Austria s Marriage with Iran Support for Nuclear Program versus Historic Responsibility

Transcription

1 Austria s Marriage with Iran Support for Nuclear Program versus Historic Responsibility Dr. Diana Gregor January 2010

2 Austria and Iran as partners Austrians welcomed Adolf Hitler by a large number when the Führer entered the country in A huge number of Austrians supported the Nazis carrying out the Final solution by serving Hitler s death machinery. Despite these historic facts, Austria has for more than 60 years - portrayed itself as the first victim of the Anschluss and of National-Socialism. Over the past 10 years, Austria has tried to depict itself as a country committed to dealing with its past and emphasized its work of truth and reconciliation. Yet, at the same time, Austria currently has a far-right Third President of the Parliament making derogatory public remarks against the leader of the Jewish Community in Vienna. An Austrian holiday resort recently made headlines by turning a Jewish family away due to bad experiences in the past. These facts beg the question: What historical lessons has Austria learned? Probably not the most significant one: Defending Israel s right to exist. It is necessary to recognize the Holocaust as being the genocide of the Jewish people in order to understand the collective trauma of the Jews. Out of these circumstance a very unique and special awareness and consciousness has developed: An identity that made a common destiny out of Judaism. Austria has long been considered a latecomer in consciously dealing with its role in the persecution of Jews during World War II. It seems as if Austria has not learned its lessons from participating in the Holocaust. The foundations for Austria s good relations with Iran were laid shortly after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power. After the Shah (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) was overthrown in 1979, then Chancellor Bruno Kreisky proclaimed that nothing had changed for Austria, since the country had ties with the Iranian nation, and not with its respective government. In the 1980s, as a result of this policy, Vienna was one of the pivotal hubs through which the Khomeini regime established business contacts with other European countries. Michael Friedl, the Austrian Foreign Trade Commissioner in Iran, stated there has been an Austrian Foreign Trade Commission office in Iran for 50 years. The bilateral relations have survived the Shah-era, the Islamic revolution, the war between Iran

3 and Iraq, and the recent UN sanctions due to Iran s nuclear program. Iran is traditionally an important market for Austria. Due in no small part to its energy- and gas resources, Iran continues to be a valuable business partner, only four hours of flight away from Vienna Friedl continued. In 2007 the US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey traveled through Europe in order to talk to banks about the consequences of their relations with Iran. His message was: You must decide between friend and foe. In Austria, Levey was so fervent that he was asked not to return. However, the negative stance toward pressure emanating from the U.S. is not limited to the banking sector. Many Austrian companies are willing to participate in projects in Iran and are currently planning new investments there. OMV and Iran Strong ties In April 2007, Austrian energy group OMV signed a deal with Iran s National Oil Company (NIOC) valued at nearly 22 billion Euros. OMV is the biggest oil corporation in central Europe; the state of Austria holds 31.5% of its shares. The agreement signed between both countries found support among all parties in the Austrian parliament. Despite Iran s non-compliance with UN resolutions regarding its controversial nuclear program. How can such behavior possibly be reconciled with the sense of responsibility that Austria bears for the Holocaust and for Israel s right to exist? Ahmadinejad and his government have celebrated the signings of these letters of intent and Austria has been praised to the skies. Austria played down the deal as a business matter; instead of reinforcing the pressure to which the Iranian regime has been exposed, Vienna is filling the gap for Tehran. Austria seems to have act in the illusion that a nuclear-armed Iran would have no impact on Europe. Thomas Huemer, an OMV spokesman, said: OMV cannot take responsibility for the political situation in a country.

