Post #436 - Peace & Security or Human Rights -- a False Dichotomy

This piece was posted yesterday (1/21/14) on Huffington Post:

The Iran Nuclear Accord Is Good for Human Rights

Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist often referred to as Iran's "pre-eminent political dissident" after spending 6 years in jail for his human rights activities.

The nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 has provoked considerable debate. The proponents of diplomatic resolution of the standoff with Iran have praised the accord. Its opponents, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, have harshly criticized it. As a former Iranian political prisoner who spent six years in the Islamic Republic's jails and whose writings have been banned in Iran, I support the Geneva agreement. The question is, what is the goal of continuing the standoff with Iran, if not reaching an agreement with it?

If the goal is regime change in Iran, we must recall that 13 years of backbreaking sanctions did not topple Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq; the military invasion of 2003 did. The sanctions did kill at least half a million Iraqi children, and prompted the infamous statement by Madeleine Albright, President Bill Clinton's secretary of state, that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was worth the huge cost in terms of human suffering in Iraq.

If the Iranian regime's respect for human rights is made the necessary condition for a nuclear accord, there will be no agreement at all, because it will prove the claim by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the real goal of the United State is regime change, and that the nuclear program and claims about Iran wanting to "wipe Israel off the map" are only excuses. So long as there is an external threat that endangers its survival, no regime will agree to reform itself and become democratic.

National security and economic prosperity are prerequisites for the emergence of a democratic regime. Destroying the infrastructure of a nation through harsh economic sanctions and war will not bring about a transition to democracy. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria are prime examples of the failure of such thinking. In the first 11 months of 2013 alone, more than 8,000 people were killed in Iraq as a result of terrorism. Libya has been transformed into a lawless country controlled by various militia, with some having separatist tendencies. Syria has been completely destroyed, with an estimated 120,000 people killed. It has also become an operation center for some of the most extreme terrorist groups. In fact, as a result of the regime-change crusade of the past 12 years, jihadi groups of the Middle East have become stronger, not weaker.

A prosperous middle class is the agent for transition to democracy. Crippling economic sanctions only add millions of middle-class people to the ranks of the poor, denying the democratic movement of its most potent element. Under such conditions, everyone only struggles for survival, moral standards and trust decline, and democracy and human rights will be viewed as unaffordable luxury. Such conditions will kill and injure hundreds of thousands of people, and strengthen terrorism.

As an undemocratic regime, the Islamic Republic undoubtedly oppresses its people. The goal of the Iranian democratic forces is transitioning to a state committed to freedom and respect for human rights. Toward this goal, defenders of human rights and democratic forces cannot, and must not, ask Western powers to preserve or increase the current economic sanctions that are punishing only the common Iranian people, blocking the path to a nuclear accord and, hence, transforming Iran into another Iraq or Syria. The main issue in Iran is democracy and the elimination of all types of discrimination. Successful models for achieving such goals, as happened in South Africa, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, to name but a few, must be contrasted with a model based on crippling economic sanctions and even military action.

Step-by-step nuclear accords, the lifting of economic sanctions and the improvement of the relations between Iran and Western powers will gradually remove the warlike and securitized environment from Iran, save the people from their current harsh lives and strengthen the middle class. In fact, if there are friendly relations between Iran and Western powers, led by the United States, the West will be able to exert more positive influence on Iran to improve its state of human rights. Economic incentives, investment in Iran's oil industry, export of new technology and other encouragements are attractive enough to help open up the political system and improve human rights.

The release of all the political prisoners; freedom of the press, political parties and civic-society organizations; respect for human and citizens' rights; neutrality of the state with respect to religion; institutional separation of the state and religion; and the abolishment of capital punishment are the goals of all the Iranian democrats. But they can be achieved by the Iranian people themselves through nonviolent means, not with outside intervention and violence. Many Iranian intellectuals and academics and even Iran's political prisoners, both inside and outside Iran, advocate such a path. Western powers and international human rights organizations are morally obligated to condemn violations of human rights, but conditioning a nuclear accord with Iran on improving human rights will only destroy any prospect for the accord, and lead to war. Achieving respect for human rights and transitioning to democracy is possible only in a peaceful framework, not by constantly threatening the survival of the regime.

