Saturday, 26 June 2010

In the name of God,
In the name of the people of Iran who have chosen to rise up against tyranny
In the name of the martyrs of this nation
To those of June 20, 1981, who set an eternal example of self-sacrifice;
And to those massacred innocently in the regime’s prisons in 1988;
And to the shining stars of the current uprising
And in the name of the Iranian people’s democratic revolution,
whose victorious anthem we can hear

Greetings to all of you and your magnificent gathering today, on this momentous day of the anniversary of the birth of Imam Ali, the Prophet of Islam’s cousin and son-in-law.
On your behalf, on behalf of my compatriots and on behalf of the Mojahedin in Ashraf, we offer our warmest praise to the creators of the uprising in Iran.
Hail to you, the emancipated and brave women and men, hail to all my sisters and brothers across Iran, who rose up for freedom and once again brightened Iran.
Your uprising is the triumph of a path for which Ashraf has been the standard bearer, leading the path to the overthrow of the velayat-e faqih regime and the establishment of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Your uprising has shown what you oppose in your chants of “Death to the principle of the velayat-e faqih.”
The end to religious slavery;
The end to an era of dictatorship.
In your uprising, the Iranian people are saying that we do not want turbaned fascists;
We do not want medieval punishments such as stoning, execution and limb amputation,
We do not want forced veiling, compulsory religion and imposed rule.
They are telling the mullahs to get lost from Iran.
The ruling mullahs have usurped the greatest and most sacred right of the Iranian nation, the right to sovereignty.
We want the people’s sovereignty to be restored. We want the Iranian people to have their vote back. We want free elections.
In the past year, Khamenei did everything to mobilize the forces of suppression.
From merging all security agencies into a single intelligence entity and setting up a new Bassij organization to resuming the work of the infamous Kahrizak detention center and applying a variety of tortures and assaults.
Nevertheless, through your demonstrations and protests day and night (on rooftops), in 15 impressive uprisings, you rubbed his nose to the ground 15 times.
Honored be your great uprising on Ashura (December 27), when you conquered the streets in the heart of the capital.
And the day is not far when you will conquer all of our fettered Tehran.
Your uprising demonstrated that the young generation that has come out onto the streets for freedom will not retreat.
Seven years ago, at the time of the political coup against the Iranian Resistance here on June 17, 2003, (when NCRI offices were attacked), Sediqeh Mojaveri and Neda Hassani sacrificed their lives to foil that conspiracy. In those moments when their painful loss became unbearable, I said to myself, their sacrifice will revive the spirit of struggle across Iran, elevating it to new heights.
I was confident that a multitude of daring and audacious young women and men will step up to fill their place.
And now, look at the generation of Neda, the martyrs of the 2009 uprising. Look at Kianoush, Amir, Taraneh and Fatemeh.
Look at Sohrab, Ashkan, Maryam and Sorour. Look at the storm they have created.
So, we say to the mullahs that you have reached the end of the line.
As a famous Persian poet says, we are from a different spring and of a different kind and we shall begin life the moment of your end.
Dear compatriots,
In the year that passed, Iran spoke and expressed itself in the most eloquent manner and said: now is the time for change.
The entirety of this evil regime has to be toppled. An organized movement is needed to navigate the flagship of freedom through the stormy seas of the uprising to the shores of democracy.
It is at this point that all eyes look to the Iranian nation’s great flagship, its vast fortune and its enormous asset: Ashraf.
Yes, indeed, Iran looks to Ashraf and to you the Mojahedin in Ashraf.
Ashraf is our most precious asset. It is the essence of three decades of struggle for freedom.
It is the guidepost to the path to Iran’s freedom and those who struggle for it.
And it is an inspiration to those who have persevered; the generation of the uprising.
All eyes turn toward you because, amid fire and blood, amid the deluge of conspiracy and terror, amid war crimes and crimes against humanity, you have kept the banner of honor and freedom hoisted as never before.
For more than seven years, you have been fighting a battle, which is fraught with dangers, unrelenting, complex and magnificent; a battle that is a shining star in the annals of libration struggles in contemporary times and reflects the Iranian people’s honor and national pride.
Indeed, you have turned Ashraf into an unwavering barrier against the evil designs of Iran’s religious dictator for Iraq.
For this reason, Khamenei warned that Ashraf is a source of mischief and the destruction for his regime. And 5.2 million Iraqi and three million Shiites are saying that you are their natural ally and partner in the struggle against the mullahs’ aggression, terrorism and sectarianism.
