Capturing
Esfandiari but Losing Support: Iran’s New
Burden
By Haider Mullick
Research Intern
Woodrow Wilson Center
Hudson Institute
US
On May 8 Haleh Esfandiari was incarcerated by
Iranian police and intelligence agents on charges
of espionage against the Iranian government and
“endangering Iranian security”. The
Iranian Ministry of Interior – the hub of
internal intelligence gathering and policy implementation
– claims that Esfandiari used her institute,
the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
as a platform to ignite anti-government sentiment,
and remained constantly involved in covertly undermining
Tehran via seminars and publications.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Esfandiari’s
illegal detainment is not just an attack on an
Iranian American scholar or a highly regarded
think tank, but an attack on the fundamental global
struggle for objective, reasoned and unfettered
scholarship.
Throughout history scholars have stood against
tyrants and majorities alike with the conviction
that trying to learn the truth was more important
than claiming to know it. Esfandiari’s only
crime is that she believes in educating people
around the globe about Iranian affairs. She has
never taken a formal position, nor would her employer
allow it. The Woodrow Wilson Center is a non-partisan
institution that encourages and organizes intellectual
discourse among policy makers and academics to
foster a better understanding of complex issues
of policy and scholarship. It is not a lobbying
firm for the Left or the Right. If the Iranian
government felt threatened by the viewpoints of
Woodrow Wilson Center’s scholars it should
have encouraged pro-government scholars to present
their perspective; the center provides a platform
for all points of view.
This is not just a plea to free Esfandiari but
a larger appeal to the Iranian government to keep
its promise of providing justice to its people.
If Ahmedinejad wants to show that he is a responsible
and democratic leader then he must ensure a transparent
and fair trial. Most world leaders would agree
that Esfandiari is the least of Ahmedinejad’s
concerns – declining approval ratings, regional
tensions amid the Iraqi debacle and the looming
fear of Israeli or American attacks on nuclear
facilities are his real problems. Thus, why would
the Iranian government invite more international
scorn when they could have continued advocating
their sovereign right to develop a “peaceful”
nuclear energy? Or, why didn’t the Iranian
government push harder for nuclear energy self-reliance
when the Russian government, after taking full
payment, backed out on its word to provide nuclear
fuel for a nuclear reactor the Russians had built
for the Iranians? Ahmedinejad was developing a
strong argument to enrich uranium by telling the
world that relying on third parties for nuclear
fuel is simply unreliable. But now he has lost
moral ground and weakened his argument for nuclear
self-sufficiency by imprisoning Haleh Esfandiari.
Suppressing the voices of scholars or journalists
is not new to Iran and much less to the Middle
East. Iran’s eastern neighbor, Pakistan,
is facing similar albeit less extreme infringements
of freedom of speech; no scholar or journalist
is jailed in solitary confinement in the likes
of the notorious Evin Prison. After President
Pervaiz Musharraf “suspended” the
independent-minded Chief Justice thousands of
lawyers, journalists and scholars rallied for
the protection of the fragile fabric of justice.
Since May of this year hundreds of them are behind
bars on largely trumped up charges of sedition.
While some protestors are driven by political
fervor induced by the opiate of democracy Musharraf’s
stubbornly autocratic response is equally irrational
and damaging. Pakistani scholars such as Hassan
Abbas, the author of “Pakistan’s
Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army and America's
War on Terror,” and Hussain Haqqani,
the author of “Pakistan: Between Mosque
and Military” who openly criticize
Musharraf’s lack of political reforms must
be allowed safe passage in their countries to
encourage debate, which is not ipso facto dissent
or sedition. Both parties must talk. Iranian government
must do the same through Esfandiari’s lawyer,
Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, by ensuring
due process.
How can an Iran that incarcerates a scholar visiting
her 93 year old mother expect to placate Western
fears of a nuclear showdown? Rather than commit
such an egregious act as imprisoning Esfandiari,
Ahmedinejad should have provided state funds to
send government representatives to provide the
other side of the story in Washington’s
think tank world. Better yet he should have approached
Esfandiari to act as a productive intermediary
to expedite and strengthen ongoing back-door diplomatic
efforts with the Americans. Yet instead he has
just invited the scorn of the scholarly world.
How many scholars will visit Iran now? And what
will they say in Washington’s policy circles?
The scholarly world does not doubt Iran’s
legitimate need and right to peaceful nuclear
technology. Further still, the scholarly community
has great respect for Iranian culture, history
and economic and political relevance. The Persian
pride must be sustained by allowing reason to
prevail in these difficult times so that the pressing
issues of nuclear enrichment and the geopolitical
and socio-economic reintegration of Iran in the
world can be pursued. All eyes are on Ahmedinejad.
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