Releasing all the political prisoners, freedom of the press, political parties and civic-society organizations, respect for human and citizens' rights, neutrality of the state with respect to religion, institutional separation of the state and religion, and abolishing capital punishment are the goals of all the Iranian democrats. But, they can be achieved by the Iranian people themselves through non-violent means, not with outside intervention and violence. Many Iranian intellectuals and academics and even Iran's political prisoners, both inside and outside Iran, advocate such a path. Western powers and international human rights organizations are morally obligated to condemn violations of human rights, but conditioning a nuclear accord with Iran on improving human rights will only destroy any prospect for the accord, and lead to war. Achieving respect for human rights and transition to democracy is possible only in a peaceful framework, not through constantly threatening the regime for its survival.

Post #435 - Dangerously Close to Blowing It

This piece by Rene Wadlow, Representative to the United Nations, Geneva of the Association of World Citizens, appeared 1/20/14 on www.towardfreedom.org:

Derailing Disarmament: US Senate Hinders Negotiations with Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

A resolution sponsored by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey with both Republican and Democratic Senators as co-sponsors — Nuclear Weapon-Free Iran Act (S1881) —sits as a ticking time-bomb in Senate desk drawers, which could explode after the January 28 State of the Union message.  The resolution has the potential to hinder, perhaps derail, the difficult negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.  A six-month interim agreement reached in Geneva among Iran and the P5 plus one (US, Russia, China, France, UK and Germany) is to start on January 20^, 2014 for six months. 

 In the agreement reached, Iran will stop enriching uranium beyond five percent — a level sufficient for energy production but not for military use.  Iran’s current stock of uranium enriched to a weapon-grade twenty percent will be diluted or converted.  These promised actions will be inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In exchange, the major powers will suspend certain sanctions on Iran and stop pressuring other countries to limit trade with Iran.

During the six months, negotiations for a more permanent agreement will continue. The building of trust between Iran and the P5 and the fulfillment of the conditions of the interim agreement are crucial for the continuing negotiations. Currently, there is a minimum of trust and confidence about the level of good faith on both sides.  Within Tehran and Washington, there are hardliners who distrust on principle and who would not be unhappy to see negotiations fail, perhaps opening a door to military action.

The proposed US Senate resolution with its twin floating around in the House of Representatives is both unnecessary and potentially a major hindrance to good faith negotiations — a good example of the wrong methods proposed to meet appropriate goals.

A nuclear-weapon free Iran was first proposed in 1974 by the government of the Shah of Iran at the time when the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was created.  The Shah called for making the entire Middle East a nuclear-weapon free zone on the model of the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco for Latin America — negotiations having started among Latin American states shortly after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the early 1970s, the dangers of nuclear-weapon proliferation in the Middle East were real.  Israel already had nuclear weapons; Libya had nuclear ambitions.  There was talk of nuclear-weapon interest in Iraq.  Egypt had technical knowledge, and Saudi Arabia had the funds to import nuclear technology. A nuclear-weapon-free Iran was to be a major element in the creation of a Nuclear-weapon Free Middle East.

Thus in 1974, Iran along with Egypt proposed in the UN General Assembly the creation of a Middle East Nuclear-weapon Free Zone.  The Islamic Republic of Iran has continued, after the end of the Pahlavi regime in 1979, to call in yearly General Assembly resolutions for such a zone.

The establishment of nuclear-weapon free zones is both a regional non-proliferation and security-building measure and a step toward the eventual global elimination of nuclear weapons.  Nuclear-weapon free zones normally include binding regional de-nuclearization provisions, verification, and compliance mechanisms.  Thus, they rid entire regions of the specter of nuclear weapons and increase regional security.

It is understood that Iranian leadership on a Middle East Nuclear-weapon Free Zone is part of its ambitions to play a role of regional leadership.  However, it is also true that no other Middle East state has had such a consistent policy on the issue with the possible exception of its General Assembly partner, Egypt. Now is the time to work with Iran for a true non-proliferation regime as an edifice of treaties, norms, safeguard mechanisms and institutions.  A minor but useful first step is to bury the irresponsible Senate resolution.

Post #434 - How We Got Here

The New York Times on the history of the current situation:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/20/world/middleeast/Iran-nuclear-timeline.html#/#time243_7169

Post #433 -- Life as We Don't Know It

Check out this interesting exploration of Iranian youth:

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/youth-in-iran-inside-and-out/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1&

Post #432 - The Tribes Coming Together

From the Congressional Record:
 
SPEECH OF HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2014


Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a Rabbinic Statement, ``Step by Step toward Shalom with Iran.''


