In the fourth gathering of the annual session of the Solidarity Congress of Iraqi People with the presence of more than a thousand representatives of 138 parties and political, social and guild associations in Ashraf City, the declaration of 3 million Iraqi Shiites was announced.

In this historic declaration more than 3 million Iraqi Shiites declared the need for eviction of the clerical regime and its agents from Iraq and removal of limitations from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran as the strategic counterbalance vis-à-vis the encroachments of the Iranian regime.

In this gathering delegations from Iraqi provinces presented the historic declaration
of 3 million Iraqi Shiites to the PMOI’s Secretary General, Mrs. Sediqeh Hosseini.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, in a video message to the Solidarity Congress of the Iraqi People, saluted the Congress and admired the great sacrifice of the Iraqi people and the PMOI members of Ashraf City for founding everlasting friendship of the two nations, Iran and Iraq. She pointed out that hereby, the Iraqis are making a democratic and free future void of extremism and fundamentalism for their country.

Mrs. Rajavi added: The slogan of eviction and expulsion of Iran’s rulers from Iraq has turned now to a public slogan for the Iraqi people, and the U.S. ultimately acknowledged that the Iranian regime is the main threat in Iraq.

In her speech, Mrs. Sediqeh Hosseini, Secretary General of the PMOI, said: I must hail to the initiative of sheikh councils, political and guild associations, non-governmental organizations and political and influential personalities of the Iraqi Shiite regions that have sponsored this statement; also, hail and one thousand hail to the will and determination of thousands of honest Iraqi women and men who crossed from Basra to Diyala and collected these signatures in a great endeavor. Despite all its crimes and plunders, the clerical regime is on the verge of final determination; the clerical regime must know that we, the PMOI, are followers of Imam Hossein. No matter how and to whatever extent the regime demolishes humanitarian and Islamic values, or commits crimes, we are determined to take our people’s rights from the regime; we have sacrificed all we had and we shall do more; this regime must know that it will be overthrown.

Dr. Saleh Mutlaq, leader of the Arabic Front for Iraqi National Dialogue and a number of members of the Iraqi National Accord Movement political bureau were guests to this congress. Other guests included representatives of parties and political entities of Iraqi National Parties Coordination Committee, Conference of Ahal al-Iraq, Islamic Party, Iraqi Council for National Dialogue, Iraqi Turkmen Party of Justice, Islamic Unity Party, as well as parliamentarians, tribal sheikhs and political, social and religious personalities. On behalf of the European Parliament, Mr. Paulo Casaca, Co-Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran, participated in this congress.

In his speech, Dr. Saleh Mutlaq said: By holding this session, our brothers wanted to give a clear message to those who count on division of Iraq and sectarianism plan, a message indicating that Iraq is a united and Arabic country and its people can’t be tattered; I must say that there are windows towards truth, when the British Appeal Court released its order regarding removal of oppression from the PMOI , I said we desire this would be a starting point of adjudication in the world and the beginning of lack of covering rights and lack of defacement of the border between liberating movements and terrorist organizations, it must be differentiated between someone who struggle for his country and someone who does terrorist acts and kills his fellow citizens and the others ; I sincerely congratulate this victory to my PMOI sister and brother members.

Paulo Casaca, Co-Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran in European Parliament, said in his speech: Democracy is founded on coexistence versus differences, and coexistence of diverse political, religious and ideological views, but the condition in Iraq is a dangerous condition because Iraq is suffering from hegemony-seeking and expansionism of the neighboring country, Iran.

Other speakers of the congress were:
Mr. Dhiya al-Sheikhly, Politburo member of the National Accord Movement
Mr. Faeq al-Moussawi
Emir Yousef Badan Aziz, Sheikh of Al-Baeej Tribe
Dr. Abdullah al-Jabouri, chairman of the National Front for Salvation of Diala
Muhammad Abed Aboud al-Karkhi, chairman of the Association of Independent Iraqi Jurists
Ayad Taha, representative of Iraqi Islamic Party, Khalis branch
Sheikh Kamil Latif, on behalf of delegations of Wasit and Babel to the Congress
Sheikh Abdul-Hadi Hamoud Jassim, Sheikh of al-Barihat Tribe, representative of Diwaniya delegation
Representative of women delegation

Declaration of Iraqi Shiites

On the need to Expel the Iranian Regime from Iraq
and
Removal of Restrictions Imposed on its Strategic Counterbalance, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran

For the past five years, children of our homeland – especially in the southern provinces – have suffered from the most severe hardship ever witnessed in history in the form of slaughters, dreadful suppression, and immeasurable plunder all caused by Iranian rulers. However, they never surrendered to these criminals and never missed an opportunity to reveal these oppressions and atrocities.

