Nimutampa ubutegetsi vuba murajyanwa mu butayu bugufiya kandi muzabuheramo!!!
Ndababwiza ukuli yuko Paul Kagame araza gusara mu gihe America ikomeje gufunga inzira zose zishoboka zirimo amayeri yo kurwana intambara muri DRCongo kugirango bafate ubutegetsi. Uwiteka Imana Nyiringabo yababwiye kurekura imfungwa zose More »
The World’s Shameful Silence on Hamas
Six months after the ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip, Hamas remains firmly in power. Despite international promises, diplomatic initiatives, and the much-publicized “Board of Peace,” the Iran-backed Islamist group More »
The Crown’s Moral Voice: King Charles in Washington and the Test of Western Clarity
[P]arts of the West have become too cautious in naming the nature of the threats they face. The question is whether, at a time when the West is confronted by terrorism, tyranny, More »
Uwiteka Imana Nyiringabo ategeka ko Paul Kagame atazabona umusimbura ku ngoma uturuka mu muryango we!!!
Ijambo ry’Uhoraho Uwiteka Imana Nyiringabo rikomeza kunzaho cyane, maze rirambwira riti, mwana w’umuntu, wisubizemo imbaraga ukomeze umurimo wa data wo mu ijuru kuko abakugambanira nta bwo bafite ububasha bwo ku kugeraho kuko More »
Laundering Iran’s Nukes by A.J. Caschetta
-
What remains unknown is why President Obama and most of his party want a nuclear Iran.
-
The goals of the diplomatic process have changed tremendously from the beginning, when President Obama regularly claimed that an Iranian nuclear weapon is “unacceptable,” and that only his unique brand of personal diplomacy could prevent it. Rather than “prevent” or “block” Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, as the president and Secretary of State Kerry falsely claim, the deal assures Iran of legally acquiring one.
-
-
By weaponizing its nuclear program, Iran has violated every agreement it has signed. Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program is being cleansed and validated at the behest of the Obama administration. These terms make the JCPOA deal unknowable. Signing it is not an act of diplomacy; it is surrender.
-
There is only one flaw in the JCPOA laundering scheme. In a true money-laundering scheme that involves an outlaw and a legitimate party, the money launderer receives a fee for the service provided; in this trade, the U.S. gets nothing from the JCPOA. The U.S. does not even get back one of the Americans held hostage by Iran.
Let’s come clean. Let’s finally recognize the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for what it is — a laundering project designed to legitimize Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Like a money-laundering scheme by which illegally-earned or stolen money is cleansed or laundered through a legitimate business, Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program is being cleansed and validated before the world’s eyes at the behest of the Obama administration.
The goals of the diplomatic process have changed tremendously from the beginning when President Obama regularly claimed that an Iranian nuclear weapon is “unacceptable” and that only his unique brand of personal diplomacy could prevent it.
But now, even the most generous (or naive) reading of the deal acknowledges that, at best, it delays an Iranian nuclear weapon by 10 to 15 years, after which the Islamic Republic of Iran emerges with a full-blown legal nuclear weapons program. Rather than “prevent” or “block” Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, as the president and Secretary of State John Kerry falsely claim, the deal assures Iran of legally acquiring one. It is like telling a jewel thief caught red-handed that if he stops stealing jewels for 15 years, all charges against him will be dropped and he can keep his ill-gotten booty.
Although much of the public debate has centered on the details of the restrictions that will be dropped in 2030, many people believe that Iran will cheat on the deal. And since the ultimate arbiter of Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA will be the United Nations, it is fair to assume that its record of failure will continue. This seems very probable, as it is Iran that will present much of the evidence to “prove” that it is in compliance.
Regrettably, since the beginning of the century, when Mohammad ElBaradei was the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has made significant advancesin its covert, illicit nuclear program.
As Iran played cat-and-mouse games with the inspections, ElBaradei studiously avoidedconfronting the regime and soft-pedaled its violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. For this work, ElBaradei was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.
