[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SIDING WITH THE PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 18, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I recently reintroduced H. Res. 94, Siding 
with the Pro-Democracy Movement in Iran. This resolution addresses 
Iran's nuclear threat as Tehran seeks a nuclear weapon in violation of 
UN Security Council resolutions, has started to enrich uranium to 20 
percent, and has plans to build 10 additional uranium enrichment 
facilities. Moreover, Tehran's continued support for terrorism and its 
suppression of dissidents require the United States to adopt a new 
approach.
  Over the past year, millions of ordinary Iranians have taken to the 
streets to participate in anti-government demonstrations, despite 
growing suppression and risk of arrest, imprisonment and execution. The 
ruling regime, for its part, has resorted to a brutal campaign of 
murdering protesters such as Neda Agah Soltan in the streets and in its 
many gallows. My resolution calls on the U.S. government to side with 
the Iranian people's endeavors by refraining from a selective approach 
to Iranian opponents who struggle for democracy and human rights. It 
invites the Secretary of State to join our British and European allies 
in ending the blacklisting of Iran's main opposition, the People's 
Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) by removing them from the list of 
Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
  Removing the PMOI from the FTO list is not only the right thing to 
do, but it also sends the right message to Tehran. The Iranian regime 
and its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have rebuffed offers of 
negotiations, and stepped up their intransigence in very sphere of 
contention with the United States, including human rights, the nuclear 
weapons program and support for terrorism in the region.
  In November, I sent a joint bi-partisan letter along with a number of 
my colleagues to Secretary Clinton. In this letter we brought the 
resolution to the attention of the Secretary of State and stated that 
over 100 House Members have already urged her to delist the PMOI. In 
our letter, we noted that ``Iranian officials should not be seen as 
exploiting an unjust US designation to further justify imparting their 
draconian punishments on prisoners of conscience.''
  The PMOI's continued designation in the US has deadly consequences. I 
invite my colleagues to support this resolution and send a message to 
the world that violations of human rights will not be tolerated!

                          ____________________