Iran set to release US hikers
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Dear President Ahmadinejad,
I have learned of your intervention to assist Sarah in her plight, and to make
it possible for her to return to her family. I am only one of a great many
people who deeply appreciate these kind and humane efforts.
I would like to urge, once again, that you do what you can to ensure that that
her companions, Shane and Josh, are released as well. They are idealistic young
men, innocent of any crime with the possible exception of unwittingly crossing
the border.
Shane, Sarah and Josh have spoken out against
aggressive foreign policies of the United States. Their good deeds and
compassionate acts are well documented. They deserve some long overdue
compassion in return. I realize the tensions between the US and Iran are acute
and rooted in a difficult and often shameful history, but these innocent young
people should not have to suffer from these painful events, which we all hope
will soon reach a peaceful and honorable resolution.
I hope that the government and judiciary will come to recognize that there is
no reason to detain these young men, and will allow them to return to their
anxious and grieving families, an act of compassion that will be welcomed with
great gratitude and appreciation throughout the world by those who wish the
best for the people of Iran and the United States.
This letter was
written by American peace activist Noam Chomsky, dated September 2010, and as
per Chomsky's request I hand-delivered it to Iranian President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad during his New York visit to the United Nations. It
concerned the fate of Americans Shane Bauer, 28 and Josh Fattal, 28, who along
with Sarah Shourd, 32, were arrested on July 31, 2009, by Iranian border guards
for alleged espionage while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iran claims the three
crossed into its territory, but the three claim they were kidnapped from within
Iraq. Sarah was released on US$500,000 bail by Iran on September 14, 2010, on
humanitarian grounds due to her declining health.
In reading the Farsi translation of the letter, Ahmadinejad quickly wondered if
Chomsky had expressed a similar concern about the fate of several Iranian
citizens in US custody. I replied that while I did not know the answer, I had
no doubt that Chomsky was a progressive intellectual with a history of peace
activism who is highly respected in the global peace movement. Ahmadinejad then
reiterated his wish to see the two remaining American hikers released "in the
near future".
That "near future" has taken a year, with Ahmadinejad telling The Washington
Post and NBC television in interviews on Tuesday that Bauer and Fattal would be
released "in a couple of days" despite being convicted last month and jailed
for eight years on charges of spying and entering Iran illegally.
"I am helping to arrange for their release in a couple of days so they will be
able to return home," The Post quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during an interview
in Tehran. "This is, of course, going to be a unilateral humanitarian gesture,"
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Reports say that bail for the two men has been set at $500,000 each, the same
amount paid for Shourd's release.
There might still be hitches, however. Several weeks ago, reports from Iran
suggested Tehran was on the brink of releasing the two Americans, yet nothing
came of it.
Iran's envoy to Iraq, Hassan Danaifar, subsequently complained of being
misquoted by wire reports and that he had never made such a statement. Iran's
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, on the other hand, expressed optimism that
the two would go home soon.
Tehran's indecision at the time could have stemmed from fears of losing
"leverage" for the release of nine Iranians held by the US "illegally",
according to Tehran. But with Ahmadinejad due in New York this month for a
United Nations meeting, the time appears ripe for a public relations coup, with
a show of Islamic clemency bound to create good feelings towards Iran in US
public opinion.
This could have a ripple effect, for instance on the stalled talks on Iran's
nuclear program, in light of a Russian proposal to resolve the standoff
"step-by-step" by offering Iran inducements - such as the lifting of sanctions
- to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Clearly, the environment for multilateral talks would be much improved by the
news of the release of the Americans.
It is also possible that in response to Tehran's decision to end the hikers'
saga, US President Barack Obama, who has eschewed his initial Iran engagement
policy in favor of an escalating coercive diplomacy, may release some if not
all of the nine Iranians in the US. Seeking to avoid the impression of a
tit-for-tat, the Obama administration may not do so immediately.
As it stands, signs of American goodwill toward Iran are ominously absent. The
Obama administration has made much noise over the tiny step of facilitating
visa requirements for Iranian students studying in the US, but this is dwarfed
by its barrage of sanctions, such as on Iran Air, Iran's main commercial
airline, which suffers from the US refusal to allow the sale of airplane parts
to Iran, thus jeopardizing the well-being of ordinary Iranians.
A sharp veer toward a true humanitarian policy on Iran, keeping in mind the
health and well-being of Iranian citizens, is called for, one that necessitates
a US nod to issues pertaining to nuclear fuel for a Tehran medical reactor,
that provides radioisotopes to hundreds of hospitals across Iran.
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