bamdad khojasteh: #Iran

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Sunday, February 11, 2018

“Iran Uprising - International Call for Release of Detainees” – 9th February 2018

London, 09 Feb - Lawmakers and political dignitaries from numerous European countries including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Malta, and Poland participated in a conference named “Iran Uprising - International Call for Release of Detainees” on Friday 9th February.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) addressed the speakers and spoke about the changing circumstances in Iran. She said that the situation was changing for the better and spoke about four main issues.

Firstly, she said that the recent uprising in Iran was a turning point in the developments of the past few years. Mrs. Rajavi said that the conditions in Iran will never go back to the way they once were. In other words, the regime will not be able to oppress or suppress the people into silencing their discontent any longer. She said that the recent events in Iran were more than simply protests and demonstrations about the economy. Rather, it was a nationwide movement against the entirety of the clerical regime. The protest spread quickly to 140 cities across the country. Furthermore, the corruption within the leadership has exhausted all of the regime’s resources. The regime has no power to resolve any of the problems. Only serious political change can solve the severe social crisis in Iran. Mrs. Rajavi highlighted that the people were chanting “Death to Rouhani and to the reformists and the hardliners” showing that all of the regime was targeted.

Secondly, speaking about how the regime confronted the uprising, the leader of the Resistance said that once again the regime imposed repression like it has done in the past. It imposes many things on the people including a compulsory religion, the compulsory wearing of a veil, and so on. Mrs. Rajavi noted that the regime teaches and carried out practices that go against Islam. The role of women was discussed, and Mrs. Rajavi describe the women of Iran as an “explosive force” and one that the regime cannot cope with.

Mrs. Rajavi emphasised the Iranian Resistance is behind the people of Iran and is working towards an Iran where people can make their voice heard without fear of arrest, torture or execution. Fifty people have been killed, as far as we are aware, and at least 12 of them have been tortured to death. More than 8,000 people have been arrested for protesting. However, as hard as it may try, the regime does not have the power to stop the protests. It can clamp down on the people, but it cannot stop them from protesting and Mrs. Rajavi predicted that we will see more protests in the near future.

Mrs. Rajavi highlighted the role of the Iranian Resistance in guaranteeing peace, stability and security in Iran. She said that although the regime believes the Resistance is behind the uprising, it has in fact a much deeper role. It is the only chance of a democratic and free Iran and it has already offered plans and a structure for a future Iran. It is a viable alternative to the Iranian regime.

Finally, with regards to European policy on Iran, Mrs. Rajavi called on the European Union and its member states to adopt effective measures and binding decisions to ensure that the religious fascism ruling Iran frees the imprisoned protesters, guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, ends the suppression of women and abolishes the compulsory veil. She advised that all relations with Iran must be conditioned on an end to executions and suppression.

Martin Patzelt, a member of the German Bundestag’s Human Rights Committee, said that as representatives of the free world we have a responsibility to act and speak out against the atrocities happening in Iran. Europe needs to stay on the side of the Iranian people and not speak a dual language, he said. With regards to the people that are being tortured to death in Iran, Patzelt said that we should not remain indifferent. The Iranian regime’s policies have never been in favour of peace and stability because that would shake its foundations. Hence it is spending all the country’s money on supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Member of the Romanian Parliament, Romeo Nicoara, told the audience that we are living through a historical moment. He compared the current situation in Iran to what Romania went through three decades ago when the people protested against the regime. He said that the suppressive forces tried to stop them, but they could not manage. He has big hopes that the same result – democracy - will come soon to Iran.

Member of the Italian Parliament, Valeria Cardinali, focused on the plight of the women of Iran. She praised Mrs. Rajavi’s hard work and determination and said that she provides so much encouragement and hope. She said that Mrs. Rajavi and the other woman in the Resistance are showing the women of Iran that they can be strong and have a legitimate and equal place in society. Finally, she called on the whole of Europe to recognise the NCRI as a viable alternative to the Iranian regime.

Roger Lyons, former General Secretary of the largest union in Britain and former President of the Trade Union Congress, has participated in a number of rallies in London in the past few weeks and he declared his support for the Iranians who are calling on the British government to turn solidarity into meaningful actions. He praised the statement made on 3rd February by the International Trade Union Federation (ITUC) that called for the its 200 million affiliated members in 163 countries to take practical action in solidarity with the Iranian people. This, he said, is the strongest statement that calls for demonstrations at all Iranian embassies and delegations to the government in 163 countries. This, he hoped, will raise the level of solidarity to a new level.

He addressed Mrs. Rajavi, and the whole of the Resistance, saying that the uprising in Iran more than justifies all of the hard work that they are putting into bringing change to Iran. Pressure on individual governments is crucial and he said that in Britain they are calling on the UK government and the EU “to stop paying lip service” to the Iranian regime.

Member of the Italian Parliament, Elisabetta Zamparutti, also emphasised that now is a crucial moment of the Resistance because demonstrations are continuing despite the thousands of arrests and killings that are taking place.

Zamparutti expressed her astonishment of the regime’s massacre of human life and reminded the conference that the nature of the regime is still the same as it was in 1988 when the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners took place.

