[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 103 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7379-S7380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 306--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING
THE CONTINUOUS REPRESSION OF FREEDOMS WITHIN IRAN AND OF INDIVIDUAL
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO WOMEN
Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Collins, Mr. Dorgan, Mr.
Grassley, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Smith of New Hampshire, and Mrs. Boxer)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 306
Whereas the people of the United States respect the Iranian
people and value the contributions that Iran's culture has
made to world civilization for over 3 millennia;
Whereas the Iranian people aspire to democracy, civil,
political, and religious rights, and the rule of law, as
evidenced by increasingly frequent antigovernment and anti-
Khatami demonstrations within Iran and by statements of
numerous Iranian expatriates and dissidents;
Whereas Iran is an ideological dictatorship presided over
by an unelected Supreme Leader with limitless veto power, an
unelected Expediency Council and Council of Guardians capable
of eviscerating any reforms, and a President elected only
after the aforementioned disqualified 234 other candidates
for being too liberal, reformist, or secular;
Whereas the United States recognizes the Iranian peoples'
concerns that President Muhammad Khatami's rhetoric has not
been matched by his actions;
Whereas President Khatami clearly lacks the ability and
inclination to change the behavior of the State of Iran
either toward the vast majority of Iranians who seek freedom
or toward the international community;
Whereas political repression, newspaper censorship,
corruption, vigilante intimidation, arbitrary imprisonment of
students, and public executions have increased since
President Khatami's inauguration in 1997;
Whereas men and women are not equal under the laws of Iran
and women are legally deprived of their basic rights;
Whereas the Iranian government shipped 50-tons of
sophisticated weaponry to the Palestinian Authority despite
Chairman Arafat's cease-fire agreement, consistently seeks to
undermine the Middle East peace process, provides safe-haven
to al-Qa'ida and Taliban terrorists, allows transit of arms
for guerrillas seeking to undermine our ally Turkey, provides
transit of terrorists seeking to destabilize the United
States-protected safe-haven in Iraq, and develops weapons of
mass destruction;
Whereas since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
and despite rhetorical protestations to the contrary, the
Government of Iran has actively and repeatedly sought to
undermine the United States war on terror;
Whereas there is a broad-based movement for change in Iran
that represents all sectors of Iranian society, including
youth, women, student bodies, military personnel, and even
religious figures, that is pro-democratic, believes in
secular government, and is yearning to live in freedom;
Whereas following the tragedies of September 11, 2001, tens
of thousands of Iranians filled the streets spontaneously and
in solidarity with the United States and the victims of the
terrorist attacks; and
Whereas the people of Iran deserve the support of the
American people: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) legitimizing the regime in Iran stifles the growth of
the genuine democratic forces in Iran and does not serve the
national security interest of the United States;
(2) positive gestures of the United States toward Iran
should be directed toward the people of Iran, and not
political figures whose survival depends upon preservation of
the current regime; and
(3) it should be the policy of the United States to seek a
genuine democratic government in Iran that will restore
freedom to the Iranian people, abandon terrorism, and live in
peace and security with the international community.
Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, today we are resolved to see a new,
rational foreign policy toward Iran, a policy that will engage the
proud people of that nation and support their aspirations to be free of
the theocratic state that abuses and oppresses them.
It is time that we recognized that the forces of extremist clerics
and their allies have so completely dominated the government of Iran
that there is no means to achieve political liberalization within the
current system. While President Khatami has often spoken of
liberalization, the last 5 years show that either he is unwilling or
unable to effect any democratic change.
In fact, the record of his administration has been increasing
censorship, religious vigilantes and intimidation, and wide-spread
political repression. The State Department has identified systematic
abuses including summary executions, disappearances, and wide-spread
use of torture and other forms of degradation.
Student dissidents within Iran have become increasingly better
organized, and have been faced with greater repression. The frequent
demonstrations
[[Page S7380]]
by these students, women, and even religious dissidents, as well as the
growing movements of expatriates show that there is a yearning for
democratic change within the Iranian people. It should be a core value
of our foreign policy to encourage and support any people who seek only
the fundamental human freedoms laid out in our own bill of rights.
There is also self-interest involved in this move. The Iranian regime
has been supplying arms and cadre to terrorist movements attacking our
allies in Turkey, Armenia, and Israel, and has striven to be a
destabilizing force throughout the middle-east and central Asia. This
is not the fault of the Iranian people, but of a criminal class that
dominates them and strangles their hopes for a peaceful and progressive
future. In the days following the tragedy of September 11, it is the
people of Iran who spontaneously filled the streets in shared grieving
over the loss of American lives.
In dealing with Iran we must focus all of our efforts on the people,
and their hopes for a free and democratic nation. The Voice of America,
Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty must redouble their efforts to
provide uncensored truth to the Iranian people. The State Department
must cease lending legitimacy to the current regime and pursue a policy
of fundamental democratic change; this administration must seek ways to
aid and sustain those movements that will effect that change, to the
benefit of the Iranian and American people alike.
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