Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10231984 - X.3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Supervisor Tom Torlakson Contra Costa DATE: October 23, 1984 County SUBJECT: BAHA'I FAITH SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION BACKGROUND: I met with a representative of the Baha'i Public Information Service of Contra Costa County, Hugh Toloui , who provided me with background infor- mation on behalf of the Baha' i communities throughout Contra Costa County. (Please see attached information. ) On behalf of the Baha ' i community, Mr. Toloui is requesting the Board adopt a resolution which holds the government of Iran responsible for protecting the rights of all its citizens including the Baha ' is. RECOMMENDED ACTION: I support this resolution and would like to refer the attached information and draft resolution to the County Administrator for review and recommendation. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE - OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON October 23 , 1984 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER f' VOTE OF SUPERVISORS X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT 1 ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: 1 ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD 9 OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. O 169 CC: County Administrator ATTESTED October 23 , 1984 Supervisor Torlakson J.R. OLSSON, COUNTY CLERK S AN EX OFFICIO CLERK OF THE BOARD t" f. Maez/i-es BY DEPUTY n 'r w Baha'i Public Information Service of Contra Costa County P.O. Box 2642 Martinez, CA 94553 September 10, 1984 Mr. Tom Torlakson , Chairman Contra Costa Board of Supervisors 651 Pine Street Box 911, Martinez , CA 94553 Dear Supervisor Torlakson , We , the Baha ' i Public Information Service of Contra Costa County, would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves . and , on behalf of the Baha' i communities throughout Contra Costa County, ask for your assistance on behalf of the members of the Baha ' i Faith in Iran. In the past year there has been a great deal of information in the media concerning the plight of the Baha' is in Iran and their treatment by the Khomeini regime. Since taking power, the present goVernment has set upon a program, the aim of which is to eliminate Baha ' is. To date, more than 170 individuals, including women and teenage girls , have been executed , while thousands have been made homeless, lost their jobs , and had their possessions confiscated . Recently, membership in the Baha ' i Faith has been made a . criminal offense and Baha' is are forbidden to meet, worship , or even discuss the Faith amongst themselves. More than 700 Baha ' is are known to be in prison in Iran . All are being persecuted solely because of their religion. Since Baha' is do not engage in partisan politics and will not take up arms to defend themselves, one of the few defenses available to them is the help of influential institutions and concerned individuals outside the Baha ' i Faith. In the past year , many groups and individuals have condemned these persecutions taking place in Iran, such groups and individuals as Amnesty International, President Reagan, Senators Heinz , Hart and Cranston, Congressmen Dellums and Lantos, and many other members of the Congress. Many foreign governments , including Great Britain , Australia, Germany, France, and Switzerland have also passed resolutions in defense of the Iranian Baha 'is. This past November, the United States Congress introduced a joint resolution , passed on May 22, 1984 , (H. Con . Res. 226) , condemning Iran for its inhumanity. We have enclosed a copy of this resolution , along with some background information. ' 70 t We feel that such courageous, humanitarian support has had its effect, and that the situation would have been far worse if this pressure had not been brought to bear on the Iranian government. Even the most despotic regimes are moved to some extent by world opinion. To this effect , 'we are asking that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors add its voice to the others by passing a resolution similar to those passed by our National Congress , the legislature of the State of California , and other states and hundreds of local bodies. We believe .that your effort and the effort of hundreds of government entities around the country will have a cumulative effect and bring the weight of- moral pressure to bear on the Iranian government, thereby saving many innocent lives. We thank you for your consideration of this matter and offer you our assistance, by providing further information , if desired , and in any other way we can. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments. We would be happy to meet with you . Sincerely, Clifford Mays , Chairperson Baha ' i Public Information Service of Contra Costa County P.O. Box 2624 Martinez, CA 94553 encl . .