Information on an ethnic group or tribe called "Bloch" (Baluchi) and the location of the city of Chah Bahar [IRN26921.E]

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.