Editor’s Note: The following is a translation of a commentary posted on Javan [“youth”] blog. 
“Bist va Si”, a well-known TV program among Iranians, stated on behalf of Shirin Ebadi, “I am proud of defending the civil rights of the Baha’is.”
I do not wish to interfere in Mrs. Shirin Ebadi’s business. However, a strange “logic” of Ahmadinejad’s government became apparent during the course of this program.
In this program, statements were made to the following effect, “Why hasn’t Mrs. Shirin Ebadi spoken about her support of the war in Gaza [i.e. in support of Palestinians] during the twenty-some days of that conflict and did not speak about their human rights, but states that she’s proud of supporting the Baha’is?!”
The interesting policy of the esteemed government officials is to mix everything and create confusion. The animosity of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards Baha’is is a separate issue and I won’t speak about it here, but it is quite surprising that since there is no reasonable response from the government [to Mrs. Ebadi’s questions] regarding some of its actions, such as violations of human rights, the respected government quickly condemns the questioner to exonerate herself and turns the matter 180 degrees.
This odd and astounding policy is observed in many issues of human rights in Iran. Mrs. Shirin Ebadi is one of the human rights activists in Iran and has nothing to do with other countries and their difficulties. Objecting to her by saying, “Why are Baha’i rights defended, but the rights of foreigners are not” is rather a strange protest.
The Islamic Republic of Iran should respond to the deprivation of the natural and civil rights of the Baha’is, and should not mix this objection with unrelated issues.
Shouldn’t it be so?
[Source: http://javanblog.co.cc/post-65.aspx. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]
February 3, 2009 3:30 am
How come when it comes to choosing their leaders, the mollahs claim that the people of Iran are the “smartest people in the world”, but when it comes to choosing their own beliefs, the mollahs say that Iranians are so stupid that they must be led around by the nose, like sheep?
I suppose the mollahs think they know Iranians better than anyone else. They have handed Iran over to the secretive Hujjatis, who now control the “supreme leader.” These are the very same Hujjatis that Ayatollah Khomeini, Founder of the Islamic Republic, threw into the trash heap of history.
February 4, 2009 1:56 am
A family member of mine had mentioned a very interesting point after hearing this article,
“Why should she talk about the Gaza issue when she was not called to defend this case? Why are they mixing issues?”
And this point is exactly correct. Too many issues around the Islamic World are being mixed where they shouldn’t be. Baha’is are citizens residing WITHIN Iran and require immediate attention. Shirin Ebadi has recognized this and is working towards providing rapid solutions, amidst the many false accusations of her (or her daughter) renouncing Islam and converting into a Baha’i. These baseless accusations equate no value in comparison to the many, MANY violent acts lashed out on the Baha’i Community of Iran.
Please continue to translate these articles as it provides a source of inspiration across the Western globe to take action to raise awareness. These articles are necessary in order to better clarify the situation of the Baha’is in Iran.