Editorials
Thursday, July 15, 1999

Reform movement
is at risk in Iran

The issue: Pro-reform demon-strations in Iran have turned violent on both sides.

Our view: President Mohammad Khatami must use his influence to prevent vengeance by the Islamic dictatorship against protesters to keep the reform movement alive.

STUDENT protests began a week ago in Iran against repressive policies of the fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship. They reflected a desire for reform that was evident with the landslide election victory two years ago of President Mohammad Khatami, a moderate. However, Khatami has been forced to distance himself from the outbreak of violence by demonstrators. Use of force to control the demonstrations and the violence by street demonstrators in response are setbacks to the cause of democratic reforms.

Two-thirds of Iranians today are under 25 years old and too young to remember the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and turned over control of the nation to Muslim clerics.

That revolt was a clearly two-sided confrontation: the shah's supporters vs. his opponents.

Today's unrest in Iran is less clear. Khatami, the apparent darling of protesters early in the week of demonstrations, condemned them after they turned violent. Having advocated tolerance and the rule of law, Khatami declared that the peaceful protests had taken on "devilish aims" and could "lead the country into anarchy."

The demonstrations began as university protests triggered by the passage of a law aimed at curbing press freedom and the shutdown of a reformist newspaper. They spread after security forces and Islamic vigilantes charged onto the campus of Teheran University, beating students and causing the deaths of at least two them.

Khatami promised to stop the protests, but that role already had been taken by the hard-line forces of spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police fired tear gas at demonstrators, and pistols and submachine guns in the air, in what seemed a futile attempt to restore order. But they also watched as baton-wielding vigilantes threatened and beat pro-reform demonstrators.

Khatami will face a delicate situation after the smoke clears. Ayatollah Khamenei has been less repressive than his predecessors, and Khatami has placed himself in a position to discourage the ayatollah from taking vengeance against the protesters. Accomplishing that may save Iran's reform movement.

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Privacy on the Web

The issue: The Federal Trade Commission has recommended against government regulation to assure privacy on the Internet.

Our view: Self-regulation is adequate as long as the industry makes progress in assuring privacy to consumers.

COMPANIES that do business over the Internet recognize the importance of protecting privacy interests to gain consumer confidence. Government regulation to assure privacy is neither desired by Web users nor warranted any more than in any other communications medium. The Federal Trade Commission has wisely advised Congress to keep its hands off, but that should not lead to industry complacency.

The FTC only a year ago supported new privacy protections on the Internet, but a new survey concludes that two-thirds of Web sites that collect information about users explain their privacy policies on their sites, up 14 percent from a year earlier. "Responsible elements of the Internet community have begun to do what they set out to do," said FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky.

But they can do even more, he added. He said protections should include the posting of security and access information and information about how to make complaints about infringement of privacy. Only 10 percent follow that criteria.

Most consumers expect the information they provide across the Internet to be used in various ways and they overwhelmingly approve, according to another survey conducted for the industry. That survey found that 86 percent of Internet consumers believe it should be their choice whether to provide companies with information for uses that are fully explained; 87 percent feel use of the information for statistical analysis of interests and buying trends is acceptable.

Congress last year required Web sites that collect information from children to get their parents' permission. Further legislation to regulate the use of personal information collected from adults should be rejected, as long as the industry continues to make progress in demonstrating the adequacy of self-regulation.

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Possible UH Board
of Regents conflict

The issue: A University of Hawaii regent wants to know if her firm can bid on a university contract.

Our view: Members of the Board of Regents shouldn't submit bids for UH work to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

THE president of Stryker Weiner Associates, Sharon Weiner, is a highly respected local public-relations practitioner and a newly appointed member of the UH Board of Regents. As part of the powerful BOR, to which even UH President Kenneth Mortimer must report, Weiner is asking university attorneys if she can bid on a proposal to help train people at UH on how to respond to media interviews.

Especially because the contract is not necessarily awarded to the lowest bid, but to the firm that submits the "best" proposal, Weiner should not be allowed to participate in the bidding process unless she resigns her post. In fact, if regents cannot refrain from trolling for business contracts at UH while serving on its governing board, they should not accept their appointments.

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Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership

Rupert E. Phillips, CEO

John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro, Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor