sult: Economist dn From Allah’s earth “The unremitting. persecution i Tran’s Bahai community is one more sgn of the ascendancy of the Hojattia, the far-right group of mullahs who originally called themselves the. Anti-Baha Society. The Hojatha hold the Bahsis 0 be’ the arth’ most satan beings, with commu: “hits coming second worst, dedicated to removing the ‘the face of “Allah's earth”. President "Reagan has now asked world leaders 10 join him in appealing to Ayatollah Kho. mein’ not to earry out death sentences gainst 22 Bahals awaiting execution in Shiraz; the Hkelinood of his ‘being, Hist tened to is tiny “The Bahais are consideréa Islamic her- tes by the Iranian regime, The largest of Iran's religious minorities, the Bahais were founded in 1844 by the Bab of Shiraz and haye members in many parts of the workd. There were about 300,000 in Tran but imany have fled since the ayatollahs took pver. Those who remain ate in hiding —and in danger. The Hoja iba, who spent years compiling lists of their names, were able to lengthen their Tists last year when a charitable: fund helping needy Bahais was taken over and its documents confiscated. So far. 121 Bahals have been executed and more than 200 are in prison, Bahai adults are not allowed to work and Bahai children are banned from any Sor of schooling, Many parents have sent their children to stay with Moslem friends pr undetected Baha relatives so that they Gan continue their education, In some instances the regime offers a “reprieve” for Bahais who tenounce ther faith, Few have done so though there have been a handful of showease conversions, with ‘uch attendant publicity Compared with the Bahaic, ieds's diter two main religious minorities, the Jews and the Christians, have béen left one. They are not allowed to'tun their fown schools but can practise a subdued Sersion of their own faiths. Their leaders are periodically advised on the type of sermon they should be giving. This advice fis included call for recruliment to the war with. Iraq, and ‘many “Armenian Christians have responded “The Bahais have no way to fight back against the regime. Communism, the Ho- jatiha’s second enemy, presents more {sistance Hojattina influence was latge: 1y responsible for the. closing down of Jtan's. Tudeh. (comminist) party, which Jed, Test monih, to the arrest of nearly 4.980 suspected party member. I also ied to the hasty removal of Ian's naval commander, Captain Bahram Atzal ‘who was once considered one of Tudeh’ ace cards within the regime. ‘The Hojattiha have now extended the fight against. communism to a. fight against Iran's Kurds. Earlier this year the ‘non-communist Kurdish Democratic par- ty released a statement saying that the Soviet Union: should be considered "a friend of tran". Ths statement may have ‘been intended to shock “the west into paying more Heed to Kurdish demands for autonomy. The right-wing mullahs, however, ae using it as evidence thai the Kurdish Democratic party has gone over to the Soviet Union and needs to be {Miped out for ideological as wel as politi “cal reasons. ‘With Hojattina support, Iraa's army and revolutionary guard have launched fan offensive against the Kurds in. the hhope of blasting path through their ‘mountain province “and opening a new front against Iraq. So far the Kurdish guerillas are more or less holging them Back but the Fighting ig fierce and will grow fiercer. Guatemala Bad timing ‘AG High-level Guatemalan delegation to the United States was assuring receptive ‘Americans that 2 Guatemalan election would be announced “not later than ‘March, 1984", with voting probably the following June, President Efrain Rios Montt was deciaring at his regular tele- vised Sunday, sermon that an election would be put off indefinitely “until the hation was ready”, He claimed that more time was needed to reorganise the lee- toral register and that the nation’s gus. pended politcal partis (recently reinvi- orated with the prospect of elections) Also needed to be modified, This unex- pected volte-ace has thrown Guatema- fans and Americans into coatusion, General Rios Montt, an evangelical Protestant, has wrought great changes in Guatemala since be was thrust to power by young olficers in March, 1982. Most of the: licensed killing in urban areas, a feature of the brutal regime he succeed. ed, has been curbed. The 4,000 left-wing insurgents who last year controlled most ff the rugged north-west of the country (about a third ofits territory) have been Baa hitanddipersed, many ecg ito southern Mexico. ‘This success is due laigely 10a counier Insurgency drive, known as Techs. ort tas y rabojo (roots, tonlias and work). With the help of Israch, advisers, it has INTERNATIONAL succeeded where a similar campaign in neighbouring El Salvador, pushed by American advisers,.-has failed. Some 100,000 Guatemalans ‘have been organ- ised into a civil defence force armed with ‘weapons ranging from fifles (some flint- Jocks) to machetes. Anybody who resists recruitment risks being summarily shot. “Money, food and work go to those who pollaborate with the government, Small patrols—snother ‘technique El ‘Salvador's govefament could copy—have ‘rooted the guerrillas out of-their strong- holds. But the price of this success has ‘been very high. Civilians thought to be in ‘sympathy with the guerrillas have been ‘Klled in large’‘numbers. Some 100,000 ‘refugees who have fled to southern Mexi- 0 tell horrendous tales of the murder of ‘whole hamlets and the sadistic butchery ‘of women and children'to deter other . villagers from joining the left, The coun- ty’s Indian population, amounting’ to 560% of the whole, has borne! the-brunt of se army killings, Which still Continue. In addition, about im Indians have been sade homeless by the continued fighting, General Rios Montt hat survived a number of coup attempts, all from the fa.