[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H6678-H6681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONDEMNING THE REPRESSION OF THE IRANIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY AND CALLING 
                FOR THE EMANCIPATION OF IRANIAN BAHA'IS

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution (H.Con. Res. 415) condemning the 
repression of the Iranian Baha'i community and calling for the 
emancipation of Iranian Baha'is.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 415

       Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 
     2000, Congress, by concurrent resolution, declared that it 
     deplores the religious persecution by the Government of Iran 
     of the Baha'i community and holds the Government of Iran 
     responsible for upholding the rights of all Iranian 
     nationals, including members of the Baha'i Faith;
       Whereas on March 20, 2006, the United Nations Special 
     Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ms. Asma 
     Jahangir, revealed the existence of a confidential letter 
     dated October 29, 2005, from the Chairman of the Command 
     Headquarters of Iran's Armed Forces to the Ministry of 
     Information, the Revolutionary Guard, and the Police Force, 
     stating that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, had 
     instructed the Command Headquarters to identify members of 
     the Baha'i Faith in Iran and monitor their activities;
       Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur expressed 
     ``grave concern and apprehension'' about the implications of 
     this letter for the safety of the Baha'i community;
       Whereas in 2005 the Iranian Government initiated a new wave 
     of assaults, homes raids, harassment, and detentions against 
     Baha'is, and in December 2005, Mr. Zabihullah Mahrami died 
     after 10 years of imprisonment on charges of apostasy due to 
     his membership in the Baha'i Faith; and
       Whereas beginning in October 2005, an anti-Baha'i campaign 
     has been conducted in the state-sponsored Kayhan newspaper 
     and in broadcast media: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),  That Congress--
       (1) condemns the Government of Iran for the October 29, 
     2005 letter, calls on the Government of Iran to immediately 
     cease such activities and all activities aimed at the 
     repression of the Iranian Baha'i community, and continues to 
     hold the Government of Iran responsible for upholding all the 
     rights of its nationals, including members of the Baha'i 
     community; and
       (2) requests the President to--
       (A) call for the Government of Iran to emancipate the 
     Baha'i community by granting those rights guaranteed by the 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international 
     covenants on human rights;
       (B) emphasize that the United States regards the human 
     rights practices of the Government of Iran, including its 
     treatment of the Baha'i community and other religious 
     minorities, as a significant factor in the foreign policy of 
     the United States Government regarding Iran; and
       (C) initiate an active and consistent dialogue with other 
     governments and the European Union in order to persuade the 
     Government of Iran to rectify its human rights practices.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent 
Resolution 415, introduced by my colleague from Illinois, Mr. Kirk.
  H. Con. Res. 415 condemns the repression of the Iranian Baha'i 
community and calls for their emancipation. This resolution notes the 
long-standing concern by Congress for the protection and status of 
religious minorities in Iran.
  The resolution requests that the President call for the Government of 
Iran to emancipate the Baha'i community and guarantee them basic 
freedoms in accordance with international and human rights standards 
and obligations. It emphasizes that Iran's treatment of religious 
minorities and human rights practices are a significant consideration 
for the U.S. in formulating our policy toward the Iranian regime.
  The Baha'i faith originated in Iran during the 19th century, and 
their community is one of the largest minorities in religion in Iran. 
The current government recognizes them as not in true keeping with the 
faith of the Iranian regime. They are not allowed to practice their 
faith, and they are further undermined by their inability to maintain 
contact with Baha'is living abroad.
  Baha'is are discriminated against in nearly every sector of Iranian 
society. In October of 2005, the text of a secret Iranian Government 
document calling for the identity and monitoring of all Baha'is living 
in Iran became public. According to Human Rights Watch, Madam Speaker, 
the anti-Baha'i letter came amid a campaign in the state-run press that 
began 1 year ago.
  Madam Speaker, I recommend that all interested parties who want to 
learn more about the plight of religious minorities in Iran read the 
recently released ``International Religious Freedom Report'' published 
by our Department of State. This report reaffirms the brutal and 
oppressive nature of the regime in Tehran. The persecution of the 
Iranian Baha'is is but one grim example in point.
  Madam Speaker, as a cosponsor of this resolution, I strongly support 
the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 415, and I ask my colleagues 
to vote ``yes.''
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H6679]]