- Copy of H . Con . Res. 226 Information packet 0 1'71 2 s United States Second Mouse resolution censures Iran On May 22, the U.S. House of Rep- ed Baha'i activities "criminal acts," anniversary of the birth of the Faith in resentatives approved House Concur- and calls on President Ronald Reagan Iran, won passage 20 days after Baha'i rent Resolution 226 which holds the to work through appropriate channels testimony before the House Subcom- government of Iran responsible for to help relieve the plight of the Bahii'is mittee on Human Rights and Interna- protecting the rights of all its citizens in Iran. tional Organizations and exactly one including the Baha'is, condemns the The Resolution, whose introduction year after a dramatic appeal by Presi- edict of August 1983 labeling organiz- in the House coincided with the 140th dent Reagan on behalf of the Baha'is in Iran. It was introduced by Rep. John Porter of Illinois who said in his re- H. CON. RES. 226 marks that its 188 co-sponsors included many members of the Congressional Whereas more than one hundred and fifty members of the Band'i faith Human Rights Caucus. have been brutally executed by Iranian authorities since the 1979 Islamic Also speaking in support of the revolution; resolution were Rep. Gus Yatron of Whereas many Baha'is in Iran have disappeared and others have been Pennsylvania, chairman of the Sub- tortured, persecuted, and deprived of their fundamental rights to personal committee on Human Rights and In- property and employment; ternational Organizations; Rep. Jim Whereas an edict issued by Iran's Prosecutor General on August 29, Leach of Iowa, the subcommittee's 1983, has far-reaching implications that threaten the lives of three hundred ranking minority member; Rep. Fort- thousand Bah;Vis residing in Iran and places the future practice of Baha'{sm ney (Pete) Stark of California; Rep. in jeopardy by dismantling the administrative structure of the BahA'i re- Carroll A. Campbell Jr. of South Ca- ligion; and rolina; and Rep. Dante Fascell of Flo- Whereas these actions for. the first time establish an expressed national rida. policy which lays the legal foundation for executions, arrests, the confisca- tion of property, denial of jobs and pensions, expulsion of Baha'i children Threefold purpose from schools, and other pressures which may be brought to bear by Iranian "The purpose of the resolution," authorities on the Baha'is: Now, therefore, be it said Rep. Porter, "is threefold. First, i• Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That holds the government of Iran responsi- the Congress— (1) holds the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of ble for upholding the rights of all its all its nationals, including the Baha'is; citizens including the Bah6'is. (2)condemns the recent decision taken by the Government of Iran to de- "Second, it condemns the Pros- stroy the Bahi'i faith by labeling as "criminal acts" all Band'i teaching and ecutor General's edict banning.the Ba- organized religious activities, including the attempts by Baha'is to elect their Wis. own local and national leaders, to meet in assemblies, to communicate "And third, it calls upon the Presi- among themselves, and to work for volunteer committees; and dent of the United States to work in the (3) calls upon the President— United Nations and other forums with (A) to work with appropriate foreign governments and the allies of the leaders of other countries to form a United States in forming an appeal to the Government of Iran concerning broad-based appeal to the Iranian gov- the BandL'is; ernment." (B) to cooperate fully with the United Nations in its efforts on behalf of Congressman Porter, in whose dis- the Band'is and to lead such efforts whenever it is possible and appropriate trict is Wilmette, site of the Mother to do so; and Temple of the West and the Baha'i ad- (C) to provide, and urge others to provide, for humanitarian assistance ministrative headquarters in the U.S., for those Baha'is who flee Iran. said, "It is an ironic crime against all Sec. 2.The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a copy of humanity that these gentle and peace- this concurrent resolution to the President. ful people have been persecuted in their homeland through 140 years of history 4 August 1984/Baha'i News 0 172 but especially since the rise to power of members of a peaceful religion are in- On May 2, three Baha'fs appeared the murderous Khomeini regime. ... comprehensible to civilized humanity. before the House Subcommittee on "Last year the Prosecutor General Among those recently executed are 10 Human Rights and International Or- of Iran issued an edict banning all Ba- women including three teen-age girls. ganizations to offer new information ha'f religious activities as criminal acts. The R&olutionary Guard tortures concerning the situation of the Baha'fs Like the Nuremberg laws, this edict es- others in prison, whipping them with in Iran since the subcommittee heard tablishes the so-called legal grounds for metal cables, pouring boiling water on testimony two years ago. mass arrests and genocide, and that is their heads. Among them was Said Eshragi, an what is occurring ...