- One of my close friends is suffering from Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder, a severe mental illness which has almost paralyzed his entire
life. He was diagnosed with the psychosis at the age of 15 and now, more
than a decade after that time, he is married and has two children. The
psychiatrists in Iran have recommended him to go abroad and pursue his
treatment under the supervision of a group of qualified, experienced practitioners;
however, he was financially unable to afford the expenses of such a solution
and remained in Iran.
-
- Psychiatrists in Iran have prescribed several drugs for
my friend and he has been taking them over the past years; however, when
I met him a few weeks ago, he informed me of a shocking, unanticipated
incident which I'm still unable to believe. My friend told me that the
Canadian and Italian manufacturers of his medicines have ceased exporting
their products to Iran following the imposition of United Nations Security
Council's fourth round of sanctions against Iran and it's possible that
they refuse to export their other pharmaceutical products to the country
as a result of the sanctions, as well. He told me that his psychiatrists
are not able to prescribe the high-quality, original medicines for him
anymore and this may seriously jeopardize his mental health and even put
his family life into risk.
-
- My instinctive reaction to what my friend told me was
nothing but perplexity and confusion. I couldn't understand the relationship
between a set of sanctions which are aimed at what is claimed to be Iran's
"controversial" nuclear program and the mental health of thousands
of patients who are suffering from different kinds of psychoses all around
the country.
-
- At the first glance, what should be noted is that the
four rounds of sanctions which were imposed on Iran by the UNSC so far
are entirely illegal, unfounded and baseless as the International Atomic
Energy Agency has repeatedly pointed out in its reports that Iran has never
diverted toward enriching uranium to the extent that is utilizable in the
atomic weapons;. The reports of intelligence services in the United States
also confirm that Iran has never had the intention of producing nuclear
weapons and thus should not be penalized with sanctions and other punitive
measures. The National Intelligence Estimate report of the November 2007
has clearly expressed that Iran does not have a nuclear arsenal and is
not moving towards producing nuclear weapons; therefore, bringing up Iran's
nuclear dossier in Security Council and imposing several rounds of crippling
sanctions against its people has been merely politicizing Iran's case which
should have been investigated from a legal and scientific viewpoint, not
a political one.
-
- However, what is of high importance is the hypocritical
and inhuman approach of the United States and its allies concerning Iran's
nuclear program which is turned into an opportunity to confront with the
Iranian nation and curb its scientific and political developments.
-
- We have been witness to the fact that, under the pretext
of abiding by the UNSC sanctions, several countries in Europe, Asia and
Northern America have adopted a counterproductive stance toward Iran and
ceased their ordinary financial transactions with Tehran.
-
- Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and EU member states
are among the countries which imposed unilateral, extra-resolution sanctions
against Iran and caused several problems for the Iranian nation. Refusing
to refuel the Iranian planes in the European airports, suspending the accounts
of Iranians in foreign banks and financial institutions, delaying the issuance
of visas for the Iranians who want to travel abroad, banning the Iranian
students from studying certain fields in the foreign universities and ceasing
the exportation of vital goods including foodstuff, medical facilities,
fruits and medicines to Iran are among the belligerent policies which these
countries have adopted against the people of Iran.
-
- With this unconstructive approach, however, the belligerent
countries who have stood against the nation of Iran demonstrated their
dishonesty and proved that are not worthy of being trusted. First and foremost,
they showed that their claims of being a friend of Iranian nation are entirely
futile and pointless. They demonstrated that their "Nowrouz"
greeting messages and stretched hands are fake and deceitful. They can
not come to terms with the Iranian nation and are fated to be the enemies
of Iran, because it's in their interests to spread animosity and hostility
to retain their influence and power.
-
- Secondly, these countries have clearly demonstrated that
they have the least respect for human rights and what they claim to be
their exclusive realm. A country that deprives the mental patients of another
country, which is in dire need of high-quality medication to meet its pharmaceutical
needs, of its medical products cannot be called a defender of human rights.
Thousands of innocent civilians are suffering here in Iran, and they should
be punished by the supercilious, arrogant powers simply because these powers
favor being at odds with the independent and self-determining nations.
-
- Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon regularly lashes
out at other countries for what he claims to be their abuses of human rights;
however, his own country, with a long period of abusing the rights of its
ethnic minorities, refuses to export medicines to Iran because it wants
to "abide by the UNSC resolutions". It might be interesting to
know Mr. Cannon's viewpoints regarding human rights and the way his country
glorifies the humankind. Thousands of mental patients are suffering in
a remote country and those who promote themselves as the harbingers of
human rights, deprive these "humans" from their most essential
right which is a proper medication. How is it possible to justify the Canadian
style of respecting the human rights, we don't know!
-
- This was only a simple instance of how the pioneers of
human rights fail to respect and venerate what they consider to be their
first and foremost social value. Who knows about the real, on-the-ground
abuses of human rights by them?
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