Free Balochistan Movement held protests against Iran in different European countries

THE HAGUE/HAMBURG/HELSINKI: The Free Balochistan Movement staged a series of protests in different European countries to raise awareness about Iranian and Pakistani state atrocities against the Baloch people. The latest protests were organised on the anniversary of the Zahedan Massacre of peaceful Baloch protesters by Iran’s IRGC which proscribed a terrorist outfit in several Western Nations.

Two simultaneous protests were held on Saturday 23 September in front of Iranian Consulates in Hamburg Germany and the Hague in the Netherlands against Iranian state brutalities in Iranian Occupied Balochistan (IOB).

It is pertinent to remember that on September 30, 2022, Zahedan – the capital city of (IOB) – turned into a battlefield after Iranian IRGC and other forces opened indiscriminate firing at peaceful protesters who were protesting against the sexual assault of a young Baloch girl by a high-ranking Iranian police officer in Chabahar city in Balochistan.

The incident of Zahedan has become well known as Zahedan Massacre and Bloody Friday. The Baloch people have been protesting every Friday since the Zahedan atrocity to demand justice for the victims and punishment for the culprits involved in the broad daylight killing of peaceful protesters.

The first of these protest demonstrations started on September 23rd by the Netherlands branch of the Free Balochistan Movement in front of the main gate of the Iranian Embassy.

The FBM activists carried placards and banners rallying from the embassy to their designated protest site, where they chanted slogans against the massacre of the Baloch people by Iran’s forces on Bloody Friday last year.

The protesters said that the violence and oppression of the Iranian forces after Bloody Friday resulted in even more innocent Baloch deaths, with the death toll from these protests eventually exceeding 300.

The protesters chanted that Balochistan is not Iran and Balochistan is not Pakistan.

The FBM activists highlight that Balochistan has a distinct identity and rich cultural, and national heritage. They said whether it was under Iranian subjugation or Pakistani occupation, the Baloch everywhere were committed to keeping their resistance and political ideology alive, aiming for an independent homeland. The ultimate goal of the Baloch people was to achieve a free and united Baloch state, in line with their aspirations.

The speakers also emphasized the need for strong unity and cooperation in the fight against both the Iranian and Pakistani occupiers.

They urged that, without being caught up in the artificially imposed borders and the divisions of East and West created by adversaries, Balochistan should be regarded as a singular entity. The global institutions should be approached effectively to advocate for Balochistan’s sovereignty and recognition.

 On the same day, FBM activists organised a protest in Germany’s Hamburg city. The protestors carried various banners and placards with pictures of the martyrs of Zahedan and inscribed with different slogans.

In addition to Free Balochistan Movement members, Kurdish and Ahwazi Arab Activists also participated in large numbers in the Hamburg protest to express their support and solidarity with the people of Balochistan. The Kurds, Arabs, Turks of South Azerbaijan and other nations also face similar atrocities at the hands of the Iranian state.

The latest Kurdish uprising that spread Iran-wide started after the murder of a young Kurdish woman Jina Amini aka Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police.

Speakers said that in Iranian-Occupied Balochistan, the IRGC and the intelligence forces of Iran used pre-planned excessive force against peaceful people who had gathered to record their protest after offering their Friday prayers.  At least a hundred protesters were killed, several hundred wounded and a large number were arrested and put behind bars, the speakers charged.

The speakers said that there has been an uprising in Iranian Occupied Balochistan since the Zahedan Massacre which the Iranian forces are trying to crush with the use of forces and military might. Arbitrary arrests, shootings and shelling of people’s houses as well as bulldozing of the residents of Baloch people are not a violation of their basic human rights but such brutalities were crimes against humanity and a part of the Baloch genocide that Iran has been carrying in Balochistan.

The speakers further said that both Iran and Pakistan are occupying the Baloch land and looting the Baloch national resources and they do not hesitate to use any kind of violence and brutal means to maintain their occupation. Just as Pakistan has been committing crimes against the Baloch nation regardless of class, gender, or age difference, Iran is also continuously following the same policies as an occupier.

Additionally, Iran carried out mass executions of Baloch prisoners under different pretexts and killed Baloch fuel traders regularly. Iran has recently stepped up extra-judicial killing and arrests of Baloch youth and scholars in Balochistan. Many Baloch children have been arrested, tortured and even sexually abused by Iranian forces.

In the demonstration, the representatives of Al-Ahwaz and Kurdistan, Gulare, and Kamiyar described the Iranian oppression, tyranny, the ongoing atrocities against Baloch, Kurds, Arabs and other nations the continuation of their state terrorism and genocide of oppressed nations.

They emphasised the need for unity among oppressed nations and said,  “Our struggle together will prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the occupier.” They expressed their determination to always stand and struggle side by side with activists of the Free Balochistan Movement for the freedom of Balochistan from occupiers.

Finally, the speakers of the Free Balochistan Movement said that we appeal to all human rights organizations including the United Nations to break their silence on the atrocities on the Baloch on both sides of the Gold Summit Line and take action against the occupiers and war crimes.

Apart from representatives of the Kurdis and Arabs of Al-Ahwaz, the Free Balochistan Movement speakers including Mohammad Bakhsh Dorrazaei aka Raaji Baluch, Beebagr Baloch, Banuk Sama Baluch, Naveed Baloch, Behzad Karimazeh Baloch and Amir Arsalan Baloch expressed their views at the demonstration.

On September 24, the FBM organised a similar protest in Helsinki Finland where Baloch and Pashtun activists participated. The head of the Free Balochistan Movement Tribal Affair Department Advocate Sadiq Raisani Baloch spoke about the ongoing oppression and atrocities of Iran and Pakistan against the Baloch people.

Mr Raisani also pointed out that China was supporting both Iran and Pakistan in their human rights abuses in Balochistan and exploiting Baloch national resources.

He said, “Balochistan existed as an independent country before the creation of Pakistan by the British. Hence the Baloch people like any other nation in the world have an inherent right to freedom.”

Other speakers included Abdul Bari Badech, Shafiq Ullah Yousafzai, Hashim Askari, and M B Marri who urged the world community to hold Iran and Pakistan accountable for their crimes against Baloch people.