Straw calls for better communication with Iranian people

Jack Straw has implictly admitted the EU's failure in affecting the public opinion in Iran. But it's also very promising about the future.

And we should help Iranians to make informed choices for themselves by helping improve the flow of information into the country. Iranians are highly-educated, broad-minded and eager to form their own opinions on matters of vital interest. The young in particular instinctively grasp the potential of globalisation and want Iran to emerge from behind its self-imposed isolation; Iran has more web journals per capita than any other country in the world. At the moment the regime tries to maintain control on information flows into Iran through its monopoly of state controlled broadcasting, or for example by blocking independent sources of information, as it did recently with the BBC Persian Service's web-site.

So we in Europe need to communicate better with the Iranian people. Our message is: that we want them to enjoy the benefits of civil nuclear power; that on the nuclear dossier we are concerned only by those fuel activities which would allow the regime to acquire a nuclear bomb; and that we support their aspirations for a freer, more democratic, and prosperous future.

And I urge my European colleagues to take the time to talk to Iranian journalists or to news services which broadcast to Iran. This is not a job for governments alone, although we can help. Iranians also need access to independent, authoritative information. So I encourage international organisations and NGOs who follow Iranian affairs to make their reports available in Farsi on the internet. And we in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe need to think about whether there is more we can do to ensure that reliable and trusted news services are able to broadcast in all media, in Persian, to Iranians.