[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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