Statement by the President on Iranian Elections
June 16, 2005
In recent months, the cause of freedom has made enormous gains in the
broader Middle East. Millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq defied
terrorists to cast their ballots in free elections. Palestinians voted
for a new president who rejects violence and is working for democratic
reform, and the people of Lebanon reclaimed their sovereignty and are
now voting for new leadership. Across the Middle East, hopeful change is
taking place. People are claiming their liberty. And as a tide of
freedom sweeps this region, it will also come eventually to Iran.
The Iranian people are heirs to a great civilization - and they
deserve a government that honors their ideals and unleashes their talent
and creativity. Today, Iran is ruled by men who suppress liberty at home
and spread terror across the world. Power is in the hands of an
unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that
ignores the basic requirements of democracy.
The June 17th presidential elections are sadly consistent with this
oppressive record. Iran's rulers denied more than a thousand people who
put themselves forward as candidates, including popular reformers and
women who have done so much for the cause of freedom and democracy in
Iran.
The Iranian people deserve a genuinely democratic system in which
elections are honest - and in which their leaders answer to them instead
of the other way around. The Iranian people deserve a truly free and
democratic society with a vibrant free press that informs the public and
ensures transparency. They deserve freedom of assembly, so Iranians can
gather and press for reform and a peaceful, loyal opposition can keep
the government in check. They deserve a free economy that delivers
opportunity and prosperity and economic independence from the state.
They deserve an independent judiciary that will guarantee the rule of
law and ensure equal justice for all Iranians. And they deserve a system
that guarantees religious freedom, so that they can build a society in
which compassion and tolerance prevail.
Today, the Iranian regime denies all these rights. It shuts down
independent newspapers and websites and jails those who dare to
challenge the corrupt system. It brutalizes its people and denies them
their liberty.
America believes in the independence and territorial integrity of
Iran. America believes in the right of the Iranian people to make their
own decisions and determine their own future. America believes that
freedom is the birthright and deep desire of every human soul. And to
the Iranian people, I say: As you stand for your own liberty, the people
of America stand with you.
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