Some critics of the deal cite Ronald Reagan’s advice to “trust but verify.” However, the verification process involves a 24-day waiting period between requesting an inspection and gaining access to an Iranian nuclear site.
Some commentators are placated by the claims of Secretary of Energy and Obama diplomat Ernest Moniz that 24 days is insufficient to hide the kinds of work that Iran has agreed to halt. But after first learning that only IAEA inspectors will be allowed to inspect sites, it was revealed that none of them will be Americans, and we have now learned that only Iranian inspectors will be allowed at crucial military sites such as the Parchin complex. That looks like too much trust and too little verification.
Another objection often cited is that no one, including John Kerry and Ernest Moniz, even knows what the JCPOA is. The exact contents of the JCPOA deal remains a mystery, much like the fictitious fatwa banning nuclear weapons that was allegedly issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is frequently cited by Obama — yet has been seen by no one. Parts of the JCPOA are hidden, not only from the public, but even from American diplomats, as Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, admits. Ernest Moniz dismisses our willful ignorance of the JCPOA’s terms as standard operating procedure, and John Kerry says we must respect the process that allows the IAEA and Iran to have secret side deals undisclosed to any of the P5+1 signatories. But these terms make the JCPOA deal unknowable. Signing it is not an act of diplomacy; it is surrender.
Iran acquired nuclear technology in 1957 through the U.S. Atoms for Peace program. Recipients of the Eisenhower Administration’s nuclear largesse were required to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is regularly updated with various safeguards andprotocols.
By weaponizing its nuclear program, Iran has violated every agreement it has signed.
The JCPOA is rewarding these violations. It also signals to all countries, good and bad, that now is the time to break treaties with the U.S., when the likelihood of a serious response is low or absent altogether. Surely Iran’s leaders have noticed the U.S. response to Russia’sviolations of the Budapest Memorandum, its invasion of Ukraine and the Crimea and its movesin the Arctic Circle. Surely, they have also noticed the U.S. response to China’s construction of islands that are military bases throughout the South China Sea.
So while it is unlikely that Iran will suffer any consequences for cheating (assuming the U.S. even learns of any offenses), there is almost no reason to cheat. The terms of the JCPOA are so one-sided that soon Iran will emerge with all the nuclear weapons it wants, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them to the “Great Satan”. And then it will be too late.
There is only one flaw in the JCPOA laundering scheme. In a true money-laundering scheme that involves an outlaw and a legitimate party, the money launderer receives a fee for the service provided; in this trade, the U.S. earns nothing from the JCPOA. The U.S. does not even get back one of the Americans held hostage by Iran. Iran will not admit to any culpability for murdering Americans around the globe, much less pay reparations for them.
There has not even been a perfunctory, empty promise to cease funding terrorist groups andthreatening genocide against Israel and America.
Iran’s Foreign Minister and chief nuclear negotiator, Javad Zarif (left), is very, very pleased with the recent nuclear deal. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right), is not unclenching Iran’s fist in its relations with the West. |
It is hard not to conclude that the JCPOA was designed from the beginning to ensure that Iran would get a legitimate nuclear weapons program, confirmed with the imprimatur of the United States and the United Nations. What remains unknown is why the president and most of his party want a nuclear Iran.
Kuwa 19th kanama 2014,njyanwa mu iyerekwa ubwo nalimvuye kumulimo w’Uwiteka,nerekwa imyuka (2);y’inzigo iturutse ku nkiko z’igihugu muburengera-zuba bw’igihugu ,mbona iyo myuka y’inzigo yambutse umupaka uhana imbibi na Congo ahitwa Igoma.
Kuwa 19th kanama 2014,njyanwa mu iyerekwa ubwo nalimvuye kumulimo w’Uwiteka,nerekwa imyuka (2);y’inzigo iturutse ku nkiko z’igihugu muburengera-zuba bw’igihugu ,mbona iyo myuka y’inzigo yambutse umupaka uhana imbibi na Congo ahitwa Igoma.
