Neda Agha-Soltan's parents spending Iranian new year's by their murdered daughters resting place.
Neda's father: "Neda was not with the green movement, she was for freedom"
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Neda Agha-Soltan's family - Norooz
Neda Agha-Soltan's parents spending Iranian new year's by their murdered daughters resting place.
Neda's father: "Neda was not with the green movement, she was for freedom"
Sunday, October 31, 2010
HIM Reza Pahlavi II founds two non-profit organizations
HIM Reza Pahlavi II has founded two non-profit organizations, Iran Democratic Union (IDU) in the United States and Association pour le Rassemblement et la Democratie en Iran (ARDI) in Europe. The purpose of these non-profit organizations will be to support various Iranian pro-democracy and human rights initiatives. Financial support will be critical in realizing the planned goals and projects that are being pursued. For more information please visit: "Iran Democratic Union"To view the results of the Q&A forum that was recently launched on HIM Reza Pahlavi II's official website please see "Reza Pahlavi II Q&A"
Thursday, October 28, 2010
IRGC shows off weapons arsenal used to suppress the Iranian population
Terrorist Islamic Republic shows off their arsenal to suppress popular dissent.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Reza Pahlavi II - 12 June Statement
Washington D.C.
It is with profound regret that we join the world in watching the brutal reaction of the regime in Tehran to the protests of the brave people of Iran for their rights and against the suffocating tyranny they have been subjected to these past 30 years.
The regime has had 12 months to peacefully and respectfully resolve it's differences with the populace who has long since lost faith in their so-called government and lost hope in the judicial and constitutional infrastructures of the clerics and their paramilitary apparatus.
To the youth of Iran I say: your courage is the fodder from which legends are written. Your names and your actions, today and every day, until the liberation of our beloved Iran, will not only grace the pages of our history but that of the region and the world as the stories of the great struggles for human dignity and human rights are written.
To the Basijis, the Sepah, and the men of the Armed Forces of Iran I say: Join your brothers and sisters, your sons and daughters, do not turn the sacred land of your fathers and mothers into killing fields. You are better than that. You can change your own destiny and your country's destiny. We cannot change the past. But you can change today and tomorrow. Join your people in this just struggle to reclaim your blessed country.
To the regime in Iran I say: enough. Enough killing, enough torturing, enough blood of innocent spilled! In the name of all that you hold holy, stop this vicious campaign to hold power. You know it will not work, I know it will not work, history has taught us it will not work. Enough.
To the Iranian Diaspora whose heart beats in snych with their brothers and sisters inside Iran: Do not despair, the liberation of Iran is at hand. Your unity, your voice, your sacrifice is needed today more than ever by those who are buying the freedom of Iran with their blood.
To the citizens and governments of the world I say: The people of Iran need you more than ever. Let their voices be heard. Don't allow their epic and existential struggle go unnoticed under the guise of nuclear weapons priorities. These are all part and parcel of the same problem. A vile regime whose actions can no longer be justified nor tolerated by decent men and women, regardless of nationality.
In closing let us remember the words of Dr Martin Luther King: "We will foget the words of our enemies. But we will not soon forget the silence of our friends."
With a hopeful heart for a free and properous Iran,
May God bless Iran.
Reza Pahlavi
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Man Iranam
Anti-regime demonstrations and clashes with security forces are taking place in Iran today - marking the anniversary of the regime's crackdown on pro-freedom/democracy demonstrations last year. Large crowds are out in force in Tehran confronting the islamic regime's savage security forces.
(the clip below is a complilation of clips of what has taken place in the past year since the anti-regime demonstrations of June 2009).
(the clip below is a complilation of clips of what has taken place in the past year since the anti-regime demonstrations of June 2009).
Friday, June 11, 2010
Neda Agha-Soltan
Never to be forgotten...next week will mark the killing of what has been referred to as Iran's "Angel for Freedom" - Neda Agha-Soltan. The savage murderer (a paramilitary militiaman) and the system (Islamic Republic) who condoned the killing are still at large... it is in the hands of the Iranian nation to muster the courage and bring this barbaric anti-Iranian islamic regime to justice for the crimes against humanity that have been perpetrated by them in the past three decades.
(!WARNING GRAPHIC FOOTAGE!)
Rest in peace Neda. In hope that your aspirations for a free, democratic, and secular Iran will soon come true.
(!WARNING GRAPHIC FOOTAGE!)
