[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 111 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7750-H7753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONCERNING THE EMANCIPATION OF IRANIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 257) concerning the emancipation of
the Iranian Baha'i community.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 257
Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996,
Congress, by concurrent resolution, declared that it holds
the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights
of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i Faith,
Iran's largest religious minority;
Whereas Congress has deplored the Government of Iran's
religious persecution of the Baha'i community in such
resolutions and in numerous other appeals, and has condemned
Iran's execution of more than 200 Baha'is and the
imprisonment of thousands of others solely on account of
their religious beliefs;
Whereas in July 1998 a Baha'i, Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani, was
executed by hanging in Mashhad after being held in solitary
confinement for 9 months on the charge of converting a Muslim
woman to the Baha'i Faith, a charge the woman herself
refuted;
Whereas 2 Baha'is remain on death row in Iran, 2 on charges
on apostasy, and 10 others are serving prison terms on
charges arising solely from their religious beliefs or
activities;
Whereas the Government of Iran continues to deny individual
Baha'is access to higher education and government employment
and denies recognition and religious rights to the Baha'i
community, according to the policy set forth in a
confidential Iranian Government document which was revealed
by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1993;
Whereas Baha'is have been banned from teaching and studying
at Iranian universities since the Islamic Revolution and
therefore created the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education,
or Baha'i Open University, to provide educational
opportunities to Baha'i youth using volunteer faculty and a
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network of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories in private
homes and buildings throughout Iran;
Whereas in September and October 1998, Iranian authorities
arrested 36 faculty members of the Open University, 4 of whom
have been given prison sentences ranging between 3 to 10
years, even though the law makes no mention of religious
instruction within one's own religious community as being an
illegal activity;
Whereas Iranian intelligence officers looted classroom
equipment, textbooks, computers, and other personal property
from 532 Baha'i homes in an attempt to close down the Open
University;
Whereas all Baha'i community properties in Iran have been
confiscated by the government, and Iranian Baha'is are not
permitted to elect their leaders, organize as a community,
operate religious schools, or conduct other religious
community activities guaranteed by the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights;
Whereas on February 22, 1993, the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights published a formerly confidential Iranian
government document that constitutes a blueprint for the
destruction of the Baha'i community and reveals that these
repressive actions are the result of a deliberate policy
designed and approved by the highest officials of the
Government of Iran; and
Whereas in 1998 the United Nations Special Representative
for Human Rights, Maurice Copithorne, was denied entry into
Iran: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) continues to hold the Government of Iran responsible
for upholding the rights of all its nationals, including
members of the Baha'i community, in a manner consistent with
Iran's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international agreements guaranteeing the
civil and political rights of its citizens;
(2) condemns the repressive anti-Baha'i policies and
actions of the Government of Iran, including the denial of
legal recognition to the Baha'i community and the basic
rights to organize, elect its leaders, educate its youth, and
conduct the normal activities of a law-abiding religious
community;
(3) expresses concern that individual Baha'is continue to
suffer from severely repressive and discriminatory government
actions, including executions and death sentences, solely on
account of their religion;
(4) urges the Government of Iran to permit Baha'i students
to attend Iranian universities and Baha'i faculty to teach at
Iranian universities, to return the property confiscated from
the Baha'i Open University, to free the imprisoned faculty
members of the Open University, and to permit the Open
University to continue to function;
(5) urges the Government of Iran to implement fully the
conclusions and recommendations on the emancipation of the
Iranian Baha'i community made by the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Professor Abdelfattah
Amor, in his report of March 1996 to the United Nations
Commission of Human Rights;
(6) urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i
community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the international covenants of human
rights, including the freedom of thought, conscience, and
religion, and equal protection of the law; and
(7) calls upon the President to continue--
(A) to assert the United States Government's concern
regarding Iran's violations of the rights of its citizens,
including members of the Baha'i community, along with
expressions of its concern regarding the Iranian Government's
support for international terrorism and its efforts to
acquire weapons of mass destruction;
(B) to emphasize that the United States regards the human
rights practices of the Government of Iran, particularly its
treatment of the Baha'i community and other religious
minorities, as a significant factor in the development of the
United States Government's relations with the Government of
Iran;
(C) to emphasize the need for the United Nations Special
Representative for Human Rights to be granted permission to
enter Iran;
(D) to urge the Government of Iran to emancipate the Baha'i
community by granting those rights guaranteed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international
covenants on human rights; and
(E) to encourage other governments to continue to appeal to
the Government of Iran, and to cooperate with other
governments and international organizations, including the
United Nations and its agencies, in efforts to protect the
religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities through
joint appeals to the Government of Iran and through other
appropriate actions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
General Leave
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on H. Con. Res. 257.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, today we are considering a resolution to
call once again for the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community.
{time} 1115
We have passed similar resolutions seven times since 1982, yet the
Baha'is in that country continue to be deprived of their basic rights
by their government, by the Iranian government. Despite the fact that
they are committed to nonviolence, tolerance and loyalty to government,
the Baha'is continue to suffer deprivations and harassment from the
fanatical elements of Iranian society, ranging from local clergy and
their uneducated followers to highly placed government officials.
