Obama releases a statement on the situation in Iran

[Aloha Spirit]

Source: The White House

The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.

Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-from-the-President-on-Iran/

---

I expect a stronger statement from the UN soon.

[Kingofalldems]

1. Traitor neocons won't like this--

They'll find something wrong with the statement.

[Duke Newcombe]

2. I don't live or die by what dimwitted "neocons" think.

Screw 'em.

[Kingofalldems]

7. The media does live by what the neocons and blue dog

fake Democrats say.

[Aloha Spirit]

5. This is one of those times where nobody will be paying attention to them anyway.

[Indydem]

6. I'm not defending neocons...

But they have been wanting this kind of statement. Pence went out and issued one on behalf of house repukes.

Its been people here on DU who have wanted Obama nad everyone else to keep their traps shut because we are advancing the perception that we are "meddlers."

[Aloha Spirit]

9. Well, this is what the GOP wanted to pass... wouldn't you agree it's a significant difference?

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.RES.549:

[earcandle]

3. Thank you, Obama.

[Aloha Spirit]

4. Amen!

[Yavin4]

8. THIS IS HOW YOU WIN HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE PEOPLE

By expressing solidarity with their struggle, NOT BY BOMBING THEM. It's how we defeated Apartheid in South Africa.

[OKNancy]

10. President Obama on Iran : The Government's Violence...

Source: ABC News

Complete title is:

President Obama on Iran : The Government's Violence and Unjust Behavior Against Its Own People Must Stop

June 20, 2009 3:34 PM

An administration source says that President Obama has received intelligence updates throughout the day and has repeatedly met to discuss the situation with senior foreign policy advisors. The most recent of these meetings took place in the President’s study, adjacent to the Oval Office.

The president just issued a statement saying that "the Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rightsm"

The president has been walking a fine line in his public statements on Iran, condeming the violence and praising the passion of Iranians, while trying to stay at arm's length so as not to undermine the demonstrators' credibility by giving Ayatollah Khamanei and President Ahmadinejad a way to paint reformers as tools of the West. Earlier this week, the president expressed "concern" about the violence but didn't even specify who was committing it. On Friday he upped the rhetoric a touch, cautioning the Iranian government that this whole world woukd be watching its response to today's protests. Today marks another slightly more aggressive response.

Referencing his speech to the Muslim world, Mr. Obama said that as he "said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."

More at link

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/president-obama-on-iran-the-governments-violence-and-unjust-behavior-against-its-own-people-must-sto.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. He is a most astute observer...

And I believe he is stating his views very carefully. He does not want to be seen as meddling in Iran's internal affairs, but the events there necessitate his making a statement.

[OKNancy]

12. Just to show how awful Fox is

When I was looking for a source for this story I saw this title:

Under Pressure, Obama Calls on Iran to End Violence, 'Unjust' Actions

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/20/republicans-pressure-obama-support-iranian-protesters/

You can go to the link to read the spin. ( Republicans pressured him to speak out, of course)assholes

[ro1942]

13. gaza

was the world watching when the Palestinians in gaza were being killed?

[Speciesamused]

14. I totally agree with you here.

Good point. What makes us stand up for
one but not the other? That goes across the globe.
China, Tibet, Indonesia, etc. etc.:shrug:

[ohio2007]

23. A completely unrelated point unless talking about election oversight

and therefore, still comparing apples to oranges.
The issue is about an election



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/31508276#31508276

1:45 PM ET -- HuffPost asks Obama a question about Iran at press conference
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html

Well look, we didn't have international observers on the ground, we can't say definitively what exactly happened at polling places throughout the country. What we know is that a sizeable percentage of the Iranian people themselves, spanning Iranian society, considered this election illegitimate. It's not an isolated instance, a little grumbling here or there. There significant questions about the legitimacy of the election. And so ultimately, the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people, not in the eyes of the United States. And that's why I've been very clear, ultimately this is up to the Iranian people to decide who their leadership is going to be and the structure of their government. What we can do is to say unequivocally that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence, about dealing with peaceful dissent, that spans cultures, spans borders, and what we've been seeing over the Internet and what we've been seeing in news reports, violates those norms and violates those principles. I think it is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it.


B. Obama, 6/22/09

[twitomy]

15. I am pleased with Obama's remarks

I hope the Iranians hear of it.

[Blandocyte]

16. He needs to write a strongly worded letter

that'll make even more of an impact. But at least this way Iran can't say we're inciting the resistance.

[ohio2007]

17. Obama to speak Tuesday on Iran, NKorea, and domestic reform ( picked a bad year to run for president

US President Barack Obama will hold a press conference on Tuesday, as Iran's political crisis deepens, North Korea threatens, and a key moment looms for his ambitious domestic reform drive.
Five months into a presidency which began amid the depths of the worst economic misery in decades, Obama will confront the media in the Rose Garden of the White House at 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT), officials said.



http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.a1b2d8465ccc6d1d6b67ebb51767264f.201&show_article=1


Oh yes,

the world will be closely watching Barack and his subtle que's

[hugo_from_TN]

21. OMG - not a strongly worded letter!!

[Vidar]

18. Good words from Obama.

[ohio2007]

20. needs to follow up if there is any hope for change

[Vidar]

22. "Aye, there's the rub."

[finisterre531]

19. I Heard Khameini's Speech

to sum it up, he told us we should mind our own business with all the killing we have under out belt, Waco, Gitmo etc. etc. He claims we are no one to talk.