Issue date: 7/21/03 Section: Opinion

1989 was perhaps the greatest and worst year for freedom in recent history. In Czechoslovakia, during the "Velvet Revolution," peaceful protesters brought about the nonviolent overthrow of their communist government. But during the same year, the world watched in horror as student-led protests in favor of democracy were crushed by the Chinese communist government. In Tiananmen Square, students were viciously suppressed with military tanks, resulting in the deaths of more than 500 civilians. Today, Iran is on the verge of its own student-led democratic revolution, and free people should not tolerate another Tiananmen Square. America must do everything it can to support the democratic movement in Iran, but it must do it from the sidelines.

Democracy cannot come soon enough to Iran. In the summer of 1999, peaceful student protesters in the city of Tehran were beaten and stabbed in their dorm rooms by supporters of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Hashem Aghajari, an Iranian professor and opponent of the theocratic regime, was sentenced to death earlier this year for a campus speech that offended Iranian religious leaders. Valentine's Day and New Years celebrations are also signs that the population is increasingly resistant to the extremist Islamic government. In the past month, there have been renewed pro-democracy student demonstrations across the country. Once again though, the government has acted with an iron fist. Since June, there have been 4,000 demonstrators arrested.

America must strike a balance between its support of the Iranian people's democratic revolution and the need for Iranians to succeed on their own. "Change has to be brought by Iranians themselves, not foreigners," Fatimeh Haqiqat-Ju, a parliament deputy told The Associated Press. The United States must not hesitate to support the Iranian cause for democracy, but must be cautious about jumping in with both feet. There is another cost to direct military intervention in Iran other than the human and financial ones. In an area of the world where America is viewed suspiciously, direct intervention might rob the democracy movement of popularity.

Popularity is currently not a problem for the demonstrators as the Iranian population is ripe for a revolution. Students, while the most vocal group wishing for a change of government, only make up a small group of such supporters. Nearly half of the population is under the age 25, raised oppressed after the establishment of the theocratic regime. In addition, women, a group that constitutes half the country, are without full rights under the hard-line government. While the rights of Iranian people are important, there are even greater reasons for democracy.

Democracy in Iran could bring stability to the region, especially neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan. This would eliminate the second member of the Axis of Evil without shedding American blood and dollars. Recently, the United Nations' request to test for a nuclear weapons program was rejected by the Iranian government. The White House has made it clear that America may disarm Iran if the preserved threat of weapons is great enough. Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's former president and current leader of the country's highest religious governing body, said last year that on the day the Muslim world gets nuclear weapons, the people of Israel will be easily killed "since a single atomic bomb has the power to completely destroy Israel, while an Israeli counter-strike can only cause partial damage to the Islamic world." So much for a Palestinian state.

Iran must shed its radical Islamic government to have freedom. Currently, elected Iranian officials are powerless. Iran's President Muhammad Khatami, while called a reformist, does not have the power that the religious councils do and has been unwilling to challenge them. Actually leading the government are two branches of unelected radical Islamic leaders, called mullahs. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a self-proclaimed messenger of God, has complete dictatorial power over the government. Because of the Islamic government, Iranian schools are not effective since they cannot have full dialogue as long as professors and students fear draconian retribution for their thoughts. Communications in the country will not keep the public aware of their world until the government discontinues its censorship. Women will never be equals in a country religiously dedicated to their inferiority. Extremist Islam not only strikes in the form of international terrorism, but as domestic oppression as well.

The best route for America is constant and consistent verbal support. Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently that Washington wanted to encourage "those (in Iran)...seeking the right to speak out." A firm message that recognizes the current government of Iran as part of the Axis of Evil, not the Iranian people as terrorists, is important. Also vital is the message that Iran is not a true democracy that supports the inalienable rights of the Iranian people. America can help by keeping the regime's allies, including Russia, at bay. The United States must use the strongest diplomatic means possible to stop another Tiananmen Square, but it must let Iranian people wage their own revolution.

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