Can sanctions help Iranian pro-democracy activists?
The United States Congress is putting the finishing touches on sanctions that would restrict petrol exports to Iran. The United Nations is also likely to discuss new sanctions against Iran's nuclear program. Many leading Iranian human rights activists have said they oppose comprehensive economic sanctions. Instead they favor political sanctions (such as travel bans on regime officials) and say they want foreign companies to stop doing business with the regime. Other Iranian activists want the international community to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its human rights violations. Historically some dissident movements have welcomed foreign economic sanctions, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
So what should the position of Iranian dissidents and pro-democracy activists be? Should we welcome the sanctions? Should we try and take advantage of them? Should we oppose them? Or should we propose our own?
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I don’t see opposition in any country than can embrace any sanctions that are not narrowly spelled-out targeting regime individuals, cronies and their businesses (their political opponents). Even then, opposition needs clearly to show what the overall economic loss is to their constituency and how that money can be used to the benefit of the country in practical terms. For those set of sanctions you need to have countries on board where most of IRI gray/black business is taking place (i.e. Gulf countries).
Everything else is hard to be embraced or proposed. In one form or another it will hit general populace, erode establishment (if any), which is, what we saw from June 2009, holding a grip by severe repression.
My heart goes with the brave people of Iran in their struggle for better society and especially to one that are now imprisoned, and openly and bravely are seeking/calling for one.
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