In the middle of August 2007 eight Zimbabwean students were deported from Australia because their parents were senior members of president Mugabes government. According to Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer it was not fair that those behind human right abuses gave their children education that their policies denied ordinary Zimbabweans.

The vigilant behavior of the Australian government against the antidemocratic regime of Robert Mugabe must be praised by other democratic countries in the world. Other nations in the western hemisphere should stop supporters of tyranny from sending their children to the west for education.

The islamic regime in Iran has its most important base among Irans richest families who constantly send their children to universities in the western hemisphere. These families are made up by members of the revolutionary guard, senior members of the islamic regime, diplomats, politicians and other people who of various reasons are supporting the islamic republic in Iran.

The support of this elite group in the Iranian society guarantees the survival of a regime that suppresses the majority of the Iranian population. The islamic regime in Iran has since its birth in 1979 constantly tried to export its islamic revolution by destabilizing other countries in the Middle East. It is only logical that all democratic countries target the supporters of tyranny in Iran by enforcing sanctions on their children.

Now one might say that these children of the supporters of the regime are innocent and should not be targeted by sanctions. But this is not true. The children or relatives of the supporters of the islamic regime in Iran are aware of how important the existence of the islamic regime is for their wealth and high standard of living. They know exactly that they will be above the rest of the Iranian society as long as the islamic regime continues to suppress the majority of the Iranians who demand justice and democracy.

It was no surprise for the Iranian people when the islamic revolutionary Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani suddenly was supported by rich youngsters with fancy sunglasses and expensive American clothes during his presidential campaign in 2005. Rafsanjani lost the presidential election because he became a symbol for the elite who the majority of Iranians despise. But Rafsanjanis presidential campaign was entirely administrated by these rich youngster who listen to western music and are educated in western universities. They are no fanatics. These youngsters support the islamic republic because they know that without the islamic republic they would have to work hard for their money like the rest of the Iranians.

So these children of the supporters of the islamic regime are not innocent. They are the future rulers of the islamic republic of Iran and must be targeted today. Any sanctions against the children of the supporters of the islamic regime will be popular among the majority of the Iranian people. There are many youngsters in Iran today who have difficulties paying for their university in Iran. At the same time they see how the supporters of the regime are sending their children to western countries so that they can get the best education in the world. This injustice has made the majority of the Iranian people angry. Deportation of the children of the supporters of the islamic regime from western countries would be a popular move that shows exactly which countries in the west support Iranian democracy and which countries are allied with the islamic regime.

Also there can not be a serious isolation- or containment-policy towards the regime in Iran if the supporters of the islamic republic can send their children to the west for education. To enforce sanctions against the supporters of the regime and their associates is about making a choice. Countries in the western hemisphere must choose if they support democracy and freedom or if they are going to support the islamic regime in Iran.

Nima Gholam Ali Pour
General-secretary, Association for Democracy in Iran