Graham Edwards (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary (Defence and Veterans' Affairs)) Share this | Hansard source

I was recently visited by members of the Baha’i community who came to my office to express concern over the persecution of members of their faith in Iran. Indeed, they expressed serious concerns for the safety of family members and loved ones living in Iran who are members of the Baha’i faith. I choose not to disclose their names. However, they sought my advice as to what action could be taken at a federal level to seek Australian government intervention in the persecution of members of the faith in Iran and to see if the federal government could use its influence to assist those being persecuted. I compliment Jennie George, the member for Throsby, for bring this motion forward today, and I am extremely pleased with the bipartisan support it has attracted.

I know that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has already tried to use his influence to put a strong case to the Iranian authorities to stop the persecution. I would simply encourage him, the government and the United Nations to persist in their representations to try to ensure that the Iranians live up to their human rights responsibilities. I also suggested to the Baha’i people who came to visit me that they should approach the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and seek an opportunity for their spokespeople to visit the House and to put directly to the Human Rights Subcommittee their concerns and to put on the record the issues they wish to raise.

What are some of the things that the Baha’i people believe in? There are two or three things that I would like to quickly mention. They say this:

Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart.

They also say this:

... religious, racial, national, and political prejudices, all are subversive of the foundation of human society, all lead to bloodshed, all heap ruin upon mankind. So long as these remain, the dread of war will continue.

The last one I want to quote is this:

All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization ... To act like the beasts of the field is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kindreds of the earth.

In previous years when there has been this persecution of people of the Baha’i faith in Iran, the people of the world, the United Nations and governments like Australia’s have banded together and strongly pressured the Iranian authorities to leave the Baha’i people alone. This has worked to some varying degree in the past. It is of extreme concern that we now see the Iranian authorities escalating their persecution of the Baha’i people.

I know other members have referred to recent articles, including one that was on the Baha’i World News Service as recently as 24 May, that report that Iranian officials have arrested 54 Baha’is in the city of Shiraz. I downloaded that from the internet and on the first page of that news coverage was a beautiful photograph of three Baha’i youth who were arrested in Shiraz on 19 May. I understand that a number of the people who were arrested have been released. Unfortunately, these three young women are not among them. I offer my thoughts and hopes to them and to other people who are being persecuted by this authoritarian regime. I would simply hope that the beliefs and principles of the Baha’i, which call for mercy, compassion and loving kindness, might be visited upon those people who were recently arrested.

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