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The annual conference of Iranian Women's Associations in Europe and North America, who support the Iranian Resistance, was held on Saturday, February 20 in Bonn, Germany. Over 1,500 women from 12 associations in nine countries attended the conference.
The conference was held in two parts. The first was devoted to workshops, dealing with the situation of women in Iran, and the extensive presence of women in the ranks of Resistance.
The second part of the conference was devoted to speeches. Among the speakers were Dr. Beverly Allen from the United States; Ms. Ingrid Holzhuter, member of German Federal Parliament from the Social Democratic Party; Ms. Sarvnaz Chitsaz, Chairwoman of the NCR's Women's Committee; Ms. Elizabeth Sidney, from Britain's Liberal Democratic Party; Ms. Laurie Wiesberg, President of the Human Rights Internet-Canada and Ms. Inge Lise-lien, a member of the International Front Against Fundamentalism (IFAF), from Norway.
A manifest was adopted which read in part: "The realization of Iranian women's rights is possible only with the overthrow of the clerical regime and the establishment of a democratic system…"
A large number of parliamentarians,
distinguished human rights personalities and activists in the women's movement
sent messages to declare their support for this conference and its outcome.
Shiite Cleric And Sons Are Slain By Assailants In Iraq, The New York Times, February 21
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Assailants killed Iraq's leading Shiite cleric and two of his sons in a "vicious" attack, the official Iraqi News Agency reported Saturday. A number of arrests have been made.
State run television and radio interrupted their programs to announce the death of the cleric, the Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sader, who they said was killed on Friday…
[A statement released by the People's Mojahedin of Iran on February 20, said that it "vehemently condemns the assassination of Ayatollah Sadr and his sons and calls for the arrest and prosecution of the principals and perpetrators of this heinous crime.
"As in previous cases, the criminal
mullahs ruling Iran are lying in ambush to attribute these cowardly assassinations
to the People's Mojahedin of Iran and use them as an excuse to interfere
in the internal affairs of Iraq," the statement said.]
Kurds Clash With Police in Iran, BBC World Service, February 21
Thousands of Iranian Kurds have clashed with security forces during angry demonstrations against the capture by Turkey of the Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
Reports from the region say that several people were killed and many more were arrested.
Iranian Kurdish groups say that security forces opened fire on demonstrators chanting slogans against the Iranian government.
Iranian newspapers report clashes between demonstrators and police in several Kurdish towns. One paper said at least two people were killed by police in Urumieh.
Iranian Kurdish groups abroad say the Iranian Kurds took advantage of the situation to express their own grievances.
A spokesman for the Iranian Kurdistan
Democratic Party told the BBC that as demonstrators chanted slogans against
Iranian leaders they were attacked by government forces.
UNHCR Must Offer Support to Ocalan, Iran Zamin News Agency, February 19
In a statement released on February 19, the Secretariat of The National Council of Resistance of Iran stated that: "Underscoring the fact that suppression is not the answer to the just and legitimate rights of Kurdish people, the Iranian Resistance points to the need to free the Leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK.
"The United Nations High Commission
for Refugees must offer support to Mr. Abdullah Ocalan and guarantee his
right to asylum," the statement said. aid in a statement.
Guards Kill Two Occupants of Car, Iran Zamin News Agency, February 20
Members of the Guards Corps' para-military Bassij force opened fire on a vehicle in Azerbaijan street (west of Tehran) on Wednesday, February 17. Two occupants, Mohammad Reza Afzali, 27, and Ibrahim Taghdiri, 30, were killed instantly. A women passenger, Shahabeh Nourbakhsh, 25, was seriously wounded.
The Guards said they opened fire because the woman passenger was not "properly veiled."