Nerekwa umuhanuzi mukuru ari imbere y’uwo mwuka w’inzigo,maze mbona bambutse umuharuro uhuza uRwagasabo na Congo,bamaze kugera kubutaka bw’Urwagasabo,mbona haje umuhanuzi-kazi w’ibinyoma aza gutera ubwoba umuhanuzi mukuru ko,arimo guhigwa ashakishwa kugirango acibwe igihana.
Uyu ni wa mugabo witwa Rupfu.
Ntangazwa ni uko umuhanuzi mukuru ntacyo abyitayeho,cyangwa ngo bimutere ubwoba,ibyo yaramaze guhanura bihinduka ubusa kuko ibyo yabikoreye kuri telephone agira ngo ntawumubona kubwamahirwe macye akubitana n’umuhanuzi mukuru aho yari yihishe maze ubuhanuzi bwe buhinduka impfabusa.
Uwo mwuka w’inzika umaze gukandagira kubutaka bw’Urwagasabo,mbona abanyarwanda bakwiye imishwaro barahunze bajyanwa mu ishuli aho bazajya kwiga igihe gito nyuma bazagaruka kumirenge tabo.Nerekwa bageze ku kibuga cy’ishuli mbona barateranye bahabwa amabwiriza ajyanye nayabanyeshuli.
Mbona umuhanuzi mukuru araje azanye nabakuru b’umuryango w’impunzi HCR,baza baje kureba abo banyeshuli ngo babahe ibyangombwa byose bisabwa kuba umunyeshuli ngo abe abyujuje,numva bavuga ko,harekuwe milliyari 21 z’Amanyarwanda zigomba guhabwa abo banyeshuli,nuko mbona yuko abanyarwanda barwaniye umwanya w’ubukuru wokuyobora abo banyeshuli kugirango babashe kwiba ayo mamiliyali yamafaranga yagenewe abo banyeshuli.
Ariko mbona uwo mwanya uhawe umwe mu bantu b’imfura y’inyangamugayo maze abarwaniaraga uwo mwanya bose baburiramo,nyuma yo kurwanira uwo mwanya ishuli ryahise rirangira abantu basubira kumirenge yabo aho bari batuye,icyo cyari igice kimwe.
Ndebye IKUSI,mbona banyampinga nabo bafite ishuli ryabo aho bari bateraniye,mbona ibinyabiziga byinshi bigemurira abo banyampinga ingemu ifite ikinegu cyo gukiranirwa,mu gihe ngitangajwe nibyo!Mbona umuhanuzi mukuru araje,abanyabiziga bamubonye bahita bose barahunga.
Mbona yinjiye mu ishuli abazaniye inkwi kugirango bazajye bitegurira ibifungurwa kugirango bareke kurya ingemu iriho gukiranirwa,ariko hagati muri banyampinga mbona babajwe ni uko umuhanuzi mukuru yinjiye mu kigo cy’ishuli akababuza umudendezo wabo,ndetse nabanyabiziga nabo ni uko bahise barakara ko babujijwe umudendezo w’ibyaha bikoreraga ntawubakoma mu nko nkora.
Ndebye ibumoso bwanjye mbona umwe mu bantu bahora bakurikirana ibihanurwa,uko bishyizwe agaragara ahita akoporora agatwara ubwo buhanuzi icyo abukoresha ntumbaze!Mbona ubu buhanuzi nshyizeho uyu munsi ko yarabukeneye cyane kugirango amenye ibigiye gukurikira.
Ariko numva ko,ngo iyo bamaze kubuna ubuhanuzi,bahita bahimba amayeri yokuburwanya,cyangwa babwifashisha muri gahunda zabo kuko baba bamaze kumenya ibigiye gukulikiraho,ibyo nabyo byarantangaje ariko kandi nsanga ar’ubusa kuko niba udashobora gukora icyo usabwa gukora,ahubwo ugakora ibinyuranye n’ubuhanuzi,ukabwifashisha muri gahunda zawe zo gukiranirwa birumvikana neza yuko ntakabuza umujinya w’Uwiteka ntuzabura kwaka hejuru y’ubugingo bwawe.