Rest in peace Neda. In hope that your aspirations for a free, democratic, and secular Iran will soon come true.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Patriotic Poem- Vatan (Mihan)
A patriotic poem, dedicated to the motherland, sung by an Iranian lady (video is embedded in the following page):
http://www.farhangsara.com/
http://www.farhangsara.com/
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
31 March 2010...
Potkin has a powerful clip showing the strengthening societal consciousness within islamist-occupied Iran (two girls are attacked by one of the regime's islamist guards and tens of bystanders intervene and chase the regime thug away). The regime's stronghold on society through fear and repression is slowly crumbling through the show of force and courage of ordinary people.
Also a "pic of the day" (NYPD officers holds the Iranian flag during the annual New York Persian Parade):
Also a "pic of the day" (NYPD officers holds the Iranian flag during the annual New York Persian Parade):
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Arash @ DeviantArt
Separate Religion and Politics by ~arasch on deviantART (picture depicts a person disposing of the Islamic Republic's emblem in a trash can)A compatriot called Arash sent me an email asking to publish his works on the blog, please pay a visit and review his political artwork:
http://arasch.deviantart.com/gallery/
Monday, January 04, 2010
HIM Reza Pahlavi II wants UN probe in Iran
AP Interview: Shah's Son Wants UN Probe in Iran
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 31, 2009
PARIS (AP) -- The son of the deposed shah of Iran urged nations worldwide on Thursday to withdraw their ambassadors from Tehran to protest a relentless government crackdown on opposition demonstrators that resulted in at least eight deaths this week alone.
Reza Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, also appealed in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for a U.N. investigation into human rights violations during the unrest.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Pahlavi equated the climate of the unrest in his homeland with the ''revolutionary atmosphere'' that preceded the fall of his father from the Peacock Throne 30 years ago, when the monarchy was replaced by an Islamic republic. The difference, he said, is that this time the people know what they want -- a secular democracy.
Pahlavi, like other members of the exiled opposition to Iran's clerical regime, is looking to play a role from afar as protesters brashly defy authorities in an increasingly tumultuous Iran.
In the letter Pahlavi urged the U.N. chief to press Iran to release those arrested and act to ''halt the intolerable and increasingly dangerous march of events.'' The letter was given to the AP Thursday.
At least eight people died during protests Sunday, and hundreds were arrested in the worst unrest since the aftermath of June's disputed presidential election.
Pahlavi said that recalling ambassadors would be a ''minimal but clear indication'' by U.N. member states of their support for the rights of Iranian citizens and objections to violations of these rights by Iranian authorities.
''What you see in Iran is of major proportions,'' Pahlavi said by telephone. Based in the United States, the 49-year-old former crown prince is currently in Europe. His exact location was not divulged for security reasons.
''I can equate it with the same kind of climate that existed toward the end of 1978, 30 years ago, which led to a revolutionary atmosphere which I think has been reached right now in Iran,'' he said.
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown Feb. 11, 1979. He fled Iran and wandered from country to country, ill with cancer and eventually died in Egypt in 1980. His son is based in Bethesda, Maryland, but often travels to France.
''The biggest difference is if yesterday the only focus was on bringing down the previous regime, while most people didn't quite know what it would end up like, this time people not only know what they don't want, which is the current regime, but they also know what they want,'' the shah's son said.
He said he believes the great majority want a secular democratic system to replace the clerical regime.
Pahlavi, like other exiled Iranian opposition figures, insists that the protest movement is not focused exclusively on leading figure Mir Hossein Mousavi or another top figure, Mahdi Karroubi.
Exiled groups, who themselves are unlikely to ever join forces, say they are in constant contact with well-placed sources inside Iran.
The head of the People's Mujahedeen Organization, Maryam Rajavi, said her group could rally behind Mousavi ''despite his past'' but only ''if he accepts distancing himself from the religious dictatorship.'' The Mujahedeen's Iraq-based army has been disarmed by U.S. soldiers. The group remains on the U.S. terrorist list.
''Change is under way in Iran. It will not stop until the regime has come to an end,'' Rajavi said by telephone.
The first president of the post-revolution Islamic Republic, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, also living in France, is less optimistic.
''From a stand point of legitimacy, it (the regime) is over .... But it has three means that are interwoven in order to make this regime last: oil revenues, the forces of repression, and fear.''
For Pahlavi, who calls for civil disobedience, the current strife is a ''culminating moment.''
He contended that, unlike the bloodbath that accompanied the fall of his father, a peaceful transition is possible with even some of the security apparatus ''part of the solution.''
