Friday October 28th, 2011 [Kaleme] In response to the recent comments the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Dr. Ardeshir Amir Arjomand, senior adviser to Mir Hossein Mousavi emphasized that the nation of Iran does not require any foreign interference in its internal affairs, adding: “It is the citizens of Iran that will have to mobilize and force the authoritarian government to retreat from their current position and finally accept their demands, their will and their vote.”
In an interview with BBC Farsi, when asked about the recent comments Mrs Clinton made on a Persian speaking outlet [Parazit], Amir Arjomand reiterated: ” Our position is the position of the leaders of Iran’s Green Movement Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Iran’s Green movement is a grassroots movement with its roots deeply embedded in our country, in the heart of our citizens and their will and power to mobilize. We will continue to unequivocally emphasize the independence of the Green movement, for it is this independence that is key to the strength of our movement.”
Amir Arjomand continued: “The international community has no choice but to respond based on human principles. It is important not to politicize honorable principles such as democracy and human rights. In my opinion, the Green movement, a movement that began in the hearts of our citizens, has great potential and does not require any foreign interference.”
While pointing to the experience of all movements across the globe that have succeeded as a result of relying upon the will and power within their movement, Amir Arjomand stated: “Intervention by foreign powers is not a viable solution for the domestic issues and affairs of a sovereign nation.”
In response to Mrs Clinton’s assertion that if the protesting nation of Iran had ask for support after the 2009 presidential elections the results would have been different, Amir Arjomand stated: “Support for what? Support to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs? Such a request for assistance will certainly never take place. We have a proud and honorable nation that has always sought to independently resolve its own challenges.”
Amir Arjomand made the following assessment of the current situation in Iran: “A transition to democracy occurred in Iran. This transition has unfortunately been repressed by authoritarian forces within the country that seek to put an end to its natural growth through the oppression of our citizens. It is the citizens themselves however, who must mobilize and force the authoritarian forces to retreat from their position and accept the will and the votes of the people. In this regard, we cannot expect foreign governments to resolve the challenges that a nation is facing in its quest to achieve democracy. It goes without saying, that historically speaking, all across the globe, when we witness a nation interfering in another nation’s internal affairs, it is never merely because they are seeking to uphold human rights and adhere to democratic principles. Generally speaking when foreign interference takes place, there is a motivation behind the interference. Our nation is not one that depends on other governments.”
Amir Arjomand added: “What our nation needs more than anything that we should all stand behind is “human rights” and “democracy”. Our demand from the international community is that they defend the principles of human rights and democracy without exception, particularly in our region through emphasizing the universal principles of human rights and democracy.”
It is worth mentioning that in response to a question posed by a BBC Farsi viewer two days ago, Hillary Clinton stated that the reason why the United States did not assist Iran’s Green movement is because the leaders of the Green movement were against such an assistance.
By banooyesabz
Source: Kaleme: http://www.kaleme.com/1390/08/06/klm-78439/