The British foreign office has condemned the vandalism. So did some other western capitals. Quite too often such protests are not planned and what begins as a peaceful demonstration ends up in outrageous acts owing to some on the spot sparks or someone just simply jumping the gun so to say.
Reuters report quotes an Iranian official saying that ‘the establishment had no role in the demonstration’. There is no reason to discount the claim at least for the present when there is no contrary view on record.
Demonstrations are a perfectly accepted expression of anger and dissent. Not vandalism even if it is not an organized act. These days, the world over, diplomatic missions have come to learn to live with noisy demonstrations. And the host country is forced to keep in readiness riot police in the diplomatic enclaves to address any contingency.
In the instant case of British embassy facing the fury of demonstrators, the genesis of the trouble goes beyond what was seen in or reported from the Iranian capital. It is linked to the aftermath of Tehran going nuclear in the face of stiff opposition from the US- led West and the sanctions regime the nuclear programme has invited.
Highly debatable is the resolve of the West to prevent Iran’s N-programme. By no stretch of imagination, no one country or group of countries can arrogate to themselves the N-monopoly, certainly after they themselves had tapped N-energy for generating electricity even while testing N-bomb.
Any how the world has come to accept that Nuclear energy can be a good source of electricity for the developing and developed world alike. Yes, like all developments, N-power also has its own attendant risks but that is no reason strong enough to give up the N-option.
Viewing a country, which is not your camp follower, differently is neither here nor there. So is the ability to keep the refrain within the homily trajectory for a country running N-Wal-Mart after making a mockery of all controls and sanctions. External interference leads no country anywhere; change, if at all, has to come from within, and it cannot be superimposed.
Certainly, no one country today has a monopoly over democracy. As such, civilized way in the 21st century will be learning to respect Nation-States even if they appear to be different and adopt adversarial role. Because the label of ‘outrageous’ will apply to different products in different capitals. For instance, in London, to the ‘indefensible’ attack on the British embassy in the Iranian capital, and, in Tehran, to the ‘indefensible’ sanctions on the country’s quest to power its growth engine with all the side benefits.
The fact of the matter is instead of embarking on a pursuit that cannot be justified when viewed in its historical, political, strategic and economic perspective, the best course will be entering into a dialogue with Iran, a country that is home to one of the world`s oldest civilizations. And conducting of the dialogue by both sides in the most civilized manner!
