distinction of any kind, Recalling General Assembly resolution 36/55 by which the General Assembly proclaimed the Declaration on the "limination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Recalling also General Assembly resolution 36/22 on the practice of summary and arbitrary executions, Taking into account resolution 8 (XXXIV) of the Sub-Commission on Frevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, by which the Sub-Commission expressed its profound concern for the perilous situation facing the Baha'is in Iran, and the report 2/ by the Secretary-General pursuant to that resolution, * In accordance with rule 69, paragraph 3, of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Sconomic and Social Council. 1/ General Assembly resolution 217 A (III). 2/ E/CH.4/1517. 1. Expresses its deep concern at the continuing reports about grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran, such as summary and arbitrary executions; 2. Urges the Government of Iran as a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to respect and ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in that Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property or other status; 3. Requests the Secretary-General to establish direct contacts with the Government of Iran on the human rights situation prevailing in that country and to continue his efforts to endeavour to ensure that the Baha'is are guaranteed full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms; 4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission on Human Rights at its thirty-ninth session a report compiled on the basis of all available information, including information on any direct contacts which he may have Jestablished with the Government of Iran concerning the general human rights situation prevailing in that country; 5. Invites the Government of Iran to extend its co-operation to the Secretary-General; 6. Decides to keep the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran under consideration at its thirty-ninth session. Mr. BONKER. It is a pleasure to have you here, and we know of your interest in this subject. STATEMENT OF HON. FORTNEY H. STARK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Mr. STARK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to testify before your subcommittee today and to express and add my concern to that of others in the Congress who believe that we should condemn and oppose the repression, and possible genocide of the Baha'is in Iran. I believe you have the full text of my statement, and I would ask that it appear in your record in its entirety, and I will attempt to summarize it. I think that where you have a group of people who for a long time have been concerned with world order, peace, love, friendship and humanity, who I suspect are not very political, it seems to me to be sad and ironic that they are being repressed and oppressed. It seems to me that the reasons they are being persecuted tend to focus largely on where the Baha'is allegedly happen to live or allegedly have political offices. The accusations that have been forthcoming from Iran are that they are subversive and heretical, and that they are a political party, and that they are agents of all kinds of foreign powers, ourselves, Russia, Britain, and we will probably now find that they are agents of the Argentinians. Allegedly they are spies for all of those varied and assorted countries, and if they are smart enough to collect from both us and Russia at the same time, probably we ought to embrace them. They have a world center in Israel which, of course, is said to lead them to be hostile to Iran and the Islamic revolution, and I think you can get the tenor of the accusations that I am sure we would all feel are either coincidental or mean very little. I guess there is a question of what we could do. I agree with your statement that having hearings and calling attention to countries which participate in the world diplomatic community for their outrageous behavior is often sufficient to get a reaction, and sometimes to get the countries to reconsider their actions. I am not sure that Iran would react in this fashion. Thus, I have introduced a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that we deplore and condemn the religious persecution of the Baha'is. This has a half dozen cosponsors, and I would hope we could round up some more. I have also introduced a followup measure on the theory that a resolution might not be enough, and that followup measure is a bill that would restrict imports from Iran until the treatment of the Baha'is has improved. The bill happens to come before the Trade Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways and Means. I want to thank you for helping those of us who are concerned, in focusing attention on what would be unanimously considered inhumane treatment. I would like to work with this subcommittee in any way that I could to see if we can bring some sense of justice and some resolution to the problem which exists. I appreciate your taking the time to build a record and for letting me contribute to it. [Mr. Stark's prepared statement follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. FORTNEY H. STARK, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Mr. Chairman, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify before your subcommittee today, to express my concern about the religious persecution of the 300,000 Iranian Baha'is by the Khomeini regime. I know that many of our colleagues in Congress also believe that we must condemn and oppose the harsh repression and possible genocide of the Baha'is in Iran. It is quite sad and ironic that a people who for over one hundred years have striven to bring about the unity of mankind, world peace, and world order, should be the target of flagrant violations of human rights. I first learned about the plight of the Baha'is in Iran through constituents of mine, who are either themselves members of the Baha'i Community or who are friends of members. The shocking and disturbing letters and news clippings which I received from people in the 9th District of