Ubwo ndakomeza nsa nk’ugana muburasira-zuba,ngera ku nzu y’etage,nyinjiramo mbona ndi kumwe n’umugabo muremure wari imbere yanjye witwa Rupfu,uyu mugabo ni mure mure cyane afite nka metero 2½ ,nigikara afite amaso atukura,n’umugome cyane,nta rukundo agira cyangwa amaranga mutima,mbona yinjiye muri iyo nzu y’Etage muri kave hasi,nanjye ndamukurikira tugeze hasi cyane mbona yinjiye mu biro bishinzwe gutanga impapuro zimuhesha uburenganzira bwo gutwara abantu bageze igihe cyo gusarurwa ngo bakurwe mu isi yabazima.
Mbona yicaranye n’umuhanuzi mukuru muri ibyo biro,ubwo njyewe nari kumuryango ndi gukurikirana ibyo barimo bakora,ngira ikizere gikomeye ko,umuhanuzi mukuru arikumwe na rupfu kandi ko,nta cyo ashobora gukora arikumwe n’umuhanuzi mukuru,mbona ahawe urwandiko rumuhesha uburenganzira bwo gutwara abantu bagiye gukurwa mu isi cyane cyane ko yabwiwe ko ,agomba guhera mu rwagasabo.
Mbabazwa ni uko umuhanuzi mukuru nawe yabyemeje aho kugirango abyange mbona ahubwo arabyishimiye,bona rupfu yakaba uko yabaye uko,arasohotse anezerewe ameze nk’imbwa yibye inyama,ubwo ndababara nanirwa kubaza umuhanuzi mukuru icyamuteye gushyigikira rupfu ngo ahabwe uburenganzira bwo gutwara abantu bacu tugenda tutavugana turinda dutandukana.
Bene data Uwiteka abakomeze kandi Imana yo mu ijuru ikiranuka muri byose ikomeze kubagirira neza,ibiteho,abataha muzasuhurize abatubanhirije uhereye 1959,1973,1994,ubwo igihe nigihumuza natwe tuzabasanga tunezerannywe hamwe n’Umwami wacu Yesu kristo wapfuye akazuka mubapfuye ubu akaba ar’iburyo bw’Uwiteka Imana yacu.Bye bye.
kuwa 01Sep 2014 Imana yahishuye ko,bagiye kwirenza Dr.Himbara David.
Kuwa 01st Sep 2014, Nerekwa mbona ndi ku nkengero z’ubutayu bugufiya,imbere yanjye hari umugabo witwa Dr.David Himbara,mbona bamwoherereje abakobwa (2);kugirango umwe muri bo,akorane ubukwe nawe(Urupfu)ni uko mbona Himbara abanje gushidikanya,ariko ageze ho aremera,mu gihe yari amaze kwemera kurushinga niyo nkozi yibibi y’umwega-kazi yari yitwaje utuzi twa Munyuza,mbona umuhanuzi mukuru arahatungutse atabara Dr.Himbara
(b) Nerekwa mbona leta y’Urwanda yohereza za magigiri ngo zishobore gutata umuhanuzi Majeshi Leon babashe kumenya aho aherereye neza ngo babone uko bamuca igihanga,ariko biba iby’ubusa Uwiteka aramanuka aramutabara imigambi yabo abasha kuyiburizamo ibyo bateguraga bihinduka ubusa.
KUVA FPR YAFATA UBUTEGETSI, UBUKUNGU BW’URWANDA NTIBWIGEZE BUZAMUKA MU NTERA!!
Amakuru agera ku kinyamakuru inyangenews ,aturuka mu biro bikuru bya SENATERI y’America,aravuga yuko kuwa 06th Aug 2013 SENA y’america ngo yemeje ibyemezo yari yarafatiye leta y’Urwanda nyuma yamezi (7) ashize ibyo byemezo bitarashyirwa mu bikorwa.