He claimed some members of the security apparatus have on occasion shown restraint toward demonstrators and what he called cooperation by refusing to follow orders to move in. Foreign journalists in Tehran were restricted from covering protests, and news media abroad have relied in part on video and reports from Iranian citizens.
Now, he said, they need an ''exit strategy'' so they can refuse to cooperate with the regime and even join with those seeking change.
It is not known how much weight various exiled opposition forces have inside Iran and, in the case of Pahlavi, how many people support the idea of a return to monarchy. However, Pahlavi says that is not his goal.
''This is not about me. I'm not here to advocate anything but ... freedom and democracy for the Iranian people at first and I've determined this as my unique mission in life.''
Still, he acknowledged that ''I carry on my shoulders the historic weight of an institution that I may potentially represent.''
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 31, 2009
PARIS (AP) -- The son of the deposed shah of Iran urged nations worldwide on Thursday to withdraw their ambassadors from Tehran to protest a relentless government crackdown on opposition demonstrators that resulted in at least eight deaths this week alone.
Reza Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, also appealed in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for a U.N. investigation into human rights violations during the unrest.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Pahlavi equated the climate of the unrest in his homeland with the ''revolutionary atmosphere'' that preceded the fall of his father from the Peacock Throne 30 years ago, when the monarchy was replaced by an Islamic republic. The difference, he said, is that this time the people know what they want -- a secular democracy.
Pahlavi, like other members of the exiled opposition to Iran's clerical regime, is looking to play a role from afar as protesters brashly defy authorities in an increasingly tumultuous Iran.
In the letter Pahlavi urged the U.N. chief to press Iran to release those arrested and act to ''halt the intolerable and increasingly dangerous march of events.'' The letter was given to the AP Thursday.
At least eight people died during protests Sunday, and hundreds were arrested in the worst unrest since the aftermath of June's disputed presidential election.
Pahlavi said that recalling ambassadors would be a ''minimal but clear indication'' by U.N. member states of their support for the rights of Iranian citizens and objections to violations of these rights by Iranian authorities.
''What you see in Iran is of major proportions,'' Pahlavi said by telephone. Based in the United States, the 49-year-old former crown prince is currently in Europe. His exact location was not divulged for security reasons.
''I can equate it with the same kind of climate that existed toward the end of 1978, 30 years ago, which led to a revolutionary atmosphere which I think has been reached right now in Iran,'' he said.
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown Feb. 11, 1979. He fled Iran and wandered from country to country, ill with cancer and eventually died in Egypt in 1980. His son is based in Bethesda, Maryland, but often travels to France.
''The biggest difference is if yesterday the only focus was on bringing down the previous regime, while most people didn't quite know what it would end up like, this time people not only know what they don't want, which is the current regime, but they also know what they want,'' the shah's son said.
He said he believes the great majority want a secular democratic system to replace the clerical regime.
Pahlavi, like other exiled Iranian opposition figures, insists that the protest movement is not focused exclusively on leading figure Mir Hossein Mousavi or another top figure, Mahdi Karroubi.
Exiled groups, who themselves are unlikely to ever join forces, say they are in constant contact with well-placed sources inside Iran.
The head of the People's Mujahedeen Organization, Maryam Rajavi, said her group could rally behind Mousavi ''despite his past'' but only ''if he accepts distancing himself from the religious dictatorship.'' The Mujahedeen's Iraq-based army has been disarmed by U.S. soldiers. The group remains on the U.S. terrorist list.
''Change is under way in Iran. It will not stop until the regime has come to an end,'' Rajavi said by telephone.
The first president of the post-revolution Islamic Republic, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, also living in France, is less optimistic.
''From a stand point of legitimacy, it (the regime) is over .... But it has three means that are interwoven in order to make this regime last: oil revenues, the forces of repression, and fear.''
For Pahlavi, who calls for civil disobedience, the current strife is a ''culminating moment.''
He contended that, unlike the bloodbath that accompanied the fall of his father, a peaceful transition is possible with even some of the security apparatus ''part of the solution.''
He claimed some members of the security apparatus have on occasion shown restraint toward demonstrators and what he called cooperation by refusing to follow orders to move in. Foreign journalists in Tehran were restricted from covering protests, and news media abroad have relied in part on video and reports from Iranian citizens.
Now, he said, they need an ''exit strategy'' so they can refuse to cooperate with the regime and even join with those seeking change.
