It is a fundamental principle of human nature to assist people in need or under emergency circumstances; such is the case of the people of Iran these days, and far from being an unjustified intromission in the internal affairs of the country, keeping an eye on what Iranian authorities do regarding the unrest within the country is an obligation.

The low-intensity conflict between a large number of people and the government in Iran has been in the news for a week now. There are many voices crying electoral foul play, while the Iranian government states that there is some sort of conspiracy of foreign powers and media against them, and that nobody has the right to meddle in Iran's internal affairs. However, there is one reason why that not only the right but truly an obligation regarding that exist: It is imperative that the human rights of the people of Iran are respected, no matter what their political opinions regarding the crisis are.

Iranian politics are just for Iranians; in that sense the authorities of the countries are right. However, human rights are universal and of a larger scale, a higher hierarchy than any political convention of independence or statehood. We around the world are not just in the right position to watch carefully what is happening there; we are obliged to pay attention to what happens to our fellow human beings. Establishing allegedly legal barriers for journalists to see what is going on there ins not excusable; to punish people harshly just because they think differently - even if they are wrong, something that is yet to be seen in this case - is not part of what a democracy is supposed to be. Democratic governments do not go to catch people at their homes at night; dictators do that. The rights of people are well above the rights of a state because without people there is no state to talk about.

And it is not only important to vigilate what Iranian authorities are doing just for the sake of the Iranians, but to set precedents. This situation could even could even lead to civil war there an major unrest in the Middle East. Such things should not be allowed, and the people of the world should make clear to all sorts of regimes and governments that they will ultimately be held accountable: Terrorist attack from Palestine to Israel, indiscriminate counter attacks from Israel to Palestine, the deeds in Guantanamo and political contortions of Hugo Chavez are all things that are indeed being watched. Now Iran should be added to the list.

Iranian censorship on the press is unjustifiable; those who have nothing to hide just hide nothing. Such efforts, far from being justifiable under umbrellas of security reasons, have always been used to commit all sorts of abuses and atrocities. Why would the world think that this time it would be any different?

It is indeed very unpolite to say the least, when one state meddles in the internal affairs of another one, but when it becomes obvious that it is the only way to prevent that state from violating the human rights of its own people, we have to stop and think a little: What is more important? A legal concept or the lives of millions? No state law can really be held above in importance to the rights of the people it is meant to serve.

Source: Andinia.com

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