Iranian Student Reform Movement

While researching a forthcoming post on trading with Iran, I came across this article and site.

The authors claim to be "students inside and outside of Iran, as well as Iranian professionals who share the students’ vision of a free, independent, democratic, secular and industrialized Iran."

Based on these excerpts from their charter, they seem like a group worthy of Western support:

"Our objective at the "Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran" (SMCCDI) is to help create an environment for all Iranians regardless of ethnicity, religion, ideology or gender to be able to pursue their dreams to their god given talents and determination - based on the ideals of peace, democracy and free markets. By being free to pursue their dreams, the Iranian people will once again realize our country’s historical greatness, and contribute to the world’s peace and prosperity."

"Virtually every major technological, scientific, medical, etc… discovery has come from democratic countries. This, of course, is no coincidence. These advancements are made possible because democracies guarantee their citizens certain rights under the law and have the relevant institutions to protect these rights. That is also why their living standards are so much higher than ours."

(Now they're not perfect, as they talk about a "right to a better standard of living", but overall their charter and goals seem much better than what 99% of today's college students advocate, so I would not hesitate to support them.)