[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 141 (Wednesday, September 21, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       JUSTICE FOR IRANIAN PEOPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, thousands of Iranian-Americans from 41 
states across America attended a rally outside the Department of State 
on August 26, 2011, calling on the Secretary to remove the principal 
Iranian opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from the list 
of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
  Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of 
Resistance of Iran, which acts as Iran's Parliament-in-exile, addressed 
the rally via satellite from Paris. Excerpts of her remarks follow:

       Honorable and brave Iranians, I salute your protest and 
     gathering, which symbolizes an uprising for the freedom of 
     the Iranian people and in defense of the persecuted and 
     besieged Ashraf; an uprising against a discredited label 
     against the Iranian Resistance. Today, your calls echo the 
     calls for justice emanating from an enchained nation, which 
     rejects the velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule) 
     dictatorship. Ashraf is proud to have such admirable 
     representatives and defenders like you; And the Iranian 
     people are proud to have stored in your being the most prized 
     possession required for the attainment of freedom and 
     democracy.
       Dear Compatriots, It has been more a year since the ruling 
     of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, which ordered the 
     State Department to review the terrorist listing of the 
     People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The 
     Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance have paid the price 
     for this unjustified delay with the blood of their most 
     courageous children. Political prisoners in Iran, like Ali 
     Saremi, were hanged by Khamenei's henchmen. And, the 36 
     heroes of freedom in Ashraf, who were martyred on the orders 
     of the velayat-e faqih regime, were all part of this bloody 
     price. The terror listing in the U.S. is openly used as a 
     justification to legitimize such bloodletting, both by the 
     cruel mullahs in Tehran as well as their proxy government in 
     Iraq. Therefore, the Iranian people are asking the United 
     States, ``Why are you not annulling the license to kill our 
     children?''
       The decision of the appeals court in Washington stated that 
     the State Department violated due process rights during the 
     listing process. And, 20 judgments by European courts against 
     the terrorism charge leave absolutely no doubt that this 
     label is completely discredited. Thousands of 
     parliamentarians and human rights advocates in the Arab world 
     and in Europe, joined by a large number of members of the 
     U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, forming a great 
     global voice in defense of the freedom-loving Iranian 
     Resistance. This constitutes an exceptional consensus in the 
     face of 14 years of injustices committed against the PMOI and 
     the Iranian Resistance. Dozens of the most honorable former 
     senior officials serving in the country's administrations 
     over the last two decades have taken a clear stance in the 
     course of their multiple international conferences in 
     Washington, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, London and Rome, leaving 
     absolutely no credibility for this listing. Hail to their 
     sense of justice and clear-sightedness through which the 
     great historical symbols of America like Jefferson and 
     Lincoln are resurrected.
       We have seen how the mullahs' regime and the insignificant 
     factions directed by Tehran utilize cruelty and insolence to 
     attack and avenge these dignified personalities. But, these 
     officials have shown extraordinary courage by placing their 
     credibility and political reputation in support of this 
     Resistance. We recognize the United States in the image of 
     these noble human beings and not those who have succumbed to 
     religious fascism. They represent an America that recognizes 
     democracy and human rights in Iran as the precondition for 
     global peace and security and guarantor of the American 
     people's genuine interests. This is the United States that is 
     standing by the Iranian people. For the past 170 days, your 
     courageous and resilient friends have staged a sit-in across 
     from the State Department. They echo the Iranian nation's 
     call for the upholding of justice for the protection of 
     Ashraf and removal of the PMOI from the terror list night and 
     day, both under the summer heat and the winter chill.
       Letters from more than 800 religious leaders and 2,000 
     priests across the U.S. in support of this Resistance. 
     Thirteen hearing sessions in the U.S. House and Senate to 
     pursue the issue of protecting Ashraf and annulling the 
     discredited terror label against the PMOI Passing of multiple 
     resolutions in Congress, and especially the amendment passed 
     by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last month about the 
     imperative to prevent the displacement of Ashraf residents 
     inside Iraq And thousands of political, parliamentary, media 
     and social initiatives, all of which have inspired the 
     admiration of everyone. The evil forces that have laid a 
     siege on your sisters and brothers in Camp Ashraf seek to 
     destroy and annihilate Ashraf and its freedom-seeking 
     residents. But, you have spread the flames of Ashraf in your 
     society and hoisted its flag. Hold onto this flag more 
     powerfully, because this is the banner of freedom and 
     democracy in Iran.
       Clearly, the U.S. bears special responsibility for ensuring 
     the protection of these residents on the basis of its 
     agreements with every single one of the residents in Camp 
     Ashraf. We urge the U.S. to listen to Congress and the 
     resolution passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and 
     abandon the idea of displacing Ashraf residents within Iraq. 
     We call on the U.S. to support the European solution instead 
     of this dangerous idea which will have no results other than 
     a humanitarian catastrophe. Similarly, we want the United 
     Nations to rise up to its irrevocable obligations in ensuring 
     the protection of Ashraf . . .

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