Bad timing
Can Iranians really trust the Islamic
Republic with nuclear power?
Mohammad Kazerouni
September 13, 2004
iranian.com
Given the latest
and numerous attentions
that Iran and its nuclear program are receiving, one has to wonder
what Iranians think of an Islamic Republic with nuclear technology.
The news are filled with an abundance of opinion ranging from the
United States concerns of Iran's Nuclear capabilities, to the European
Union's insistence on finding a resolution, and to Israel's intention
on attacking the Bushehr power plant, yet there are no real collections
of Iranian opinion on the matter.
The Iranian opinion surely must
be of importance! Regardless of what the opinions are, it is
important that it is examined. With that in mind I intend to provide
herein
my opinion on the matter. With respect to forming an opinion
on the matter it is important to reflect on the history of the
Islamic
Republic of Iran and its authoritarian rule of the last two decades.
It is relevant to point out the history of this regimes brutality,
not only abroad, but more importantly at home toward its own
citizens.
Ever since the creation of this regime it has been
involved in
international terrorism through its surrogate funded terrorist
organization, namely Hezbollah but amongst others Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and through its numerous agents and
trained assassins.
It's assassinations of Iranians outside of Iran, although less
frequent now, has been well established. Inside Iran the atrocities
are far worse. From the onset of the revolution mass murders
and brutal public execution have been a part of the way the Islamic
Regime does business.
The Regime is notorious for its use of
street
thugs as a form of policing the masses and as a tool of political
power. It is also infamous for its methods of torture in
its prisons crowded with political prisoners, some of whom have
been
sentenced
to ludicrous sentences for expressing their desire for essential
needs of human rights. Again and again, this regime has shown
that it will not hesitate to use terror and brutality to maintain
the
status quo.
The Islamic Republic's detachment from its own
citizens is evident when they bring in foreigners for crowd
control and
policing at peaceful demonstrations by Iranian youth. It
is a bold statement when one has to resort to such actions to
stay in
command
of its own citizens. Imagine the United States, or for
that matter any country, to bring in trained nationals from another
country
to police its own citizens.
The history of this Regime
has
shown that it cannot be trusted, not even by its own citizens.
The question now arises whether the Iranian people at this
juncture in their
history are better off with nuclear capabilities or
whether their future looks brighter without it. It is necessary
to
point out
here that nuclear technology is very beneficial to
the Iranian people if used for civilian purposes. Yet the question
is
whether
this Regime will limit the use of the technology just
for civilian purposes. The reality is that it will not limit
its
use to
just civilian purposes.
This regime will do anything to
strengthen it's presence in the region and also to prolong its
life
expectancy. Iranians will now have to weigh their option.
Does the benefit
of nuclear power for civilian purposes out-weigh
the dangers
of
arming this Regime, a regime that for decades has
supported terrorism
world-wide, with Nuclear Weapons capabilities? Given
the options for alternative sources of power for Iran and this
Regime's
history, I believe that at this juncture in history Iran
is better off without! About
Mohammad Kazerouni graduated from the University of California,
Irvine (UCI) in 2002 with a B.A. in Political Science.He is currently
a Candidate for J.D. at Chapman University School of Law in Orange,
California. He is also a Founding Member of the
National Union For Democracy in Iran, nufdi.org.
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