[Mb-civic] FW: Say You Want a Revolution. Change needs help from its' friends!

[Golsorkhi]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla at thesamiis.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 20:24:42 -0400
Subject: Say You Want a Revolution. Change needs help from its' friends!


April 13, 2005
 
 Los Angeles Times
Commentary

Say You Want a Revolution. Change needs help from its friends.

By Peter Ackerman and Michael Ledeen,
   
In recent months, skepticism about the appeal of freedom has given way
to a new belief: that democratic revolution is now possible, even
inevitable, in places such as Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Kyrgyzstan. But
"people power" is not an unstoppable tidal wave, and it would be wrong
and naive to conclude that we need only step back and let it happen.
The Western world has a lot at stake, and our support for democratic
forces in the Middle East and beyond will be important, perhaps even
decisive.

Freedom-loving people know what we want to see in Beirut, Damascus and
Tehran: the central square bursting with citizens demanding an end to
tyranny, massive strikes shutting down the national economy, the
disintegration of security forces charged with maintaining order, and
the consequent departure of the tyrants and the beginnings of a
popularly elected government.

A successful people's revolution is the outcome of careful planning and
mass discipline, but it requires political and economic support from
outside the country ‹ and maybe some from within.

There are three indispensable requirements: first, a unified opposition
that can put aside internal disagreements over the details of what will
follow the downfall of the tyrannical regime; second, a disciplined
democratic movement that rigorously applies the rules of nonviolent
conflict; and finally, careful preparation of the battlefield ‹ which
means that members of the armed forces must be persuaded to make
individual decisions rather than act as part of a collective
organization.

If the opposition is not unified, the regime will be able to break it
apart by making deals with its component parts. If discipline is not
maintained, violence will break out and the regime, which has more
weapons than the opposition, will probably prevail. If members of the
security forces are threatened as a group, they will be more likely to
maintain a collective identity rather than joining the revolution
individually.

In Iran and Lebanon, and probably in Syria, the prerequisites for
democratic revolution are in place. Opposition groups in Iran are
united in their call for free elections, perhaps preceded by a national
referendum that will either legitimize or reject the theocratic state.
In Lebanon, 1 million people just demonstrated their support for the
quick removal of the Syrian occupiers.

Now the West needs to help. The lessons learned in Georgia and Ukraine
need to be passed along. Indeed, this information is so important that
Western governments should provide funding so that it can be broadcast
around the clock.

The activists will need to communicate with one another, and the West
can provide them with suitable equipment ‹ satellite phones, text
messaging, laptops and servers ‹ that they may not be able to get by
themselves. Just as the West provided Solidarity and Soviet dissidents
with fax machines during the Cold War, we should help contemporary
dissidents get the best tools available.

The people using nonviolent tactics ‹ sit-ins, blockades and strikes,
along with protests ‹ must include workers, shopkeepers, and others
who, unlike students, have their livelihoods at risk. They will be
reluctant to walk off their jobs unless they know their families will
not starve as a result. The West should follow Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini's example: In the months leading up to his seizure of power in
1979 he smuggled thousands of sacks of rice into Iran to feed his
supporters.

Finally, outsiders seeking to aid democratic revolutions must remember
this: Only indigenous forces can be the prime movers. There must be no
replay of 1953 in Iran, when the United States and Britain
stage-managed mass demonstrations against the government in order to
restore the shah to his throne. We must trust the judgment of the
people who are, in all cases, the foundation of lasting change.

If they want open support, they should get it. If they want it
delivered discreetly, donors should respect their wishes.

Americans, Europeans and others who freely choose their own rulers
cannot be indifferent about the success or failure of democratic
revolution around the world, and we must not limit our support to
rhetoric. There is every reason to believe that this latest surge of
revolution will succeed, provided that the courage and passion of the
people of the region receive suitable assistance from the democratic
world.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Peter Ackerman is chairman of the International Center for Nonviolent
Conflict. Michael Ledeen is a resident scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute.


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