By Shannon
Justice is “the fair and equitable treatment of all individuals under the law.”
Human rights are “rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.”
Pic from Google Images - Tahrir Square a couple of years before riots.
Last Saturday Mubarak stepped down. A lot of us held our breath as we waited to see what would happen next in Egypt. We didn’t have to wait long. The military took control, disbanded Parliament, threw out the Constitution, forcibly removed protesters from Tahrir Square, and did not lift the state of emergency law under which the Egyptians have lived for decades. I’m still holding my breath and wondering, “Will the Egyptian people ever be treated equitably by their government? Will they ever enjoy their human rights?”
Pic from Google Images - Manama Bahrain.
Bahrain has joined the ranks of rioting nations in the Middle East. Bahrain is a kingdom of islands in the Persian Gulf with the capital city of Manama on its largest island. After being passed around by various empires, it became an Islamic Socialist nation in 899 A.D. It is currently a Constitutional Monarchy ruled by the minority Sunni Islamic sect. It is rich in pearls and oil. After becoming a torture-free nation in 2001, reports indicate that with renewed political oppression beginning in 2007, torture was reinstated. After two days of riots and the death of two protesters, the government says it’s listening and is promising reforms. Will it be enough? Will the Bahrainis ever be treated equitably by their government? Will they ever enjoy their human rights?
Unlike the nations and kingdoms in the Middle East that are loosening up their internet and media restrictions and promising reforms in an attempt to pacify their protesters, Iran is threatening death to its ringleaders.
Map of Persian Empire from www.theancientweb.com
Iran has a beautiful history beginning with the Persian Empire which ruled over much of the Middle East from 625BC-334BC. The Persians lost power to first the Greek and then the Roman Empires. In 633 AD an Islamic Caliphate took over the region and though the Persian tribes fought, the Caliphate won Persia. The governors sent by the Caliphate to rule Iran were given a lot of autonomy, so Iran was able to maintain its non-Arab Persian flavor. Persian remains the national language. (I long for a day when it’s safe to visit this ancient land.)
In the early 1900s Iran became industrialized and focused on education. In 1953, America openly deposed Iran’s democratically elected government. America then helped rapidly modernize Iran, but its government became more autocratic during that time. The Iranian revolution began in January 1978 with its first major demonstrations against the Shah. Strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the nation (like we saw in Egypt). In 1979, the Shah fled, and the Ayatollah Khomeini who had been publically denouncing the Shah for more than a decade returned from exile. (Khomeini labeled America "the great Satan" and gave the world these perverse gems approving beastiality.) In December 1979 Iran approved a theocratic Constitution and Khomeini became the Supreme Leader. It is now the “Islamic Republic of Iran” with a population of more than 74 million and an abysmal human rights record. http://www.iranrights.org/
Pic from Google Images
Now Iranians are once again desperately trying to rise up. Unlike the rest of the Middle East which is making concessions and promising reform, the Iranian government is openly calling for the execution of opposition leaders. (See here and here.) Will the Iranians ever have a government that treats them equitably? Will the people ever enjoy their human rights?
“Justice” is an abstract concept. So are “human rights.” I imagine that if you are a citizen of Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, etc., then “human rights” are concrete to you. I imagine justice is too. So I will continue to hold my breath with the rest of the world and wish for the best and fear the worst. In doing so I will, in some miniscule way, stand with the men and women who are fighting for “justice” and for “human rights.” After all, we are all human.
The map on the left is from the January 28, 2011, www.dailmail.co.uk and the map on the right is from www.enduringsense1.wordpress.com
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