Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: Opinion
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In the October 11 issue, Fifteen printed an open letter to President Hockfield and Dean Schmalensee from an MBA student wondering why former Iranian President Khatami had visited MIT Sloan on September 11, during his travels to the United States. Although no response was received from Hockfield or Schmalensee, a few readers had something to say.
Dear Sir,
Before we begin to look at specific issues, let us remind ourselves of the historical context of the modern U.S.A.-Iran relationship. In 1953, the U.S.A. engineered a coup d'etat of a popular, democratically elected government. The new puppet government of the Shah was repressive, extremely brutal, and corrupt. In 1976, Amnesty International reported that Iran under the Shah had the "highest rate of death penalties in the world, no valid system of civilian courts, and a history of torture" which was "beyond belief". This was a society in which "the entire population was subjected to a constant, all-pervasive terror". In the 26 years that followed the coup, it is widely documented that the Shah was unwaveringly supported by the governments of the U.S.A and the United Kingdom. It was these attributes that led to the Shah's overthrow and the Islamic Revolution in 1979. No apology was ever given by the U.S.A or the U.K. for what they did in 1953. These circumstances are the context in which Iran has experienced the West, specifically the U.S.A., in modern times.
Khatami was voted into office in 1997, in an election declared free and fair by the United Nations and O.E.C.D., by 70% of the electorate on a mandate of reform. His agenda was freedom of speech and the rule of law. He had long and bitter battles with the Guardian Council and other power centers over proposals to open the presses and put power into elected positions. His stance on these issues, keeping in mind the cultural contexts in which they resided, were progressive, practical, and lived to up to several core democratic ideals.
Dear Sir,
Before we begin to look at specific issues, let us remind ourselves of the historical context of the modern U.S.A.-Iran relationship. In 1953, the U.S.A. engineered a coup d'etat of a popular, democratically elected government. The new puppet government of the Shah was repressive, extremely brutal, and corrupt. In 1976, Amnesty International reported that Iran under the Shah had the "highest rate of death penalties in the world, no valid system of civilian courts, and a history of torture" which was "beyond belief". This was a society in which "the entire population was subjected to a constant, all-pervasive terror". In the 26 years that followed the coup, it is widely documented that the Shah was unwaveringly supported by the governments of the U.S.A and the United Kingdom. It was these attributes that led to the Shah's overthrow and the Islamic Revolution in 1979. No apology was ever given by the U.S.A or the U.K. for what they did in 1953. These circumstances are the context in which Iran has experienced the West, specifically the U.S.A., in modern times.
Khatami was voted into office in 1997, in an election declared free and fair by the United Nations and O.E.C.D., by 70% of the electorate on a mandate of reform. His agenda was freedom of speech and the rule of law. He had long and bitter battles with the Guardian Council and other power centers over proposals to open the presses and put power into elected positions. His stance on these issues, keeping in mind the cultural contexts in which they resided, were progressive, practical, and lived to up to several core democratic ideals.
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