The White House has just issued this statement:
The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples' belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... [Niko Pitney Iran live blog at HuffPost]
I'm very gratified to see this clear and perfect statement.
There has been a fierce debate here for days on whether Obama has said enough. The arguments are well known on both sides.
I've been in the minority, arguing that President Obama should take the high road, denouncing the violence and assaults on freedom of speech and press by the Iranian government, while also being very clear that the United States will not meddle or intervene.
The New York Times reported a day or two ago that Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been urging the president to speak out more forcefully. It appears they have overcome his instinctive caution.
I think President Obama's statement today is brilliant and inspiring, and it is exactly what I have been calling for all week.