Amakuru afite gihamya avuga yuko izo nzego za leta zigenga,ngo ubu zamaze guhamya yuko infanyo yagenerwaga uRwanda ko ihagarikwa kubera ibikorwa by’umutekano muke wa karere k’ibiyaga bigari ukomoka mu Rwanda,nyuma yo kwiga kuri icyo cyemezo mu gihe kingana n’amezi arindwi bivugwa yuko ngo basanze kuva FPR yafata ubutegetsi ngo ntiyigeze itanga agahenge k’umutekano kugeza uyu munsi wa none ihora yitwaza yuko ngo ikurikiye ingabo za FDLR zahungiye mu gihugu cya Congo.
Imyaka 19 irarangiye igihugu cya kongo kiri mu ntambara zikomoka ku ntambara yatangijwe na FPR ibeshya ko igiye gucyura abanyarwanda baheze ishyanga,none abo yacyuye yarongeye iberekeza iyubuhunzi kubera gutegekesha abaturage igitugu,nyuma yahoo FPR yangiye imishyikirano ya Arusha kugeza naho bahanura indege y’uwahoze ari perezida w’Urwanda Habyarimana Yuvenali ubwicanyi bwahise butangira ako kanya kuko yaba FPR cyangwa MLND bose wagirango bari bafite inyota yo kunywa amaraso.
Ayo maraso yamenetse kugez’ubu yabaye iturufu rikomeye FPR ikoresha murwanya abatavuga rumwe nay obo mu bwoko bw’abahutu,naho abatutsi bo bakozwa hirya no hino nkuko umuyaga uzunguza agate katagira imizi,uko FPR yagiye ihirwa mu binyoma byayo yageragezaga kubeshya amahanga niko yibwiraga yuko ariko bizakomeza,ariko ubanza igihe kimaze kugera ngo isi yose imenye ikinyoma kimaze imyaka 19 ku ntebe.
Nyuma yuko leta y’America imenye neza yuko intambara zivugwa mu karere k’ibiyaga bigari ari inkinamico ya FPR na perezida Kagame,byatumye ihagarika izo mfashanyo yageneraga Urwanda bene ngango bakishyirira mu bifu byabo none ibakuye amata kumunwa!None bazemera guhara kongo kandi ariho bakura zahabu itubutse ndetse itunganijwe?cyangwa bazareka Congo bemere bahabwe imfashanyo bagenerwa babanje kugenzurwa kandi muri congo ntawabahaga amategeko?!
Igitangaje muri ibi byose n’uko ubukungu bw’Urwanda bugenda burushaho kuzamba,mu gihe usanga mu marapolo atangwa n’impunguke za loni usanga leta y’Urwanda iri mu bihugu bikize ku isi,tekereza ukuntu mu myaka ya za 2002 -2005 Urwanda rwabarirwaga mu bihugu bikomeye ku isi bitanga zahabu nyinshi ku isoko mpuza migabane!Ariko igigteye ubwoba n’ukuntu kuva icyo gihe cyose ububkungu bwakomeje kugenda bwikubita hasi umunsi ku munsi.
Nyamara repubulika ya ll ntako itari yakoze ngo ubungu bw’Urwanda bubashe kwihagararaho aho usanga idollar 1$ ryavunjaga 250 frw,ndetse na Pasteur Bizimungu yari yagerageje kugarura ubukungu bw’igihugu busubura ku rwego bwari buriho,ariko Umwakagara yapfuye kujya ku ntebe,ubwo kaba karabaye ubukungu burakunkumuka bw’ikubita hasi buva kuri 37% none ubu bugeze kuri 70%.
Niki cyatumye ubukungu busubira hasi cyane:
Bahinduye inote ya 5000 inshuro (2) bariba ntibahaga kuko muguhindura niho bikoreraga amafaranga y’amahimbano,barongera bahimba inote ya 2000 frw nabwo barongera bariba ntibahaga,ubwo kandi niko intambara rugeretse muri congo bari koruta,gasegeriti,zahabu,diamond nibindi byinshi,ariko ubukungu bukanga bagasubira hasi uko bwije uko bukeye.
