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March 2009 - Two Young Iranian Christian Women Arrested

On March 5th two Iranian Christian women, Miss Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad (30), and Miss Maryam Rustampoor (27), were arrested by the Iranian security forces, according to reports recieved by FCNN. Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus. They are being unfairly labeled as 'anti-government activists', because of the hostility of the government towards practicing Christians.

Their shared apartment was searched and personal belongings confiscated. They were hand-cuffed and first taken to the police and security station 137 in Gysha, west of Tehran for interrogation. Later they were taken to Vozara Detention Centre. Then they were taken to Branch 2 of the National Security Section of the Revolutionary Court, they were sent to the notorious Evin Prison where they are being held without charge.

They have been told they could be freed on a bail of US$400,000. This excessive bail level is unrealistic and is designed to intimidate and make release impossible. The families have subsequently been told on several occasions a judge is not available to discuss the case.

It was his idealism, his commitment to saving the earth and his love of nature that brought Gensun Agustin, 30, of Buguey, Cagayan, Northern Luzon, the Philippines, to an early and unnatural death at 4 PM last 1 March 2010. He was laid in his beloved earth, the earth that had given him life and for which he had fought and died as a campaigner for the protection of the environment. Earth Day ought to be a remembrance day for all those who have given their lives to save and protect the land and the people whose lives depend on it.

Gensun loved the sea, the sand and the mountains and when he saw the sand and the beaches of Buguey being seriously damaged by the extraction of huge volumes of black sand and the precious black magnetite, he acted to save them. The sands are being excavated and shipped in barges to waiting Korean ships off the Cagayan shore with the connivance of a powerful political clan in the province. We dare not speak or write the name lest another hail of bullets will end this writer's life too as it did that of Gensun as he rode his motor bike home that fatal day. Two men riding another motorbike overtook him and opened fire. A beautiful mind, heart and spirit were wiped out, ended by the evil-doers in greedy pursuit of perversity and power.

Last week, a mother came to the Preda shelter asking help and protection for her two little girls, one 8 and the other 4, both sexually-abused by their own father. Most child sexual abuse are done by relatives, sad to say, and covered up by those in authority who are bound to report it and help the victims. The mother reported that the government social worker did nothing to help her. It was a cover-up, one of many we struggle with daily. Whatever wrong was done by the church authorities in the past, hopefully they and all follow strict reporting procedures now with dire consequence for those who fail to follow them. Dealing with the past is a challenge of the present. Defenders of human rights and helpers of abused children have to fight the crime and the denial on many fronts. But readers ought to know there are hundreds of thousands in the church doing this and have always done it. That work never made the headlines.

“If they kill me, I will rise again and live among the people of El Salvador”. These were the brave and prophetic words of Oscar Romero, a man who realized a profound truth and experienced a spiritual resurrection in his life after suffering a great hurt, a deep loss. From a quite and peaceful life as a docile, non-involved cleric, he became a voice for the oppressed and the powerless of El Salvador. He shook the dictatorship to the core with his quite but powerful sermons, broadcast on diocesan radio, calling for justice and an end of state violence against the people and for the formation of a just society where human and civil rights would be respected. But this proved too much for some of his fellow Bishops who ostracized him. The voice of this archbishop was politically catastrophic for the tyrannical regime that ruled the country with US backing.

3.30 pm


To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking regarding the Government of Burma's decision to ban Aung San Suu Kyi from standing or voting in Burma's elections.

Lord Brett: My Lords, first, I commend to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and to the House the Written Answer to a similar question he put a few days ago, which makes absolutely clear our belief that the election laws are manifestly unfair and fall well short of international demands and standards. On 15 March

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the Prime Minister described the targeting of Aung San Suu Kyi and opposition political parties as "vindictive and callous". He has written to the UN Secretary-General supporting an early meeting of the Burma Group of Friends and a possible discussion in the UN Security Council. The Government have reiterated their call for a universal arms embargo against Burma.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: In the light of the outrageous decision of the Burmese Government to ban Aung San Suu Kyi from not only contesting but even being able to vote in elections, I strongly welcome what the Minister has just said about the demarche planned by the Prime Minister. Do we intend to seek to enlist the ASEAN countries and China in that initiative? Can the Minister also tell the House what our response is to the recent report from the United Nations special rapporteur on Burma about the continuing atrocities against ethnic minorities in Burma? He identified crimes against humanity and war crimes and suggested that a UN commission of inquiry should be established. Will we support that?