Putting the Money and Ideas Behind Nation-Building

For journalists such as these staff members of the reformist daily Eqbal, the United States backs "the right of citizens to access independent sources of information." (By Vahid Salemi -- Associated Press)

The Bush administration says it is not pursuing "regime change" in Iran. But it is promoting democracy in the Islamic Republic. This is excerpted from the "Iran Democracy Program Announcement," as posted by the State Department, seeking applicants to help with the project.

Funding Opportunity Description: The Office of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) announces an open competition for grant applications that support democratic governance and reform in Iran.

This represents a new MEPI funding initiative, and submissions must outline activities linked to reform and demonstrate how the proposed approach would achieve sustainable impact in Iran. . . . MEPI has particular interest in supporting programs that are innovative and that meet needs and opportunities not already addressed by current donor funding.

Accordingly, this request seeks projects to broaden and deepen within Iran the means and modes of publicly expressed and responsible citizen views on reform in all its aspects. The range of possible themes and issues includes, but is not limited to:

· freedom of association;

· the right of citizens to access independent sources of information;

· the right to advocate responsibly on important issues and debate ideas freely with other citizens and local, regional, and national government representatives without fear of retribution, including through democratically organized and legal political parties;

· the right to participate in local and national governance processes;