Newsletter No. 1386
Editorial-Opinion
June 21, 2009

 

THE ELOQUENCE OF WORDS, THE ELOQUENCE OF SILENCE

Today there are ordinary citizens of Iran battling police and militia on the streets of Tehran. Skulls are being crushed by police truncheons. Snipers have shot dead young women and men in the streets. Here are five official reactions:

US President Barack Obama

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.

Prime Minister Taro Aso

. . .

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura

. . .

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

. . .

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone

The Japanese government will watch developments closely…

All I can say is, heaven help anyone in this world who must depend on the Japanese government to protect them from injustice.