Ibyo babonye bitabahagije badukira amabanki yabikorera ku giti cyabo,bati turashakamo imigabane mwakwanga mukava mu gihugu,ngaho BACAR yayoborwaga na VALENS KAJEGUHAKWA barayimwambura,bayihindura FINA Bank,ntibashirwa BCR bayigurishije inshuro (2) bayihindura ibyatsi,ntibanyurwa bakurikizaho Bank de Kigali nayo bayimira bunguri
Bakurikizaho amahotel,ngizo za Merdian yagurishijwe inshuro (3) ubu isigaye yitwa LAICO umubano bayigurishije umurundi kugirango bazayikure kumazina ye bayishyire kuri IVAN CYOMORO,iyahoze yitwa DIPLOMATE bayihinduye INTERCONTINETAL barongera bayindura SERENA ibyo byose n’imikorere y’ubusambo kugirango bayobye uburari.
Ngibyo ibigo nka Rwandatel,Tea café,Icyayi,za microfinance ngayo amasoko yanyarugenge,ngiyo ikiyovu cy’abakene,ubutaka bwose babuhinduye ubwabo ese niki batariye ibintu byose babishyize mu mifuka yabo ariko biranga ubukungu busubira hasi,ibi byose babikoraga ngo kugirango abanyarwanda bakene maze babone uko babapfukamira ariko abanyarwanda nabo ntiboroshye bahisemo guhunga igihugu bafata iy’ubuhungiro.
Amakuru aturuka mu biro bikuru bya FPR aravuga yuko ngo ubu iryo shyaka riri kubutegetsi,ngo ubu ryaba rimaze kugira amafaranga angina na Tiriyari (3) Miliyari ibihumbi (3000)ayo mafaranga bazayamara ryari ese aho ntibazakurwa kubutegetsi bataragera no mucyakabiri cyayo?
Ariko ubanza ntacyo azabamarira kuko na repubulika ya l,ni ya ll,ntacyo byabamariye kuko imiryango yabo ntiyabuze kumaramara,wenda umuntu yakeka yuko batari bajijutse cyane nkabangaba ariko ndagirango mbamenyeshe yuko isi ntambabazi igira,nyamara ibyo mu gihe biba ninako ubukene n’ubutindi birushaho kwiyongera mubanyarwanda mu gihe amazu meza n’amamodoka ahenze kuruta uko umuntu yibwira arushaho kugaragara mu murwa wa Kigali,gusa n’uko akabaye icwendwe katoga niyo koze ntigacya niyo gacyeye ntigashira umunuko.
Kurds Ask for Peace, Turkey Attacks by Uzay Bulut
- Berta Soler and the other “Ladies in White” have been ignored by the Obama Administration — bypassed year after year. These and countless other brave women who are also human rights leaders — often falsely accused of crimes, and who are currently suffering in Iranian prisons — should be recognized as Women of Courage, but remain sidelined by the U.S. government, the media, and most notably by women’s groups.
-
- Why are we not only failing to help them, but instead washing our hands of them?
- Disingenuously, Obama keeps repeating that his deal will “prevent” Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — when the deal clearly empowers Iran to get them.
Pope Francis, on his recent trip to Cuba, failed to embrace publicly the world famous “Ladies in White” (“Damas de Blanco”) — the wives and relatives of Cuba’s jailed dissidents.
“Ladies in White” was formed by Berta Soler in 2003 after 75 human rights activists and journalists were sent to prison by the Cuban government. The men in their family had been jailed for being activists. The “Ladies in White” were peacefully calling for their release.
This year, for twenty straight Sundays between April and August, members of the “Ladies in White” were arrested as well — for leading protests against the Castro regime for having imprisoned their family members and for suppressing human rights.
These women have also been routinely harassed and beaten during their peaceful efforts to stand for freedom.
