[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 967 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 967

     Recognizing and honoring the 100th anniversary of the Iranian 
                       Constitutional Revolution.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2006

 Mr. Blumenauer submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
              to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Recognizing and honoring the 100th anniversary of the Iranian 
                       Constitutional Revolution.

Whereas Iran is home to one of the world's great ancient civilizations;
Whereas, in 1906, Persia had been under the rule of the Qajar Dynasty since 
        1781;
Whereas the rule of the Qajar Dynasty was corrupt, authoritarian, and weak in 
        the face of competition between the British and Russian Empires for 
        control and influence in Persia;
Whereas, by the turn of the 20th century, the Persian populace sought to counter 
        this corrupt and oppressive authoritarian rule and to secure national 
        sovereignty by codifying a written code of laws;
Whereas by January 1906, diverse sectors of Persian society united to form a 
        protest movement against the foreign manipulation, oppression and 
        corruption that marked the rule of Mozafar al-din Shah;
Whereas, on August 5, 1906 this protest movement forced Mozafar al-Din Shah to 
        issue a decree creating the first representative parliament, the Majlis, 
        in the history of Persia;
Whereas, on December 30, 1906 the parliament ratified and Mozafar al-Din Shah 
        signed Persia's first Constitution;
Whereas the constitution of 1906 limited the power of the Shah and his 
        ministers, gave administrative autonomy to the provinces, granted 
        limited suffrage to adult men, established the groundwork for a new 
        secular legislature, and guaranteed freedom of the press;
Whereas, following an assassination attempt in February 1908, Mohammed Ali Shah, 
        who succeeded Mozafar al-din Shah, began to purge supporters of the 
        constitution despite his pledge to respect the constitution;
Whereas on June 3, 1908, Mohammed Ali Shah invited leaders of the 
        constitutionalist movement to the Imperial Gardens and imprisoned all 
        but one who managed to escape;
Whereas on June 24, 1908, Mohammed Ali Shah ordered the Persian Cossacks 
        Brigade, led by Russian Colonel Liakhov, to bomb the Majlis and arrest 
        all of its deputies;
Whereas this attack unleashed protests and resistance in support of the Majlis 
        and the constitution across Persia, which evolved into a revolutionary 
        movement;
Whereas the constitutional revolutionaries were joined by Howard Baskerville, a 
        Presbyterian missionary from the United States, who was killed in battle 
        on April 19, 1909, and continues to be revered as a martyr by Iranians 
        to this day;
Whereas on July 17, 1909, Mohammed Ali Shah and a number of his supporters fled 
        Tehran under the protection of Russian soldiers, and the Majlis held an 
        emergency session to reenact the constitution, depose Mohammed Ali Shah, 
        and name his son Ahmad Mirza as his successor;
Whereas, at the conclusion of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, a 
        democratic movement had replaced an authoritarian government with a 
        constitutional monarchy and established a representative body and the 
        rule of law to check the power of the ruling Shah;
Whereas, since the Constitutional Revolution, Iranian politics has often been 
        marked by struggles against authoritarian rulers and foreign 
        interference, as well as tensions between secular and religious law;
Whereas despite this success, for the next 15 years the Majlis met irregularly 
        due to international circumstances, foreign interference and internal 
        power struggle;
Whereas under government of Mohammed Mossadegh, the Iranian political system 
        became increasingly open and the influence of the Majlis grew until 
        American and British intervention in 1953 reestablished the monarchy, 
        severely undermining Iranian constitutional democracy;
Whereas the Constitutional Revolution demonstrates that democratic self-
        government is not foreign to Iran;
Whereas the cooperation of Iran is an important factor in the successful 
        resolution of many challenges in the Middle East and Central Asia, 
        including the stabilization of Iraq, progress in Afghanistan, and 
        victory in the war on terror;
Whereas public opinion in the United States respects the people of Iran and 
        their rich culture and history; and
Whereas public opinion in Iran supports better relations with the United States: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes and honors the 100th anniversary of the 
        Iranian Constitutional Revolution;
            (2) commends the Iranian people for their tradition of 
        constitutional rule and their historical willingness to stand 
        up for freedom and independence;
            (3) encourages friendship between the people of the United 
        States and the people of Iran on the basis of shared values; 
        and
            (4) recognizes that a strong understanding of Iranian 
        history is critical to the development of constructive policy 
        towards Iran.
                                 <all>