March 26, 2007
Advancing Freedom in Iran
by Steven Groves
Backgrounder #2019
Whether in Europe and the Far East during World War II or in Iraq and Afghanistan today, the United States has sacrificed greatly to
advance the cause of freedom and democracy across the globe, but its greatest challenges on that front lie ahead. At the strategic center of the Middle East sits a despotic regime developing nuclear weapons that is led by a theocratic order of clerics and a president who openly courts the apocalypse. The United States currently faces few greater threats to its long-term security than Iran.
There is still an opportunity to bring about
peaceful democratic change in Iran. The great majority of the Iranian people are deeply dissatisfied with the Iranian regime. If they could change the nature of their government, they would. The Iranian people's recent attempts to reform their government have been stymied by a repressive government that restricts freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press.
A major obstacle to the advancement of
freedom and democracy is the Iranian constitution, which institutionalizes Iran's despotic regime and restricts rather than protects the civil and political rights of the Iranian people. The United States should use its influence to pull together a coalition of dissident groups from the Iranian population under the single cause of holding a national referendum on drawing up a new constitution. Only when a representative, pluralistic government is in place in Tehran will U.S. security interests be ensured.
Promoting
Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights in Iran
Promoting
freedom and democracy around the world, especially in places like Iran, is in the interests of the United States. Nations governed by democratic institutions are the most responsible members of the international community. Such nations protect the basic civil, political, and human rights of their citizens, including the individual liberties that form the basis of a free society—freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press.
Political rights, especially the rights of the political minority, are
honored in democracies.
Citizens are permitted to change their government, and the government submits to the will of the people. Democracies preserve and protect the lives of their people and administer justice fairly and evenhandedly. Those accused of crimes or held prisoner by democratic governments are treated humanely and are not punished in a cruel or unusual manner. Ethnic minorities living in democratic states enjoy the same rights and privileges held by all citizens.<1>
Few nations are more in need of
democratic reform than Iran. Iran is one of the greatest enemies of freedom and human rights in the world.<2> Dissidents and ordinary Iranian citizens who protest against Iran's hard-line clerical regime are routinely beaten, tortured, or killed or have their limbs amputated for such crimes as homosexuality, "insulting Islam," and photographing Tehran's notorious Evin prison.<3>
Iran
represses—often violently—its ethnic Arab, Kurd, and Baluchi populations. The regime also oppresses its religious minorities. For example, it routinely detains, arrests, and interrogates members of the Baha'i community—acts that the U.N. General Assembly condemned in December 2005.<4> While Christians and Jews are officially recognized and are "free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies," they continue to be harassed, arrested, and imprisoned by the regime. The rights of non-Muslims are protected as long as the non-Muslims "refrain from engaging in conspiracy or activity against Islam."<5> Such protection must come as little consolation to non-Muslims who have seen their churches raided, church leaders detained, and worshippers harassed.<6> Without outside support and assistance, the civil, religious, and political oppression of the Iranian people is unlikely to end soon.
Advancing and achieving
freedom and democratic reform in Iran would not only benefit the Iranian people but also be in America's best interests. As the September 11 attacks demonstrated, the world is becoming a smaller place. U.S. security at home increasingly depends on the advancement of free and stable governments abroad.<7> The combination of the Iranian regime's nuclear ambitions and its continuing sponsorship of transnational terrorism, including support for Hamas and Hezbollah, creates a deadly security situation for the United States.<8> In contrast, a free and democratic Iran would work with America to stabilize Iraq and support its transition to a pluralistic and accountable government, rather than funding Shiite militias and arming terrorists with deadly roadside bombs.<9> A responsible Iranian government would not strive to undermine the Middle East peace process or harbor senior members of al-Qaeda.<10>
Iran's behavior on all of these fronts will persist as long as the status quo remains intact. Promoting the advancement of
freedom, democracy, and human rights in Iran should therefore be a U.S. priority, not just for the benefit of the Iranian people, but also for the short-term and long-term security interests of the American people.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/WorldwideFreedom/bg2019.cfm
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