[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                             REFORM IN IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN W. OLVER

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 23, 2000

  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Secretary Madeleine 
K. Albright for articulating the United States' willingness to engage 
Iran after Majlis (parliamentary) victories for Iranian reformers. Her 
effort to expand cultural and economic ties with Iran is wise and 
appropriate. While I do not condone the egregious violations of human 
rights and international law that routinely take place in Iran, we must 
make it clear to reformers there that the U.S. is eager to reciprocate 
moves toward a friendlier relationship.
  Through the election of Mohammad Khatemi and his pro-reform allies in 
the Iranian parliament, the Iranian people have expressed a desire to 
moderate their nation's conservative Islamic government. Ali Khamene'i 
and Iran's other religious leaders, who hold ultimate control over 
virtually all Iranian policy, have, for the most part, allowed Iran's 
new elected leadership to take their places in the Majlis. However, the 
Washington Post recently reported that the Council of Guardians has 
overturned several electoral victories for reformers at the provincial 
level, in addition to manipulating Iran's electoral institutions to 
favor conservatives in parliamentary runoffs. I believe that while the 
electoral victories represent an important victory for democracy in 
Iran, the tenuousness of those victories highlights the degree to which 
Iran's major institutions are still controlled by a handful of 
oligarchs. There is much work to be done on these issues.
  I would also like to recognize the work of Iranian-American citizens 
who have worked hard to open up economic ties between the U.S. and 
Iran. I hope that the lifting of luxury imports and increase in travel 
visas that Secretary Albright announced in her speech will create some 
improvement in the quality of life for ordinary Iranians. Further, I 
hope that improvements in Iran's economy will amplify the cries for 
democracy.
  Once again, I want to reiterate my support for Secretary Albright's 
attempt to engage and bolster Iranian reformers.

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