California, prompted me to investigate this matter further, and then to speak out against the genocidal actions of the Khomeini regime. I found that many of our colleagues were also very concerned about the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, evidenced by the number of speeches in the Congressional Record about the Baha'is. On March 9, 1982, I introduced a concurrent resolution, which expresses the sense of Congress that the President and other official representatives of the United States should at every opportunity before international forums reiterate and emphasize the extent to which we deplore and condemn the religious persecution of people of the Baha'i faith by the Government of Iran. There are presently 7 cosponsors to my resolution, and at least half a dozen other members have expressed an interest in signing it. I hope that the Subcommittee will consider my resolution in the very near future. The same day on which I introduced the concurrent resolution, I also introduced a bill to prohibit imports from Iran until it ceases the persecution of the Baha'is. I feel that if the message in the Resolution is not heeded, we must move forward with more concrete actions, such as an embargo. Although United States imports from Iran have been reduced drastically, totaling only $63.8 million for all of 1981, $3.4 million for January 1982, $2.3 million for February 1982, and $3.8 million for March 1982, imposing an embargo on even a small quantity of imports would certainly be a clear, tough signal to the Iranian Government. My bill has been referred to the Trade Subcommittee. I would like to share with the Subcommittee, some excerpts from A Cry from the Heart, by an eminent Western Baha'i, William Sears. This book is an impassioned account of the horrors perpetrated against the Iranian Baha'is, a refutation of the false and contradictory charges levelled against them, and an exposé of the genocidal purpose of the present outbreak. The following excerpt describes the atrocities taking place against the Baha'is in Iran: "The atrocities taking place against Baha'is today throughout Iran are no longer matters of suspicion or opinion. They are matters of fact. The proof can be found in the records of libraries, newsrooms, United Nations Agencies, human rights organizations, telex and cable files in every part of the world. "The spotlight of world publicity has now been turned directly upon Iran. It is no longer a secret that the killings, burnings, lootings, and torture of Baha'is are still continuing, even as these pages are being written. It is no longer possible for the persecutors to suppress or minimize the enormity of their crimes, or to hide anonymously behind the fiction of 'uncontrollable mobs'. "Those days are over! "Confiscation of property, of bank accounts, burning and looting of homes, officially sanctioned executions of innocent victims-all these things take place everywhere, in the streets, in the market-place, and in the homes. "The Bahá'ís are harassed, beaten, abused, killed. Sometimes husband and wife together. Or an entire family. Or a group of close friends, or neighbours, or business associates. Chosen at random. At the whim of the killers. "Stabbed, stoned, hanged, burned alive, hacked to pieces with knives, stood before firing-squads. "Men, women, children. No one is spared. "Their crime? "They are Bahá'ís. "These attacks have been going on for nearly one hundred and fifty years. "The first onslaught of the current persecutions began in 1978. It is now in its fourth year. The severity and spread of the outrages increase each day and become ever more sinister. There is no end in sight, and no sigh of a let-up. "What is most alarming and threatening about the present avalanche is not its violence; that has always occurred. It is the devilish ingenuity of the assault designed to eliminate an entire community of nearly half a million souls. The terror has now spread into every level of Bahá'í life, to cit;y dweller, villager and farmer. "At first the Bahá'í business houses, the repository of the savings of rich and poor Bahá'í alike, were confiscated, with no recompense. Then the great Bahá'í hospital in Teheran, built, operated and fully supported by Bahá'ís, where patients of all religions and backgrounds were treated with the same loving care, was taken over. Next, Bahá'í holy places throughout the country were occupied and put to whatever use often personal, the revolutionary authorities, equally often the man with a gun, might decide. The meeting-places of the local communities were next to be taken. Then, having deprived this helpless community, which has no rights in law, of its funds, hospital, holy places and religious properties, attention was turned to the leaders of the community. All nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly were kidnapped and have not been heard of, except by rumour, to this day. Outstanding Bahá'ís in the provincial communities were next and many of those have been executed. The obvious aim is to get rid of the capable, trusted, elected leaders before launching the attack on the rank and file. The Bahá'í community they are trying to destroy is the largest religious minority in Iran. It has more members than the Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian communities combined. In spite of this, the Bahá'í Faith is not recognized and Bahá'ís are deprived of their basic human rights. There is no one and no place in the entire country they can approach for protection. They cannot appeal to the clergy, to the courts, or to the authorities. The clergy and their religious courts are the authorities. "They are engaged in a process which the entire civilized world has always been against. "It is called: Genocide!" The alleged reasons for the genocide are listed below in the major accusations currently made against the Baha'is in Iran. The absurdity of these accusations is explained in a later section of the book—I feel, however, that the absurdity of these accusations will be apparent to all who have been following the persecution of the Baha'is, without going into the well-documented refutation. |