Iranian occupation regime demolition an Ahwazi village followed by USA condemnation

The Iranian occupation regime from time to time and in various parts of Al-Ahwaz (South Ilam, Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Hormozgan provinces in the Iranian map), starts demolishing villages and neighborhoods inhabited by Ahwazi families for hundreds of years by their forefathers.

The devastating story of Ahwazi village began on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, when the Iranian occupation regime razed and ruined a number of homes in the village of “Abu Al-Fadl”, near the Ahwaz capital. The Iranian criminal regime police forces were heavily armed with tear gas and bulldozers, has faced fierce resistance from the Ahwazi villagers, who had only their “words” and “stones” as mean to defend their homes and village from been destroyed by an Iranian organization that was established mainly to help the vulnerable and poor people in a diverse part of Iran.

The Iranian security forces injured a number of Ahwazi young men, children, and elderly people who endeavored to stand up and defend their village, which the Iranian “Mostazafan Foundation” wants to confiscate their lands, demolish their homes and expel them from their areas.

“Abu Al-Fadl” village has an area of 25 hectares with more than 300 families are living in the mentioned area for more than 30 years. Almost all of the village’s inhabitants are farmers and poor.

The residents of “Abu Al-Fadl” village are having official documents shows by the end of the eighties and the beginning of the nineties of the last century, the villagers have had agricultural water for growing wheat, barley, vegetables, and summer crops through “Salman” project.

in the above video that was recorded by an Ahwazi activist shows that the Iranian occupation police forces are using both military and hunting guns while they are shooting live bullets towards the Ahwazi villagers. 

despite the number of Ahwazi young and elderly people’s injuries caused by Iranian direct shooting, but the Iranian officials are denying firing bullets and injuring a large number of villagers who defend their homes and village.

another video shows the Imam of the village Mr. Seyed Yousef Mousawi is defending the village’s homes from demolition by the Iranian criminal regime and was saying “why don’t you respect the children and women of the village? Why are you are attacking the residents??”. One of the Iranian police who is wearing plain clothes argued with Imam of the mosque and said “they (villagers) are Kaffir (unbeliever)”.

Imam of the mosque is speaking about the misery situation of “Abu Al-Fadl” village when it’s been targeted by Iranian police with tear gas. The Imam said the police fired tear gas towards me and other elderly people and children. Many children’s sights have been infected by tear gas and unable to watch normally.

According to activists within Al-Ahwaz quoted that the village is located in a very important and sensitive place, in which the Iranian criminal regime decided to evacuate all residents forcibly even without providing an alternative for displaced residents. Another aspect that led to the demolition of the village by the Iranian occupation regime is the “Land dealers or Merchant” that are working closely with IRGC leaders. Due to the village got closer to the Ahwaz capital border and the village land’s price will rise up sharply, the dealer by using their influence through the IRGC leader got executive order to demolition the village.

In the following photo received by Ahwazi centre shows the geographical position of “Abu Al-Fadl” village.

Number 1 is military base (Drones Base).

Number 2 is oil storages.

Number 3 is Zardasht town.

Number 4 is “Abu Al-Fadl” village.

while the Iranian occupation regime denying any home demolition in Ahwazi “Abu Al-Fadl” village, the following two videos have been recorded on Friday the 28th of August 2020 shows the destruction of many homes in the village and many elderly people and children been injured.

The United State of America’s foreign ministry (Persian section) has twitted about the Ahwazi “Abu Al-Fadl” village’s home demolition and said “Does the seemingly “Mostazafan” foundation earn three trillion Tomans by Making (Ahwazi) people homeless?”.

The Iranian pro-regime media has conducted an interview with one of the “Abu Al-Fadl” village resident and did not publish the interview. The resident told the media the following.

“we as Ahwazi Arab were here for a long time and we were farming different corps in our land. During the Shah (Pahlavi) period, the official told us that we cannot be the landowner because of the Shah racist and discriminations policies and with coming of the “Islamic Republic” we were optimist with the new system but the life experience showed us that there is no difference between “Shah” and the Islamic Republic and the new regime is continuing policies of the defunct regime”.

The Ahwazi Centre believe that the Iranian regime has intensified its residential land confiscations after the regime has almost confiscated most of the agricultural land under the diverse pretext of “ Industrials zones”, “Sugarcane projects”, “ Supreme Leader project (550k Hectares)”, “Irrigation Channels”, and so on.

The Iranian occupation regime demolition crimes come within the framework of a policy to change the demography of the Al-Ahwaz region. The Iranian regime is implementing many policies to reach that sinister goal by demolishing Ahwazi neighborhoods and villages and confiscating their lands, impoverishing the Ahwazi people by spreading systematic unemployment and giving job opportunities in their areas to the Persian settlers. The Ahwazi people suffering from the lack of drinking water and sanitation networks, and from racial discrimination in innumerable areas such as health, educational, cultural, and political life, a strategy that has been systematically planned and implemented by security and military departments of the Iranian occupier regime for decades.

It is worth noting that the Mostazafan Foundation, which confiscates lands and demolishes Ahwazi homes, claims to help the vulnerable and needy people across geography so-called Iran, has become one of the richest institutions in Iran and its wealth is estimated at billions of dollars. According to reports and statements by Iranian officials, four Iranian institutions, namely: the Mostazafan Foundation, the Foundation for Executing Khomeini’s Orders, the Quds Razavi Foundation, and the Khatam al-Anbiya Foundation, own about 60% of the country’s wealth. These institutions have become huge financial empires by Iranian supreme leader Khamenei and act as he desires and spends them on internal repression and external terrorism.

Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights condemns Iranian illegitimate regime’s land confiscation and calls upon international organizations especially the UN special rapporteur for the land rights and indigenous people to put pressure on Iran to stop its vicious policies in Al-Ahwaz.

Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights

28-August-2020

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