The regime does not recognise human rights or democracy and she gave this as one of the reasons why we need to support the Iranian Resistance, now more than ever. She also emphasised that Europe must factor human rights into all relations with Iran.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Maryam Rajavi meets and holds talks with former US house speaker and senator Robert Torricelli

Maryam Rajavi met and held talks with Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives and a presidential nominee, and Senator Robert Torricelli.

She elaborated in this meeting on the latest developments in Iran and the nationwide uprising, stressing on the Iranian people’s demand for the overthrow of the mullahs’ corrupt dictatorship in its entirety as reflected in their chants heard in cities across the country.

She said, “After these protests, the Iranian people, the ruling regime, and its relations with the region and the world are not going to return to the pre-uprising conditions. Today, the clerical regime is very fragile and weaker than ever before. What the Iranian Resistance has been saying about the solution, the regime’s overthrow being imperative and within reach, and the existence of an alternative and an organized resistance to realize it, has become most clearly evident.”

Maryam Rajavi also elaborated on the regime’s crimes in dealing with the uprising, particularly the extensive arrests of thousands of people, and the torture and murder of young protesters in detention.

She repeated her call on the UN and the International Community to take urgent action for the freedom of those arrested in the uprising. She reiterated, “Opening fire on protesters, making mass arrests, and torturing prisoners to death are examples of crimes against humanity. The International Community’s commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights demands that it ends its silence and stop appeasement and engagement of the mullahs’ criminal and illegitimate regime. An international inquiry commission must be formed to investigate the arbitrary arrests and the practices of Khamenei’s henchmen in prisons, and take serious practical measures to stop these crimes.”

In his remarks, Newt Gingrich said there is a bipartisan support in the United States for the Iranian people’s struggle and uprising to achieve democracy and get rid of the religious dictatorship, as demonstrated by their joint presence in the meeting with Senator Torricelli. He said the Iranian regime’s moderation is an illusion. “The MEK (PMOI) is a real force. The level of fear of you and your resistance is growing among the regime.”

Mr. Gingrich reiterated that the younger generation’s participation and their ties with the MEK (POMI), the organized resistance, and the democratic alternative, ensures the progress of the uprising and the Iranian people’s victory in their struggle for freedom.

Senator Torricelli said the 38-year struggle of the MEK (PMOI) and the Iranian Resistance is bearing fruit. Today, people are chanting your slogans and repeating your goals throughout Iran. They made Khamenei (the regime’s leader) acknowledge in his recent speech that it was the MEK (PMOI) who advances the uprising inside Iran and had organized and called for it in advance. Like all dictators, he blamed foreign powers to overshadow the alternative to his regime. He said two angles of the triangle of these protests were the United States and Saudi Arabia and the third angle was the MEK (PMOI) inside Iran. But the truth is that the best and most the U.S. or any other power can do is to declare support for the Iranian people’s desire to overthrow this regime and support the uprising you are advancing. This is something that they had hesitated to do until just last year.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Protests expose Iranian regime’s weakness

By Kasra NejatPosted Jan 17, 2018 at 8:59 PM

The latest uprising in the Islamic Republic of Iran exposed an underlying sentiment that will not remain suppressed for long.

According to the opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), at least 8,000 people were detained within the first two weeks; the regime admits to approximately half this number. Its judiciary was quick to threaten death sentences for “those most responsible.”

There is little mystery about what sort of charges will be used to justify such killings; a wide range of political offenses can result in execution in the Islamic Republic, including membership in banned organizations and the crime of mohabareh, or “enmity against God.” In fact, the latter was codified in Iranian law largely for the purpose of establishing death as the default punishment for members of the leading opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

Tehran has made every effort to suppress and destroy MEK since the advent of the Islamic Republic. The organization played a role in the 1979 revolution against the Shah, but opposed the establishment of absolute clerical rule. Since then, it has been a tireless advocate for regime change in favor of a democratic system.

In 1988, at the end of the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa declaring all enemies of the clerical regime “at war with God.” Those who refused to disavow their loyalty to opposition groups were to be executed. As a result, political prisoners throughout the country were hauled before “death commissions” for brief interrogations to determine whether they would live or die.

In the summer of 1988 alone, approximately 30,000 dissidents were put to death, the overwhelming majority of them MEK members and associates. Thousands more have been killed since, for offenses as insubstantial as donating money to satellite news networks affiliated with the Iranian opposition.

In the wake of the 2009 uprising, as dozens of people were executed, assassinated or tortured to death, some were singled out for harsh treatment on the basis of alleged connections to the MEK. The actual role that the organization played in those protests is difficult to determine with certainty, but given the widespread popularity of the MEK, it was no doubt significant. That popularity has only grown since 2009, as has the organization’s roster of allies in foreign governments and international policy circles.

The latest protests are a prime example. Iran’s highest authority, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, weighed in by placing much of the blame upon the MEK. Referring to the group by the familiar pejorative term “hypocrites,” Khamenei declared that they had been “ready for months” to instigate the mass protests which spread to more than 100 towns and cities in a matter of days.

He attributed one of the protesters’ slogans, “no to high prices” exclusively to the PMOI. People in various localities were also heard to chant “no Syria, no Iraq; I will give my life only for Iran,” signaling that they were taking their cue from the MEK in condemning Tehran’s activities in the broader Middle East.

By Kasra NejatPosted Jan 17, 2018 at 8:59 PM