wfn.org | Baha'i news: Homes demolished in campaign to drive Baha'is out of Iranian village

[Rob Weinberg <rweinber@bwc.org>]

>Baha'i World News Service
>http://news.bahai.org
>For more information, contact: news@bahai.org<mailto:news@bahai.org

Homes demolished in campaign to drive Baha'is out of Iranian village

GENEVA, 28 June (BWNS) - Homes belonging to some 50 Baha'i families in a re 
mote village in northern Iran have been demolished as part of a long-runnin g 
campaign to expel them from the region.

The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants - incited by elem 
ents inimical to the Baha'i community - blocked normal access to the villag e, 
while allowing trucks and at least four front-end loaders to begin level ing 
the houses.

Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights  
activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings re 
duced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires.

The demolitions are the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sancti 
oned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Baha'is.

"They're being forbidden to associate with Muslims, or even offer service t o 
their friends and neighbours," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Ba ha'i 
International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

"Even the smallest acts of good will - such as taking flowers to someone wh o's 
sick in hospital or donating gifts to an orphanage - these are being se en as 
actions against the regime."

Most of the Baha'i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents  
fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displ 
acement. In 2007, for example, six of their houses were torched.

"Baha'is have lived in this area for more than 100 years and it once had a  
large community," said Ms. Ala'i. "But in 1983, a few years after the Irani an 
revolution, at least 30 families from this and neighboring villages were  put 
on buses and expelled.

"Since then, they have tried to seek legal redress to no avail, while retur 
ning in the summer to harvest their crops," she said.

The day after the demolitions took place, a Baha'i man who visited the site  
with his family to harvest his produce was beaten and insulted by other re 
sidents. In the past, those who are trying to drive the Baha'is out have se t 
upon them when they tried to enter the neighborhood to rebuild or renovat e 
their properties.

Persistent government attacks on Baha'is in all the mass media - along with  
inaction by local officials to protect them - have continued to incite hat red 
against the Baha'is in the region and throughout Iran, said Ms. Alai.

"This latest action shows the degree to which the authorities have complete ly 
failed to live up to their responsibilities to protect the Baha'is and t heir 
religious freedom," she said.

Members of the Baha'i community have made repeated complaints both before a nd 
after the latest incident to local government officials, including to th e 
provincial governor in Sari. In every case, knowledge of the demolitions  or 
the motive behind them was denied.

While reports about the latest action began appearing on various Persian-la 
nguage websites on Friday, the Baha'i International Community was only able  to 
confirm details of the incident today. Latest reports indicate that 90  percent 
of the Baha'i homes have now been demolished.

To read the story online and see the photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/780