Maryam Rajavi Website
11 Feb 2013

In the name of God,
In the name of Iran,
In the name of freedom

In the name of the standard bearers of the Iranian people’s perseverance and struggle amid the phase of the overthrow of the ruling religious tyranny in Iran
I salute my dear sister, Pouran Najafi, a former political prisoner in Khomeini’s dungeons;
I salute Yahya Nazari, the lion of the city of Qa’emshahr on the shores of the Caspian Sea;
I salute Mehdi Abedi, a brave son of Kazeroun, who, after a 34-year-long struggle, has joined his martyred brothers, Abbas, Abdollah and Kazem and other martyrs.
I salute Mostafa Khosravi, from Iranian Kurdistan, who was a cause for honor during his 30-year presence in the ranks of the People’s Mojahedin;
I salute Akbar Azizi, the brave son of the city of Rasht;
And I salute Hadi Shafiee, a son of the brave people of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
Doubtless, at this very moment, the people of Gha’emshahr, Rasht, Bijar, Kazeroun, Mashhad and all Iranian cities, like all of us here, albeit broken hearted, but in high spirits, renew their pledge with their sons and daughters.
I tell my brothers and sisters in Liberty and Ashraf and to the families of the martyrs that these heroes and heroine are ever more alive and rising.
They are multiplied in the resolve of thousands of arisen youth in Iran. Wherever the fight for freedom is ablaze, they are fighting alongside the people until liberation and the day of victory.
At the moment, more than 100 wounded residents in Liberty Prison are enduing pain and suffering. But as you have seen in the video clips, they are proud, in fighting mood and with unshakable determination and faith. They are continuing their fight and are role models for all who persevere in battles.
Hail to those heroes and commanders of perseverance.

As Massoud Rajavi said just two days ago, “The Mojahedin and the Iranian Resistance have on all turning points, from the anti-monarchic revolution, to February 8th, to July 28 and 29, 2009 and to April 8, 2011, have paid a heavy and bloody price and will sacrifice everything they have for their enchained people. Lessons of sacrifice and the fight for freedom continue and someday will permeate our fettered nation.”

Dear Compatriots,

The ruthless attack on Camp Liberty, an unprotected and defenseless camp, on the dawn of February 11, was the reaction of a frightened regime.
It was the result of major trends in the context of the larger confrontation between the Iranian nation and the ruling theocracy.

On the one hand, there have been advances made by the Iranian people with achievements such as:
The formation of resistance cells and units inside the country and the rush by women and young men to join the ranks of the Resistance;
And,the debunking of terrorist lists and the expansion of the global campaign to defend the Iranian people’s Resistance.

And on the other hand, it reflects the weakness and implosion of the ruling theocracy manifested in the obvious rupture at the top of the regime, in defections and passivism at all level s of the ruling clique and in the engulfing of the regime’s allies in the rage of the nations of Syria and Iraq.

The attack on Liberty reflects the weakness and desperation of decadent despots who are witnessing the demise of their rule.
Indeed, the time for their overthrow has arrived. And it will be so.

 
Distinguished Guests,

What is the true reason for the mullahs’ fear of the unarmed PMOI members who are based thousands of kilometers away from Tehran?
The reason for their fear and trepidation is that the PMOI is at the core of a resistance movement that stretches throughout Iranian society. This is the main component that is paving the way for the battle for Iran’s future.
Just four days after a great rupture appeared at the top of the regime’s hierarchy, the mullahs redirected their attacks against freedom fighters at Liberty, who are the inspiration for the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom.
In 2009, amidst national uprisings against the regime, Khamenei thought that the best solution to neutralize the crisis was to massacre Ashraf residents, a plan executed by the Iraqi government on July 28 and 29, 2009.

In 2011, following the extensive uprisings on February 14, once again the regime’s most important reaction was to plan and order a massacre of Ashraf residents, which was executed by the new Iraqi dictator on April 8 of that year.
Following the signing of the cease-fire of the Iraq-Iran War in 1988, Khomeini, too, faced the prospect of overthrow, and in order to avoid it, he ordered the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Now, his successor, Khamenei, counts on the same type of reaction to prevent the regime’s overthrow.
But, we must tell him and all his cohorts that you will take to your grave the hope to save the regime and to avert its downfall.

