Let me respond by saying I think there are two different strategies that are needed. One has to do with supporting expatriate groups, which I think can be done quite openly and transparently. There are a lot of expatriate groups that have extensive networks in Iran, that gather information and get information out of the country about ongoing human rights abuses, whether it be the Human Rights Documentation Center that Professor Akhavan helped start or a number of other groups. I think Canada is very well positioned to provide them with financial and other support.
It's obviously a lot more sensitive, I believe, in terms of providing in-country support to NGOs, given the risk they face. I do know, for example, that the United States government provides in-country support in a number of repressive regimes for NGOs, but does so in a way where the funding is provided much more quietly and it is provided without the same level of attention given to it as it might otherwise be if it were to an expatriate group.
I think that is important, because, frankly, NGOs in countries like Iran will be tainted and people will indeed be at risk of arrest or prosecution or being sentenced to time in prison, or even death, for cooperating with the Government of Canada or any other government and for securing government funding.
So I think you need a parallel track strategy in terms of the kind of support you're offering. Cooperating with expatriate groups can also relate to what I was describing before in terms of radio broadcasting and work on the Internet, because again, I think information is power. I think supporting those who are gathering information and distributing that information to the Iranian people directly, in voices that they can appreciate and understand--people who lived in Iran and who grew up as Iranian--is probably the most powerful way to influence their views.