Nuclear rights and human rights in Iran
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
There is now a direct linkage between the Iranian government's defense of the
country's "inalienable nuclear rights" in the international arena and the
country's contentious domestic politics that, in turn, has raised the
international community's alarm over rights violations in Iran, reflected in a
United Nations General Assembly resolution last month.
In a vote of 74 in favor, 48 against and 59 abstentions, the assembly committee
responsible for social, humanitarian and cultural affairs - known as the Third
Committee - adopted a
resolution condemning human-rights violations in Iran, particularly those that
have occurred since June's presidential election, when many opposition
supporters were arrested and detained.
Without doubt, the vote, backed by many of Iran's non-aligned friends who
support Iran's nuclear rights, is a political setback for Tehran that cannot be
ignored; rather, it requires concerted efforts by the government to push the
arch of reconciliation, tolerance and respect for the constitutional rights of
the political opposition.
This is especially so, given fresh unrest in the capital, Tehran. Security
forces on Tuesday clashed with thousands of university students protesting for
a second day, as the top prosecutor warned of "no mercy toward anyone who acts
against national security". About 200 people were detained on Monday. The
students have revitalized the June protests.
Without serious efforts to polish Iran's image on the rights front, both the
government's internal legitimacy as well as its international standing
affecting its bargaining ability at the nuclear negotiations will suffer. One
way to do this would be to declare an amnesty for all who have been imprisoned
following the June election - which saw President Mahmud Ahmadinejad returned
for a second term in a poll that the opposition claims was extensively rigged.
The linkage between the two rights is inevitable since the government is
mandated to pursue all rights in tandem and, therefore, its perceived laxity or
disregard of one set of rights is bound to weaken its championing of another,
ie, nuclear rights.
Tehran insists that its uranium enrichment program, which it recently announced
it is expanding, is its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to
which it is a signatory. There is widespread concern in the international
community that Iran, despite its strong denials, is bent on producing nuclear
weapons. This belief underpins the various sanctions that Iran has drawn,
including from the United Nations and the United States, as well as calls that
strong action - including military intervention - should be taken.
In the wake of the June unrest, Ahmadinejad took some steps toward reaching out
to discontented voters, including his choice of a moderate as vice president,
subsequently demoted to chief of staff due to hardliners' opposition. He also
nominated three women for cabinet posts, aimed at appeasing the urban female
population, and he has made repeated public statements promising to represent
all Iranians, even those who did not support him. This is not to mention the
installation of a moderate cleric as the head of the judiciary, who has
promised to respect citizens' rights and to disallow the political manipulation
of the judicial branch.
However, according to some Iran experts, Ahmadinejad could have made a more
serious overture toward the political opposition by establishing a more
inclusive cabinet, instead of relying on loyal faces, since he had raised such
a hope by his post-election invitation from all sectors to "join hands" in
forming his second administration.
"The problem is the trade-off between national security and democracy," says a
Tehran University political science professor who spoke on the condition of
anonymity. "The government is absolutely convinced that foreign governments
manipulated the protests and caused an unprecedented national security crisis
still reverberating throughout the regime. So basically, the government is
still in the recuperating mode and has prioritized national security over
democracy, for now at least."
Opposition leaders such as Mir Hossein Mousavi have been charged with failing
to follow procedures for contesting elections results and crying foul without
presenting compelling evidence to corroborate allegations of election fraud.
(See Mousavi
states his case Asia Times Online, June 19.)
Even some leaders of the reformist group, the Islamic Iran Participation Front,
including Saeed Hajjarian and Shahab Eldin Tabatabie, have openly distanced
themselves from Mousavi, who was not a part of the reformist movement prior to
his decision to run for presidency in late spring.
According to Tabatabie, who was a key figure in Mousavi’s electoral race, "His
associates kept saying that he would definitely win and this led them and Mr
Mousavi to the delusion of victory." Elaheh Koolaee, another Tehran University
political science professor, a former member of parliament and a member of the
executive committee of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has expressed
similar criticism of the "green" reform movement.
"The government does not need to panic over every student demonstration, since
the constitution permits legal assembly as long as it does not disturb civic
peace - that was the case with the election protests that were called by Mr
Mousavi," said the Tehran professor, who in principle supports the reformist
movement.
"That is why some lawmakers are adamant that Mr Mousavi broke the law and must
be eventually brought before a court," said the professor, adding that the same
standard should apply to any prison officials who abused prisoners.
The sentiment about not panicking is shared by, among others, former president
Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who recently accused the government of
intolerance and repression of dissent. His criticism has resonated with the
regime's post-revolutionary identity as a mass-based republican system, albeit
with a theocratic twist, based on regular and competitive elections. [1]
Rafsanjani has not criticized the "green" movement and its protests, which have
portended a rising tendency toward a "velvet revolution" by, among others,
targeting the authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. [2]
There may be flaws in each side's understanding of what went wrong and who is
to blame, but the fact is that their cognitive hostility toward each other, fed
by their perceptions and misperceptions of each side's intentions and
objectives, continues to cause a widening gap between the government and its
internal dissent.
One thing is clear, however; namely, there are definite costs to Iran's
national security interests due to the political rifts at home and the
exploitation of those rifts by Iran's opponents who seek to deprive the country
of its nuclear rights.
This is starkly illustrated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
speaking to members of the Knesset (parliament's) Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee on Monday. "The use of the Internet and Twitter against the Iranian
regime is a great thing," he said. "In past years, Iran was portrayed as an
unpleasant regime, but today there is deep hatred on the part of part of the
Iranian nation against the regime. It is trickling out and constitutes a very
important resource for the state of Israel."
Kaveh L Afrasiabi, PhD, is the author of After Khomeini: New
Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (Westview Press) . For his Wikipedia entry,
click here. His
latest book,
Reading In Iran Foreign Policy After September 11 (BookSurge Publishing
, October 23, 2008) is now available.
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