Oral Statement and Intervention by:
Karim Abdian, Director of Ahwaz Education and Human Rights Foundation

Mr. Chairman and Distinguished members of the Working Group on Minorities- Thank You for this opportunity:

My name is Karim Abdian- I am the director of Ahwaz Education and Human Rights Foundation- a minority rights advocacy NGO based in the United States.

I am speaking to you on behalf of an estimated 5 million Ahwazi Arab ethic minority who live in the Southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan or- as called by its indigenous name, Al-Ahwaz. Our region borders southern Iraq, adjacent to Kuwait.

Indigenous Ahwazis believe the exercise of the right of internal self-determination is a reasonable way to resole a potentially explosive conflict between it and the oppressive Iranian government. The hope and prospect of realizing this right could provide the basis for negotiations and dialogue.

Although indigenous Ahwazi Arabs have been subjected to political, cultural, social and economic subjugation by the past Iranian monarchist and the current clerical regimes and treat their Arab citizens of 2nd and 3rd class citizens, notwithstanding, and despite all odds, indigenous Ahwazi Arabs still have faith in the international community’s ability to convince the Iranian government to offer a just and a viable solution to resolve this conflict..

Hopelessness and frustration of the poor and desperate indigenous Ahwaz youth have in the past provided the impetus in blowing up and destroying oil installations on their land.

According to news services, eight months ago a group of indigenous Ahwazi blew up and sabotaged an oil facility in Ahwaz. In a leaflet that they left behind they stated that since they are not the beneficiary of oil, no else must be either. We expect this event to occur more frequently.

While we do not condone violence in any shape or form, no one however can expect dominated peoples and oppressed nations to keep quite forever.

Mr. Chairman, with global changes and revolution in telecommunications, we see a tremendous rise in Ahwazi socio-political self-awareness. Accordingly, a greater demand for autonomy, self rule and self-determination. Prevention or management of this conflict will depend upon the treatment and the responses of the dominant regime in Tehran as well as the int’l community’ response to the legitimate demands of indigenous Ahwazis and other oppressed nationalities for the exercise of the rights of self determination. Again, our assessment is that the majority of Iranian Arabs in Khuzestan mean internal self-determination, however there is certainly a group that may have a different interpretation.

Despite the seemingly hopeless future, we believe the right of self-determination provides a suitable means of conflict resolution. An overwhelming indigenous Ahwazis believes in non-violence and employment of civic means of struggle for the establishments of a civil society and strengthening the principles of democratic values

We believe that future of Iran as a modern and a progressive state, and a good member of the International community, could be guaranteed only through a voluntary association of all national groups constituting Iran; where they will have the opportunity to develop their respective cultures, languages, histories, economies and homelands, under an appropriate manifestation of national sovereignty in a federal, nonfederal or an equally suitable system of good governance that guarantees and respects the rights of self determination.

We Ahwazis desire coexistence with all nationalities in Iran. We advocate a self-rule, autonomy and the right of self-determination that enables and facilitate democracy and social justice.
We think the right of self-determination is basic human rights that all nations, including the Ahwazis, are entitled to, and it is the main ingredient to peace.

In summary, specific demands of the Ahwazi Arabs of Iran are partially as follows:
• Education and study in the mother tongue.
• Participation and sharing of economic wealth and resources.
• Allocation of some of oil revenues toward the development and progress in Khuzestan.
• Expeditious de-mining of Arab inhabited border areas remaining from the eight year Iran-Iraq war.
• Repair or rebuilding of Arab towns and villages in Khuzestan which were destroyed during the Iran-Iraq War.
• Allow the Arab war refugees to return to their homes in Ahwaz, Abadan, Muhamara (khuramshare) and other cities.
• Allow formation of NGOs and other civil society elements in Khuzestan such as labor unions, formation of Arab political and cultural centers etc.
• We demand the return of lands or equitable compensation to Arab landowners whose property was forcefully expropriated by the Iranian government.
• We demand safeguarding of the area ecology, and cleaning the drinking water poisoned by run-offs from the “Sugar Cane” project. We demand that the government must stop the proliferation of drugs among Arab youth and combating corruption.
• Release all political prisoners including Arabs political prisoners.
• We demand that the Iranian regime reaffirms its commitments and honor its international obligation to protect the human rights of all citizens in accordance with the U.N. human rights accords.
• we demand the presence of international lawyers in all political trials against our people especially those charged with so called separatism

Mr. Chairman, we want to note that in the past 18 months, specifically on February 18, 2004, there has been signing of contracts between the Japanese state-owned Inpex Corp and the Iranian Government, worth $2.8 billion, for the “development” of “Azedegan” oilfield in Southwestern Iran. Also the Chinese state oil company has signed a $75 billion oil and gas deal and a Norwegian oil firm signed similar oil concessions.

Mr. Chairman, these newly discovered oilfields are located in and around the two Indigenous Ahwazi-Arab villages of Hussinieh and Kusk. The Iranian government immediately changed the indigenous Arab names to Persian names of “Yadavaran” and “Azadegan” and forcefully expropriated the land.

We demand and recommend that as long as the Iranian Government does not recognize the legitimate rights of the Ahwazi Arab indigenous people of Khuzestan, these oil deal be abrogated and future oil investment in this region be avoided without the free and prior consent of its indigenous Arab population.

Thank You