{"id":5655,"date":"2018-07-23T19:02:02","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T17:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?p=5655"},"modified":"2018-07-23T19:02:02","modified_gmt":"2018-07-23T17:02:02","slug":"iranian-regimes-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/articles\/2018\/07\/iranian-regimes-opposition\/5655\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to know the Iranian regime\u2019s main opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Getting to know the Iranian regime\u2019s main opposition<\/h3>\n

On June 20, 1981, the security forces of the Iranian regime opened fire on a peaceful, 500,000\u2013strong demonstration in Tehran, putting a violent end in a tenuous era of peaceful political activism that had started in February 1979 after popular protests toppled the Shah regime and saw the rise of Ruhollah Khomeini and the mullahs to power. On the morrow of June 20, the regime\u2019s forces would arrest, torture and execute anyone affiliated with opposition groups, especially the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran<\/a> (PMOI\/MEK).<\/p>\n

On July 21, while Khomeini\u2019s regime was fast busy arresting and executing Iranian opposition members by the droves, Massoud Rajavi, the leader of PMOI\/MEK,<\/a> founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a> (NCRI), a coalition of all forces that sought freedom and democracy in Iran.<\/p>\n

Months later, the headquarters of the NCRI were moved to France to create a political umbrella for the struggle for freedom inside Iran.<\/p>\n

At present, 37 years later, the NCRI is the largest and longest standing coalition of Iranian opposition groups against the regime of Tehran and has managed to stand despite countless conspiracies by the Iranian regime and its foreign allies and proponents. Regardless of their station, the members of the NCRI take active part in protests, demonstrations and activities that aim to expose the Iranian regime\u2019s brutality and promote democracy and freedom in Iran.<\/p>\n

The members of the NCRI each have an equal voice and vote in the decisions of the Council, regardless of their political and organizational affiliations. The NCRI\u2019s charter states it seeks to topple the Khomeini regime and to establish a transitional government which will represent all faiths, ethnicities and political tendencies. The transitional government\u2019s main goal is to prepare the grounds for a democratic state and will last a maximum of six months, until the country becomes ready for free and fair elections.<\/p>\n

During the six-month transitional period, Iran\u2019s new constitutional parliament will take shape and will oversee the elections.<\/p>\n

The NCRI is an inclusive coalition, where all walks of life have a voice. More than half of the members of the NCRI are women, a stark contrast to the mullah-ruled Iran, where women are oppressed and under-represented.<\/p>\n

The political platform of the NCRI is summarized by the 10-point plan of its president-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, which has garnered support among political figures, religious leaders and rights activists worldwide, because it addresses all the problems that the world and the Iranian people face in respect with the Iranian regime. Following are key highlights of Mrs. Rajavi\u2019s platform:<\/p>\n