Iranian people eager for freedom
Former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird : The great struggle of our generation is the struggle against terrorism, and the regime in Tehran is by far the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Over the years, billions of dollars have left Tehran to sow fear, violence, death and destruction.
From Assad’s war against his own people, to a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, from a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, to arming Hezbollah with missiles targeting civilians in Israel, we must call the mullahs out on it.
The people of Iran suffer each and every day under this regime… We must call out this slick public relations campaign for what it is: a lie. We have so many allies in the fight against this brutal regime. But you know who our biggest ally in this struggle is? Friends, it is the people of Iran. Make no mistake whatsoever that the people of Iran do not support this regime and they want to see it overthrown. Each and every one of us need to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran and come together and state clearly that the notion that Hassan Rouhani is a moderate or is a reformer, simply put, is a fraud.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Onwards to freedom in Iran: Bipartisan voices call for democratic change
Former Undersecretary of State P.J. Crowley : For many years those of us here on stage have been coming here to show our solidarity for the people of Camp Ashraf and Liberty. The recent rocket attack in Baghdad just reminds us of the urgency of moving them to safety. When we are here next year in Paris, we can celebrate the fact that all of the residents, will finally be out of harm’s way God bless Albania.
As the existing order disintegrates, putting the Middle East back together again will be the work of a generation. But just when we think there is no hope for the region, we return to Paris. When we wonder where we’re going to get the energy to rebuild the Middle East, we return to Paris. When we wonder where we’re going to get the ideas to build the Middle East back better, we return to Paris. We return to you!
The future will reward those who govern based on not what they are trying to prevent, but what they are trying to build, based on the foundation that is here in Paris, the ideas that you have embraced, the determination and inspiration that you have shown to see this struggle through to the end.
Iran will rise again as a country to be admired, not feared; as a country to be supported, not contained; as a country that unites, not divide the region; as a country that believes that the people, that you, should be empowered, not oppressed. We support you and let me assure you, you inspire us.
Ambassador Marc Ginsberg : I want to talk to the young people, the most important people here who for the next generation are going to carry the message of a free Iran. I want all of the young people to stand up and join me and say, “We will prevail!”
You, my friends, are the agents of change…. Those of you who have come here, who have joined your parents and grandparents, who are fighting for the future of a country whose people desperately want freedom understand the most important power that you have in your hands — your telephone, your voice, the call of freedom, Madame Rajavi’s message, Prince Turki’s message, the message of the delegations that are here.
We believe that change is just around the corner. Let us understand that the Iran nuclear agreement is not a license to empower the ayatollahs in Iran; It is a license for you to destroy the government in Iran.
Former New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli: To those who have stood in Camp Liberty, to those who have lost their lives, Iranian children will remember your names for a thousand years. You will deliver a free Iran.
Across Iran tonight, on the internet, on small computers or in handheld radios, the people of Iran by the thousands listen to our words. And here’s what they need to know. The greatest assembly of free Iranians in the world are in this room right now.
One day you will remember you were in this room when a coalition, which begins in America andCanada, stretches across Europe and North Africa, now has a new anchor and a powerful voice: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has joined our ranks and it will never, never be the same.
And finally, every person in this room needs to stand and applaud and thank the people of Albania for taking a stand for the people of Liberty. Thank you, thank you, Albania. Thank you for standing up…The world will never forget.
Former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird : The great struggle of our generation is the struggle against terrorism, and the…
Iranian people eager for freedom
Robert G. Joseph, former undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department : The intensity that I feel from this massive gathering of freedom fighters is overwhelming, as is your demand for freedom. As Madame Rajavi has pointed out, and others have stated, it’s been a year since the nuclear accord was concluded and the regime of mullahs in Tehran is even more dangerous than before.
Have no doubt that the regime retains its option of having a nuclear weapon at the time of its choosing. It is using billions of dollars to support terrorism … to support the proxy wars in Yemen, in Lebanon, in Iraq and elsewhere. It’s also using that same funding to continue to brutalize the people of Iran and to deny them their freedom. The regime cannot reform, neither from within or from out; it must be overthrown by the people of Iran.
We must pressure the regime from all directions; retain and impose new sanctions for its ballistic missile activities and for its support of terrorism; stop all economic transactions with the IRGC related entities; counter Iran’s presence and its influence in the region economically, diplomatically, and when necessary, militarily; highlight Iran’s abysmal human rights practices. And most important, we must support those who seek to tear down this barbaric regime and in its place establish a democratic, secular and non-nuclear Iran. You, the Iranian Resistance, are the vehicle for this historic change. You are the future ofIran.
