Civil Society and Human Rights in Iran
Civil society in Iran remains fragile. A human rights group, with many international connections was recently banned and its cofounder has been sent to prison for disclosing "classified information" and producing "propaganda against the regime."The first report is from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The second one is from the New York Times.
There was also a report in The Peninsula, Qatar's Leading English Daily
Iran: Officials Ban Rights Group Led By Nobel Peace Laureate
"Iran has banned a rights group led by the country's 2003 Nobel Peace laureate, Shirin Ebadi. The Interior Ministry said on August 2 that Ebadi's four-year-old Center of Human Rights Defenders failed to obtain a valid operating permit and warned that any related activities could be prosecuted. The center has been an ardent voice for human and minority rights in Iran since its inception. Ebadi, who has been among the Iranian leadership's fiercest critics...
"PRAGUE, August 7, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The Interior Ministry says in its statement that the Center of Human Rights Defenders had no official permit and its activities were therefore 'illegal.'
"But Shirin Ebadi, who leads the group, tells RFE/RL that her group has been operating in Iran legally...
"Shirin Ebadi... tells RFE/RL that human rights work in Iran is not 'easy,' but she says her center is determined to continue its activities.
"'All of our activities are in accordance with Iranian laws,' Ebadi says. 'There is no reason to suspend or stop them.'"
Iran: Rights Group Led by Nobel Peace Laureate Banned
"The authorities have banned a rights group founded in 2002 by a group of lawyers and led by Shirin Ebadi, the only Iranian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The Interior Ministry said the group, the Center for Protecting Human Rights, had failed to obtain a valid operating permit. 'Its activities are illegal and the violators of this decision will be prosecuted,’ the ministry said. The group has defended dissidents and journalists and has repeatedly criticized Iran's hard-line judiciary. Ms. Ebadi, who won the Nobel in 2003 and headed the Tehran City Court from 1975 until the revolution in 1979, after which women were banned from such posts, said her center needed no special permit under the Constitution. Last month, another of the center’s founders, Abdolfattah Soltani, was sentenced to five years in prison..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:53 AM
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The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty web site offers more information on official Iranian opposition to civil society beyond the control of conservative religious leaders.
Iran: Times Get Tougher For NGOs
"Facing official restrictions on meaningful participation in political affairs, some Iranians have come to view nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as a way to get involved and help themselves and others. But hard-liners associated with Iran's president have expressed misgivings about NGOs.
"WASHINGTON, August 11, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The most recent expression of official distrust was the government's ban in early August of a human rights group led by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. "There are thousands of such entities currently operating in Iran, with estimates ranging from 8,000 to 20,000. They include charities, as well as organizations that deal with youth affairs, environmental issues, women, human rights, and vulnerable groups. "The former administration of reformist President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) encouraged the creation of NGOs and earmarked funding for their establishment. The main goal of the reformists was political development.
"And the development of civil-society entities like NGOs was seen as an essential part of this process. Even as his second term in office ended, Khatami revealed his continuing confidence in NGOs by registering a group that would focus on the 'dialogue among civilizations,' the motto of his presidency.
"Some Iranian conservatives regard them as suspicious Western-style institutions that are inappropriate for the Islamic republic. The hard-line Islamic Coalition Party's Hamid Reza Taraqi called it 'impossible to deal with the people's demands by setting up NGOs,' Etemad reported on July 28, 2005. Taraqi offered that such groups 'are based on the Western way of thinking and models that are not in tune with [Iran's] cultural structure and civilizations.'
"Taraqi also criticized the Khatami administration for allocating funds for NGOs. He predicted that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's administration would adopt a different approach.
"'Instead of promoting such formations and Western models,' Taraqi said, Ahmadinejad 'will try to make use of the mosque and religious teams...in order to pursue public demands.' He suggested that such institutions 'are more commensurate with the indigenous culture.'..."
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