—genocide: "While there is some tentative glim- Iranian Baha'i now living in Texas "In response to this decree, elected mer of hope that worldwide protests whose father, mother and 22-year-old leaders of the Baha'i Faith in Iran did against this persecution may have di- sister were among 18 Baha'is hanged in dissolve all Baha'i institutions there, minished the Iranian authorities' ap- Shiraz in June 1983. citing obedience, as they always do, to petite for executions, the abuses con- Also testifying were Judge James F. the civil law of the land. tinue to occur and demand our unflag- Nelson, chairman of the National "But :.. this has done nothing to ging efforts to bring all pressure possi- Spiritual Assembly; Dr. Wilma Brady, prevent more torture, more persecu- ble to bear on that government for its the National Assembly's vice-chair- tion, and more executions. ... crimes. man; Rep. Porter; and Elliott Abrams, "The setting in Iran today resembles "...it is my hope that those Baha'is Assistant Secretary of State for Human Nazi Germany during Hitler's rise to who remain in Iran and who live in the Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. power ... and the world must speak darkness of this terror will hear our Rep.Tom Lantos of California, who out against it. ... words and know of our actions today. chaired the hearing in the absence of "The world must learn what is hap- "Accordingly, I urge the unanimous Rep. Yatron, proposed an interna- pening in Iran and bring the pressure support of my colleagues for this res- tional conference devoted solely to dis- of civilized opinion to bear on this bar- olution as a symbol that the Islamic cussing the persecutions in Iran with an baric situation. ... Republic of Iran cannot perpetrate an eye toward devising possible solutions. "This resolution will not, in itself, evil of this nature in silence. Interna- Mr. Abrams, who expressed the ad- change anything, but the people of this tional protests may prove futile,but ig- ministration's support for House Con- planet, united in their opposition to noring the plight of this gentle, com- current Resolution 226, said such a genocide in any form, can." mitted people would be morally negli- conference is certainly within the realm "The Subcommittee on Human gent." of possibility. Rights and International Organiza- tions,"said Rep.Yatron, " ...has long Tonga recognized the severity of the situation facing the Baha'i community in - Iran. ... "Over 170 prominent Baha'is have V` been executed since Khomeini came in- _ to power. Their places of worship have j� a been destroyed, their possessions have been confiscated, and their religion banned. ... "Baha'is in Iran have always ex- aF' perienced tremendous pressure and t .. persecution but they are being �. S slaughtered by the Khomeini regime for adherence to their faith. For this reason, I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 226." Rep. Leach, who was a member of , I the subcommittee when Baha'is first offered testimony in May 1982, said, = G "One cannot help but conclude that t , the aim of the Iranian government is � x' the extirpation of the Baha'i faith from Iran, either by forced conversion of Shown with their Tongan hosts last ception that included an exchange of Baha'is to Shi'ite Islam or 'extermi- February 25 during a visit to Tonga are gifts and a display of Band'i literature. nation.'The analogies between Iran to- 14 young women from Japan,part of a The young women said it was the first day and Germany under Hitler are 400-memberyouth group that was on a time they had heard of the Faith, and to4cring. goodwill tour of the country. The some expressed surprise when told that "The acts of inhumanity and bru- Japanese youth heard introductory the Faith has been established in Japan tality that have been heaped upon talks on the Faith during a special re- for some time. Bahh'i News/August 1984 5 0 173 Whereas more than one hundred and seventy members of the Baha'i faith have been brutally executed by Iranian authorities since the 1979 Islamic revolution; Whereas many Baha'is in Iran have disappeared and others have been tortured, persecuted, and deprived of their fundamental rights to personal property and employment; Whereas an edict issued by Iran's Prosecutor General on August 29, 1983, has far-reaching implications that threaten the lives"of over three hundred thousand Baha'is residing in Iran and places the future practice of their faith in jeopardy- by dismantling the administrative structure of the Baha'i religion; and Whereas these actions for the first time establish an expressed national policy which lays the legal foundation for executions, arrests, the confiscation of property, denial of jobs and pensions, expulsion of Baha'i children from schools, and other pressures which may be brought to bear by Iranian authorities on the Baha'is: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Contra Costa County, California, Board of Supervisors, That the Board— (1) holds the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all its nationals, including the Baha'is; (2) condemns the recent decision taken by the government of Iran to destroy the Baha'i faith by labeling as "criminal acts all Baha'i teachings and organized religious activities, including the attempts by Baha'is to elect their own local and national leaders, to meet in assemblies, to communicate among themselves, and to work ,for volunteer committees; and (3) calls upon the President of the United States— (A) to work with appropriate foreign governments and the allies of the United States in forming an appeal to the Government of Iran concerning the Baha'is; (B) to cooperate fully with the United Nations in its efforts on behalf of the Baha'is and to lead such efforts ' whenever it is possible and appropriate to do so; and (C) to provide, and urge others to provide, for humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is who flee Iran. Sec. 2. The Office of the Board of Supervisors shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States and the Governor of California. 1 0 174