NEW REPORT CALLS FOR 'MIDDLE WAY' TO DEAL WITH IRANIAN CENSORSHIP

Communications technology can be instrumental in enabling civil society and the Green Movement to work effrectively, and in preventing the Iranian government from using such technology to censor and control civil society, says a new report by The Century Foundation.

A result of the first meeting of the Iran-U.S. Advisory Group, convened by the Century Foundation and the National Security Network, the report presents insights about present-day Iran often missing from public policy discussion.

The advisory group, which is scheduled to meet over the next 12-18 months, consists of Iranian activists with close ties to the opposition movement in Iran, including the Green Movement, and European and American current and retired officials and diplomats.

Iranian members of the group developed a set of recommendations specifically addressing how the United States and other western governmnets can foster connectivity and discourage government surveillance and repression.

Among specific measures recommended are:

• Increase Iranian public access to the Internet by sanctioning companies that assist the Iranian government in Internet filtering, surveillance and eavesdropping.


• Create a secure e-mail service that can be accessed by activists to use inside Iran. There is no major secure free e-mail in Iran.


• Facilitate the provision of high-speed Internet via satellite.


• Dedicate a hardened satellite to host Iranian television and radio channels to enable western news services such as BBC Persian and Voice of America, to escape the Islamic Republic routine jamming efforts.

Titled "Dealing with Iran: Time for A 'Middle Way' Between Confrontation Conciliation," the report was written by Century Foundation fellow Genevieve Abdo, with assistance from the National Security Network.

Abdo is the editor of InsiderIRAN.org, a new website that provides information and analysis from scholars both within and outside of Iran.

Before joining The Century Foundation, Abdo served as liaison for the United Nations' Alliance of Civilization, a project created by the United Nations Secretary General to improve relations between Western and Islamic societies. She was a foreign correspondent for many years in the Middle East and the broader Islamic world.