Senator Romeo Dallaire addressed Canada’s Senate on Tuesday 29 November 2011 in one of the most challenging and detailed public indictments of Iran’s treatment of Baha’is.
In his remarks, he noted how “the human rights situation of the Baha’is in Iran is deteriorating…”
“Any Iranian who identifies as Baha’i is barred from higher education, from holding a position in the government. . . The similarities with what I saw in Rwanda are absolutely unquestionable, equal, similar and in fact applied with seemingly the same verve.”
“Any promotion of the Baha’i faith is to be punished through exclusionary tactics… In this case, we have not an ethnic but a religious situation of targeting a specific group to oppress them and ultimately, I would argue, to eliminate them. Insofar as you are a Baha’i, you are to be excluded from the benefits of citizenry.”
For Senator Dallaire’s complete speech on the situation of the Baha’is, please click here.
Senator Dallaire is one of the most widely recognized Canadians honoured and respected around the world for his humanitarian work and his courageous defence of people under threat. A retired Canadian General, author, and former Commander of the UN Peacekeeping force in Rwanda in the early nineties, Senator Dallaire has been featured in documentaries and a feature movie that recounted the dramatic story of his life caught in the middle of one of the most troubling genocides in history when the international community failed to support his pleas for authority to try and stem the massacre of millions of people in Rwanda. Senator Dallaire currently serves as the Co-Director of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, is a frequent speaker at major international and United Nations meetings, and is an outspoken member of Canada’s Senate.
Highlights of his talk in the Senate included a summary of the history of Baha’i persecutions since it emerged in Iran in the nineteenth century. He spoke about how Baha’is “have an elected leadership, not an ecclesiastical hierarchy, and their beliefs include equality of the sexes and harmony between science and religion – something that others could learn from. . . The root of their persecution lies in the technical differences between their faith and that of the Shia majority, paramount of which is the Baha’i belief that Mohammad was not the last prophet sent by God.”
Senator Dallaire reviewed the recent escalation in attacks on Baha’is, the imprisonment of Baha’i leaders, and noted the efforts of the government of Iran to stop all Baha’i efforts to educate themselves since they are denied access to higher education. He described the innovative and courageous efforts to provide education for Baha’is inside Iran.
“We can proudly say,” the Senator said, “that 63 of these educators received their degrees here in Canada. We have supported this effort that you would consider subversive if you were an Iranian government official.”
“The incarceration of Baha’is in Iran is rising at an alarming rate. In the past 18 months, the increase has been exponential. In 2004, only four were incarcerated. In 2010, there were 48. In 2011, there are more than 100. More Baha’is were arrested in the past year than in the previous six years combined.”
“What should our government do? First, we must welcome all Iranian Baha’is seeking refugee status in Canada. . . Second, we must use the new tool that the government has established – the Office of Religious Freedom. . .Third, we must ensure that our approach to Iran in the area of foreign affairs is consistent and coherent. The problems of terrorism, repression of minority groups and the conflict with Israel must be taken into consideration in order to get a comprehensive view of the situation.
“More action must be taken against this country, which not only oppresses people but also puts the rest of the world at risk through its desire to arm itself with nuclear weapons. We must ensure that our response is proportional to the existing threat.”