Monday, August 13, 2007
The analytic Statement of the General Council of the Office of Fostering Unity in respect to recent political developments in Iran
The General Council of the Office of Fostering Unity condemns the parody of televised confessions by the Iranian-American detainees that was broadcast on Iran’s state owned television last week as well as the arrest of activists who had a sit-in protest in front of the University of Tehran. This body expresses its concern over the continuation of such confession scenarios which are conducted under duress and while subjecting the captives to severe torture. In view of this, the General Council demands the immediate release of all the detainees…News extract from www.akhbar.rooz.com on Sunday July 29, 2007:
While 21 days have passed since the arrest of students and political activists on the anniversary of Student uprising of 1998, all the news emerging from Evin prison, section 209 point to medieval torture and persecution of the captives. The government claims that a velvet revolution is under way in order to ouster the regime. The incarceration of activists is intended to link this claim to the confessions that are obtained from them. Last year the renowned Iranian philosopher Dr. Ramin Jaahaanbegloo and a handful of journalists were arrested on the pretext of being connected to foreign governments. The journalists had only made travel plans abroad to attend professional seminars. Recent arrests are believed to be the continuation of the same preemptory policy by the regime and it does not seem to be the end of it. Deliverance of baseless accusations against student movement and political activists in the confessions being broadcast attests to the existence of such policy by the government to be used against the aforementioned groups.
For this reason this Council (The association of Islamic Student Union, as a part of the Student movement) would like to point out some facts with respect to recent incidents:
“It goes without saying that the broadcast of confessions obtained from imprisoned activists under harsh conditions of Evin prison, as the judiciary system of the regime has said, has no legal merit. More over, the charges made against activists have not been proven in any judicial court .The Islamic Republic has broadcast similar confessions from previous captives many times over the decades and has turned this issue into a political farce”. The contents of these confessions only demonstrate that the government is misusing the concept of “Velvet Revolution” and “Soft Overturn”. The Claim of a “Velvet Revolution staged in Iran with the help of an international institution such as Source Institute that has dealings with all nations of the world, including Iran, is absolutely baseless. Sections of the Iranian government are themselves the beneficiaries of the financial assistance of the Source Institute. In fact Iran’s former president during, his trip to United States, delivered a speech in that institute.
Furthermore, one needs to ask what is the reason that the regime so adamantly rejects the idea of “Velvet Revolution” and open society? Non-violent revolutions are contemporary phenomena in modern societies and they show a departure from violent revolution. They are the product of civil societies and they demonstrate that people and nations are willing
to bring about a better system of government and political system via peaceful transitions and without blood shed.
The peaceful transition of governments in Eastern Europe in 1980s from totalitarian regimes into democratic system of government took place as a result of people’s natural reactions to closed societies, economic hardship, and the inhuman treatment of citizens in their respective countries. In Eastern Europe people did not deem reforms of their leaders’ behavior or the system of government as a realistic approach to bringing about desired change. Therefore, the transition occurred through a non violent revolution with no blood shed.
Linking the recent televised confessions as well as the actions of Iranian student and political activists to Velvet Revolutions means:
- The regime has found similarities between the social, political and economic conditions in Eastern Europe that led to dissolution of communism to those in Iran. In this case an appropriate response to popular demands for grassroots changes in the society should not include arresting the activists and academia that call for change. This will not make the problems go away, Or it means:
- Although the televised confessions do not have any legal merits, they provide an
excuse for the government to crush the existing resistance movements in the
society. In this case the government itself does not believe that the parameters that
led to the disintegration of Communist blocks really exist in Iran. Such
parameters include strong party affiliations, presence of established civic
organizations, free press, and an independent judiciary. Therefore, linking the
confessions to velvet revolutions here is only a pretext for suppressing the Iranian
people.
The analysis provided above offers an explanation for the reason that the Islamic regime
of Iran reacted so frenziedly to the aforesaid sit-in of the members of our association. Not
to mention that it accused the arrested protesters of jeopardizing the national
security of the country. By such actions the government only to builds on its
record of human rights violations.
The Office of Fostering Unity hereto condemns the arrest of our members on
July 9th. It also warns against forcing the captives to make false confessions. Our
association regrets that the government has already forced the Iranian-American captives
to participate in a televised program in which they made confessing statements under
pressure. Hence, our association demands the release of all the captives.
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