Persian New Year or
NowRuz takes place at the exact moment of spring equinox, which this year
will be at 5.07 PM on March 20. Persians, Azeris, Afghans, Kurds, Tajiks,
Belouchis, and Parsis alike celebrate this pre-Islamic tradition, and there will
be many NowRuz events in the Portland metropolitan
area.
Unfortunately the date
also marks the fourth anniversary of the war on Iraq and an increasing likelihood of military
intervention in Iran. The City Council of Portland
has recognized the high costs of a futile war by passing a resolution calling
for gradual troop withdrawal from Iraq.
On Wednesday, March 21
at 10.15 AM, the Portland City Council will hear a resolution asking to support
friendship between the people of the United
States and Iran and opposing an escalation of war into
Iran. The resolution will be
introduced by Commissioner Erik Sten and is co-sponsored by Commissioner Randy
Leonard.
There is a history of
positive and fruitful relations between people of Iran and Portland, Oregon, which is home to many Iranians. This
friendship is reflected in the works of Portland’s deceased historian and story teller
Terrance O’Donnell. Many others have served in Iran as
volunteers or participated in recent citizen to citizen delegations. Some of
these friends of Iran and local Iranian immigrants
have founded the American Iranian Friendship Council (AIFC). The Council has
worked in collaboration with the city on the proposed
resolution.
In addition to
encouraging human to human relations between Iranians and Americans “to foster
better understanding between the two nations and to embrace a spirit of
diplomacy”, the proposed resolution states “that the City Council of Portland
challenges the possibility of a new war in Iran, and urges the Congress of the
United States to maintain pressure on the administration against both an
escalation of troops within Iraq and a geographic expansion into Iran while
continuing to call for a complete and immediate end to the war in the region;”
and further indicates “that the City Council of Portland urges support for the
Iran Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 2007 (H. R. 770), prohibiting the use of
funds for “any covert action for the purpose of causing regime change in Iran or
to carry out any military action against Iran in the absence of an imminent
threat, in accordance with international law;” “
Although there have
been proclamations for Iranian New Years issued by mayors in the past, for the
first time in Portland history NowRuz will be acknowledged by Mayor Potter in a
city hall ceremony at noon, after the council hearing.
The NowRuz
ceremony will include presentations by local Iranian musicians, Persian
pastries and the traditional Iranian New Year’s display Haft Sin: a
symbolic assembly of seven items starting with the Persian letter
‘s.’
We welcome the public
to express our mutual desire for peace and to celebrate NowRuz with
us.
American Iranian Friendship
Council
PO Box
1235, Portland, OR
97207
503.523.7368,
info@aifcpdx.org
Contacts: Gretchen Kafoury,
Peace Corp in Iran 1964-66, AIFC Member (503)
725.2955
Goudarz Eghtedari,
AIFC Member (503) 381.3696
RESOLUTION
Urges the federal
government to seek positive diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States of
America instead of escalating
tensions
WHEREAS, President Bush has
called for dual escalation of troops to increase their numbers inside
Iraq and potentially to
expand into Iran; and
WHEREAS, the Bush
administration has expanded its concerns about Iran to include nuclear ambitions without showing
any evidence that can be considered an imminent threat to the
US security;
and
WHEREAS, it has not been
demonstrated that Iran has a
nuclear weapon and has not verbally or actually threatened to attack the
US; and
WHEREAS, the U.S., in
threatening to use low yield nuclear weapons against Iran, is directly
undermining the no-first-use doctrine that has prevented nuclear war since the
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and
WHEREAS, a preemptive
nuclear attack, or even the threat of such an attack on Iran is an
explicit violation of the NPT, the UN Charter, and the U.S. Constitution;
and
WHEREAS, the National
Academy of Sciences has determined that the use of such weapons would "create
massive clouds of radioactive fallout that could spread far from the site of the
attack,” and become deadly for hundreds of thousands Iranians and citizens of
surrounding countries; and
WHEREAS, the long-term
instability generated by such a strike would be against long-term
United
States interests in the region;
and
WHEREAS, independent polls
show that more than 70% of Iranians support better relations with the
US; and
WHEREAS, there is a
significant population of Iranians from all professions and expertise who call
Portland home, and have brought a broad mix of cultural and artistic talents
into the cultural mosaic of the City of Roses; and
WHEREAS, there are historic
relations between Portland, “the City of
Roses”
and
Shiraz, Iran, “the
city of Roses and Nightingales” as reflected in works of Portland’s own story
teller the late Terrance O’Donnell;
and
WHEREAS, a group of
Americans and Iranians have come together in order to foster the friendship
between the two countries by advancing Human to Human
relations;
BE IT THEREFORE
RESOLVED, that the city
Council of the city of Portland, on behalf of the people of Portland urges the
United States government to change the course in escalating the tensions with
Iran; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City Council
of Portland challenges the
possibility of a new war in Iran, and urges the Congress
of the United States to maintain pressure on
the administration against both an escalation of troops within Iraq and a geographic
expansion into Iran while continuing to
call for a complete and immediate end to the war in the region; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City
Council of Portland urges support for the Iran Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of
2007 (H. R. 770), prohibiting the use of funds for “any covert action for the
purpose of causing regime change in Iran or to carry out any military action
against Iran in the absence of an imminent threat, in accordance with
international law;” and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City
Council of Portland will work with the local Iranian community to build people
to people ties between Americans and Iranian citizens, to foster better
understanding between the two nations and to embrace a spirit of diplomacy;
and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the City
Council of Portland supports exploration of a sister City initiative between the
city of Portland and the city of Shiraz, Iran, in order to strengthen the
friendship relations between the two cities that started more than forty years
ago by the late Portland writer Terrance O’Donnell; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that a suitable copy
of this resolution shall be sent to George W. Bush, President of the
United States, the members of
the Oregon Congressional delegation, the
leaders of the Oregon State legislature and Oregon Governor Ted
Kulongoski.
