You Gave Your Words, Senators. Now, Stand By It!
By
Mohammad Parvin
(09/21/04)
Last week, while several of the prisoners of conscience in Iran were in
hunger strike and close to death, and when a 16 year old girl, Atefeh
Sahaleh, was hanged publicly because of bad behavior and her “sharp
tongue,” vice-presidential running mate, Senator John Edwards, made an
offer of friendship to the murderous regime of Iran.
He said in an interview that, if elected
U.S. president,
Senator John Kerry would offer
Iran
a deal allowing it to keep its nuclear power plants if it gave up the
right to retain bomb-making nuclear fuel.
Senators Kerry and Edwards both chose to ignore the fact that the
Islamic Regime of Iran (IRI) is a terrorist regime and turned a blind
eye to 25 years of atrocities against the Iranian people who are
struggling for a secular democracy in
Iran
.
Sen. John Edwards told “The Washington Post” that if
Iran
did not accept this "great bargain," this would confirm that the Islamic
state was building nuclear weapons under cover of a nuclear power
initiative.
If
Iran rejected this
proposal, Edwards stated that Kerry would ensure that European allies
were prepared to join the
United States in
imposing strict sanctions against
Iran
.
"If we are engaging with Iranians in an effort to reach this great
bargain and if in fact this is a bluff that they are trying to develop
nuclear weapons capability, then we know that our European friends will
stand with us," said Senator Edwards.
"A nuclear
Iran is unacceptable
for so many reasons, including the possibility that it creates a gateway
and the need for other countries in the region to develop nuclear
capabilities-- Saudi Arabia
,
Egypt
, potentially others," Senator Edwards alleged.
Well, the Islamic Regime did not take this “great bargain” and their
nuclear disarmament plan has been bluntly rejected by the Islamic
Regime’s foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi.
Senators Kerry and Edward must now stand by their words and declare that
they will impose a strict sanction against the Islamic Regime.
Even if the Islamic Regime of Iran had accepted this offer, it would
still have been a murderous regime responsible for the imprisonment,
torture, and the execution of thousands of freedom-loving Iranians and
not worthy of any sort of recognition. Even if it complies with all the
demands of the west regarding the control of its nuclear program, it is
still a terrorist regime that has terrorized the Iranians for 25 years
and must not be legitimized by any state or state leader that has the
slightest respect for human rights and liberties.
Senators Kerry and Edwards ignored the barbaric acts of the terrorist
regime that have been systematically exercised for a long time. We did
not hear any objections from the world. Now, it is time that the whole
world and especially the American people hold them responsible for their
words. They offered friendship to one of the most brutal regimes of all
time and it was rejected. They promised that if
Iran rejected this
proposal, they would ensure that European allies were prepared to join
the
United States in
imposing strict sanctions against
Iran
. They must deliver now on this promise.
Maybe it is time to see the reality of the Islamic Regime and come to
the conclusion that the existence of this monster is not only a daily
danger to the lives of millions of Iranians, but to the world. Maybe it
is time to ignore the interest factor and the short term financial
interests of the oil companies and start to pay a little attention to
humanity.
We do not expect much from the international community in general - the
US
in particular. We just expect them not to legitimize or help this
terrorist regime. We expect a rigid sanction against the IRI, not of the
type that we have been witnessing during the years that a “sanction” was
supposed to be enforced, and not of the type that would exclude
Halliburton, GE and more than two-hundred American companies. A genuine
and real sanction.
We expect the
U.S.
to reduce its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Regime to the lowest
possible level. This regime is not the representative of the Iranian
people, and we challenge those who think otherwise by an internationally
monitored referendum. If the US government and politicians want to be on
the side of the brave Iranians who have not given up hopes in spite of
confronting a brutal regime and all its western supporters, they should
just give them moral support by declaring that they do not recognize the
Islamic Regime as their representatives, and that they would refrain
from establishing friendly relations with their abusers.
That is all we believe most Iranians expect from the
U.S.
and other countries. Just do not help this terrorist regime, and the
Iranians themselves will topple the Islamic Regime through disobedience
and non-violent action.
Those who listen will earn the love and votes of the Iranians.
Mohammad Parvin is an adjunct professor at the
California
State
University and director of the
Mission for Establishment of Human Rights
in
Iran
(MEHR) - http://mehr.org
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