It is not known how much weight various exiled opposition forces have inside Iran and, in the case of Pahlavi, how many people support the idea of a return to monarchy. However, Pahlavi says that is not his goal.
''This is not about me. I'm not here to advocate anything but ... freedom and democracy for the Iranian people at first and I've determined this as my unique mission in life.''
Still, he acknowledged that ''I carry on my shoulders the historic weight of an institution that I may potentially represent.''
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
More on Iranian pro-democracy, anti-regime demonstrations
UPDATE 1:
Footage of two security forces' patrol cars deliberately MOWING PEOPLE DOWN in the streets:
An Iranian woman is run over and killed by the Islamic Republic's security forces:
Pro-democracy youth shot in the leg by the Islamic Republic's security forces:
Tehran University students carry-on pro-democracy demonstrations on-campus (this clip is from today):
The terrorist Islamic Republic's security forces attack peaceful pro-democracy demonstration (clip from Sunday 27 Dec)
Footage of two security forces' patrol cars deliberately MOWING PEOPLE DOWN in the streets:
An Iranian woman is run over and killed by the Islamic Republic's security forces:
Pro-democracy youth shot in the leg by the Islamic Republic's security forces:
Tehran University students carry-on pro-democracy demonstrations on-campus (this clip is from today):
The terrorist Islamic Republic's security forces attack peaceful pro-democracy demonstration (clip from Sunday 27 Dec)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Widespread anti-regime demonstrations across Iran
THIS BLOG-POST IS BEING UPDATED AS MORE NEWS/CLIPS/PHOTOS ARE UPLOADED BY COMPATRIOTS FROM INSIDE IRANThe people of Iran have continued to voice their rejection of the Islamic Republic and its leadership since the regime's staged s-elections; my fellow blogger Potkin Azarmehr has continuously covered the past month's anti-regime demonstrations (his blog entries provide a good timeline as to how this movement has grown and developed). Today marks the shiite religious day of "Ashura", which the regime normally "celebrates" each year with government-organized demonstrations and mourning ceremonies etc. - this year though things are different. The people of Iran who are fighting to regain their country from this hell-sent anti-Iranian islamic regime have turned the tables on the regime by using regime-sponsored/regime-sanctioned days of importance to stage their anti-regime demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience. Today huge crowds are staging massive anti-regime demonstrations across Iran - protests have spread far beyond the capital and now cover all of the countries big and small provincial towns. Tens of people have been shot dead across the country in clashes between the Islamic Republic's security forces and the Iranian people.
UPDATE 1: HIM Reza Pahlavi II message of support to freedom-seeking Iranians
Here are some clips which have been posted on youtube for global viewing:
Iranian freedom-fighters take over a police outpost in Tehran. One of the regime's security officials is captured and led away by the people. Towards end of the clip there are graphic images of an Iranian man shot dead by the Islamic Republic's security forces.
In the above clip a member of the Islamic Republic's security forces has been captured by Iranian freedom-fighters - there is nothing stopping them from ripping this mercenary to pieces but after some punches voices are heard to stop beating the person. This kind of situation has been norm in past situations as well - even when the regime's security officials have opened fire on the crowd and later been captured by the people the people have still been restrained in their treatment of these mercenaries. How long this restraint will last is anybody's guess...
People running from a tear-gas attack.
Many squares and intersections have been taken over by the people. Security forces have retreated and their cars/motorcycles set on fire.
People setting up barricades in the streets. Chants: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we are all together!"
Iranian pro-democracy demonstrator killed by the savage Islamic Republic's security forces.
People are no longer afraid of the regime's mercenart forces. Here the mercenaries are fleeing on foot - peoples power in action.
Iranian freedom-fighter facing armed security forces of the terrorist Islamic Republic with nothing but rocks in his hands.
A street placard bearing the name of the terrorist Islamic Republic's leader is stamped on and defaced by Iranian crowds.
Military helicopters encircling Iranian pro-democracy demonstrators in Tehran.
Fearless pro-democracy demonstrators capture the regime's mercenary thugs.
Heroes of Iran's freedom movement.
Basij (the regime's paramilitary mercenary unit) building is set on fire by Iranian freedom fighters.
The Islamic Republic's security forces savagely beating and arresting Iranian women.
Police car is prevented from escaping. One of the Islamic Republic's mercenaries is arrested by the people.
EXTREMELY GRAPHIC footage of an Iranian protestor shot in the head by the terrorist Islamic Republic's mercenary forces!
