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| According to a letter published by the Arvand Free Zone Organisation, land falling under its jurisdiction will be expropriated. The British Ahwazi Friendship Society, which claims to represent ], has reacted strongly to the way in which the local population is being treated, claiming that this amounts to ethnic cleansing. | According to a letter published by the Arvand Free Zone Organisation, land falling under its jurisdiction will be expropriated. The British Ahwazi Friendship Society, which claims to represent ], has reacted strongly to the way in which the local population is being treated, claiming that this amounts to ethnic cleansing. | ||
| ==Criticism== | |||
| An October 2005 article in the the ] Daily Telegraph called the Arvand Free Zone a "sinister development" with | |||
| :tens of thousands of ethnic Ahwazi Arabs, who populate the area bordering southern Iraq, ... expected to be displaced to make way for an expanded military-industrial complex. | An October 2005 article in the the ] Daily Telegraph called the Arvand Free Zone a "sinister development" claiming that tens of thousands of ethnic Ahwazi Arabs, who populate the area bordering southern Iraq, ... expected to be displaced to make way for an expanded military-industrial complex. | ||
| :The British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS), an advocacy group for Khuzestani Arabs in the UK, claims it will help Iran's Revolutionary Guards to influence the Shi'a areas of Iraq. | |||
| :A BAFS spokesman said: "Apart from being a serious human rights issue, any development that involves people being displaced by force obviously has a security element to it as they clearly do not want people being too near. The fact that they are deciding to put this huge complex right up against the border is significant. We think this is to enable them to train and send militias over the border." | |||
| The ] newspaper in Ahvaz, which covered Khuzestan before it was closed down in February 2006, reported that residents of Minoo Island were complaining of bullying tactics by employees of the Arvand Free Zone Organisation. Mostafa Motowarzadeh, the parliamentary representative for Khorramshahr, also said that the Iranian authorities pressing forward land acquisitions ahead of the end of the official consultation period. | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 12:42, 10 January 2007
The Arvand Freezone is a 155 square kilometer industrial and security zone that surrounds Khorramshahr, Abadan, and Minoo Island along the Arvand river in Khuzestan Province, Iran.
The website of the Arvand Freezone Organisation lists some of its goals, including:
- Commercial and industrial development
- Job creation
- Increasing national income
- Stabilization of national security
Investment for the Zone has been secured from China, with the manufacturing of "electronic and home appliances, as well as textiles and shoes."
According to a letter published by the Arvand Free Zone Organisation, land falling under its jurisdiction will be expropriated. The British Ahwazi Friendship Society, which claims to represent Arabs of Khuzestan, has reacted strongly to the way in which the local population is being treated, claiming that this amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Criticism
An October 2005 article in the the British Daily Telegraph called the Arvand Free Zone a "sinister development" claiming that tens of thousands of ethnic Ahwazi Arabs, who populate the area bordering southern Iraq, ... expected to be displaced to make way for an expanded military-industrial complex.