4 Like most important enterprises in Iran, NIOC is held firmly in the hands of religious foundations, traders and businesspeople who co-financed the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (they are called Bazaris) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Since the Revolutionary Guards control the nuclear- and arms program, this in turn would mean that OMV would be indirectly co-financing the Iranian nuclear program. OMV is a silent partner of a terror regime. On the occasion of the Global Day of Action for Human Rights in Iran in July 2009, OMV was admonitioned due to its activities in the Islamic Republic. In April of 2007, then Austrian member of Parliament Caspar Einem (Social Democratic Party) stated: We believe that a strategy which maintains talks will ultimately have better chances for success than sanctions. Overall, we would be pleased if OMV manages to close the deal. Wolfgang Schüssel, then Chairman of the ÖVP (Austrian People's Party) Parliamentary Group, stated that OMV deserved absolute support. Even though he did see a short-term problem with regard to Iran s nuclear program, he held that the OMV deal was to be a long-term endeavor. Green Party-member of Parliament Ulrike Lunacek also had no objections to the deal, but did say that the timing might not be the best. Reinhard Bösch, who was a Freedom Party member of Parliament at the time, also had a favorable view of the business deal: If there are no general issues with regard to Austrian legislation, there are no grounds for dissent. BZÖ (Alliance for the Future of Austria) representative Herbert Scheibner spoke of a step in the right direction. Former Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik also considered the deal to be merely a business transaction. In the summer of 2007, the Austrian company announced OMV is on equal footing with its business partners. Ultimately, the respect for people and the environment is part of our ethical principles. However, the human rights situation in Iran, which has deteriorated severely since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, proves that Iran cannot be a partner on equal footing with Austria. Torture, random arrests and imprisonment are prevalent methods of the Islamic Republic. Iran is the current holder of a world record: it is the country with the highest number of public executions. Thus, Iran, as a partner of Austria, is an operative of the Pasdaran (IRGC), who governs with terror.

5 Business or ethics? Responsibility versus Money In 2005, after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was first elected, he said Israel must be wiped off the map and that the establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world. He further added: Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation s fury. In September 2009 Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called the Holocaust a myth. According to Matthias Küntzel, German political researcher and professor, these statements are not so far from that expressed in a Nazi directive of 1943: This war will end with anti-semitic world revolution and with the extermination of Jewry throughout the world, both of which are the precondition for an enduring peace. Just as Hitler s utopia, his German peace, required the extermination of the Jews, so the Iranian leadership s Islamic peace is conditioned on the elimination of Israel. By supporting and encouraging the OMV deal with Iran, Austria disregards the most important consequence resulting from the Holocaust: The very existence of the State of Israel. Thinking about the Austrian government supporting a regime that publicly hangs children and pursues a nuclear weapons development program is clearly alarming. If respect for the victims of the Holocaust still counts anything in Austria, then any enterprise or bank doing business with the only country in the world that has made the Holocaust denial a component of its foreign policy must be subject to public censure. If the Austrian civil society wishes to make good on its claim to have learned the lessons of history, then it must exert pressure on its government until it does what has to be done in order to prevent an Iranian bomb. There are approximately 680 Austrian companies that have business dealings with Iranian companies or the Iranian state. Around 35 Austrian companies have branch offices in Iran; another 500 have business dealings with the Islamic Republic every now and then. Today, only a few speak publicly about their involvement with Iran. In 2006, the Iranian Chamber of Trade president, Khamoushi, remarked: Austria is our gateway to the European Union.

6 Austrian exports to Iran have doubled since However, it is the envisioned deal between OMV and Iran that has made Austria a long-term strategic partner of the Islamic Republic. In June 2004, the Austrian Trade Council offered a seminar on Iran, in order to instruct companies in how to intensify their dealings with Iran despite EUand UN sanctions. In March 2009, on the occasion of the visit of the Iranian Trade Council president Mohammad Nahawandian, Austrian Trade Council president Christoph Leitl underscored the excellent economic relations with Iran. Following the protests surrounding the Iranian presidential elections in June 2009, Michael Friedl, the Austrian Foreign Trade Commissioner in Iran, publicly appealed to companies to not discount Iran as a business partner due to the political events. He stated that the disputes between followers of Mir Hossein Moussavi, Ahmadinejad s main challenger in the presidential election and militias close to the regime had a minimal impact on economic dealings of Austrian companies in Iran. In comparison, the German government appealed to companies to voluntarily reduce their business ties to Iran, referring to this policy as discouragement. Many companies such as the Deutsche Bank, the Dresdner Bank, and the Commerzbank have since heeded the government s call. Political pressure on German companies is mounting. Trade between Germany and Iran was down by 22 percent in the first three months of Iran is considered the leading national sponsor of international terrorism worldwide. Iran supports the fight against the West with money, which the Islamic Republic supplies to terror organizations such as Hizballah, Hamas, Al Qaeda and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Austrian conscience has a history of forgetting and repressing up to the point where Austria even refuses to actually do something to prevent another killing of Jews. Austria has tried to improve its ties with Iran in every sector of the Iranian economy. In December 2009, a western diplomat said Austria is slowing down sanctions against Iran. This is not only due to economic reasons. The Austrians obviously believe that conflicts can be solved exclusively through dialogue.

