Alumni

Khatami's Q&A Excerpts
Khatami took questions from the audience during his September 3 visit. Professor Sadri translated his answers.

Ed Vrtis ’07: What can be done to improve the status of human rights in Iran?

Mohammed Khatami: First we have to examine what is meant by human rights. There is no doubt that the main problem of today for human beings on this earth is human rights. There might be some difference of opinion on definitions in this area. One area of cultural difference is homosexuality is considered to be a right in the West. It is not considered to be a right in the East. This is a matter of culturally relative standards in different parts of the world. So on the basics and not get bogged down in small differences in certain non-essential areas.

But there is no difference in East and West on issues such as civil rights, such as immunity from torture, such as freedom of expression…You should be cognizant that our differences between Western countries who have had three centuries of experience with democracy and eastern countries where this arrangement is new. If you expect that in a very short time, in 20 years, we will achieve similarity in human rights in East and West, I would say that this expectation is overly optimistic. 
 
What’s important is to judge whether we have moved in the right direction in the area of human rights or not. I believe we have made progress compared to what we were and definitely we are not exactly where we want to be. Our women especially are suffering from various deprivations in various areas due to wrong policies and wrong perceptions. But they also have achievements as well…
  
The situation of our prisons is not comparable to what it was under the Shah and especially is not comparable to what it was 10 years ago. Of course, we have a problem.  But there was a change in Iran and we hope that it will continue…The government that was part of this was actively for the expansion of civil rights. In many areas, we were able to achieve our goals. We succeeded, but in some areas, we simply didn’t have the power to achieve our goals. Therefore, I am optimistically looking toward the future but it’s important that we look at wider horizons.
 
Nowhere is human rights trampled on more (than) in international relations. If a person receives a slap unjustly, whether in Iran or in Iraq or in the United States, even if that person, that inmate is guilty, we should raise our voices in opposition. But 10 times that trampling on the rights of inmates is being affected in places such as Guantanamo, such as Abu Ghraib, by people who are claiming to be the guardians of human rights. I believe that never before have human beings been humiliated the way they are today in our history.

Deepti Sharma ’09: As a sovereign independent nation, should not Iran be allowed to produce nuclear weapons if it is non-threatening and transparent?

Mohammed Khatami: A peaceful use of nuclear energy is the right of all countries, especially for us who has signed on the non-proliferation treaty and we are completely under the supervision of international atomic energy. I believe there is nothing else in Iran that is the subject of so much agreement in a cross section of Iranian people in the area that Iran has arrived in to develop peaceful nuclear energy. And if there is some concern about the dual use or other kinds of uses of nuclear weapons in the region, those should be resolved not through imposition but through negotiation.

James Gorter, Life Trustee: I think everyone in this room would agree that if United States and Iran were talking to each other and not at each other, the world would be a better place. Do you think, Mr. President, that there is any chance of dialogue and if so how could that come about?

Mohammed Khatami: I am persuaded that the logical way is the way of dialogue. I believe at the time of the presidency of myself and Mr. Clinton, we took the best steps on that path. The United States is a huge and very consequential country in the global scale and Iran too, even if not the most consequential country in the region, it is definitely one of them. And despite all of the political squabbles, if you look at the actual national interests of the United States and Iran they overlap especially in the area of conflicts in the region. Al Qaeda and the Taliban were great enemies of United States and United States also helped end the system.
 
…The policy of the United States in Afghanistan eliminated our biggest enemy. Another great enemy of us in the region was Saddam Hussein. The American policy obviated that problem also. In both cases we opposed American policy in the region. Not because they were fighting our enemies but because they chose the wrong means to achieve that end. I’m convinced that with cooperation with Iran, the problem with Iraq would have been solved in a way as to not cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives of the American people….
 
I maintain that without the cooperation of all of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, the United States by itself could not have succeeded in Afghanistan…I do know what we received in recompense for our cooperation with the United States and Afghanistan, immediately he (President George W. Bush) included us in the “axis of evil.” When we are called the axis of evil, how can I as the president stand up to extremists who are calling America the Great Satan… I wish that the situation would be presented where we could have a dialogue where justice would be served rather than one side of ideas being imposed on the other.