Iranian democrats tell
US where to stick its
$85m By Golnaz Esfandiari
While gauging public opinion can be a tall
order in Iran, many of those who have spoken out
so far say they are keen to maintain their
independence, and this includes American money to
continue their efforts to promote democracy in
Iran.
The Bush administration has US$75
million in emergency funding to promote democracy
in Iran, in addition to $10 million already
budgeted.
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah is a
co-founder of the Center for Human
Rights Defenders. Dadkhah
tells RFE/RL that democratic changes should come
from inside the country - without outside
interference. "Democracy is not a product that we
can import from another country," Dadkhah said.
"We have to prepare the ground for it so that it
can grow and bear fruit - especially because
independent and national forces, and also
self-reliant forces, in Iran will never accept a
foreign country telling them what to do and which
way to take."
The proposed US aid would
include $25 million to support "political
dissidents, labor union leaders, and human-rights
activists" in additional to non-governmental
groups outside Iran. The declared aim is to allow
them to build support inside the country.
The US administration also wants $50
million to set up round-the-clock television
broadcasting in Persian to beam into Iran. Another
$5 million is aimed at allowing Iranian students
and scholars to study in the US. And $15 million
is earmarked for other measures, such as expanding
Internet access, which is tightly controlled in
Iran.
Wary of perceptions Authorities in Iran keep a tight lid on public
expression, but most activists inside the country
would be wary of being labeled pro-American.
Dadkhah said that if activists were to accept the
US aid, they would immediately be branded US spies
and accused of endangering Iran's national
security.
"Independent forces would go
close to these financial funds," Dadkhah said. "We
have to work through legal paths and logical
channels so that democracy, freedom and human
rights are fully respected in this country."
Abdollah Momeni, an outspoken Iranian
student leader, warned that US financial aid would
threaten the independence of those seeking
increased freedoms and put them at risk with
officials.
Momeni said that those working
for democracy in Iran instead needed moral support
and international recognition. "Under the current
conditions, the support of the international
community and pressure on the authoritarian
Iranian regime to recognize democratic principles
in Iranian society could help the Iranian people
achieve democracy," Momeni said.
"The only
result of financial aid would be to inflame
sensitivities, put civil society activists under
threat and give the regime an excuse to suppress
opponents and opposition members."
Independent opposition A loose
alliance of political activists and intellectuals
calling itself the Independent Iranian Opposition
has issued a statement declaring that "only the
people will determine Iran's fate". It added that
the independent Iranian opposition had always
battled with no expectation of financial
assistance from "interested foreign powers". It
also pledged that members would continue their
efforts until a "free, independent and democratic
Iran" emerged.
A respected human-rights
activist and lawyer, Mehrangiz Kar is an Iranian
woman who lives in the United States. Kar told
Radio Farda that while money was important for
rights groups to function, "security" is even more
crucial to their effectiveness.
"The shaky
security under which human rights and democracy
activists are working in Iran would become even
shakier and more uncertain [if US funding was
involved]," Kar said. "So, in my opinion, if they
could provide security and money, that would be
ideal. But since they can't, sending money through
government channels is one of the most damaging
ways that has been adopted in the name of helping
democracy and human rights in Iran."
Abbas
Milani is a distinguished Iranian scholar and
co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the
Hoover Institution. Milani questions whether the
new US initiative would achieve its goal of
fostering democracy. He pointed out in a joint
contribution with Michael McFaul to The Wall
Street Journal on March 6 that while "outsiders
find it easy to support democracy rhetorically",
it was harder to put such concepts into practice.
Milani warned the US against support for
"regime change" through violence or for ethnic
groups seeking independence from Tehran. He
insisted that any new US aid must empower
"existing democrats, not create democrats from
[among] those with close ties to Washington".
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have
described the US administration's funding request
as "provocative and interventionist". Iranian
media reported in March that the Foreign Ministry
sent a letter of protest to Washington over the
plan. Not to be outdone, Iranian lawmakers have
approved about $15 million to "discover and
neutralize American plots and intervention" in
their country.
Golnaz
Esfandiari, born in Tehran, has a master's
degree in clinical psychology from Prague's
Charles University. Her writing focuses on
politics, human rights, and social issues in Iran
and Afghanistan.
(Radio Farda's Maryam
Ahmadi contributed to this report.)
Copyright (c) 2005, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036