7 Holocaust conference in Tehran, December 2006 In December 2006, Iran held a two-day long Holocaust conference to examine whether the Holocaust actually happened. With this conference the world actually experienced a significant development: The ideological centre of falsification of history had been shifted to Iran. In 2001, Hizballah (in Beirut) wanted to organize a similar conference already but the Lebanese government did not allow the meeting of the Nazi-Islamists. In Tehran, however, the 60 participants coming from 30 different nations were being welcomed as if they were part of a state visit. From the Neonazi s point of view, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the dignitary who has started to fight against the myth of the Holocaust. Among the participants of the conference were 3 (!) Austrians. (Given the size of Austria, this number is enormous) Denying, qualifying or approving the Shoah is part of the Islamic Republic s ideology. Neonazis adore Ahmadinejad and his followers and publicly show solidarity with the Iranian president. Former Member of Parliament Andreas Mölzer said that he and his peers would always campaign for the cause of Iran and would condemn imperialistic Zionism. In 2006 Mölzer was seen wearing a T-Shirt with Ahmadinejad s portrait and the slogan of the Iranian Holocaust conference ( A World Without Zionism ) printed on the front. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, contacts between Iranian Islamists and Austrian Neonazis have grown. On the occasion of the Holocaust conference in Tehran, Walter Ochsenberger, an Austrian Neonazi from Vorarlberg, said: This is the first time in the history of Holocaust world politics, that an entire government scientifically verifies the Holocaust. Unfortunately the Islamic Republic does not have to fear any consequences by doing so.

8 Iran s nuclear weapons development program and Austria s stance The Iranian nuclear program and Iran s hidden nuclear agenda have not only brought about an imbalance in the Middle East and in the Gulf Region, but have also created a critical situation with regard to security throughout the world. In just a few months, the Islamic Republic could have a nuclear explosive as its nuclear program is currently in a decisive stage. The developments of the past years and Iran s current nuclear policies do not point toward a change of heart. The Islamic Republic seems to be immune to measures adopted by the International Community thus far. A prompt solution to the nuclear conflict with Iran seems unrealistic. Vienna has gained relevance ever since Austria became a (non-permanent) member of the UN Security Council. However, Austria has accrued a reputation of being soft on Iran, ever since it joined forces with Italy in 2008 to head a group within the EU, which was against additional pressure and measures against the Islamic Republic. From that time on, public pressure on Austria has continuously increased: the U.S., Great Britain, and France have all complained about Vienna s slack position. Iran has been expanding its network of terror beyond the Middle East, and has deployed Hizballah and splinter groups such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in order to recruit and train sleeper cells in other countries. In January 2009, 70,000 potential suicide attackers volunteered to carry out a terrorist attack in Israel. Freedom House has classified the level of personal freedom in Iran at 6.0; 7.0 being the lowest, and 1.0 the highest level. Amnesty International has counted 39 executions of juveniles since The last execution took place in January Around 381 people were executed in Iran in the year A person convicted of murder in Iran has no right to appeal for clemency or probation. This is contradictory to Article 6 (4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).. One thing is certain: Iran cannot be stopped by one singular element of the international community, but only through the co-operation of Western powers. The United States must work with Europe and take a uniform stance. Ideally, Russia and China would also support this. The economic- and diplomatic isolation of Iran must be one of the fundamental approaches in confronting the Iranian nuclear program. In

9 order to achieve this, individual countries such as Austria must be convinced that only a complete suspension of all economic relations with Iran can lead to a positive outcome in the conflict surrounding the nuclear program. Not until all international players join together could Iran be convinced that the diplomatic and economic losses caused to the country by its nuclear program are greater than the potential gains.