Iranian soldiers hold a rocket propelled grenade while riding a motorcycle during military manoeuvres at Sistan-Baluchestan province, 2006. The leader of a rebel group blamed for a string of attacks in restive southeastern Iran said in an interview broadcast that he was ready to enter talks with the Tehran government. (AFP/File/Str)DUBAI (AFP) - The leader of a rebel group blamed for a string of attacks in restive southeastern Iran said in an interview broadcast on Thursday that he was ready to enter talks with the Tehran government.
"We are ready from this moment to start a dialogue with the Iranian government ... in the presence of an international party," Jundallah (Soldiers of God) leader Abdolmalek Rigi told the Al-Arabiya news channel.
"If the Iranian government allows us to enjoy all our political rights, we will be ready to abandon arms and enter the political arena," Rigi added.
But he warned that the group would continue its struggle against Tehran until it secured "all the rights entitled to our people."
Read more ....
Iran rebels say they killed two hostages: TV -- Reuters
Iran Sunni rebels say willing to talk to Tehran-TV -- Reuters
Iran's Sunni rebel group open to talks with ruling government -- Gulf News
Iran hangs two on rebel charges: state TV -- Reuters
Iran executes two Jondollah terrorists -- Tehran Times
Journalist executed in Iran -- Dawn internet
EU Condemns Human Rights Violations Of Kurds In Iran -- Nasdaq
My Comment: I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Persian community makes up only 50% of the population, but they run the government, make up the Revolutionary Guards, and administer all the important ministries. Discrimination in terms of ethnicity and religion has been the history of Iran, more so now than ever before.
In the past this animosity has always been controlled through brutal police tactics and economic development. But as Iran's economy continues to degrade, followed with shortages from electricity to fuel, numerous ethnic groups are becoming "fed-up".
How this discontent is going to manifest itself in the next year will determine if there will be peace in the Middle East, or an Iran provocation against one of its neighbors that will distract their people from the internal mess that they are in.
This internal situation is most troublesome for the Mullahs in Tehran. Their oil fields are in the predominantly Arab part of the country, the Kurds are looking at their cousins in Iraq and are envious of the development and growth that is happening there, and the Azeri peoples (the second largest ethnic group in Iran) are now organizing opposition to Tehran. As for the Baloch people of eastern Iran, they are now in open rebellion.