  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. First, I 
would like to congratulate my good friend and colleague, Congressman 
Mark Kirk, for his leadership and strong voice in the defense of Baha'i 
communities all over the world. I am proud to be the original 
Democratic cosponsor of this important resolution.
  The Baha'is are Iran's largest religious minority, but because the 
Baha'i faith is not one of the four religions recognized by the Iran 
Constitution, Baha'i do not have rights under Iranian law. Iranian 
courts have ruled that people who injure or kill Baha'is are not liable 
for damages because the Baha'is are ``unprotected infidels.'' The 
absurdity of the statement that they are ``unprotected infidels'' says 
a great deal about this regime.
  Congress has long recognized the plight of this suffering community. 
Since 1982, we have passed eight resolutions condemning the treatment 
of the Baha'i in Iran. On March 28 of this year, the White House 
expressed concern for a worsening situation of the Baha'i in Iran and 
called on the Government of Iran to respect the religious freedom of 
its minorities.
  Madam Speaker, the situation of the Baha'i in Iran has deteriorated 
dramatically over the past year with an increase in arbitrary arrests, 
raids on private homes and imprisonments, a defamation campaign in the 
government-sponsored press and the continued denial of access to higher 
education to young men and women of the Baha'i faith.
  Iran must grant the Baha'i their full human rights, as this 
resolution makes crystal clear. Our resolution calls on the Government 
of Iran simply to grant Baha'i the rights guaranteed by international 
law. Iran, Madam Speaker, is a signatory to the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights and several other human rights treaties, 
but it is obvious that Tehran has no more intention of observing the 
requirements of these agreements than it does the nuclear agreements it 
has signed.
  The international community must not be mocked. It must hold Iran to 
those standards to which it has voluntarily committed itself. In fact, 
Iran's contempt for basic human rights standards knows no bounds. 
Earlier this year, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered the Ministry of 
Information, the Revolutionary Guard and the police force to identify 
Baha'is and collect information on their activities. This is 
particularly worrisome in light of the Iranian Government's view of the 
Baha'is as non-persons.
  The Anti-Defamation League has called this order ``reminiscent of the 
laws imposed on European Jews in the 1930s by Nazi Germany.'' Our 
resolution rightly highlights this order, which was revealed by the 
U.N. Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief.
  Madam Speaker, the U.S. Congress needs to speak out strongly against 
these policies. We cannot stand by quietly as another pogrom against 
the Baha'is is quietly being prepared by the bigoted regime of Iran. We 
and the international community must put Iran on notice that such 
action is utterly intolerable.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important 
resolution
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), the sponsor and author of this 
resolution.
  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, which 
condemns the Government of Iran's repression of the Baha'i community. I 
would like to thank my very good friend, Congressman Tom Lantos, for 
joining me as the Democratic cosponsor of this important human rights 
resolution.
  The North American Baha'i Temple is located in Wilmette, Illinois, 
inside my congressional district. It is a magnificent house of worship, 
gracing Lake Michigan's shoreline.
  The Baha'i faith, founded nearly 150 years ago on principles of peace 
and tolerance, is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. 
Yet since the Iranian revolution of 1979, the Government of Iran has 
intensified a deliberate campaign of discrimination, harassment, 
detention, arrest and imprisonment against the 300,000 members of the 
Iranian Baha'i community.

