Congress Backs Iran Protests

[Ron Burgundy]

The House and Senate Friday adopted separate resolutions of support for Iranians protesting the outcome of that country's June 12 presidential election, putting Congress at odds with President Obama's more guarded approach.

The House went first, voting 401-5 to adopt a measure (H Res 560) expressing "support for all Iranian citizens who struggle for freedom ... condem[nation] of ongoing violence against demonstrators by the government of Iran ... and affir[mation] of the universality of individual rights."

The Senate later adopted by voice vote two measures (S Res 193; S Res 196) backing the protests and calling for free speech in Iran, respectively.

"The time has come for the United States Congress to speak out unequivocally in support of the fundamental right of the Iranian people to determine their future for themselves in freedom," Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., in a joint statement. "With this resolution, the Senate joined with our colleagues in the House of Representatives to affirm our shared commitment to the universal values of democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law, and to condemn the unacceptable violence against the peaceful demonstrators taking place in Iran."

As the House voted, the Iranian government of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- backed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- threatened to suppress demonstrations against the June 12 vote that have dominated the country for six days.

"We cannot stand silent in the face of this assault on human freedom and dignity," House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard L. Berman, D-Calif., said.

While "deeply troubled" by reports of violence against protestors, Obama has said he is taking a "wait and see approach."

Berman's Senate counterpart, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., backed the president's approach, warning, "with Iran, think before you speak" in a New York Times op-ed June 17.

Republicans blasted that caution.

"The president of the United States has been silent and confused," said Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. "The Congress of the United States clearly stands with the Iranian people and they will prevail."

Some Iran experts and Iranian-American lobbying groups have warned that even the perception of interference could undermine opposition protestors, but others discount that concern.

"What the Congress is trying to do by coming down squarely on one side in the ongoing election dispute runs the risk of making the United States part of the story in Iran -- which is exactly what Ahmadinejad was hoping for," Patrick Disney, legislative director of the National Iranian American Council said late Thursday. "It would play right into the hardliners' hand, letting them point the finger at a supposed external threat rather than their own mismanagement of the country's affairs."

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress said they could not stand silent.

"This resolution ratchets up to a degree America's willingness to express its heartfelt support for the Iranian people and their struggle against the mullah dictatorship that oppresses them." Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said. "Tempered rhetoric can be interpreted by tyrants as weakness."

Some Democrats seemed to try to prevent the perception of interference by emphasizing that the resolution does not endorse a particular Iranian candidate.

"It's clear that the universal values of freedom that are expressed in the resolution are done with a great amount of prudence and I think that's right," Democrat Keith Ellison of Minnesota said. "It's important to not allow the Congress to be used as a tool in what is essentially an internal fight in Iran."

source: CQPolitics.com - http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20090620/pl_cq_politics/politics3148226 [link]