| The US should help Iranian protesters dying for freedom, columnist says |
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| Written by Colt Ables, The Shorthorn columnist | ||||
| Tuesday, 30 June 2009 02:10 PM | ||||
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In 1979, there was a revolution in Iran that lead to the current repressive regime being protested now. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a sermon June 19 rebuking protesters’ actions after the June 12 election. “Death to America! Death to England! Death to Israel!” were some of the chants heard at Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech in Tehran, according to a TimesOnline article. The Ayatollah warned of a crackdown on further protesting, and he followed through. The Iranians are fighting for freedom now. Those protesting peacefully were provoked and dozens were either shot, beaten or jailed. This isn’t freedom, this is oppression. President Barack Obama should rise to help those dying on the streets for a taste of freedom. When protests began the Saturday after the election, they were peaceful with voters demanding their votes be counted. The Iranian election had a record turnout of more than 32 million votes. The reformist candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, had grown increasingly popular and many disagreed with the way current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is running the country. When the results were released only hours after the polls closed, people questioned how 32 million ballots were hand counted in a few hours. The belief by the Iranian people who have taken to the streets is that the election was rigged and the results do not reflect the people’s will. Iranians are hungering for freedom. Over the last several years of witnessing their neighbors in Iraq and Afghanistan participate in the democratic process and having the freedom to do so, they want a part of that. Many of the protesters are under 30 years old and have lived their entire lives in a society where men and women get stoned or hanged in the streets. It would be great to have former President George W. Bush back in office because part of his “Bush Doctrine” was to spread democracy throughout the Middle East. Maybe it was our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq that led to the current desire for freedom in Iran. Obama spoke of freedom in his June 4 speech in Cairo: “You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.” Obama should act on his words and help the Iranian people fight for their freedom. — Colt Ables is an economics senior and columnist for The Shorthorn Views: 1126 | E-mail
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 10:39 AM ) | ||||
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