NCPDA Statement
Contact: Nasser Rashidi
Dir. Tel: 202-487-6989
May 21, 2007
Iran Needs Oppression to Advance its Foreign Policy
As predicted, Iranian president Ahmadinejad’s reign in power has coincided with a sharp increase in the number of Iranians executed, arrested, and or harassed. In recent month, Iranians are witness to almost daily news of public hangings, limb amputations, and alike.
On May 19th, Iran’s state media reported the execution of 3 additional individuals. The three men, identified only as Mohammad Safar, Jamalleddin, and Behzad, were hanged in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on Wednesday, the state-run daily Tehran-e Emrooz wrote on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Abdol-Rahman, 52 years old, was hanged in the port town of Bandar Khomeir, the same daily Tehran-e Emrooz wrote. Additionally, Parviz, a 45 year old, was hanged in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
Over 27 years of international overtures to Iran have only resulted in more death, destruction and suffering both in Iran and abroad. The question few seem to seriously ask is why?
Iranian regime is not a legitimately elected or popularly supported government. Mullah’s inherent insecurity and intolerance leads them to commit unspeakable abuses of human rights. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGs) is at the center of the regime’s oppression machine. IRG not only executes the campaign of terror in Iran, but also leadership’s apparatus for conducting terrorist activities in Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere. It is also the central unit responsible for advancing Iran’s nuclear agenda.
Accordingly, IRG’s success, and hence Iran’s foreign and domestic policy, largely depends on its (IRG’s) moral via successful execution of its founding objectives. Oppression lies at the center of such moral boosting activities. Off course, such acts also serve to intimidate the Iranians, and discourage voices of dissent. It was precisely for that reason that Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei selected Mr. Ahmadinejad (a former IRG commander) to be the current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran, therefore, can not successfully conduct foreign policy without internal oppression. Appeasing these brutal dictators will only serve to embolden them while it also undermines the stated objectives of our foreign policy towards Iran. Policies aiming to confront the Iranian regime’s terrorist, expansionist, and predatory actives must therefore embrace the Iranian people’s plight for freedom and democracy. Publicizing the horrific and escalating violations of human rights must be a central component.
The National Coalition of Pro-Democracy Advocates condemns the continued violations of human rights in Iran and calls on all stakeholders, including the United Nations, NGOs, policy makers, human rights activists, and concerned citizens to protest the ongoing violence against Iranians.
