Dokument #1176083
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to The Compact Oxford English
Dictionary (2nd Ed.), "Baluch" means "an inhabitant or native
of Baluchistan, a region lying between the lower Indus and
south-east Persia." The word is also defined as "the Iranian
language of Baluchistan," and, as an adjective, "of or pertaining
to this people or their language." Among the possible renderings of
the word are "Baluchi," "Bolloch," "Balloch," "Buluch," "Ballowch,"
and "Bloach" (1991, 916). The Minority Rights Group International
(July 1987) uses the term "Baluch" and "Baluchi"
interchangeably.
The Baluchis are an ethnic group whose
traditional homeland is in south-eastern Iran, especially in the
province of Sistan va Baluchestan; western Pakistan, especially the
province of Baluchistan; and a small part of Afghanistan (ibid.,
cover-page, 3). The Baluchis have traditionally had a tribal social
structure and an economy characterized by subsistence agriculture
and semi-nomadic pastoralism (ibid., 3, 8). It was estimated in
1987 that there were some 500,000 to 750,000 Baluchis in Iran
(ibid., 6).
According to Ethnologue: Languages of
the World, there is a language called "Southern Baluchi," also
called "Balochi," "Baluci," "Baloci," and "Makrani," that is spoken
in the southern part of Iran's Baluchestan Province (1992, 639).
There is also a language called "Western Baluchi," which is also
known as "Balochi," "Baloci," and "Baluci," that is spoken in the
northern part of Iran's Baluchestan Province (1992, 639).
The city of Chah Bahar is on the Iranian
coast of the Gulf of Oman, in the province of Sistan va Baluchestan
near Iran's border with Pakistan (The Times Atlas of the
World 1994, plate 32). The same city is called "Bandar
Beheshti" on a map produced by the United Nations (1995).
There has been some friction in the
relationship between Iranian Baluchis and the government of Iran,
attributed in part to the facts that Baluchi tribes had been
beneficiaries of patronage from the government of Iran under the
Shah, and that most Baluchis are Sunni Muslim, whereas the majority
of Iranians are Shiite and the government of Iran favours that
branch of Islam (Minority Rights Group July 1987, 13).
Both Amnesty International Report
1996 and Amnesty International Report 1995 mention
that there have been armed clashes between Baluchi groups and the
forces of the Iranian government (1996, 179; 1995, 163).
For more information on Iranian Baluchis
and violent incidents in Sistan va Baluchestan, please see the
attachments below.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Amnesty International. 1996. Amnesty
International Report 1996. New York: Amnesty International
USA.
_____. 1995. Amnesty International
Report 1995. New York: Amnesty International USA.
The Compact Oxford English
Dictionary. 1991. 2nd Ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Ethnologue: Languages of the
World. 1992. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas: Summer
Institute of Linguistics.
The Times Atlas of the World.
1994. 9th comp. ed. Editorial Consultants: H.A.G. Lewis and P.J.M.
Geelan. London: Times Books.
United Nations. June 1995. "Islamic
Republic of Iran." (Map No. 3891) (Refworld)
Minority Rights Group International.
July 1987. The Baluchis and Pathans. London: Minority
Rights Group.
Attachments
Agence France-Presse. 7 February 1994.
"Nine Arrested over Killing of 17 in Highway Robbery." (NEXIS)
_____. 16 November 1993. "Amnesty
Accuses Tehran in Opposition Killings." (NEXIS)
Deutche Presse-Agentur. 27 October 1994.
Bizhan Torabi. "Iran Prepares for Long Desert War." (NEXIS)
_____. 8 November 1994. Bizhan Torabi.
"Iran Launches Massive Manhunt for Teheran Bombers." (NEXIS)
The Independent. 16 July 1991.
Safa Haeri. "100 Guards Killed by Iranian Rebels." (NEXIS)
_____. 16 April 1990. Safa Haeri.
"Tehran Admits to Big Clashes in Iran." (NEXIS)
Iran: A Country Study. 1989.
Edited by Helen Chapin Metz. Washington, D.C. Secretary of the
Army, pp. xxii, xxiii, 86, 88, 89.
Mideast Mirror. 11 February
1994. The Arab/Islamic World; Vol. 08, No. 29. "Afghan Chief
Suspected of Fuelling Sunnite 'Separatism' in Iran." (NEXIS)
Minority Rights Group International.
July 1987. The Baluchis and Pathans. London: Minority
Rights Group, cover-page.
The Times Atlas of the World.
1994. 9th comp. ed. Editorial Consultants: H.A.G. Lewis and P.J.M.
Geelan. London: Times Books, plate 32.
United Nations. June 1995. "Islamic
Republic of Iran." (Map No. 3891) (Refworld)
UPI. 28 March 1990. BC Cycle. "Iran
Executes Two for Spying." (NEXIS)
Voice of Iranian Kordestan [in Persian].
28 March 1993. "Kurdish Rebel Radio Condemns 'Murder' of Baluchi
Leaders." (BBC Summary 1 Apr. 1993/NEXIS)
_____. 24 March 1993. "Iran; Kurdish
Radio Pledges Solidarity with 'Oppressed' Baluchi People." (BBC
Summary 27 Mar. 1993/NEXIS)
Information on the above-mentioned topic
could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Sources Consulted
4 oral sources consulted did not have
information on this subject.