"We will no longer be silent when injustice is visited upon you,"

Baha'is express gratitude for open letter of supportNEW YORK, 15 February (BWNS) - The Baha'i International Community has issued a statement of gratitude to the Iranian intellectuals, scholars, writers, journalists, activists, and artists throughout the world who signed an open letter apologizing for their silence during Iran's long-running persecution of the Baha'is.The open letter from the Iranians - dated 3 February and signed so far by 243 men and women living in 19 countries - had asked Baha'is to forgive them "for the wrongs committed against the Baha'i community of Iran" over the last century and a half. "We will no longer be silent when injustice is visited upon you," the letter said after enumerating some of the ways Baha'is have been persecuted, from "barbaric murders" to depriving youth of higher education.In response, the Baha'i International Community told the signatories that the letter "brought a degree of solace and relief to the pain that your Baha'i fellow citizens endure.""On their behalf and that of the Baha'is throughout the world we convey our profound gratitude and appreciation for a deed of such historical moment," the Baha'i message said, referring to the publication of the open letter.

In response, the Baha'i International Community told the signatories thatthe letter "brought a degree of solace and relief to the pain that yourBaha'i fellow citizens endure." "On their behalf and that of the Baha'is throughout the world weconvey our profound gratitude and appreciation for a deed of such historicalmoment," the Baha'i message said, referring to the publication of theopen letter. The letter was particularly significant, said the Baha'i response, in thatit rejected the milieu of intimidation created by Iranian authorities throughout
the decades that served to silence "those fair-minded and informed
individuals who had always wished to rise up" in support of the
Baha'is.

The letter ended thus: "We stand by you in achieving all the rights
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights. Let us join hands in
replacing hatred and ignorance with love and tolerance."