Ariddia
21-02-2007, 18:04
Interesting, in that it gives us the views of "ordinary" Iranians living in Iran. The full article can be found here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6377021.stm).
Excerpts:
DO YOU APPROVE OF IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME?
[...]
Eftekar Hashemi, teacher Isfahan: Yes. Absolutely. Not only do I approve of it; I am proud of it. It is based on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and it is for peaceful purposes only. We need to win the trust of the international community over the peaceful nature of the programme, then obstacles against it will disappear.
Ali Reza, financial consultant, Tehran: No, as a matter of fact I don't trust Iran's ambitious regime. I am sure they don't want it for the country's development. They want to have a bomb to create the kind of atmosphere that existed in the Cold War.
Shirin Soltani, school teacher, Shiraz: Yes, but under international supervision.
DO YOU THINK THIS PROGRAMME IS DRIVING IRAN INTO CONFRONTATION WITH THE WEST?
Reza Noroozpour: I don't think so. There has been a lot of media spin against Iran in western countries, but the West knows that Iran is the most stable and democratic country in the region.
Don't forget, Iran is also militarily the most powerful country in the region, both in technology and experience.
The West has no official reason to object to Iran's peaceful nuclear program.
What really bothers them is the thought of a powerful Iran which can produce nuclear fuel independently. This would make other countries in the region rely on Iran.
[...]
Ali Reza: Yes. But unfortunately this war will have no winners and the people of Iran will be the biggest losers.
The US and its allies should think of better ways of trying to achieve their goal. They could lift economic sanctions and give people easy access to free information, for example through satellite TV. This would be the best way of fighting this regime.
Economic sanctions just make people poorer. They hit the middle and the lower classes which make up nearly 90% of the population.
They mean people are too busy thinking about how to make ends meet, to worry about changing the regime.
Excerpts:
DO YOU APPROVE OF IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME?
[...]
Eftekar Hashemi, teacher Isfahan: Yes. Absolutely. Not only do I approve of it; I am proud of it. It is based on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and it is for peaceful purposes only. We need to win the trust of the international community over the peaceful nature of the programme, then obstacles against it will disappear.
Ali Reza, financial consultant, Tehran: No, as a matter of fact I don't trust Iran's ambitious regime. I am sure they don't want it for the country's development. They want to have a bomb to create the kind of atmosphere that existed in the Cold War.
Shirin Soltani, school teacher, Shiraz: Yes, but under international supervision.
DO YOU THINK THIS PROGRAMME IS DRIVING IRAN INTO CONFRONTATION WITH THE WEST?
Reza Noroozpour: I don't think so. There has been a lot of media spin against Iran in western countries, but the West knows that Iran is the most stable and democratic country in the region.
Don't forget, Iran is also militarily the most powerful country in the region, both in technology and experience.
The West has no official reason to object to Iran's peaceful nuclear program.
What really bothers them is the thought of a powerful Iran which can produce nuclear fuel independently. This would make other countries in the region rely on Iran.
[...]
Ali Reza: Yes. But unfortunately this war will have no winners and the people of Iran will be the biggest losers.
The US and its allies should think of better ways of trying to achieve their goal. They could lift economic sanctions and give people easy access to free information, for example through satellite TV. This would be the best way of fighting this regime.
Economic sanctions just make people poorer. They hit the middle and the lower classes which make up nearly 90% of the population.
They mean people are too busy thinking about how to make ends meet, to worry about changing the regime.