Good morning everyone. I will be talking today about Iranians’ struggle for democracy and human rights.

The Middle East is today plagued with two forces, both enemies of freedom and human rights. These are dictatorship and radical Islam. Radical Islam is strengthened and propelled by poverty and social disenfranchisement. To combat radical Islam and promote freedom, it is imperative that liberal, democratic forces be supported and social and economic disempowerment be addressed. Otherwise, radical Islamist forces and the public services and social ideology they offer will be more attractive to those seeking social justice. Iran had in the early 20th century a Constitutional Revolution demanding of rule of law, not to mention periods of emerging democratic rule and the mass led 1979 revolution demanding freedom and national autonomy. Nevertheless, Iran today is a country oppressed by one of the worst forms of despotism in the world.

The Islamic Republic is an ideologically based regime that since its inception has terrorized and shut out all democratic opposition, not to mention dissidents who are themselves important religious thinkers.

Today a tyrannical minority has taken hostage a still freedom loving nation. The Islamic Republic’s Constitution makes religious tyranny legal. The unelected, unaccountable office of the Velayat-e Faqih, or Supreme Leader, is the Constitution’s guiding principle. According to the Constitution, Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei legally enjoys control over all government institutions, the press, the economy, and religious and civil society organizations.

With the decoy of illegitimate elections, the Islamic Republic has achieved safe and appealing cover over its oppressive rule. Unfree and unfair elections for the Presidency and Parliament give the illusion that Iranians can choose their leaders; as a consequence, many in the international community have come to view the Islamic Republic as somewhat democratic. This is far from the truth, however. Elections in the Islamic Republic are much like those in Communist states during the Cold War: they maintain one party rule and stifle dissent.

Before the election of Ahmadinejad, Iranians struggled to reform the system from within itself. Tragically, the overriding conclusion of the reform era is a bleak one; the more the Iranian reform movement strove to change the system from within itself, the more it become entangled in the corrupt and oppressive regime to the point of debilitation. The reform movement’s goals to overcome international isolation, engage in a “Dialogue of Civilizations,” and create an open society and liberalization of social life were turned upside down. In revealing the true face of the Islamic Republic, Ahmadinejad has brought upon himself the world’s condemnation. At home, too, he is increasingly subject to resistance from civil society, not to mention from within the regime itself.

In fact, despite increasing repression under Ahmadinejad, Iranian civil society is alive and mobilizing in new and effective ways. In the last year alone, students, women’s rights activists, teachers, labor movement activists and others have engaged in various acts of protest. And in just the last couple of weeks, several thousand teachers have protested for better livelihood and more dignified lives, while women’s rights activists have organized a nationwide, grassroots Campaign for One Million Signatures toward legal equality. Today many activists continue to languish in prison for their courageous protests for freedom.

I would like to present here some ideas for how the international community can help Iranians struggling for freedom.

1. The preoccupation concerning the nuclear issue is sidelining the more important story of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom. Governments must maintain consistent focus on the democracy movement, recognizing that a free Iran is the truest and clearest path to a secure and peaceful region.

2. International civil society and university students in the free world, particularly American students, can support the demands of the Iranian people and ask their governments to emphasize the principles of human rights and democracy as preconditions for any dialogue and negotiation with Iran.

3. The Iranian people expect the United Nations to appoint a Special Rapporteur to look into the widespread violation of human rights in Iran.

4. International media, political and human rights organizations can facilitate the extensive distribution of news on the democracy struggle of the Iranian people. They can help them put an end to the censorship of news and the regime’s monopoly on media.

5. The Islamic Republic forbids foreign travel for NGO activists, students, journalists and other civil society actors. The US and European countries can condition free travel by Islamic Republic officials and other representatives on free travel by any Iranian abroad, and especially Iranians active in the struggle for democracy.

In Conclusion -- Fear of Compromise with the Islamic Republic and Disregard for Human Rights and Democracy

Today, we are witnessing much pressure by countries, lobbyists, and the media who advocate negotiating with Iran over the nuclear issue and Iran’s meddling in Iraq. If negotiations take place without addressing human rights concerns and the demand of the Iranian people for democracy in Iran, they will quickly become a means by which Western countries can turn a profit by ignoring the rightful demands of a nation. Iranians themselves are fighting and will continue to fight for their freedom. With support from the international community, they can achieve democracy and justice. Support for a free Iran is the most effective means to achieving sustainable peace, stability and freedom in the Middle East.

Thank you very much for listening.