Eleven Baha'is continue to languish in Iranian prisons; arrested, tried
and sentenced as a result of their personal religious beliefs and
peaceful religious activity.
Baha'i religious gatherings and administrative institutions were
banned in 1983. A 1991 government document calls for the continued
obstruction of the economic and social development of the Baha'i
community. The Iranian constitution recognizes only four religions:
Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism; and official rhetoric
continues to name those as the only religions whose members may enjoy
full rights.
Baha'is continue to be denied government employment, denied
university employment, denied legitimately earned pensions, denied
admission to Iranian universities, denied access to the legal system,
denied access to decent places to bury their dead, and a host of other
civil liberties that we in our Nation have come to take for granted as
basic elements of a free and just society.
The election of President Khatami in Iran and the subsequent
relaxation of the clerical dictatorship have brought hope that the rule
of law will eventually prevail in that nation, and that full rights
will be granted to all of its citizens, including the Baha'is. We have
seen some improvement in the treatment of individual Baha'is. In the
last 2 years, Baha'is have been granted passports for travel abroad
more frequently and some have been granted business licenses again. A
significant concession to the Baha'is was a recent modification of the
rules of registration of marriages that now omits references to
religion, allowing Baha'is to register marriages and legitimize their
children for the first time in many years.
Those steps are significant and they should be acknowledged as signs
of promise for full emancipation to come in the future. Yet those
actions have been taken silently and come far short of granting Baha'is
the recognition under the constitution, the Iranian constitution, that
would improve their situation and protect them from fanaticism.
We look to President Khatami to stand behind his promise of Iran for
all Iranians and to take steps to extend the protection of his
constitution to the Baha'is by granting those rights guaranteed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants
on Human Rights. We cannot remain silent when a community of 300,000
people continues to suffer the effects of persecution and deprivation
while their government proclaims its support of human rights for all.
The passage of this resolution will voice once again that the United
States finds the situation of the Baha'is in Iran intolerable and will
not rest until that community wins full and complete emancipation.
Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote for H. Con.
Res. 257.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr.
Speaker, I would first like to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Porter) for introducing this resolution and thank the
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gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for moving it through the
legislative process.
This important resolution concerns the continued persecution of the
Baha'i community in Iran.
The resolution states that the Congress continues to hold the
government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all its
nationals, including members of the Baha'i community.
The resolution also condemns the repressive anti-Baha'i policies and
actions of the government of Iran. These policies include, first, the
denial of legal recognition of the Baha'i community; preventing the
community from organizing and electing its leaders; stopping the
education of Baha'i youth; and stopping the Baha'is from conducting the
normal activities of a law-abiding religious community.
The Porter resolution also urges the government of Iran to permit
Baha'i students to attend Iranian universities and to permit the Baha'i
Open University to reopen.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, the resolution calls on President Clinton to
continue to make Iran's treatment of the Baha'i community a significant
factor in the development of U.S. relations with Iran; to emphasize the
need for the U.N. Special Representative for Human Rights to be allowed
to enter Iran, and to urge the government of Iran to emancipate the
Baha'i community; and finally, to encourage other governments to appeal
to Iran to protect the rights of Baha'is.
Mr. Speaker, the Baha'is in Iran have been persecuted far too long.
Congress has gone on record since the early 1980s against harsh Iranian
treatment of the Baha'is, and it is important that we do so again.
Iran's leaders must understand that their anti-Baha'i policies are
being closely watched by the international community. Therefore, Mr.
Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 257.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin
Islands (Mrs. Christensen).
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.
Con. Res. 257, concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i
community. Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i faith is the most recent world
religion. Its founder, a Persian nobleman, declared his mission in
1863, proclaiming he was the promised one of all religions who would
usher in a new age of peace for all mankind. Among Bahaullah's most
fundamental teachings are oneness of God, oneness of the foundation of
all religions, oneness of mankind and all peoples are equal in the
sight of God.
The Baha'i faith was established in my district, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, in 1954, with the settlement of pioneers on St. Thomas. The
first local spiritual assembly of the Baha'i of St. Thomas was
incorporated in 1965. The Baha'i of the Virgin Islands have been and
are active in, among other things, providing education and enrichment
programs for young children and adults, working with the Interfaith
Coalitions on St. Thomas and St. Croix, as well as assisting in
hurricane recovery efforts.
Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i community of the Virgin Islands strongly
supports House Concurrent Resolution 257 because it would condemn the
repressive anti-Baha'i policies and actions of the government of Iran,
and expresses concern that individual Baha'i continue to suffer from
severely repressive and discriminatory government actions, including
executions and death sentences, solely on account of their religion.
I thank my colleagues for supporting this important resolution.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly support H. Con. Res. 257,
concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community.
Thousands of human rights abuses take place around the world on a
daily basis. Almost all go unnoticed by the U.S. media. The Baha'is of
Iran are one such group.