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Saturday, December 05, 2009
21 Azar - liberation of Iranian Azarbaijan
His Imperial Majesty climbing into a hurricane aircraft during the campaign to liberate Iranian Azarbaijan from Soviet occupation.In 1946 (21 Azar, 1325) the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces (Army & Air Force), under the direct command of the young Shah of Iran (only 40 Days after receiving his pilot certificate and having less than 100 flying hours), the Shah personally made four reconnaissance flights over enemy-occupied territory; this was the first time that the head of state of a country would personally fly over a war zone. Thanks to the bravery of the Imperial Armed Forces and leadership of His Imperial Majesty, the Soviets were driven out of Iranian Azarbaijan and the soviet "puppet" government of Pishevari was dissolved with many of its members seeking asylum under the protection of their masters in the Soviet Union.
Source
21 Azar - Liberation-Victory ParadePayandeh Iran!
Dorood bar ravAneh pAkeh Shahanshah Aryamehr!
UPDATE 1: HIM Reza Pahlavi's statement on the anniversary of 21 Azar (pdf).
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The clever way to impose sanctions on Iran
Supporting the people is the best route to blocking Iran's Bomb, says Reza Pahlavi.
By Reza Pahlavi
Published: 7:02AM BST 30 Sep 2009
Tomorrow, the five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (known as the P5+1), will sit down with Iran in the latest attempt to ease increasing global anxiety over the country's nuclear programme. The threat of new sanctions hangs in the air. We have been here before: deadline after deadline, sanction after sanction, we return to the same old dance, the only real difference being that the Islamic Republic is inching ever closer to the Bomb. So perhaps now is the time to try something new. In anticipation of the October 1 meeting, the P5+1 must embrace their greatest ally in the war on nuclear proliferation: the people of Iran.
Until now, the Islamic Republic has not responded to external pressure from the international community. No amount of sanctions has worked. Instead, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad soaks up every opportunity to perform on the world stage, entertaining his audience of cool and collected clerics. But those clerics were not so composed on that June day when hundreds of thousands of Iranian people poured on to the streets, demanding an end to fundamentalist tyranny and the regime's oppression of their human rights.
In stark contrast to its reaction to international pressure, the regime's response to the internal uprising was immediate. Quivering with fear, it instantly detained more than 4,000 of its own people, suffocating their roaring cries for freedom and democracy. Students and journalists, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, young and old are still being held, clubbed, raped and tortured by the Islamic clerical regime. Hundreds of others stand falsely accused, helplessly awaiting trial without rights or representation.
Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran urged the UN to appoint a special human rights envoy during last week's meeting of the General Assembly to investigate the Iranian government's egregious record of abuse. And still, suffering under a brutal regime that threatens their very right to life, the Iranian people continue to plead for their liberties, fight for their freedoms and scream for the world's support.
The clerics' fearful and nervous response to the people's uprising demonstrated that the biggest threat to their survival in power comes from within their own borders. Contrary to the state-run press and propaganda, the regime's biggest enemy is not the West; it is its own people.
By supporting the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights, by elevating the importance of their liberties, the West will find its greatest ally on the nuclear issue. Empowering the opposition movement will encourage and prolong internal dissent, and sustaining that internal unrest is the key to cracking the clerical code.
While sanctions can in fact prove to be a useful tool in the shed of diplomacy, they result in the suffering of a nation's citizens, victimising the innocent many for the sins of the stubborn few. For sanctions to truly be effective in Iran, human rights have to be put on equal footing with the nuclear concern. Many of my Iranian compatriots have indicated to me that they would be willing to add to their hardships in the short term only if they believe that sanctions will curtail the lifespan of clerical oppression and cure their want of human rights.
In 1986, the United States led a worldwide campaign for human rights and equality in South Africa when it passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, banning US investment in the country. Disinvestment sanctions were about civil rights and human rights, and other world powers quickly followed suit. Most importantly, the removal of apartheid laws and the release of political prisoners were necessary preconditions to the lifting of sanctions. Those sanctions worked. The South African people suffered a deep recession in the short term, but to this day, no South African has forgotten the importance of those preconditions and the long-term liberation they brought to them as a people.
In the case of Iran, US foreign policy and international pressure are reaching their limit. External sanctions that are imposed solely to shape Iran's nuclear policy are unlikely to ever decrease the number of centrifuges that enrich uranium. Furthermore, if the issue of enrichment continues to trump the moral fight for the most basic human liberties – namely the right to free and fair elections and the freedom of speech – then the P5+1 will be seen to have abandoned the Iranian people to their plight. Alternatively, if the West enforces new sanctions that are intrinsically tied to the national outcry for freedom, they have armed their greatest ally with the powerful weapon of international solidarity in the struggle against the Islamic regime. This uprising can change the entire fabric of stability in the Middle East.
