By: Kamal Khoshnood
Source: Agderposten, Norwegian daily, February 22, 2010
Today all indications point to the fact that while ignoring international resolutions and negotiations to end its nuclear program, the clerical regime in Iran is proceeding with alarming activities.
Ahmadinejad is clearly a liar when he opts to deny use of laser technology to enrich uranium. The Iranian regime’s activities pertaining to laser technology dates back to many years ago, and the Iranian resistance movement is “to be blamed” in the regime’s view for exposing such activities in the course of the previous years.
Since May 2003 to February 2008, the regime received numerous blows because its nuclear activities were exposed repeatedly by the opposition movement, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), in press conferences in various countries. As far as the political and social situation of the regime is concerned inside Iran, the people are determined to break its back. The stage is set for the overthrow of the fascist regime in Iran.
During the 8 months after the elections, the world witnessed the suppression of people by the regime. The conflict between the regime and the people has reached a stage where the regime can no longer impede the march of protests and dissent with imprisonment, torture, and executions. The Iranian people have become so courageous that they no longer fear being killed by the regime on the streets. They have reached a stage where their only demand is regime change. They seek a secular democratic republic.
This has turned into a nightmare for a regime that is desperately trying to divert blame on Western countries or the opposition movement PMOI. Shockingly, we see that the West is openly continuing its policy of appeasement with the regime even in parallel with statements calling for future sanctions with “if … then” warnings!
What an observer is confronted with here is an insincere policy which is providing the Iranian regime with the opportunity to buy more time for its development of nuclear weapons.
By keeping the PMOI on its terrorist list, the United States has pulled the breaks on the movement toward the regime’s overthrow. It must be noted that such a conciliatory approach vis-à-vis the regime was a well-known policy remnant of the Clinton era, when the then President used the policy of appeasement to extract moderation from the jaws of terrorism. He rewarded the then-Iranian regime president, Mohammad Khatami. But, as it turned out, Khatami was worse than Ahmadinejad. President Clinton unwisely advised the American people to see Khatami as a “moderate,” which was in fact the wrong image.
In its latest declaration released on February 8, 2010, the opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) concludes with regards to the Iranian regime’s nuclear program that the most decisive step for the international community to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon is to impose comprehensive arms, oil, technological and diplomatic sanctions on it. The people are demanding regime change. The uprising must be heard and supported.
Kamal Khoshnood
Association of Political Prisoners for a Free Iran