Nooshabeh Amiri

Shirin Ebadi’s Center for Defenders of Human Rights announced the establishment of a ‎temporary committee, “National Council for Peace,” to prevent war and institute human ‎rights. We have spoken to Narges Mohammadi, the Center’s spokeswoman, about this ‎new committee and its goals. Below is an excerpt of this interview.‎

Rooz (R): When was the committee for peace established and what are its goals? ‎

Narges Mohammadi (NM): Given the situation and Iran’s domestic and international ‎standing and the increasing chance for war, many of Iran’s political, intellectual and civil ‎circles were wondering how it was possible to prevent a possible war. At the Center for ‎Defenders of Human Rights, we finally reached the decision to start a peace movement in ‎Iran by helping to organize a social movement and educating the public. ‎

‎(R): So the temporary committee for peace will in time establish the National Council ‎for Peace? Is that correct?‎

‎(NM): Yes. This is a group of people comprised from members of the Center for ‎Defenders of Human Rights, student activists, women, and various politicians. This ‎committee, as reflected in its name, is temporary, and will dissolve after the ‎establishment of the National Council for Peace. A statement was released yesterday by ‎Shirin Ebadi, asking all civil, intellectual, and social groups to join the Council. There ‎will be a National Peace Conference, and more than one hundred people have shown ‎interest in attending so far. In this conference officers of the National Council for Peace ‎will be elected. ‎

‎(R): Does this conference require a permit?‎

‎(NM): No. The invitation for this meeting is sent by the head of the Center and a Nobel ‎Peace laureate, and its sessions will take place at the Center. It does not need a permit ‎either. ‎

‎(R): How do you want to expect to reach the masses? Do you have an outlet through ‎which you can reach the masses?‎

‎(NM): Unfortunately, we do not have a national media outlet. Actually, we do not even ‎have the ability to withstand our opponents… But the reality is that we rely on the power ‎of the people. We hope to spread this message through however small of a movement. ‎We want to rely on the help of popular organizations and international peace movements ‎to raise the sensitivity of the Iranian public to this issue. ‎

‎(R): You hope that a group of intellectuals – 100 or 1000 people – to reach the masses?‎

‎(NM): Yes; although we are certain that this is a very hard feat, given our limited ‎resources. Perhaps it would fail to be as successful as we want it to be. But we do our ‎best. We believe that now is the time, because if something does not happen right now, ‎we may lose Iran, and then there is no hope. We do whatever that we can. ‎