The only news source is state run TV and radio. Independent and foreign media outlets have either been driven out of the country or had their signals blocked..
Thousands of armed police and militia cover the streets and wait to pummel or arrest anyone attempting to speak freely. Women are beaten routinely in the streets. Some of them have been killed in cold blood for marching with other protesters. At night, gangs of armed thugs, state-sponsored mercenaries, invade homes to drag off participants from the day's civil disobedience rallies. Shrieks of emotional and physical pain can be heard almost around the clock - while jail cells fill up with innocent political prisoners.
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Welcome to Iran. In this fascist Islamic state, no one is safe from the government. Last week, the population was essentially given a choice: submit or die. Tens of thousands of brave Iranians have chosen the latter in a quest for liberty.
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Over a week of senseless and unspeakable carnage, President Obama has chosen to be a cipher rather than a statesman. As an African-American, he should understand the need to speak out firmly against a government determined to enslave its own people. To his credit, the President did 'urge' the Iranian government to stop the violence against its citizens in a written statement from the White House yesterday. However, his handling of the crisis is still woefully inadequate.
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The principle rationale behind his virtual silence is both confused and ultimately flawed. According to Obama and his media sycophants, the US cannot afford to 'meddle' in the internal affairs of Iran due to America's egregious history of meddling in Iranian politics from the CIA overthrow of a legitimately elected leader in 1953 to supporting the repressive regime of the Shah until 1979 to thwart Soviet aggression. Indeed, the US has much to account for in its history of heavy-handed tactics in Iran. But that was then, and this is now. After two years of being on the campaign trail for the American presidency, Iranians laud and respect President Obama for (rightly) criticizing his predecessor on the initiation and conduct of the War in Iraq. Hence, Iranians, of which 75% are under the age of 30, not only have no recollection of the 1953 CIA overthrow or the Shah, they also have few qualms with President Obama despite their daily dose of anti-US government propaganda.
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As a person partially raised in a Muslim country (Indonesia) and a critic of the Iraq war, Obama is unique in having a staggering amount of credibility on the Arab and Persian streets. Yet, the President continues to remain silent to atone for past foreign policy transgressions. As days pass, President Obama is squandering his two greatest assets: his good reputation and his unsurpassed ability to effect change by using his voice.
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President Obama and his administration seem confused. In not endorsing a candidate (i.e. Mousavi), they are correct in refusing to meddle in a sovereign election. Does, however, speaking out against the suppression of free speech and the imprisonment and murder of innocent civilians constitute 'meddling' into the sovereign affairs of another nation? Absolutely not. Human rights transcend state sovereignty, and President Obama seems to be in the dark both on the distinction between the two and how to proceed.
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The United Nations: A Tool of Leverage
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Strident statements and arrogant expressions, two commonplace features of the Bush administration, are neither necessary nor desirable. Instead, President Obama should use the two greatest weapons in the American arsenal: truth and diplomacy. Over the next week, the Obama administration should begin talking with its allies in Europe and the Middle East about the need for a UN resolution condemning the Iranian leadership and holding Iran in violation of the UN Charter. As one of forty-eight nations in the UN General Assembly to have unanimously voted for The Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948, Iran ought to be held accountable to its provisions which include the following:
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Article 9 - 'No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile'
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Article 19 - 'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers'
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Article 21.3 - 'The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures'
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By taking the case to the General Assembly in a speech using his oratory skills, Obama could unite much of the world against Iran diplomatically, further divide its leadership and put pressure on the regime to end its violence and make concessions.
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Silence: The Road To Regret
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A few years after his presidency, Bill Clinton confessed regret for not doing anything concrete to stop the genocide in Rwanda that claimed up to 1,000,000 lives. President Obama is now faced with a stark choice: to remain on the sidelines as a fascist state devours its own men, women and children or to rally the world diplomatically against an illegitimate and tyrannical government in Tehran.
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Remember, Mr. President, silence allowed Adolf Hitler to seize and retain power for 12 horrific years in Germany. The world is not asking you to meddle in Iranian politics. The world is asking you to stand up for 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' for everyone in every nation. Thomas Jefferson would expect nothing less.
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(Picture: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a primary force behind the creation and adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, holds a copy of the landmark document - Click to enlarge.)
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J Roquen