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Indonesia: Trade unions vow solidarity with detained Iranians
Indonesian trade unions will give their full support to two arrested Iranian trade unionists, Mansour Osanloo and Mahmoud Salehi, a top Indonesian trade union official, Hanafi Rustandi told Adnkronos International (AKI). "There have been some positive signs from the Iranian government, but the international pressure must continue: Indonesia is the country with the worldÂ’s largest Muslim population and cannot allow Iran to blemish the name of Islam," Rustandi said. Rustandi is spearheading a major campaign to secure Osanloo and Salehi's release. He is the coordinator of the Indonesian chapter of the International Transportation Workers Federation (ITF),and the director of the Indonesia Seafarer Union. "We are not going to stop. Our duty is to fight for the rights or workers worldwide," Rustandi underlined. He recalled that two other Iranian trade unionists, Ebrahim Madadi and Reza Dehghan, were released on 16 December, in a "positive signal" from Tehran. Osanloo and Salehi were arrested on 12 July last year for belonging to a trade union and are reported to be in need of urgent medical attention. Osanloo is president of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. Salehi is president of the Saquez BakersÂ’ Union. Rustandi, who recently visited the Iranian capital, Tehran, said his organisation intends to keep up public awareness of Osanloo and Salehi's plight. "We prepared a DVD and we are thinking about a petition to gather signatures," Rustandi said. But the strongest pressure is being put on politicians. The ITF-Indonesia recently organised protests outside the presidential palace. "We did this to show the president the risks in having relations with a country that abuses the human rights of his people," Rustandi stated. ITF-Indonesia also delivered a letter to Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging him to intercede with the Iranian authorities on Osanloo and Salehi's behalf. Yudhoyono cancelled at the last minute an official visit to Iran, which was due to take place on 11 January. Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-01-08 |
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