On April 6, 2024, the Balochistan People's Party (BPP) organized a significant protest in Cologne, Germany, to condemn the ongoing executions in Balochistan, Iran. The demonstration was aimed at raising international awareness and calling for the abolition of the death penalty, which is seen as a brutal and inhumane form of punishment.
Key Messages from the Protest
- Condemnation of Executions: The BPP strongly condemned the practice of execution, labeling it as a barbaric punishment used primarily by totalitarian regimes to instill fear and maintain control. The protestors emphasized that execution is a tool for revenge killings and terror, particularly in non-democratic countries.
- Global Context: The protest highlighted that out of 195 countries, 108 have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, and 7 have done so for ordinary crimes. However, about 18% of the world's countries, mostly totalitarian dictatorships, continue to enforce death sentences. Iran, in particular, has the highest per capita execution rate, with a significant proportion occurring in Balochistan.
- Disproportionate Impact on Balochistan: Amnesty International statistics reveal that almost 30% of all executions in Iran take place in Balochistan, despite the Baloch population constituting only 3% of Iran's total population. The events of Zahedan and Khaash, referred to as "Bloody Fridays," are cited as evidence of the Iranian regime's harsh policies against the Baloch and other oppressed minorities.
- Militarization and Demographic Manipulation: The BPP accused the Iranian regime of using militarization to achieve its goals of dividing Balochistan and establishing settlements for non-native populations. This strategy aims to displace indigenous Baloch people and manipulate the region's demographic and territorial structure.
- Role of the IRGC: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is alleged to control and lead drug trafficking in the region. The IRGC reportedly spreads drug addiction among the youth in Balochistan and all over Iran. To showcase their fight against drug traffickers, the IRGC arrests small-scale drug dealers, subjects them to torture and forced confessions, and subsequently executes them.
- Call for Abolition of Executions: The BPP considers the act of execution to be in direct contradiction with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, deeming it atrocious, inhumane, and unethical. The party advocates for the abolition of executions under any pretext or justification.
International Appeal
The BPP urged the international community and human rights activists to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt executions. They called on democratic countries to demand, in their diplomatic meetings, that Iran refrain from using executions as a tool to achieve political goals.
Statements from the Protest
- BPP's Position: The BPP strongly condemns the executions that followed the "Bloody Fridays" and views them as state-sanctioned killings aimed at instilling fear and suppressing activists. The number of executions among the Baloch has been consistently increasing.
- Human Rights Advocacy: The BPP emphasized the need for international solidarity in supporting the Baloch struggle for justice and human rights. They highlighted the importance of standing together to demand change and end the oppression of the Baloch people.
The protest in Cologne on April 6, 2024, organized by the Balochistan People's Party, was a significant demonstration against the ongoing executions in Balochistan. The BPP's call for the abolition of the death penalty and their appeal to the international community underscore the urgent need for global action to address human rights violations in Iran. The protest served as a powerful reminder of the resilience and determination of the Baloch people in their fight for democracy, equal rights, and freedom.
References:
Rasank news : https://shorturl.at/YPO8z
https://www.instagram.com/p/C5bxaNnoDoP/
Ostomaan : https://shorturl.at/GBzMw
https://www.instagram.com/p/C5bztgFLbZD/
Rozhn TV: https://youtu.be/cqGh8q0uJVo?t=245
Here is full content of the message read
The most brutal punishment that should be abolished is execution!
Execution is a barbaric punishment that must stop NOW.
It is one of the most cruel forms of state punishment that primarily enforced by totalitarian ideologies or self-righteous beliefs, in non-democratic countries.
Execution aimed at instilling fear by revenge killings and terror to maintain the totalitarian and corrupt regimes for plundering national assets under the shadow of fear amongst public.
Out of 195 independent countries of the world, 108 countries have abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes, and 7 countries have abolished it for ordinary crimes.
In more than a quarter of the world's countries, although the death penalty is included in their laws, it is practically not carried out.
Only about 18% of the world's countries, mainly totalitarian dictatorships, execute death sentences.
Iran has allocated the highest per capita execution rate in the world to itself relative to its population.
Among them, Balochistan, which is governed by a colonial military system regime that has the highest number of executions.
Almost 30% of over all executions in Iran are in Baluchistan based on Amnesty International statistics and while baloch population only consists about 3% of Iran.
Zahedan and Khaash cities Bloody Fridays mass executions during the 2022-2023 “Woman. Life, Freedom” movement, are the proof of the harsh policy of the Iranian Islamic regime’s committing crimes against humanity towards Baloch, Kurd, Arab and other oppressed nations in Iran.
The fascist regime of the Islamic Republic not only seeks to instill fear and terror in Baluchistan but also aims to create conditions that allow for further militarization.
This militarization policy actions enables the government to achieve its goals of dividing Baluchistan and establishing settlements for non-native populations, while displacing indigenous people to the outskirts of cities in order to manipulate the demographic and territorial structure of the region.
The regime’s security policy with the use of its military forces creating division among the Baluch people to achieve its targets.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps control and leads the drug trafficking mafia in the region and has a role in spreading the drug addiction among the young generation in Baluchistan and all over Iran.
The IRGC in order to demonstrate their fight against the drug traffickers to the world, they often arrest none collaborating small-scale drug dealers and subject them to various torture and forced confessions, and then hand them over to the execution squad.
Balochistan People's Party(BPP) considers the act of execution, in contradiction with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, atrocious, inhumane, and unethical.
In its agenda, it advocates for the abolition of executions under any pretext or justification.
BPP strongly condemns post-bloody Fridays executions and deems them as governmental killings to instill more fear and terror in Baloch society and to suppress activists, where the number of Baloch executions is consistently increasing.
BPP urges the international community and human rights activists to put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt executions.
BPP requests the foreign authorities of the democratic countries of the world to ask Islamic Republic in their diplomatic meetings with their counterparts to refrain from using executions as a tool to achieve political goals.
Balochistan People's Party
- April 6, 2024
