Prominent politicians and figures from US to support Iranian opposition convention

33 Prominent American dignitaries, members of the U.S. delegation planning to take part in Saturday’s Iranian opposition convention in Paris, issued a statement expressing their solidarity with the ongoing Iranian people’s uprising and supporting the alternative to the Iranian regime, being the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the ten-point plan presented by NCRI President Maryam Rajavi.

The nationwide protests in Iran represent the will of a nation seeking freedom and we stand alongside 80 million Iranians, the statement reiterates.

Iranian opposition convention

The statement reads in part:

“We, the American Delegation to the 2018 annual rally for a Free Iran joined by fellow citizens who are unable to attend, are proud to stand with colleagues from all over the world and the many friends of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), whose members have firmly stood for decades against religious dictatorship, enduring heavy personal costs.

“… we are united in bipartisan solidarity, speaking with one voice and reflecting our common American values and principles as we join the call for liberty, justice and an end to repression for the people of Iran. As our Delegation prepares for this annual rally in France, we extend our appreciation for President Macrons’ statesmanship in seeking a coordinated position on Iran among the European Union countries and the United States, and particularly his emphasis on human rights issues in Iran.

“For too long the world has turned its back on the Tehran’s regime’s brutal denial of the Iranian people’s basic rights. We stand with Iran’s citizens in calling for legitimate, accountable and honest government serves the people.

“The clerical regime in Iran will never respect the interests of other countries or support a stable international order. The Tehran regime has cynically used the pretense of moderation as a smokescreen for its 39-year effort to maintain power under the guise of religious “revolution”. Iran’s lack of sincerity with the world has damaged the reputation of a great people. We stand for a policy that says “no more” to Iran’s terrorism, sectarian war, ballistic missile threats, unconventional weapons development, meddling in other countries and egregious human rights abuses at home.

“The protests that arose across 142 cities and towns in Iran beginning in December 2017 and have continued since then are a plea for freedom from a captive nation. Normal citizens lacking wealth and privilege – farmers, workers, pensions and teachers – are demanding a government that respects them and serves their needs. We stand with the 80 million citizens of Iran in their call for dignity and freedom, and fully understand why protesters all across the country have given up hope that any part of this regime will produce positive change – a sentimental reflected in their viral chant of ‘hardliners, reformers, the game is now over’.

“… Iran today is plagued by poverty, unemployment and a crisis of mismanaged water resources. Our country supports the people of Iran, not their morally bankrupt regime, whose only legacy is a police state at home and proxy terrorist militias abroad.

“The abuses of power by Iran’s rulers that most concern the world are its destabilizing use of military force, weapons transfers to non-state actors, support for terrorism, financial support to illegitimate regimes and sectarian militias, hostile intelligence operations worldwide, control over the information domain, and its barbaric judiciary with prolific executions and lack of due process. Whether or not President Rouhani personally controls these activities is irrelevant: Rouhani has demonstrated his steadfast support for these and other regime policies at every turn. We do not accept the view that the President and Foreign Minister are seeking to moderate the regime’s behavior; there is no evidence of moderation. Their role has been to mollify the outside world and shield the Supreme Leader from accountability. No longer should we accommodate Iran’s flagrant pattern of aggression accompanied by diplomatic campaigns raising hopes that Iran’s role will evolve in a direction more compatible with international norms. All regime representatives must be considered responsible for all regime actions.

“For years many of us have attended the annual rally, and some of us stay in frequent contact with the NCRI, a relationship that has drawn criticism from some in the US. With this experience and exposure to the NCRI, we can clearly see that much of the American press and foreign policy community, in downplaying the NCRI’s true agenda, popularity, level of organization, and support among Iranians, are either uninformed or coloring their reporting to avoid incurring the regime’s disfavor. Repeated statements this year by the Supreme Leader and other regime figures clearly affirm the NCRI’s role inside Iran enabling the people to communicate, organize and remain informed despite regime efforts to police the information domain and suppress dissent. We call upon the media and foreign policy expert community to report accurately on the popularity, size, organization and above all, the political agenda of the NCRI summarized in Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan for the future of Iran.

“We believe that much of the commentary in the US about ‘regime change’ obscures the right, the potential, and the capacity of the Iranian people to resist tyranny and to govern themselves well if given the chance. We see no need for, nor do we recommend consideration of, foreign military intervention; indeed, no one is calling for this. The Iranian opposition NCRI has rejected the idea of foreign intervention, stressing that ending this regime’s repressive reign is the task of the Iranian people. We do not assume that change in Iran would lead to war or chaos, given the national pride and aspirations of this population. On the contrary, we believe that democratic change in Iran would do more than any other single event to enable stability and calm the fires of extremism in the region.

“The people of Iran, with their rich history and civilization, are capable of organizing themselves for a legitimate participatory government determined by the ballot box. Indeed,

“Our delegation is going to Paris this year to support the NCRI, firmly believing that the current regime is vulnerable to the popular movement seeking an end to tyranny and corruption. The NCRI and its principal constituent, the MEK, have long embraced democratic values. The resistance movement has demonstrated its widespread roots with Iranian society, its resilience in the face of unimaginably difficult circumstances, its impressive organizational prowess, and its ability to expose secrets that Tehran is determined to keep from the Iranian people and the world at large. This organization has spent years preparing for a calm and genuinely democratic transition to the elected representatives of the Iranian people – whoever the people may choose in the fullest exercise of their long-deferred freedom.

“In sum, this is a time when the dark intentions and transgressions of Iran’s clerical dictators are being exposed and the frustrated, outraged voices of the Iranian people are being heard. Let this also be a time when long-lived falsehoods are dispelled and the true nature of Iran’s organized opposition is more accurately reported and understood.”