TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) — “Democracy associated with foreign pressure, in other words imported democracy, will not be stable in any country. Accordingly, it is necessary to activate the indigenous democratic process in a country, despite the foreign pressure,” said Mashallah Shams al-Waezin, the spokesman of the Association for Defending Press Freedom (ADPF).

It is not possible to establish democracy through threats, attacks, and occupation, and the United States, which claims it wants to spread democracy throughout the world, actually acts against democracy, al-Waezin added, in reference to U.S. President George W. Bush’s statements about promoting democracy.

Al-Waezin believes that the call for free speech and democracy in Iran does not indicate backwardness but is a sign of Iranians’ great interest in democracy and the country’s social advancement.

“That a society comes to the conclusion to defend its rights is a sign of social growth. Since defending the rights of governments or systems through power and wealth is a sign of the increase of a system’s understanding of power, requesting national rights also grows through the increase in cultural literacy. On this basis, nations demand their rights as expounded in their country’s laws and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he stated.

“Iran has passed through a century of parliamentary experiences, while no other Middle Eastern countries have such a history. However, we don’t compare ourselves to other Middle Eastern countries from this viewpoint,” he declared, pointing out that the democratic development and progress of Iran is far beyond that of the countries in the region. He noted that Iran’s democracy is not at the level it should be in light of its history and nationalistic struggles, adding, “So, we have to improve ourselves.”

Al-Waezin said that activating indigenous democratic processes despite foreign pressure doesn’t mean ignoring international norms and regulations, but it means accepting and activating indigenous democratic processes and avoiding the influence of foreign pressure in order to upgrade the level of democracy.