                              {time}  1545

  The plight of the Iranian Baha'is has significantly deteriorated 
during the last year. On March 20 of this year, the United Nations 
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief revealed the 
existence of a confidential letter by the chairman of the Command 
Headquarters of Iran's armed services to Iran's intelligence services, 
military and police. In this letter, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah 
Khomeini instructed Command Headquarters to identify all Baha'is and 
collect any and all information on their activities and addresses.
  Our Anti-Defamation League recently compared this secret letter to 
steps taken against the Jews in Europe in the 1930s, and yet the secret 
order has not happened in isolation.
  Over the past 18 months, Iranian security forces have begun 
imprisoning Baha'is without charges, and Baha'i youth in Iran have been 
denied access to university.
  Further, since October of 2005, there has been a campaign of 
vilification against Baha'is in Kayhan, the government-sponsored press.
  The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
recently released in its 2006 annual report citing numerous egregious 
human rights violations committed by Iranian Government officials 
against Baha'is in Iran. The report says that, ``In the past year, 
dozens of Baha'is were arrested, detained, interrogated and 
subsequently released after, in some cases, weeks or months in 
detention. Charges typically ranged from `causing anxiety in the minds 
of the public and of officials' or `spreading propaganda against the 
regime.' ''
  Clearly detentions based on claims of causing anxiety or spreading 
propaganda show a growing weakness in the Iranian regime.
  That Congress is considering this resolution today is particularly 
significant. The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address the 
United Nations General Assembly today to call for all developing 
countries to join him in confronting the West. It is incumbent on 
Congress to reveal the real truth about this Iranian leader. We must 
demonstrate to the international community that while Iran's President 
has become a ruthless dictator who espouses hatred, discrimination and 
tyranny, the United States is standing for liberty and toleration and 
human rights and freedom, especially for Baha'is in Iran.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I 
would like to thank our ranking member Congressman Lantos for his 
friendship and support on this measure, a tireless advocate, a 
Holocaust survivor, a man who knows when the authorities call for the 
names and addresses of a particular minority what the next step is.
  We have seen this before, and I want to particularly thank Chairman 
Hyde and Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen for their strong support, upon whom 
this resolution would not be coming to the floor on this crucial day in 
which the Iranian dictator speaks before the United Nations.
  Finally, I would also like to thank Kit Bigelow and Aaron Emmel from 
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States for 
their dedication to their afflicted coreligionists inside Iran.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend from 
Illinois for his most gracious comments, and I am pleased to yield as 
much time as he might consume to our colleague and my good friend from 
Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).
  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Lantos for his 
undying commitment to human rights. It was you and Mrs. Lantos who 
worked to see a Human Rights Caucus created, and you have kept these 
issues in front of the Congress, and I salute you for that.
  I also salute my colleague Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for her commitment to 
human rights. I think it is important that we always bring these issues 
before the House.
  But I think it is also important to relate to Members of Congress the 
context in which this resolution is occurring and to look back over the 
last 4 years at a similar context.

[[Page H6680]]