Distinguished Guests,

The velayat-e faqih regime has reached an impasse in its fight against the residents of camps Ashraf and Liberty. Their attack against Liberty is a clear testament of this fact.
They attacked Liberty precisely because all their plots, demonizing campaigns and pressures against the perseverance of PMOI freedom fighters have failed.
By firing mortars and rockets, they have in fact fired a coup de grace against the project of Liberty, effectively ending it.
Is it not true that the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by the United Nations and the Iraqi government, without the consent and knowledge of Ashrafis, had as its main point the preservation of the safety and security of Resistance members?
Now tell us what has remained of the MOU?
Is it not true that in the summer of 2011, some U.S. officials advised Ashrafis to leave Ashraf and go somewhere that is farther and safer?
Now that they are farther, where is their safety?
Did the U.S. not promise each and every Ashrafi protection in return for their weapons?
And, was it not last summer that the U.S. promised the Iranian Resistance that it would guarantee the safety and protection of the PMOI at Liberty? Tell us, what happened to those promises?

And, really, what happened to the promise of quickly resettling Liberty residents to outside of Iraq?
At the time that the MOU regarding the relocation of the residents to Liberty was signed, we said and warned repeatedly that Camp Liberty is inherently unsafe due to its small size, that it lacks protection and barriers, and that it contains inoperative and destroyed infrastructure.

The UN Special Envoy to Iraq used to say that the PMOI should overlook the problems at Liberty because there are monitors there who are overseeing the situation around the clock, and so the issue of safety would be resolved. So, what happened to the guarantee of safety by your monitors?
These facts were never heeded, because the person in charge of the plan is someone who considers his duty to be to carry out the orders of the Iraqi government against the PMOI.

But, we say that driving a dagger through the heart of human rights and refugee rights is enough. The United Nations must distance itself from this crime by firing this person.

I would also like to reiterate the responsibility of the American government with respect to the creation of this catastrophe.

You all know that the United Stated played an important role in facilitating the signing of the MOU, and it also repeatedly put pressure on Ashraf residents to relocate to Liberty, thereby participating in forcing a prison without humanitarian standards upon Resistance members.

Last February, the U.S. publicly declared that the “United States will not turn its back on the residents of Camp Liberty.”
On this basis, if the United States had fulfilled its obligations, then the catastrophic attack on Liberty would have undoubtedly been prevented.

 
Therefore, on behalf of the Iranian people’s Resistance, I declare that the U.S. government would bear responsibility for any future attacks on the residents of Camp Liberty.
Now is the time to right the wrong policies of the past year, which have exacted heavy costs from the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance.

On this basis, I emphasize that:
1.    The international community, and especially the U.S. government and the United Nations, must set the basis for the swift return of Resistance members to Ashraf, so that their resettlement to third countries would be pursued while they are in Ashraf.
2.    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees must announce their refugee status.
3.    The UN Security Council must compel the Iraqi government to open the doors of Liberty to lawyers, journalists, and parliamentary and political delegations.
4.    The UN Secretary General must assign a delegation to investigate the killings of Liberty residents.

And, last but not least, I would like to address my fell compatriots and say that the response to the mullahs’ attack is a struggle one hundred times greater aimed at overthrowing this regime and establishing freedom and democracy in our homeland. So, continue to step up your efforts and your struggle.

Compel governments to end their political relations with the religious fascism ruling Iran.

Compel the international community to reorient itself with the Iranian nation’s struggle to change the regime.

And, to the followers of Ashrafis and members of Resistance units across Iran, I say that in order to fulfill your obligations towards the martyrs and the eternal lights of freedom, and in order to end the suppression and injustices of the velayat-e faqih regime, you must redouble your efforts and struggle.

This is the message of the sacrifice of the six martyrs of the Iranian people’s freedom at Camp Liberty: To rise up and continue the struggle to overthrow the religious fascism and to establish freedom, democracy and equality in Iran.

Hail to freedom
Hail to the martyrs
And, hail to the people of Iran.