“Today, it is beyond a shadow of doubt that all these crimes and atrocities are planned by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC), the terrorist Qods Force, the Intelligence Service, and the embassy and the consulates of the Iranian regime in Iraq. Iranian rulers explicitly announce that slaughter and terror in the “streets of Baghdad” is their “superiority” over the United States. (Hossein Shariatmadari- 27 Aug. 2006).

People of Iraq and its political leaders, Shiite or Sunni alike, cry out loud:

– “The influence and meddling of Iran in Iraq is very deep, special and extraordinary.” (Dr. Tariq al-Hashemi- 15 Jan. 2007)
– “Iran’s role in Iraq is regrettable. Iran severely meddles in Iraq.” ( Dr. Ayad Allawi-30 June 2007)
– “The aggression of militias supported by Iranian money, equipment and logistics is incessant.” (Dr. Adnan Dulaimi-14 Aug. 2007)
– “The Iranian regime is hideously meddling in Iraq; Iranian Intelligence Ministry silences all voices and assassinates any nationalistic personality or tribal sheikh that is against it.” (Dr. Saleh Mutlaq- 20 Jan. 2008)
– “Ahmadinejad’s remarks are as if Iraq is Iran’s own property for him to rule.” (Nadim al- Jaberi — 30 Aug. 2007)

But “the most painful dagger the Iranian regime has stabbed in our back is the shameful misuse of Shiite religion in order to achieve its ominous objectives. Through this anti-Islamic and inhumane measure, they have targeted our national interests and wickedly began planning to separate the southern provinces from Iraq.”(Declaration of 300,000 Shiites of Iraq’s southern provinces-November 2007)

U.S. officials and commanders also state:
– “We have reliable documents on Iran’s role in sending weapons to combatant groups in Iraq. We know that the Qods force of IRGC is the main tool for pursuing this policy.” (US Ambassador Ryan Crocker-3 June 2006)
– “IRGC and the Qods force are against a democratic Iraq, and the highest ranks in Iran are aware of their activities.”( Gen. David Petraeus -20 July 2007)
– “Over 100 clandestine caches of Iranian weapons have been discovered and confiscated in Iraq” and “Iran’s meddling in Iraq is unbounded.” ( Gen. Marc Lynch-May and November 2007)

Wrong address to cover its own crimes:
Iranian regime agents in Iraq, to cover their crimes and that of the Iranian regime, deceitfully give the wrong address. They accuse their opposition in Iraq, the PMOI, of terrorism, explosions, targeting civilians and murder and abduction with US forces assistance.”
All this is while everybody knows that this organization has been constrained in Ashraf under permanent control for the past five years and has been subjected to many conspiracies and attacks. Even its food, medication and fuel have been cut off since September 2005. It is common knowledge that in contrast with international law and conventions, and the International Humanitarian Law, the Iranian regime has put the Iraqi government under severe and brazen pressures to expel members of the PMOI from Iraq.

In June 1986, Mr. Massoud Rajavi, the leader of Iranian Resistance for freedom of Iran, stated in Imam Hussein’s shrine: “We have sought refuge to you and your magnanimous father Imam Ali on Iraq’s soil.”
We, the signatories, testify that the attitude of the Iranian regime and its proxies toward the PMOI is reminiscent to the atrocities of those who killed Imam Hussein and his followers.

Considering the fact that on 25 October 2007, the US State and Treasury Departments officially announced that the Iranian regime’s Defense Ministry, the IRGC, and its Qods force are designated for proliferation activities and support for terrorism,
and bearing in mind the verdicts of the European Court of Justice and the British court for annulling the terrorist label against the PMOI, which itself was a result of the policy of appeasement towards the Iranian regime, we reiterate that:
– “the PMOI, which believes in real Islam that is against fundamentalism and extremism, and as the alternative and the balancing weight before this regime, and as a barrier and strong obstacle against the regime’s meddling have stood with the Iraqi people.” (Declaration of 300,000 Shiites in southern Iraq- November 2007)
– The people and democratic forces of Iraq, however, in their serious endeavors to neutralize the danger of fundamentalism and terrorism, find a natural ally and partner in the geopolitics of this region of the world in the People’s Mojahedin of Iran. (Declaration by 5.2 million people of Iraq– June 2006)

We, the Shiite signatories of this declaration, emphasize and call for:
1. Expulsion of all members and agents of the Iranian regime’s IRGC, Intelligence, and the terrorist Qods Force from all governmental or non-governmental institutions of Iraq, especially the security systems and the police,
2. Closure of Iranian embassy and consulates that support terrorist operations and the imposition of Iranian regime’s dominance in Iraq.
3. Removal of restrictions from the Ashraf residents and return of the PMOI’s properties (The Hague Conventions – articles 52-53).
4. Enforcement of verdicts by the European Court of Justice and the UK Court by the European Union, and the annulment of terrorist designation of the PMOI by the U.S.