Eldercato's Blog

Yesterday’s riots in the city of Urumqi, located in China’s western Xinjiang province, have left at least 156 people dead and over 800 people injured. Xinhua (Chinese State Media) claims there have been over 1434 arrests.

Xinhua further reports the government said: “An initial investigation showed the violence was masterminded by the separatist World Uighur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer.” Kadeer is considered the Uigher leader and lives in exile in the United States.

Many in Xinjiang have long campaigned to gain independence from China, which is made up of prominently Han Chinese, while  Xinjiang is primarily Uigher Muslims.

The CNN article on the topic is here:http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/06/china.uyghur.protest/index.html

It has been confirmed that 8 British Embassy staffers were arrested in Iran fortheir “role in the unrest” (CNN). This comes amid reports that Iran has arrested many foreign nationals, though at this time it is unknown which countries said people were from.

This is one of the most dramatic portrayals of ‘massacres’ in Tehran. This is from 24 June 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEtVRgZ3Szw&feature=player_embedded

CNN aired this today 24 June 2009

This is a link  to a map that provides the location of every embassy in Tehran:http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=116894734857323306892.00046ccb858387ddf2a3d

This is a link to a text file of the embassies and whether or not they take injured: http://bit.ly/2rYIbt

The map and text file are  color coded. Below is the description:

Best info we have – please update if you know more. GREEN: OPEN (embassy statement open)

YELLOW: no statement, indication yes RED: NO HELP (embassy can’t help injured)

BLUE: UNKNOWN

Assume Basij are blocking all embassies and use CAUTION. Also many Embassies deny that they are helping injured or even are able to do so. Hard to get straight facts. Furthermore most embassies won’t have sophisticated medical equipment on site. In case of life threathening injury please go to the nearest hospital. In addition latest info suggests embassy staffs are being expelled from country soon. check too with http://eldercato.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/list-and-status-of-injured-accepting-embassies-in-tehran/ Please help in further enhancing this map by checking the information and by providing additional information (other Embassies, capacity of Embassies …)

Again the link is:http://bit.ly/AXKb0

Please pass this on. Spread it on your blog or website. Claim it as your own, we really don’t care. It just needs to be out there. Tweet this until you can’t Tweet anymore. JUST GET IT OUT THERE!

I emailed the Netherlands and got an email back from the Ambassador. While it seems as if it was a generic email sent to many people it still answers their status on accepting wounded Iranians:

Dear sir/ madam,

Radinck Jan van Vollenhoven
Ambassador of the Netherlands
Tehran, 22 June 2009

Response from Canadian Foreign Ministry:

Response from the CEC re: Embassy not open to injured iranians

There is a report from the Austrian Embassy that I have taken from another blog:

“Seitens des Außenministeriums hieß es, die österreichische Botschaft in Teheran sei rund um die Uhr, auch außerhalb der offiziellen Amtsstunden, erreichbar. Es sei zudem ein “Gebot der Menschlichkeit”, dass für Erste Hilfe gesorgt werde, wenn sich “Schwerverletzte” an die Botschaft wenden sollten, sagte Außenministeriums-Sprecher Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal. Dann werde auch veranlasst, dass diese umgehend in medizinische Betreuung übergeben würden.”

translation:

The ministry of foreign affairs has stated, that the Austrian embassy in Tehran can be reached around the clock, even outside of official opening hours. It is furthermore an “imperative of humanity” that first aid will be given for heavily injured people turning to help from the embassy, speaker for the ministry of foreign affairs Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said. Then arrangements would be made, that these [heavily injured] would receive medical attention.

Quite a few embassies have told callers that they are no embassies are taking injured Iranians under their wing, but eye witness reports indicate otherwise. Why is it that some countries refuse to take the injured in? Maybe they just don’t want to be the first? They don’t want to step forward.

What Tehran needs is brave men and women from across the world to step out from their embassies and embrace the Iranian activists as the brothers and sisters that they are. Maybe if some embassies step forward and take the ultimate risk it will lead other, less audacious countries’ embassies to step out from the shadows and condemn that which should be condemned.

The Liberal press office just now released a statement from Michael Ignatieff on the situation in Iran.

“We mourn each life lost as a result of the Government of Iran’s unjust actions, and share the anguish and outrage of Canadians of Iranian origin at the suppression of peaceful protest and the apparent denial of fully free and fair elections. Canada should join other countries in keeping our embassy open for the humanitarian needs of the people of Iran.
This from
“The Iranian government cannot hide the truth from their own citizens or from the rest of the world.  By answering the call for open and transparent elections with a violent disregard for the rights of its citizens, the Iranian government has further alienated itself from the international community. The Liberal Party of Canada strongly affirms the rights of Iranians and people everywhere to freely express themselves and associate with others, without threat to their life or liberty.  We call on the Iranian government to cease the violence and continue to call for open and transparent elections.”

The Canadian Embassy Emergency Hotline in Ottawa says that they will not take in Iranian citizens and that they never take in foreign nationals unless in ‘extreme’ situations (seemed to imply on an individual basis). The spokewoman said that they will be accepting Canadian citizens (obviously, they are the Canadian Embassy).

While this may be subject to change it still confirms CTV reports that currently Canada will not be open to injured Iranians.

It should also be noted that when I cited reports of other embassies taking in injured people she said that there were no official reports of any foreign embassies taking injured Iranians. From what we have heard from many eye witnesses today there has been asylum given to the wounded, if but temporary, by many nation’s embassies.

This comes amid many  Canadian citizens petitioning Prime Minster Harper to open the embassy in Tehran to injured Iranians. Information about that petition, as well as a link to the petition itself can be found here: http://bit.ly/17SMf0