Help people of Iran win democracy

Atlanta Journal Constitution: On Nov. 15, Iran signed an agreement with France, Britain and Germany to suspend its uranium enrichment program. In return, Europe would provide Iran with a deuterium reactor, help Iran join the World Trade Organization, close Iran’s nuclear investigation by the International Atomic Energy Association and, above all, treat Iran’s main opposition as a terrorist organization and … Atlanta Journal Constitution

By HEDAYAT MOSTOWFI and MASOUD DOLATI

On Nov. 15, Iran signed an agreement with France, Britain and Germany to suspend its uranium enrichment program. In return, Europe would provide Iran with a deuterium reactor, help Iran join the World Trade Organization, close Iran’s nuclear investigation by the International Atomic Energy Association and, above all, treat Iran’s main opposition as a terrorist organization and restrict its activities, to stabilize further the mullah’s regime.

Two days after this announcement, The New York Times reported the existence of a new secret uranium enrichment site in northern Tehran. The information came from the Iranian opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran. This sequence of events demonstrated that Iran would hardly keep its promises in the new deal. For the mullahs of Iran, the deal was only a desperate plan to skip referral to the U.N. Security Council.

According to information released previously by the resistance council, the Iranian government has two parallel nuclear programs. One is run by civilian authorities and open to International Atomic Energy Association inspectors, the other is a secret program including various laboratories, and testing sites run by the Revolutionary Guards. These sites are located in military bases all over Iran, working continuously on a direct “fatwa” (order) by the supreme leader, Khamenei, to produce enough enriched uranium for making at least one atomic warhead in 2005.

More than two decades of negotiations and appeasement by Western countries have resulted in worsening the human rights abuse in Iran and bolstering the mullahs in their terrorist ambitions. The insurgency in Iraq, fueled by Iran, is an obvious example. All Iran needs right now is more time to finish its nuclear weapons project and silence the Iranian opposition.

Iran’s nuclear case should be referred to the U.N. Security Council for economic and military sanctions. The power of Iranian people should be unleashed by removing the Iranian main opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin, from the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.

Iranians have been struggling against the mullahs’ regime for 25 years. Similarly, the world has been subject to the brutality of Islamic fundamentalism emanating from Iran since 1979. Appeasement of Iran will exacerbate the suffering of the Iranian people and lead to a more turbulent region. It is time for a change toward a decisive policy toward Iran. Regime change for a secular and democratic state in Iran should be the focal point of this policy.

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• Hedayat Mostowfi is executive director and Masoud Dolati, president, of the nationwide Committee in Support of Referendum in Iran.