Many in Congress have worked closely with the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States to bring attention to this
situation. The Baha'i faith was founded in what was Persia in the
1840's and has grown to the largest religious minority in Iran. In the
United States today, there are approximately 300,000 Baha'is. More than
90 percent are native born, and many of the remainder are refugees from
Iran who have fled persecution.
One of these refugees is Firuz Kazemzadeh, who for over 30 years was
the elected leader of the Baha'is in the United States, until he
stepped down 2 years ago. Dr. Kazemzadeh immigrated to the United
States from Iran in the 1950's and became a professor of history at
Yale University. He has devoted a great deal of his time and efforts to
improving the condition of his fellow Baha'is in Iran. He has quietly,
in his way, been a tremendously effective fighter for his fellow
Baha'is and has clearly saved many Bahai lives and much Bahai
suffering. I would like to specifically commend Dr. Kazemzadeh for his
decades of work helping the Baha'is.
Baha'is have suffered persecution since their religion was founded,
but the situation gravely worsened in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic
Revolution. Many of the leaders of the Baha'i community were jailed at
that time and many were executed solely for their religious beliefs.
The fact the Baha'i community has survived in Iran over the past 20
years is a testament to the Baha'i people and their commitment to their
faith.
This adverse situation for the Baha'i community could be completely
reversed by the Iranian Government at any time. The repression of the
Baha'is is spearheaded by the religious government of Iran in the form
of laws and regulations that explicitly deny Baha'i basic rights
accorded to other citizens of Iran, including other religious
minorities. Religious intolerance has caused the world's people untold
suffering and its presence is felt across the entire world. But in Iran
it is institutionalized and written in law. And it is not only
discrimination. In Iran it can mean torture, imprisonment, and death.
H. Con. Res. 157, similar to ones passed in previous sessions of
Congress, calls on the Government of Iran to emancipate the Baha'is and
afford to them in practice rights which should be inalienable to any
human being which they are being denied. Before this administration
speaks about opening relations with Iran and the positive reforms which
are supposed to be taking place in that country, the Baha'is must be
granted the same rights and privileges as all other Iranian citizens.
I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for his dedication
to human rights and to the Baha'is and to the gentleman from California
(Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from New Jersey (Chris Smith) and the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for again playing a leading role in
bringing this resolution to the floor. Each of them have been dedicated
leaders for the basic human rights of every person on earth. One of the
real privileges and honors of being a Member of this body has been to
serve side by side and work for human rights with these outstanding
leaders. I urge Members to support this resolution.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, the repression of the Baha'i community in
Iran is one of the most egregious ongoing violations of human rights,
and I am very pleased that we are calling attention to it today. I
first want to commend the gentleman from New York, the Chairman of the
International Relations Committee, (Mr. Gilman) for his bringing this
important resolution to the floor today.
I also want to thank particularly the sponsor of the bill, my good
friend and colleagues from Illinois, Mr. Porter. I have had the very
good fortune over the past 20 years of working very closely with John
Porter on a vast number of human rights issues, and I commend him for
his outstanding dedication to human rights. He has unwaveringly worked
to alleviate the suffering of people around the world, and thanks to
his efforts we can honestly say that the world today is a better place.
Mr. Speaker, one of the human rights issues that John Porter has
championed since the day he was elected to the Congress is the
situation of the Baha'is in Iran. The Baha'i has suffered greatly since
Iran's Revolution in 1979. The constitution created by the Ayatollahs
establishes Islam as the state religion of Iran. It also recognizes
Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians--religions that flourished in Persia
before Islam--as ``protected religious minorities'' which are afforded
legal rights. Iran's 350,000 Baha'i however, are not afforded these
protections, and they enjoy no legal rights whatsoever.
Mr. Speaker, this blatant, officially sanctioned discriminations has
far-reaching and inhuman consequences. until recently, Baha'i marriages
have not been recognized in Iran. As a consequence, no Baha'i couple
married according to their own religious rites since 1980 are legally
married in the eyes of the Iranian government. The women have been
liable to charges of prostitution and Baha'i children are considered
illegitimate. It is not legal for property to be passed within Baha'i
families. Baha'is cannot enroll in universities. Baha'is cannot hold
government jobs, and those that once did are denied state pensions.
Baha'is cannot sue in the country's court, and they are not legally
recognized to defend themselves even if they are sued. Baha'is
generally cannot receive Iranian passports, which note the holder's
religion. Baha'is are denied the right to assembly or to maintain
administrative institutions. Since the Baha'i faith has no clergy, the
inability to meet and elect officers threaten the very existence of the
faith
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in Iran. Baha'is cannot teach or practice their faith or maintain
contacts with their coreligionists abroad.
Mr. Speaker, I could go on listing the abuses and atrocities to which
the Baha'i in Iran are subjected, but these obvious violations of the
most basic of human rights are a clear indication of the magnitude of
the abuses that Baha'is in Iran face daily. I strongly support this
resolution, which highlights these abuses and calls on the Government
of Iran to emancipate the Baha'i community. I urge my colleagues to
support this resolution, and I call on the Government of Iran to
recognize the rights of Baha'is and afford them the rights by other
Iranian citizens.
Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
257.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________