Signed by 120 Rabbis, including my own Rabbi, Andrea London of Beth Emet Synagogue in Evanston, IL, the statement opposes any actions that would undermine ongoing negotiations, emphasizes the importance of peaceful conflict resolution, and welcomes the possibility of negotiations with Iran.


As we continue to work to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, I believe that the Rabbinic Statement offers an important perspective.


RABBINIC STATEMENT: ``STEP BY STEP TOWARD SHALOM WITH IRAN''


As Rabbis, Cantors, and other Clergy serving the American Jewish community, we are deeply committed, as Jewish tradition teaches--
to the shalom--peace, social justice, functioning democratic process, and ecological sanity--of the country where we live--all of which would be damaged by still another unnecessary war;
to the shalom, peace and security, of the State of Israel, to its democratic character, and to its special relationship with the Jewish people;
to unequivocal action by all the Arab-majority and Muslim-majority states to make peace with Israel, and to Israel's unequivocal action to make peace with all its neighbors, including an emergent Palestine;
to our respect and our prayers for salaam, peace and justice, among our cousins in the Abrahamic tradition, Arab and Muslim civilizations;
to the peace and prosperity of all the ``70 nations'' of the world;
and to the healing of our wounded planet.


For all these reasons, we welcome warmly the greatly increased possibility of a peaceful resolution of the conflicts among the U.S., Iran, Israel, and other nations.
We especially welcome the new attitudes toward the Jewish people and toward the nuclear issue set forth by the new President of Iran, and his assertion that Iran will never hold nuclear weapons. We also recall the fatwa and repeated assertions by Grand Ayatollah Khamenei that for Iran to possess nuclear weapons would violate Islam.
We urge the U.S. and Iran to move swiftly to agree on a step-by-step process of reducing and ultimately ending sanctions against Iran in accord with steps by Iran to make its nuclear research transparent and to allow verification that its research is directed wholly toward civilian uses of nuclear energy. We believe that such a step-by-step process is the best way to guarantee that both parties are fulfilling their commitments.
We urge Iran to make clear its full acceptance of Israel as a legitimate state in the fabric of international relations, protected like all other states from aggression and attack.
We urge the Government of Israel to welcome steps by Iran to make clear and verifiable its commitment to use nuclear energy and research for peaceful purposes only, not for pursuit of nuclear weaponry, and while this process is under way, we urge Israel to end hostile acts and statements toward Iran.
We urge the peoples of the United States, Iran, and Israel to reject and oppose all statements and actions from whatever source that undermine the swift and thorough achievement of agreements to ensure the civilian nature of Iran's nuclear program and to end sanctions against Iran.
We urge the American people to recognize and do tshuvah (``turning'' or ``repentance'') for the ethical errors of our own government toward Iran particularly--the U.S. Government's intervention in 1953 to overthrow the democratically elected reform government of Iran; U.S. actions to support the tyrannical regime of the Shah until the Iranian people overthrew it in 1979; and U.S. support for Iraq's wars of aggression against Iran in the 1980s, including U.S. support for Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons to kill 100,000 Iranians.
[Page: E44] GPO's PDF
We urge the Iranian people to do tshuvah for their government's demonization of the United States and Israel, for its holding U.S. diplomats hostage for more than a year in 1979-1980, and for the support it seems to have covertly given for attacks on Israeli citizens.
We believe that this combination of governmental acts and public rethinking and re-feeling can move American society, the entire Middle East, and the world toward the shalom that Judaism yearns for.


