[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great

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Needed: A Firm European Position on Human Rights in Iran
July 13, 2004
Intellectual Conservative
Nooredin Abedian

With the EU's human rights dialogue stalled in Tehran, and with the Iranian capital's streets coming to life with popular dissent, the Union should take a much firmer position against the regime.

Ahead of demonstrations planned to commemorate the students' uprising of July 9, 1999 in Iran, riot police lined the streets of the capital, Tehran, under the pretext of traffic control, but in a muscle-flexing move aimed at dissuading would-be rioters. No permits were issued for any demonstrations, and universities were announced closed on the day.

The international position on human rights violations in Iran has not been supportive enough of the popular trend. Unlike the rather firm US policy, the European Union's ambiguous position on the issue has not only left the Europeans themselves divided on the issue, but, more importantly, it has weakened the international stance vis-à-vis the Iranian regime.

Since it took power in 1979, the clerical regime ruling Iran has been condemned a record 50 times by various bodies of the United Nations, on grounds of violation of the most basic rights of the Iranians. The regime was first condemned by the UN Human Rights Commission on rights-related grounds in 1984. But in 2001, after having condemned the rights violations in the country for more than 10 years, without any improvement in the situation on the field, the Commission changed its position and ended its 17-year long scrutiny of the country. Since then, supported by European countries, the clerics have evaded condemnation by the Commission.

At the same time that they went lenient on Iran in the Commission, the Europeans began a so-called dialogue over human rights with the regime, aiming to make it "comply with international standards." As recently as 14 June, 2004, representatives from the Union sat with their bearded counterparts to discuss human rights, for the fourth time in three years -- in Tehran, of all places.

A couple of days before the EU delegation left for Tehran, a 65-page report on rights violations released by the New York-based Human Rights Watch said that the dialogue between the EU and Iran on human rights has failed to yield any tangible results.

A statement issued by the EU presidency after the talks, on June 20, confirmed the fears: "The EU continues to be gravely concerned at the continued and numerous violations of human rights in Iran."

Iran's chief justice Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi called the statement "hypocritical." The regime's foreign ministry spokesman called it "unrealistic." Mohammad Larijani, the Iranian chief negotiator, claimed that western judgments and values on human rights did not apply to Iran.

Such positions do not seem to be stemming from a likely change of heart, least a change of attitude. A letter from the international press rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders to the European Union on June 29 states: "One wonders what to make of the Iranian government's remark after the talks that it is the European Union that should learn from Iran about human rights."

The European position on human rights in Iran is harmful in a variety of ways:

-- The clerical regime in Iran exploits the EU position to split ranks between the EU and the US specifically, and among the other international community members in a more general sense.

-- With such timid positions by the EU, students in Tehran's streets feel more and more abandoned in a world where international support is imperative for any serious movement for democracy.

-- The absence of a principled approach leaves the regime with the illusion that it can bargain on more dangerous issues such as terrorism as well. In spite of demands by a number of countries, the clerics have refused to turn over internationally sought terrorists they have been harboring since years, hoping to use them as future bargaining chips.

-- Europeans are the first to pay a price for this policy of appeasement. The humiliation British Royal Marines underwent at the hands of Iran's Revolutionary Guards is but a recent, albeit shocking example of the wrong message Iran has been getting from the EU.

With the EU's human rights dialogue stalled in Tehran, and with the Iranian capital's streets coming to life with popular dissent, the Union should take a much firmer position against the regime. A good beginning would be to think about a new, firm resolution condemning the regime for its violation of human rights in the upcoming UN General Assembly in September.

Nooredin Abedian is an Iranian engineer based in Germany, and a former lecturer at Tehran University. He writes from time to time on Iranian issues and politics.
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