Reza Pahlavi Uses Stamford Visit to Push Democracy For Iran
September 10, 2003
The Advocate
Mark Ginocchio
STAMFORD -- For a crown prince, there was something familiar and comfortable about Stamford for Reza Pahlavi.
"While driving on (Interstate) 95, I started thinking about how my mother used to live in Greenwich, and I, myself lived in Fairfield in 1984 before I relocated to Washington (D.C.)," he said.
Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah, and heir to the ousted Peacock Throne, has been fighting against Iran's ayatollahs since his own exile in 1979.
Last night, at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus, Pahlavi spoke of his ultimate goal -- creation of a democracy in Iran.
"Democracy has a universal message . . . can various people be subjected to it? The answer is yes," he said.
The lecture, sponsored by the Stamford-based World Affairs Forum, featured a standing-room crowd of more than 150 people, many who remember the overthrow of Pahlavi's father and its implications for the Middle East.
"We backed the shah and it seems like we always have a habit of choosing the wrong people," said Judy Peknik, a member of the forum, before the lecture. "But the people are oppressed now . . . it'll be interesting to hear what he has to say."
Waseen Fayyaz, a Stamford resident, said he was in his native Pakistan when the shah was overthrown and has since been interested in the Iranian situation.
"It is important to me, and I have some questions for him," he said. "I believe both our countries are facing similar issues."
Pahlavi said the people of Iran have long grown tired of the oppressive rule of the ayatollahs and have been looking to take control and choose their own leaders.
"The current regime has not delivered what the people want. They don't believe what they say anymore," he said.
But those in attendance were quick to remind Pahlavi that his father was thought by many to be oppressive and that it would be difficult to generalize what the majority of Iranians want.
Pahlavi said his fight for democracy is not for personal gain and he would not restore a monarchy unless a majority supported it. However, he said he believes that consensus can not be reached under the current system of government.
"I am asking for nothing more than to give Iranians the benefit of the doubt. Do we know what they want? Does the current regime even give them a chance to say? No, they do not," he said.
Pahlavi also used the evening as an opportunity to address the problems of state-sponsored terrorism and its connection to Iran. While he said he believes Iranians would not resort to such means, he does not put it past the current regime which he described as a "rogue nation" that "cannot be trusted."
"Hours after the attacks on September 11, Iranians were the first people with candle vigils . . . Suicide bombers and other terrorists take root in desperation and a lack of hope," Pahlavi said.
However Pahlavi is staunchly against any kind of U.S. military intervention similar to Iraq and Afghanistan because he does not feel it is necessary. But that didn't stop him from reaching out to his audience and asking for their assistance.
"You, as concerned citizens, must not be idle. In your own interest, they must talk to your government and ask for their support. Every voice counts," he said.
The cry for help reminded Pahlavi of an old saying in his native Farsi tongue:
"Drop by drop it goes and all of a sudden it becomes an ocean."
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