The mullahs have said that their destiny is tied to events in the streets of Baghdad, Beirut and Gaza. So, once you defeat the bilateral pacts to suppress Ashraf, and break the siege on Ashraf, the regime’s defeats will no doubt turn into a landslide that will topple the clerical regime.
No one can deny that the Mojahedin of Ashraf are deeply rooted in the hearts of Iranians, in the fabric of Iranian society and its history since 45 years ago.
For this reason, the chants in the uprising echoed what you, in Ashraf, had been saying since 30 years ago.
These are the terrifying realities which the mullahs saw and heard in the Iranian people’s uprising.
So we declare to the mullahs: you can detain and torture our people and our youths for supporting the Mojahedin or for visiting Ashraf or for having relatives in Ashraf all you can.
You can issue death sentences for them. You can condemn an ill and 70-year-old father to death.
You can prosecute friends, supporters and even families of Ashraf residents as Moharebs (Warring on God).
You can shout as much as you want in your court rooms that so long as the Mojahedin’s leadership remains, all of them and even their supporters are moharebs.
If the struggle and sacrifice for the freedom of the Iranian people is what you term as Moharebeh, then indeed, we are all moharebs and are proud of it.
We are fighting men and women and our struggle against the murderers of the Iranian people is to stand with our people.
And you, the Mojahedin in Ashraf, have withstood all conspiracies in the past seven years, the heaviest bombings at the behest of the mullahs, waves of terrorist explosions, attacks, assassinations, abductions and an oppressive siege.
The peaceful resistance that you displayed on July 28 and 29 became the focus of global attention.
The barbaric attack on your unshielded bodies with bullets and axes;
The assault by bulldozers and armored vehicles on Ashraf’s unarmed and defenseless residents;
Unbridled savagery on one side and never-ending resistance on the other;
With 11 martyrs, four who died because they were denied medical treatment;
With 130 maimed and 370 wounded who still carry bullet wounds.
With 1,000 beaten and bloodied;
And with 36 abducted by the Iraqi government, which has appealed to the courts against their release several times.
Greetings to you people of Ashraf, the Mojahedin of Iran’s freedom
I salute and praise the leader and commander of the army of uprising and liberty, who showed the way forward for Ashraf and inspired all to persevere. He formulated the ideals, strategy, politics and legal aspects of Ashraf’s struggle with the greatest historical honor and pride.
And I salute your martyrs, Hanif and Siavash, Mehrdad and Alireza, Asghar and Amir, Fardin and Sha’ban, Mohammad Reza, Hossein and Mehrdad.
Indeed, this is the price for hoisting the flag of change in Iran.
This is Ashraf, the source of hope, the spring of freedom, a bridge to the future, exemplifying Iran’s greatest treasure, on which the Iranian nation can bank. It is not some illusory promise. It exists, it is real, and indeed, it is present.
Ashraf is our asset for liberty, it is liberty’s tradition, and ultimately the guarantor of liberty.
To Khamenei, who has planted the agents of his notorious Intelligence Ministry at the gates of Ashraf for the past five months, we say that we see the demise of the blockade and velayat-e faqih in Tehran in your humiliating theatrics.
So, we say to the mullahs and their proxies that you can take the dream of destroying Ashraf to your graves.
Regarding the mullahs’ plots against Ashraf, I must emphasize that according to international law, especially Article 45 of the Geneva Convention, the United States is responsible for the violation of the rights of Ashraf residents even after handing over security to the Iraqi government.
Whether on the basis of international law, or according to the agreement signed between the US forces and every single member of Camp Ashraf, or whether based on moral and humanitarian principles, the responsibility to guarantee protection of Ashraf residents remains with the US.
We call on all governments to urge the United Nations to mandate its forces to directly assume the responsibility for protection of Ashraf.
We warn that as far as the Iranian people and Resistance are concerned, in addition to the Iraqi government, the US government and the United Nations would be responsible for any attack and bloodshed in Ashraf.
On behalf of all the defenders of Ashraf and my compatriots everywhere, let me make a solemn pledge that when the safety and security of Ashraf and its residents are at risk, we will never relinquish even the slightest bit of Ashraf’s legal and legitimate rights. Yes, let this be our word of honor.
Today, I was informed of the declaration and letters by 480,000 people in Diyala Province, where Ashraf is located. They have called for an end to the inhumane siege of Ashraf and for the UN to assume responsibility for the protection of Ashraf residents. The people of Diyala have asked the US forces to guarantee the prohibition against violence and forced displacement.
