Al Shindagah

Al Shindagah | Issue 138 | 5 ©Shutterstock Asharq Al-Awsat. His article quotes former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani saying, “We have benefited from this process in presenting the Palestinian issue, which was forgotten, and we were able, through this process, to find new relations with the outside world and develop them.” It is an inescapable irony that in spite of the high horse with respect to the brutal occupation of Palestine, its behaviour towards its own Arab citizens mirrors that of the country it terms “The Little Satan”. The Ahwazis have brave hearts and strong voices which are not being heard because they lack support not only from the international community but also from the Arab World. Yes, just like the Palestinians they seek an independent state but they are also realists; that cannot be realized overnight. In the meantime, they long for moral and diplomatic support from their Arab brethren, which until today has not been forthcoming. Specifically, they seek recognition by the Arab League in the form of a seat on the basis of associate or observer state status. I have been pushing hard for just that for some time but it seems there are two objecting states. No prize for guessing which. They are the two that have been enchained and stripped of their national dignity by Iranian surrogate leaderships. Put simply, the Arab League is being indirectly led by a long and obstructive Persian nose. That sorry state of affairs should be acknowledged and rectified with a rule change allowing for, say, an 80 percent majority to carry resolutions. Ahwazis have been let down time and time again and were stabbed in the back by the political- militant organization Mujahedin-e Khalq purporting to be their ally against the regime. Their situation has been discussed in Britain’s House of Commons attended by representatives of the UK Foreign Office, the US Embassy, human rights groups and parliamentarians but no action was taken. Ahwazis are firmly with us. A young Ahwazi poet Ahmed Sabhan wrote heartfelt lines to the Saudi monarch HM King Salman bin Abdulaziz glorifying his leadership in liberating Yemen from “Houthis of Darkness,” before he and his wife were arrested and tortured. In light of a disinterested community of nations and a shackled Arab League, I address my appeal to two compassionate Arab lions King Salman and HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. Let us prove to these long- suffering people that they are not alone. Let us take up their banner and work for their cause. Let it ring loudly through the United Nations and be projected via our Arab media. Let us shout from the rooftops that we are all proud members of one Arab nation that refuses to forget the loyal Ahwazi Arabs of Arabistan. As if life under the Pahlavi dynasty was not hard enough for the children of Arabistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran tramples upon every facet of their human rights.