Signed:
Shalom,
Initiating Signers:
Rabbi Amy Eilberg, Rabbi Everett Gendler, Rabbi Marc Gopin, Rabbi Dr. David Gordis, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Rabbi Gerry Serotta, Rabbi David Shneyer, Rabbi Susan Talve, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Rabbi Sheila Weinberg, Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, Rabbi Ethan Bair. Kohenet Ellie Barbarash, Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett, Rabbi Eliot Baskin, Rabbi Renee Bauer, Rabbi Dennis Beck-Berman, Rabbi Leonard Beerman, Rabbi Marjorie Berman, Rabbi Phyllis Berman, Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Rabbi Binyamin Biber, Kohenet Shoshana Bricklin, Rabbi Jason Bright, Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Rabbi Joshua Chasan, Rabbi Aryeh Cohen. Rabbi Andrea Cohen Kiener, Rabbi Hillel Cohn, Rabbi David J. Cooper, Rabbi Robert Dobrusin, Rabbi Art Donsky, Rabbi Doris Dyen, Rabbi Renee Edelman, Rabbi Diane Elliot, Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell, Kohenet Ahava Lilith EverShine, Rabbi Ted Falcon, Rabbi Charles Feinberg, Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Rabbi Fern Feldman, Rabbi Brian Field, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone. Rabbi Nancy Flam, Rabbi Jeff Foust, Rabbi Ruth Gais, Rabbi Hillel Gamoran, Maggid Andrew Gold, Rabbi Dan Goldblatt, Rabbi Laurie Green, Rabbi Julie Greenberg, Rabbi Moshe Halfon, Rabbi/Kohenet Jill Hammer, Rabbi Edwin Harris, Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Kohenet Judith Hollander, Rabbi Linda Holtzman, Rabbi Shaya Isenberg. Rabbi Burt Jacobson, Rabbi Josh Jacobs-Velde, Kohenet Sharon Jaffe, Rabbi Melissa Klein, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Rabbi David L Kline, Rabbi Debra Kolodny, Rabbi Douglas Krantz, Rabbi Hannah Laner, Rabbi Daniel Lehrman, Rabbi Jason van Leeuwen, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Kohenet Carly ``Ketzirah'' Lesser, Rabbi Richard Levy, Rabbi Annie Lewis, Rabbi Andrea London. Cantor Abbe Lyons, Rabbi Jeffrey Marker, Rabbi Nathan Martin, Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon, Maggid Melvin Metelits, Rabbi Yocheved Mintz, Kohenet Tiana Mirapai, Rabbi David Mivasair, Rabbi Lee Moore, Hazan Judith Naimark, Rabbi Laura Owens, Cantor Steven Puzarne, Rabbi Victor Reinstein, Cantor Stephen Richards, Rabbi/Kohenet Margie Klein Ronkin, Rabbi Moti Rieber, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom, Cantor Richard Rosenfield, Rabbi Jeff Roth, Kohenet Mei Mei Sanford, Hazan Pamela Sawyer, Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Rabbi Chaim Schneider, Rabbi Randy Schoch, Kohenet Alumah Schuster, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal, Rabbi Jonathan Slater, Rabbi Eric Solomon. Cantor Robin Sparr, Rabbi David Spitz, Rabbi Toba Spitzer, Rabbi Margot Stein, Rabbi Naomi Steinberg, Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill, Rabbi Danielle Stillman, Rabbi Alana Suskin, Rabbi Louis Sutker, Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Rabbi Renae Toben, Rabbi Brian Walt, Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, Hazan Gregory Yaroslow, Rabbi Barbara Zacky, Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman.

Post #431 -- Now is the Time to Make Your Voice Heard

From the Campaign for Peace and Democracy:

http://www.cpdweb.org/stmts/1024/stmt.shtml

Post #430 - Ready to Work?

Apologies to my "fan-base" (the mere phrase sounds risible to me, but what else can I call regular readers who are positive and encouraging about this enterprise) -- apologies because I know it's been a long time between re-fills at this soda-stand.

I won't bore you with reasons for the dry patch.  I will only say that the present moment screams for a posting.  We have not come this close to a "re-set" with Iran at any time during the past fifty years or more.

So now, this is where push comes to shove (the push being peaceniks like myself, and the shove being those who want to perpetuate the isolation and demonization of Iran).  This is where the rubber meets the road.  This is Judgment Day -- that great-gettin'-morning when the sheep of gentleness and understanding are separated from the goats of xenophobic saber-rattling.

Talks last November led to a preliminary agreement.  Further talks yielded the outlines of a next-step.  President Obama called his Iranian counterpart on the telephone, and President Rouhani decided to attend the Davos conference.  UN inspectors were allowed to visit the Arak heavy-water plant, for the first time in two years.

Many a slip twixt the cup and the lip, but this time we might see daylight at the end of the tunnel, if no one brings a locomotive from the other direction.  How can that black, fire-breathing beast be kept out of the tunnel (which only has one track)?

Posts from here on out will concern three things:

• The people on both sides who live and breathe, dream and hope -- they are the reason I started this blog.
• The details of the process that may not make it onto the front page in your local page, or onto the websites that you frequent.
• The ways in which regular people are making a difference -- ways to put many tiny weights on the side of the scale that heads toward a sustainable resolution of the nuclear issue, to counter the big thumb that certain elements have been using to pull the scales toward armageddon.

Fasten your seat-belts and snap on your chin-strap.  It's not kiddie-cars we're driving now...