[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 8, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FREEDOM FOR PEOPLE OF IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT GARRETT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2010

  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, on Saturday, June 12, 2009, 
the Iranian people went to the polls to vote in Iran's tenth 
presidential election. Today, almost exactly one year later, two things 
have become much clearer.
  First, we have seen just how oppressive and authoritarian the Iranian 
regime is. When Iranian citizens took to the streets to dispute the 
results of the election, government officials responded with violence, 
murdering innocent people like Neda Soltan and assaulting others. 
Rather than apologizing for these atrocities, President Ahmadinejad 
dismissed the initial unrest as ``not important'' and accused foreign 
media of launching a ``psychological war'' against Iran. In the months 
following the election, government officials continued to arrest, 
torture, and imprison protestors and their family members.
  Even now, the government's persecution of pro-democracy demonstrators 
continues. On May 9, five political prisoners, four of them Kurds, were 
hung. The following day, the Iranian court sentenced a Newsweek 
reporter, in abstentia, to 13 years in prison. In addition, Amnesty 
International reported a few weeks ago that 6 more people were 
sentenced to death for their association with the banned Iranian 
opposition, or having visited the group's Camp Ashraf, in Iraq.
  Second, we have seen just how much the Iranian people desire freedom 
from the current regime. Despite the threat of injury and even death, 
Iranian citizens continue to express their displeasure with the current 
government. In December, Iranian activists participated in 
demonstrations in Tehran and other cities across the country. When 
President Ahmadinejad visited Tehran University a month ago, student 
demonstrators protested.
  In light of these events, I recently joined twelve of my colleagues 
in signing a bi-partisan letter to President Obama, encouraging him to 
support the Iranian dissidents' efforts and work with international 
partners to put pressure on Iran.
  I am also a co-sponsor of H. Res 704 that has 224 bi-partisan co-
sponsors and supports the rights of the Iranian dissident members in 
Camp Ashraf, Iraq. We must condemn attempts by the Iranian regime and 
the Al-Maliki Government to harm these Iranian political refugees.
  Finally, I praise New Jersey Assemblyman John Bramnick and the teen 
advocacy program No Nukes for Iran for planning a rally in Trenton on 
June 10. This event is sponsored by numerous Jewish organizations who 
wish to raise awareness of the danger a nuclear Iran poses for the 
citizens of Iran, as well as Israel and the U.S. As a conferee on the 
Iran Sanctions Conference Committee, I will continue to support prompt, 
aggressive action to deter Iran's nuclear ambitions. I also praise New 
Jersey government officials and non-profit groups for divesting pension 
and annuity funds from companies that do business with Iran's petroleum 
sector.
  I am honored to stand with the thousands of Iranians who have dared 
to voice their opposition to the current regime and the journalists who 
have had the courage to cover their actions.

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