18th June 2009
Lessons to be learnt from Iran
By Mark Hanson
The current situation in Iran brings to stark attention the dangers and abuse of power when that power cannot be brought to account. Every sympathy, and prayers, go out to the people of Iran. A revolution that was supposed to mean an era of righteousness and peace has brought arrests and beatings for those who want something different.
We must be very grateful that in the UK, at present, we are able to protest and speak out against abuses of power. But if the lessons are not learnt, we could soon find those privileges taken away.
There are two important lessons to be learnt from Iran.
Firstly, violent revolution rarely brings about the “great hope” those engage in it suppose. From Russia to Iran, a violent taking of power usually means oppression and hardship. Those defending civil liberties in Britain would do well to heed this. Civil liberties need to be defended whilst we have them, as a sudden awakening when it is too late will ultimately mean violence becomes the only way to express discontent.
The second lesson is, indeed, that. Once civil liberties, most notably the right to protest against that which is clearly wrong, has been seriously eroded, the elite is beyond reach. Elections can be rigged. People can be bought off. If protest threatens, the State can come down like a hammer on any person who disagrees with the status quo.
Many in this country do not realise just how far the erosion of civil liberties goes in the UK. Should the protests be dealt with more harshly than summary beatings and “kettling”, should privacy intrusion go beyond monitoring of political opponents, recording of communications, use of anti-terror laws to prevent photographing of police (which is not legal, but is routinely abused by the police); should it go further, then we in the UK will be as hard-pressed as the Iranians to undo it.
We still live in a democracy. Let us cherish that and value it. Let us defend it.
