Yesterday I had the honor and privilege of meeting with HRH Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran during an exclusive session His Highness had held in town to speak with the expat community leaders and young professionals in order to brief us all on the progress of his new initiative: Iran Democratic Union.
Briefly, his plan is to set up an umbrella forum where all Iranian political groups that oppose the Iranian regime can gather and direct their campaign through such forum. The "Iran Democratic Union" will provide resources and leadership to the participating groups in the forum and will act as the leading network. 'IDU' will provide necessary support and tools to all parties or individuals that adhere to the principles of secular democracy. As stated in IDU's platform:
Briefly, his plan is to set up an umbrella forum where all Iranian political groups that oppose the Iranian regime can gather and direct their campaign through such forum. The "Iran Democratic Union" will provide resources and leadership to the participating groups in the forum and will act as the leading network. 'IDU' will provide necessary support and tools to all parties or individuals that adhere to the principles of secular democracy. As stated in IDU's platform:
- "The Iran Democratic Union (IDU) works for a free and democratic Iran that honors the human rights of its citizens. The projects we fund and/or sponsor serve the goal of supporting human rights, open communications, and promoting honest government."
Reza Pahlavi's main point was this (I am trying to paraphrase): Our recent history has shown that the Iranian society goes through turbulence and change every 30-35 yrs. The people seem to reject those ideas or actions that they felt they were not asked to participate in. Therefore, it is necessary to build the foundation of a much needed social change as such that the people feel they have had the chance to be participating in building that common project. If it is a collective effort, they won't kick the can 35 years down the road. This is going to be slow and painful but a necessary method to achieve profound and ever lasting change.
The issue right now is not to fight over the type of the future government, rather it is how to enable those inside of Iran to maintain their resistance and provide them with global support they deserve. Prince Reza Pahlavi mentioned that due to enormous oppression the regime has asserted over the society after the 2009 anti-regime rallies, the movement needs greater support from outside of Iran and IDU will work to provide that assistance. The other project that he has focused on is to help stranded Iranian political refugees in various countries reach safe harbors in western countries so they can continue the fight against the regime from the safety of those free countries. (His recent letter to the Greek prime minister helped elevate the condition of several Iranian refugees).
Prince Reza says he realizes the urgency of the situation inside of Iran and is willing to do whatever it takes to help bring about positive change. On top of that, HRH Reza Pahlavi understands that the clock is ticking and the international community will not wait for the regime to acquire nuclear weapons and as such, this makes our work even more critical. He believes the costs of a military strike against Iran is so high and unpredictable that it must be avoided. "The Iranian people are the west's best allies in defeating the regime" he said.
Prince Reza (shahzadeh) met with a few young activists who have recently left Iran and was briefed on what is going on inside of the country and took questions (and often sharp criticism) from the individuals present in the session.
The issue right now is not to fight over the type of the future government, rather it is how to enable those inside of Iran to maintain their resistance and provide them with global support they deserve. Prince Reza Pahlavi mentioned that due to enormous oppression the regime has asserted over the society after the 2009 anti-regime rallies, the movement needs greater support from outside of Iran and IDU will work to provide that assistance. The other project that he has focused on is to help stranded Iranian political refugees in various countries reach safe harbors in western countries so they can continue the fight against the regime from the safety of those free countries. (His recent letter to the Greek prime minister helped elevate the condition of several Iranian refugees).
Prince Reza says he realizes the urgency of the situation inside of Iran and is willing to do whatever it takes to help bring about positive change. On top of that, HRH Reza Pahlavi understands that the clock is ticking and the international community will not wait for the regime to acquire nuclear weapons and as such, this makes our work even more critical. He believes the costs of a military strike against Iran is so high and unpredictable that it must be avoided. "The Iranian people are the west's best allies in defeating the regime" he said.
Prince Reza (shahzadeh) met with a few young activists who have recently left Iran and was briefed on what is going on inside of the country and took questions (and often sharp criticism) from the individuals present in the session.
2 comments:
Psst... Pass this onto him - http://www.ultrareach.com/about_en.htm and http://www.dit-inc.us/freegate
There is no need to show so much concern about Iran. The best way is to stay out of Iran's internal matters and let the Iran solve it's issues on it's own. This is how tension in the region can be minimized.
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