U.S. Supports Protesters Facing Violent Attacks in Iran, Syria
By MacKenzie C. Babb
Staff Writer
Washington - The United States is working to support opposition protesters in Iran and Syria who are demanding democracy and basic rights as their governments continue to respond with violent crackdowns that violate "every important international human rights standard," a U.S. official says.
"In both of these countries, there is a courageous populous, a courageous group of people who are challenging these repressive governments," Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner said, adding that U.S. support "needs to be rooted in the assumption that change will occur from within both of these countries."
Posner testified about human rights violations in Iran and Syria before a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs subcommittee July 28. He said the United States is engaged in a wide range of efforts to help citizens in both countries, from facilitating correspondence and meetings among opposition leaders to supporting "severely prosecuted" nongovernmental organizations. He also said the United States is working to provide training and to improve the protesters' ability to communicate with the outside world through an extensive Internet freedom program.
Posner was joined at the hearing by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who emphasized that the United States "has not and will not ignore those who are struggling for their rights."
"The American people and our government stand united in admiration and support for those who have boldly assumed the duty and made the sacrifices to advance their rights," Feltman said in prepared remarks.
The United States estimates that more than 1,600 people have been killed in Syria, including children, and at least 10,000 people have been jailed since demonstrations began in March, Posner said. He added that security forces there continue to hold people hostage through a "widening crackdown."
"And yet, incredibly, the people of Syria have lost their fear. The demonstrations are continuing. They're expanding," Posner said.
Feltman said the opposition is organizing and has started to articulate an agenda for Syria's future, "one in which all citizens, regardless of faith or ethnicity, are equal participants." The United States strongly supports that vision, and hopes to see a Syria "that is united, where tolerance, respect for human rights and equality are the norms."
Posner said the United States continues to review the Iranian government's "outrageous" human rights record, which includes at least 190 executions in 2011 alone. He said the list of abuses there "goes on and on," including severe restrictions on speech that target journalists, bloggers and teachers, as well as widespread persecution of religious minorities.
Feltman said the two governments not only share shameful records of abusing their own citizens, but they also play "destructive and destabilizing roles in the region."
Since violence in each country began, the United States has joined the international community in imposing sanctions against top Syrian and Iranian officials, as well as on entities such as the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. However, both Feltman and Posner emphasized that, in the end, lasting change in each country will come from within.
"Our belief is that these two governments, these two regimes, cannot stand the test of time because their own people are going to be ultimately successful in bringing about sustainable democracy and human rights," Posner said.
Members of the subcommittee, including Chairman Steve Chabot, a Republican from Ohio, and the ranking Democrat, Representative Gary Ackerman from New York, condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the violence in Iran and Syria, and called on the Obama administration to take a stronger stance against human rights abuses and to provide more support to the opposition in both countries.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)
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