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AIC
UPDATE
April
2005 | Vol. 2 | Number 16
AIC Update is funded entirely by tax-deductible
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AIC Update is an information resource for US-Iran
relations and the efforts of the American Iranian
Council to promote dialogue and understanding
between the United States and Iran.
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| Iran's Presidential Election - Reader Commentary |
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Occasionally the American Iranian Council
receives
in-depth feedback and analysis from its readers. We
would like to encourage
involvement in dialogue, so we have published the
following commentary on the upcoming Presidential
elections. Please forward any comments or
additional feedback to aic@american-iranian.org or
update@american-iranian.org.
Iran's Presidential Election - Reader
Commentary
With less than two months remaining until Iran's ninth
presidential election on June 17, 2005 and two weeks
until the Guardian Council begins vetting candidates
on May 10 for the final leg of the race, Iranian
presidential politics remains ordinarily factionalized,
widely uncompelling, and slowly degrading.
 Although
both Conservative and Reformists camps
made concerted efforts early in the race to align
behind a single candidate to increase voter turnout,
their efforts have largely failed. Despite the
encroaching election date, the actual composition of
the race following the Guardian Council's approval of
candidates remains only speculative. To make
matters worse, Iran's Interior Ministry has predicted
that only 42-51% of eligible voters plan to
participate in the upcoming elections, a marked
decline from past elections, with the majority of the
public uninterested in a system that has defeated
democratic change. The failure of President
Khatami's two terms and the associated public
apathy has precipitated a degradation of Iran's
political discourse, from complex campaign platforms
to basic issues of participation.
Read
More...
Election News
Iran's voter turnout forecast: 42-51%"
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleVie
w/Default.asp?
ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=31256&NewsKind=Curre
ntAffairs
If U.S. stops causing trouble, Iran will reconsider its
policies: Larijani -
http://www.tehrant
imes.com/Description.asp?
Da=4/25/2005&Cat=2&Num=008
Management, a major challenge: Iran's Moin -
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleVie
w/Default.asp?NewsCode=31321&NewsKind=Current%
20Affairs
Iran rightist Qalibaf: Press corps treated unfairly -
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleVie
w/Default.asp?
ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=31311&NewsKind=Curre
ntAffairs
Rafsanjani encouraged to run Iran's Presidency -
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleVie
w/Default.asp?
ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=31231&NewsKind=Curre
ntAffairs
Ethnic discrimination harmful: Iran's former FM -
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleVie
w/Default.asp?
ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=31320&NewsKind=Curre
ntAffairs
"Defeat of Iran's conservatives possible" -
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleVie
w/Default.asp?
ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=31230&NewsKind=Curre
ntAffairs
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| H.R. 282/ S. 333 - "Iran Freedom and Support Act" - In Search of Clarity |
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H.R. 282/ S. 333 - "Iran Freedom and
Support Act" - In Search of
Clarity
Over recent weeks, competing claims regarding the
purpose and impact of H.R 282/S. 333 have
surfaced. If one thing is certain, it is that H.R.
282/S. 333 need significant clarification. H.R. 282/S.
333 can be viewed as a codification of the principles
set forth in May of 2003, when the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee considered bill S. 1082,
titled "Iran Democracy Act," that asked for millions of
dollars to promote democracy in Iran and to fund
Iranian opposition groups. H.R. 282/ S. 333 promotes
a similar line, authorizing the President to provide
financial and political assistance to those individuals
and groups "that are opposed to the non-democratic
Government of Iran."
Clearly, both bills make the assumption that pro-
democracy forces are automatically anti-regime
forces, and that democracy requires a complete
overhaul of the current system. Iranian government
officials have inadvertently propagated this notion by
forcefully confronting H.R. 282/ S 333 and claiming
that such funding interferes with Iranian internal
affairs. However, the debate truly hinges on the
assumption that H.R. 282/ S. 333 signifies the
beginning of a process in which the current
Administration declares 'regime change' official U.S.
foreign policy and then proceeds towards military
intervention.
Considering that the United States has
maintained an implicit policy of 'regime change' for
nearly twenty-five years, one should wonder whether
this is a codification of that policy or a step in a new
direction?
Surveys suggest that Americans are opposed to U.S.
military intervention, but there are no scientific
surveys to suggest that they are opposed to other
means of democratizing Iran. The development of
civil society, the protection of a free press, and a
stronger political party system are all steps towards
a more democratic Iran. Toward this goal, H.R. 282/
S. 333 supports such non-violent means, but the
sponsors of this bill should clarify whether this bill
implies other means of intervention.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1463
42,00.html
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-
04-14-voa1.cfm
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_
East/GD29Ak02.html
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| About Us |
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Vision
The vision of the American Iranian Council is that the
United States and Iran will work together, since their
common interests far outweigh their differences. AIC
also envisions the Iranian-American community
playing an increasingly significant role in American
society, and Iran becoming a democratically
developed member of the global community with full
respect for human rights.
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Mission
The mission of AIC is to be a constructive force, in
cooperation and partnership with other organizations,
in bringing the United States and Iran together,
involving the Iranian-American community in the
dialogue, and bringing attention to social and political
conditions in Iran.
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Goals
The three
interrelated goals of the American Iranian Council
are:
1.
To serve as a platform for sustained dialogue on U.S.-
Iran relations.
2. To serve as a catalyst to educate all Americans,
including Iranian-Americans, regarding this
dialogue.
3. To serve as a forum for discussion of issues of
importance in Iranian society.
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Copyright © 2005 American Iranian Council. All
rights reserved.
American Iranian Council | 20 Nassau Street, Suite
111 | Princeton | NJ | 08542
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'Defining US-Iran Hostility' - Survey |
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AIC Survey - "Defining US-Iran Hostility"
The Council would like you to take this last
opportunity to define the issues that you feel are
most important to US-Iran relations.
Please join the dialogue by taking this survey.
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