  The Baha'is in Iran certainly deserve to have a full according of 
their rights. As a matter of fact, this House has passed eight 
resolutions that condemns Iran for persecuting the Baha'i faith. At the 
same time, the House has not passed any resolutions condemning any 
other Nation for the persecution of the Baha'is.
  The 2006 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has 
identified three nations that persecute the Baha'i faith: Iran, Iraq 
and Egypt. I have quotes here that I would like to submit for the 
Record that establishes in each case, of Iran, Egypt and Iraq, the 
objections out of the 2006 annual report. This 2006 annual report also 
highlights concerns with the treatment of the Baha'i faith in China, 
Eritrea, Laos and Belarus.
  I think it is important to note that the Baha'i faith is one which 
celebrates peace and human unity. That is why it is significant for us 
to always defend any religion which is trying to work for peace.
  It is, therefore, paradoxical that this resolution is being offered 
at a time when some in the administration are on a path towards war 
against Iran.
  I would like to submit for the Record a copy of the current issue 
from Time magazine which says: ``What Would War Look Like?'' We are 
talking about war with Iran, and it says, ``A flurry of military 
maneuvers in the Middle East increases speculation that conflict with 
Iran is no longer quite so unthinkable.'' This particular article out 
of Time magazine is very significant. The Navy has said that there is a 
submarine, a cruiser missile, mine sweepers and mine hunters that are 
prepared to deploy to the Persian Gulf. It is very serious. A naval 
blockade of Iran would be an act of war, and if we started with that, 
Iran would surely escalate.
  There have been independent reports published in the New Yorker 
magazine and the Guardian that U.S. military personnel have been or are 
already deployed inside and around Iran gathering intelligence and 
targeting information, and there are reports published in Newsweek, ABC 
News and GQ magazine that the U.S. has been planning and is now 
recruiting members of MEK, a paramilitary group inside of Iran, to 
conduct lethal operations and destabilizing operations inside Iran. I 
submit articles from the New Yorker, from an antiwar.com Web site, from 
the Weekly Standard with regard to those facts.
  Our Director of National Intelligence has said that Iran is a long 
way away from having a nuclear capability, 5 to 10 years, and that 
assumes that they are working around the clock, something that has not 
been proffered. We should keep in mind that last week, according to the 
Washington Post, the U.N. inspectors are disputing an Iran report by a 
House staff of the House Intelligence Committee which, according to the 
comment to the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, was 
``false, misleading and unsubstantiated.'' I have here a copy of the 
letter from the IAEA to the House of Representatives Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence with respect to misleading and false 
information that was included in a staff report that is being 
circulated around Congress, and I submit it for the Record.
  I have a copy of a letter from myself to Christopher Shays, he is the 
chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and 
International Relations, which asks for an accounting by the Director 
of National Intelligence, who was supposed to be charged with the 
responsibility of reviewing this particular staff report before it 
reached publication. I submit this for the Record.
  I have a copy of a Washington Post article which characterizes the 
U.N. inspectors' dispute with Iran or the U.N. inspector disputing the 
Iran report by the House panel.
  Why am I submitting all this in the context of a resolution that has 
to do with standing up for the rights of the Baha'i to practice their 
faith? Because, once again, the Baha'i would not want this resolution 
to be used as part of a series of steps to encourage an attack on Iran. 
I can state that with certainty, knowing the Baha'i religion as I do, 
and yet we are seeing a series of steps, covert operations affecting 
Iran, preparation of bombing targets having already occurred, 
preparations for a naval blockade. I mean, this all points to the 
United States moving in a direction of attacking Iran. That is 
antithetical to the spirit of the Baha'i faith, which we are here today 
to stand up for.
  There will be other resolutions that will relate to Iran which will 
be on the floor of the House this afternoon, and I expect to be 
speaking to those as well.
  I want to say that, as the Speaker may be aware, it was 4 years ago I 
warned this House that the administration was taking steps to take this 
country to war against Iraq, and they had not made their case, and we 
actually went to war against Iraq based on false pretenses.
  I am once again stating to the people of this Congress that we ought 
to be very careful about these series of initiatives which this 
administration is putting forth at this time so that we have to be 
aware that if they are making a case for war based on these 
resolutions, we should be very careful about what our intention is in 
passing these resolutions.
  I want to thank the gentleman from California for the opportunity to 
point out these matters relevant to Iran.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H. Con. Res. 415, condemning the repression of the Iranian Baha'i 
community and calling for the emancipation of Iranian Baha'is.
  I have long been an advocate of a free, independent, and democratic 
Iran; an Iran that does not destabilize the region, that does not 
threaten its neighbors, and that honors its commitments to the 
international community, especially on the issue of the proliferation 
of nuclear weapons. Since 1982, Congress has declared eight times that 
it deplores the religious persecution of the Baha'i community in Iran 
and that we hold the government of Iran responsible for upholding the 
rights of all Iranian nationals, especially members of the Baha'i 
faith. It is with dismay that I state that this persecution continues 
unabated and that the time has come for us as a nation of conscious to 
take action.
  Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the Iranian government has 
demonstrated its propensity to engage in systematic persecution and 
discrimination of the more than 300,000 Baha'is who live in Iran. 
Bahai's constitute Iran's largest religious minority and over the past 
quarter century, more than 200 Baha'is have been summarily executed or 
condemned to death. Thousands more have been imprisoned, detained, 
assaulted, and harassed.
  On March 20, 2006, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom 
of Religion or Belief revealed the existence of a confidential letter 
dated October 29, 2005, from the Chairman of the Command Headquarters 
of Iran's Armed Forces stating that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah 
Khamenei, had instructed the Command Headquarters to identify members 
of the Baha'i faith in Iran and to monitor their activities. The U.N. 
Special Rapporteur expressed ``grave concern and apprehension'' about 
the implications of this letter for the safety of the Iranian Baha'i 
community.
  For years, I have been a supporter of the democratic movement in 
Iran, and today more than ever, the people of Iran need to be 
supported, empowered, and protected. In 2005, the Iranian government 
initiated a new wave of assaults, home raids, harassment and detentions 
of members of the Baha'i faith; 129 Baha'is are currently awaiting 
trial for, among other things, charges of ``creating anxiety in the 
minds of the public and those of the Iranian officials.'' I find this 
simply unacceptable and call on my colleagues to condemn this form of 
religious repression.
  The only effective way to achieve lasting peace and prosperity in the 
region, along with effectuating reforms in Iran's polity, is assisting 
the Iranian people in general and members of the Baha'i faith in 
particular in their quest to achieve political, social, and religious 
liberty.
  Every government can be judged with the way in which it treats its 
ethnic and religious minorities. The current Iranian government gets a 
failing grade for its treatment of the 300,000 Baha'i who live 
throughout the regions of Iran. I hold the government of Iran 
responsible for upholding the rights of the Baha'i community and call 
on the government of Iran to cease repressive activities aimed at 
Iran's Baha'i. I consider the Iranian government's human rights record 
as a significant factor in our foreign policy towards Iran and call for 
President Bush and the leaders of nations around the world to demand 
that the government of Iran emancipate the Baha'i community by granting 
those rights guaranteed to them by the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights and other international human rights covenants.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution condemning 
the repression of the Iranian Baha'i community and calling for the 
emancipation of Iranian Baha'is.

[[Page H6681]]

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. We 
yield back the balance of our time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I also have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 415.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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