So, while the world toils over yellowcake, the people of Iran still believe in their green movement for freedom, hope and human rights. It is time for international leaders to stand behind the human rights of the Iranian people. In so doing, they will entrust the Iranian people with the power to resolve the nuclear issue.
The writer is Crown Prince of Iran
By Reza Pahlavi
Published: 7:02AM BST 30 Sep 2009
Tomorrow, the five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (known as the P5+1), will sit down with Iran in the latest attempt to ease increasing global anxiety over the country's nuclear programme. The threat of new sanctions hangs in the air. We have been here before: deadline after deadline, sanction after sanction, we return to the same old dance, the only real difference being that the Islamic Republic is inching ever closer to the Bomb. So perhaps now is the time to try something new. In anticipation of the October 1 meeting, the P5+1 must embrace their greatest ally in the war on nuclear proliferation: the people of Iran.
Until now, the Islamic Republic has not responded to external pressure from the international community. No amount of sanctions has worked. Instead, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad soaks up every opportunity to perform on the world stage, entertaining his audience of cool and collected clerics. But those clerics were not so composed on that June day when hundreds of thousands of Iranian people poured on to the streets, demanding an end to fundamentalist tyranny and the regime's oppression of their human rights.
In stark contrast to its reaction to international pressure, the regime's response to the internal uprising was immediate. Quivering with fear, it instantly detained more than 4,000 of its own people, suffocating their roaring cries for freedom and democracy. Students and journalists, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, young and old are still being held, clubbed, raped and tortured by the Islamic clerical regime. Hundreds of others stand falsely accused, helplessly awaiting trial without rights or representation.
Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran urged the UN to appoint a special human rights envoy during last week's meeting of the General Assembly to investigate the Iranian government's egregious record of abuse. And still, suffering under a brutal regime that threatens their very right to life, the Iranian people continue to plead for their liberties, fight for their freedoms and scream for the world's support.
The clerics' fearful and nervous response to the people's uprising demonstrated that the biggest threat to their survival in power comes from within their own borders. Contrary to the state-run press and propaganda, the regime's biggest enemy is not the West; it is its own people.
By supporting the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights, by elevating the importance of their liberties, the West will find its greatest ally on the nuclear issue. Empowering the opposition movement will encourage and prolong internal dissent, and sustaining that internal unrest is the key to cracking the clerical code.
While sanctions can in fact prove to be a useful tool in the shed of diplomacy, they result in the suffering of a nation's citizens, victimising the innocent many for the sins of the stubborn few. For sanctions to truly be effective in Iran, human rights have to be put on equal footing with the nuclear concern. Many of my Iranian compatriots have indicated to me that they would be willing to add to their hardships in the short term only if they believe that sanctions will curtail the lifespan of clerical oppression and cure their want of human rights.
In 1986, the United States led a worldwide campaign for human rights and equality in South Africa when it passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, banning US investment in the country. Disinvestment sanctions were about civil rights and human rights, and other world powers quickly followed suit. Most importantly, the removal of apartheid laws and the release of political prisoners were necessary preconditions to the lifting of sanctions. Those sanctions worked. The South African people suffered a deep recession in the short term, but to this day, no South African has forgotten the importance of those preconditions and the long-term liberation they brought to them as a people.
In the case of Iran, US foreign policy and international pressure are reaching their limit. External sanctions that are imposed solely to shape Iran's nuclear policy are unlikely to ever decrease the number of centrifuges that enrich uranium. Furthermore, if the issue of enrichment continues to trump the moral fight for the most basic human liberties – namely the right to free and fair elections and the freedom of speech – then the P5+1 will be seen to have abandoned the Iranian people to their plight. Alternatively, if the West enforces new sanctions that are intrinsically tied to the national outcry for freedom, they have armed their greatest ally with the powerful weapon of international solidarity in the struggle against the Islamic regime. This uprising can change the entire fabric of stability in the Middle East.
So, while the world toils over yellowcake, the people of Iran still believe in their green movement for freedom, hope and human rights. It is time for international leaders to stand behind the human rights of the Iranian people. In so doing, they will entrust the Iranian people with the power to resolve the nuclear issue.
The writer is Crown Prince of Iran
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