Letter: Iran's leaders, not sanctions, harm human rights
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at a rally to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the country's pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamic clerics to power. (Feb. 11, 2012) Credit: AP
Authors Jamal Abdi and Trita Parsi have tied the United States' sanctions against Iran's nuclear development to more human suffering and human rights violations against Iranians ["Sanctions hurt Iranians, not regime," Opinion, Aug. 6].
The violations are the responsibility of the regime or the dictators running Iran. They existed before the sanctions and they will exist as long as there is dictatorial rule. The blame for suffering is on those who rule Iran, not U.S. policy and unilateral sanctions.
It is clear the people of Iran will suffer; however, they are suffering now and the dictatorship doesn't care. If the dictatorship doesn't care about its own people, then you can be assured it will not care about the rights of the neighboring countries or the world.
The dictatorship has chosen to move forward with nuclear programs. I do not think the world will be a safer place if Iran has nuclear capability. I think a nuclear bomb will allow it to continue to violate the rights of its people and Iran will use this might to instill fear and suffering in the region and the world.
It is a human right to live without fear. The Opinion piece's view is limited, perhaps; it is selfish to focus on the suffering of Iranians without considering the world community. Perhaps it has a political agenda, a biased spin to ease sanctions so the dictators of Iran can gain strength or power within their country and the world community.
The authors' time would be better spent finding a solution to the problem of a nuclear Iran instead of bashing our policy. Or they can write about the daily human rights violations and suffering in Iran and expose the dictators for what they are, evil emissaries, to support the sanctions. If they support Iran's path to nuclear programs, they should state that.
I am sure articles against nuclear programs in Iran would not be allowed there, but I am sure articles bashing U.S. sanctions against Iran would.
Jim Cronin, Mineola
