'Iranians Oppose US "Pro-Democracy" Efforts
By Arlen Parsa
t r u t h o u t Guest Contributor
Wednesday 24 January 2007
Wednesday 24 January 2007
Dissidents claim America's policy is doing more harm than good, and Iranian people will pay the price.
On July 15, 2006, a short, gray-bearded man with dark, piercing eyes stepped out of the SUV he was being chauffeured in, leaving a New York Times reporter on the seat behind him. The ride from the airport was over, and so was the interview. A crowd that had been milling around and waiting, across the street from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, quickly gathered around him, chanting slogans to show their support. He wore a simple strip of white fabric across his chest which read in black marker "On Hunger Strike."
Later that day, a Fox News correspondent would ask the man if he was foolish enough to think that a hunger strike could actually "do anything."
His name was Akbar Ganji, and he was no stranger to hunger strikes. Ganji, a high-profile Iranian dissident, had gone on a ten-month hunger strike while in prison after he wrote a book accusing his government of killing scores of dissidents. As an award-winning journalist, Ganji is regarded by many as a hero for his unwavering belief in nonviolence, despite having been tortured and imprisoned for nearly six years by the Iranian regime for his writings.
The White House demanded that the Iranian government release Ganji in 2005, saying "The president ... calls on the government of Iran to release Mr. Ganji immediately and unconditionally, and to allow him access to medical assistance. Mr. Ganji, please know that as you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you." When Ganji was released in spring of 2006, he declined a White House invitation, preferring to meet with American intellectuals such as MIT professor Noam Chomsky.
Ganji is not alone among Iranian dissidents in his refusal to speak with the US government, despite their repeated requests. In exclusive interviews, noted dissidents explained their concerns about US policy towards Iran and why they fear not only military action against their home country, but also the more moderate Bush administration policy of funding pro-democracy movements within Iran.
In attendance at the Ganji rally (which called for the release of political prisoners in Iran) was Fatemeh Haghighatjou, another respected dissident who declined to speak with US government officials about Iran. "Two senators last year invited me to go to Congress, but I refused to go," she said in an interview. Haghighatjou was invited by Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and then- Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to participate in a Capitol Hill forum on the state of human rights in Iran. Although she said she strongly believes in the importance of diplomacy and talks between the US and Iran, the American government should not be trying merely to talk with Iranian dissidents and refusing to talk with the Iranian government itself.
"I think talking between two governments is useful ... diplomacy - we should reduce tension between US and Iran; this is important for both sides, and normalization is very important," she said. "But you know, this negotiations should be [done] formally, not informally."
Haghighatjou was one of only 12 female members of the Iranian parliament when she was first elected in 2000 (the Iranian parliament, called the Majlis, is a 290-person body). After she was elected, Haghighatjou proved to be one of the parliament's most outspoken voices in favor of human rights and critical of the regime for its activities suppressing dissidents and torturing political prisoners.
"All of my speeches were problematic for the government's side," she explained. This was because Haghighatjou's speeches were broadcast live on Iranian State Radio and picked up in foreign media outlets. After a string of speeches blasting the regime for its human rights record and for wrongly imprisoning journalists (like Ganji, who was first imprisoned around the same time) Iranian security forces arrived at her house one day and arrested her. She was sentenced to nearly a year in prison, although after keeping a low profile in Iran, she was able to slip out of the country with her husband and young daughter.'
On July 15, 2006, a short, gray-bearded man with dark, piercing eyes stepped out of the SUV he was being chauffeured in, leaving a New York Times reporter on the seat behind him. The ride from the airport was over, and so was the interview. A crowd that had been milling around and waiting, across the street from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, quickly gathered around him, chanting slogans to show their support. He wore a simple strip of white fabric across his chest which read in black marker "On Hunger Strike."
Later that day, a Fox News correspondent would ask the man if he was foolish enough to think that a hunger strike could actually "do anything."
His name was Akbar Ganji, and he was no stranger to hunger strikes. Ganji, a high-profile Iranian dissident, had gone on a ten-month hunger strike while in prison after he wrote a book accusing his government of killing scores of dissidents. As an award-winning journalist, Ganji is regarded by many as a hero for his unwavering belief in nonviolence, despite having been tortured and imprisoned for nearly six years by the Iranian regime for his writings.
The White House demanded that the Iranian government release Ganji in 2005, saying "The president ... calls on the government of Iran to release Mr. Ganji immediately and unconditionally, and to allow him access to medical assistance. Mr. Ganji, please know that as you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you." When Ganji was released in spring of 2006, he declined a White House invitation, preferring to meet with American intellectuals such as MIT professor Noam Chomsky.
Ganji is not alone among Iranian dissidents in his refusal to speak with the US government, despite their repeated requests. In exclusive interviews, noted dissidents explained their concerns about US policy towards Iran and why they fear not only military action against their home country, but also the more moderate Bush administration policy of funding pro-democracy movements within Iran.
In attendance at the Ganji rally (which called for the release of political prisoners in Iran) was Fatemeh Haghighatjou, another respected dissident who declined to speak with US government officials about Iran. "Two senators last year invited me to go to Congress, but I refused to go," she said in an interview. Haghighatjou was invited by Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and then- Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to participate in a Capitol Hill forum on the state of human rights in Iran. Although she said she strongly believes in the importance of diplomacy and talks between the US and Iran, the American government should not be trying merely to talk with Iranian dissidents and refusing to talk with the Iranian government itself.
"I think talking between two governments is useful ... diplomacy - we should reduce tension between US and Iran; this is important for both sides, and normalization is very important," she said. "But you know, this negotiations should be [done] formally, not informally."
Haghighatjou was one of only 12 female members of the Iranian parliament when she was first elected in 2000 (the Iranian parliament, called the Majlis, is a 290-person body). After she was elected, Haghighatjou proved to be one of the parliament's most outspoken voices in favor of human rights and critical of the regime for its activities suppressing dissidents and torturing political prisoners.
"All of my speeches were problematic for the government's side," she explained. This was because Haghighatjou's speeches were broadcast live on Iranian State Radio and picked up in foreign media outlets. After a string of speeches blasting the regime for its human rights record and for wrongly imprisoning journalists (like Ganji, who was first imprisoned around the same time) Iranian security forces arrived at her house one day and arrested her. She was sentenced to nearly a year in prison, although after keeping a low profile in Iran, she was able to slip out of the country with her husband and young daughter.'
Lees verder: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012407F.shtml
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