    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [July 12, 2002]
    [Page 1223]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Iran
    July 12, 2002

        We have seen throughout history the power of one simple idea: When
    given a choice, people will choose freedom. As we have witnessed over
    the past few days, the people of Iran want the same freedoms, human
    rights, and opportunities as people around the world. Their Government
    should listen to their hopes.
        In the last two Iranian Presidential elections and in nearly a dozen
    parliamentary and local elections, the vast majority of the Iranian
    people voted for political and economic reform. Yet their voices are not
    being listened to by the unelected people who are the real rulers of
    Iran. Uncompromising, destructive policies have persisted, and far too
    little has changed in the daily lives of the Iranian people. Iranian
    students, journalists, and Parliamentarians are still arrested,
    intimidated, and abused for advocating reform or criticizing the ruling
    regime. Independent publications are suppressed. And talented students
    and professionals, faced with the dual specter of too few jobs and too
    many restrictions on their freedom, continue to seek opportunities
    abroad rather than help build Iran's future at home. Meanwhile, members
    of the ruling regime and their families continue to obstruct reform
    while reaping unfair benefits.
        Iran is an ancient land, home to a proud culture with a rich
    heritage of learning and progress. The future of Iran will be decided by
    the people of Iran. Right now, the Iranian people are struggling with
    difficult questions about how to build a modern 21st-century society
    that is at once Muslim, prosperous, and free. There is a long history of
    friendship between the American people and the people of Iran. As Iran's
    people move towards a future defined by greater freedom, greater
    tolerance, they will have no better friend than the United States of
    America.