After 75 human rights activists and journalists were sent to prison by the Cuban government in 2003, Berta Soler (left) formed “Ladies in White” with the female relatives of the political prisoners. At right: Cuban dissident Digna Rodriquez Ibañez, a member of Ladies in White, was pelted with tar by agents of the Cuban regime, in February 2015. |
On September 20, on their way to a special meeting with Pope Francis in Cuba, Berta Soler and her husband were arrested by police. An additional 20 members of the “Ladies in White” were also arrested to prevent them from attending the papal mass in Havana.
Berta Soler and the other “Lades in White” have been ignored by the Obama Administration – bypassed year after year as one of the ten women honored by the U.S. Department of State at its annual Women of Courage Award.
Iranian women have also largely been bypassed for this honor. As members of the Obama Administration move forward with the policy of engagement with the brutal regimes in Havana and Tehran, it is important not to forget the courageous people, including women, who oppose them.
Since the inception of the award in 2007, eleven Afghan women and four Pakistani women have been honored as Women of Courage.
Although there are plenty of deserving candidates among Iranian women for this award, only one has been selected, and that, in 2010: Shadi Sadr, a lawyer and journalist who started a website dedicated to women’s rights activists in Iran and has represented activists in court.
The Women of Courage Award, which in the past also has been given posthumously, should also be awarded to Neda Agha-Soltan, whose was brutal murder was recorded live during the “Green Movement” protests in Iran in 2009 and gained world-wide attention.
Neda, as she has become known, was hailed by protesters as an “Angel of Freedom.” After her murder, the Iranian regime banned prayers for her. Her grave has been desecrated, posters memorializing her have been torn down, and her family has been targeted.
Unfortunately, members of the Obama Administration failed to give any support whatsoever for the Green Movement in 2009 and certainly do not seem likely to do so now. The current U.S. Administration evidently prefers clinging to a quixotic “Iran deal,” supported by only 21% of the American public, and that, in any event, many believe will have catastrophic consequences. Disingenuously, President Obama keeps repeating — most recently on a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Steve Croft — that his deal will “prevent” Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, when the deal is quite clear that it empowers Iran to get one.
There are also countless brave women, also human rights leaders, often falsely accused of supposed crimes, who are currently suffering in Iranian prisons. They, too, should be recognized as Women of Courage, but remain sidelined by the U.S. government, the media, and most notably by women’s groups.
One of these women, Bahareh Hedayat, was arrested in Iran in 2009 for her work in a student organization and the “One Million Signatures Campaign for the Change of Discriminatory Laws Against Women.”
The official charges against her included “acting against national security and publishing falsehoods”, “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “insulting the President.”
Just as she was finishing her prison term and scheduled for release, she was given an additional two years for a previously suspended sentence in 2007 relating to peace activism. The extension was added by Iran’s Revolutionary Court on the ethereal-sounding grounds of “acting against national security”, “disturbing public order” and “propaganda against the state.”
Iran targeted another woman, Narges Mohammadi, after she met with the then European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in 2014. Doctors are requesting her be moved from prison to a hospital, to prevent a paralysis from which she is suffering from becoming worse.
Recent charges against Mohammadi from her arrest this May include “activities against national security and anti-government publicity” for participating in human rights campaigns and a campaign against the death penalty.
Also serving 14 years in prison is another opponent of the death penalty, Atena Daemi. The regime imprisoned her because of her Facebook posts and information on her mobile phone critical of the Supreme Leader, as well as her efforts against death penalty.
Daemi’s health is also poor. She is having increasing difficulty sleeping and seeing, and may have multiple sclerosis.
While frequent charges against these women include “insulting the Supreme Leader” and acting “against national security,” it seems as if their actual “crime” actual “crime” is freedom of speech.
The “Ladies and White” and so many other brave Cuban and Iranian women are merely asking for freedom and justice. Why are we not only failing to help them, but instead washing our hands of them?
George Phillips served as an aide to Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, working on human rights issues.