They have also asked the government of Iraq to act in accordance with the resolutions of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and majorities in 20 parliaments, and recognize the legal status of the residents of Ashraf as refugees protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
On behalf of the Iranian people and Resistance, I sincerely thank the people and tribes of Diyala. Hail to the courageous people of Diyala.

Dear Compatriots,
In the past year, assaults and conspiracies by the regime against Ashraf rose a hundred-fold.
Khamenei was convinced that in order to contain the uprising and mend the schism at the top of the regime, it must first eliminate Ashraf.
Khamenei also needed to destroy Ashraf to realize his evil designs in Iraq, because he viewed the Mojahedin in Ashraf to be the ones who expose his meddling and crimes and those who lead the call to curb the regime’s influence in Iraq.
Clearly, suppression in Iran and export of terrorism and fundamentalism are intrinsic to the clerical regime. Without it, the title of “the Supreme Leader of All Muslims around the world” loses its meaning and the Revolutionary Guards would lose its raison d’être.
Thus, cutting off the hands of the mullahs from Baghdad will lead to ending its rule in Tehran.
For this reason, confronting the domination of the clerical regime in Iraq has taken on importance for the Iranian people’s movement for freedom.
Accordingly, we ask, what right does the regime in Iran have to appoint a prime minister for Iraq or say that the premiership of Dr. Ayad Allawi, who has been elected by the people of Iraq, is a red line?
Truly, who is plotting to assassinate Dr. Allawi?
And who was it that disqualified the Secretary General of Al-Iraqiya, Dr. Saleh Mutlak and Dr. Dhafer Al-Ani and many other Al-Iraqiya candidates from taking part in the elections?
Was it not Khamenei who sent a message to Dr. Mutlak through his ambassador in Iraq that if he calls the Mojahedin terrorist just once, all doors would be open to him?
The only sin Dr. Mutlak committed is that he said, “The joint escapade of the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government outside the gates of Ashraf is a despicable act which seeks to justify the disgraceful siege and inhumane pressures against resisters who have dedicated their lives to freedom, their principles and their ideals.”

The renowned Shiite cleric, Mr. Ayad Jamal ad-Din, said, “I offer a litmus test to assess Iraqi political forces. Any force that is trying to expel the People’s Mojahedin Organization from Iraq has organic ties with the Iranian regime.”
Despite all conspiracies and threats, however, in the recent elections, the people of Iraq took a giant leap toward countering the Iranian regime and its proxies in their country.
Amid the storm of terrorism and fraud by Iran’s rulers, the alternative for Iraq, triumphed in the elections.
The new Iraqi government has not yet taken shape. But, in any case, the regime’s strategy in Iraq suffered a serious defeat.
Hail to the people of Iraq, who disrupted the regime’s plots to devour their country in virtue of their vote, determination and perseverance.
And now the time has come to evict and prevent the regime’s meddling in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and other countries in the region.
Look at Basra and Kurdistan, where people are demonstrating against the regime’s interference.
And look at the expression of disdain towards the regime in the region’s Arab and Muslim countries.
The courageous people of Afghanistan have in recent months repeatedly demonstrated against the Iranian regime and protested against the execution of defenseless Afghan refugees in Iran.
We hail the people of our brother nation of Afghanistan.
Dear Compatriots,
In the past year, Khamenei failed both in containing the uprising and in mending the split at the top of his regime. He fears eliminating the rival faction and is at the same time incapable of attracting it. Either way, the Iranian people are poised to overthrow this regime.
You can see that now Khamenei is no longer the ultimate arbiter of the regime’s factions, nor is he their unifier. He has plummeted to the position of the leader of the dominant faction.
Even Khamenei’s allies have abandoned him.
The regime’s crisis of existence has also torn apart the ruling faction. Defections and passivity are decaying the regime’s hold on power, including within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its paramilitary Bassij Force.
During Khomeini’s death anniversary, both factions, as hostile as they were towards each other disgraced their Imam. And there were charges and counter charges of treason.
I ask the ruling mullahs:
What option do you have other than biting yourself like a scorpion when surrounded by fire?
Tell us what are your achievements, other than being the world record holder in executions? And other than forcing the majority of the Iranian people below the poverty line?
And tell us what is left for you, other than oil revenues and the Revolutionary Guards Corps?
Look around you. Worst than an occupation force, you are surrounded by an oppressed nation.
You are surrounded by the curse of mothers, surrounded by the clenched fists of families reeling from oppression and injustice, and surrounded by the disdain of all sectors of society that does not want you, does not want you, and does not want you.
Also, let me refer to those who do want to keep this despicable regime but with in a reformed way. We tell them you are wasting your time. It is impossible for this fragile dictatorship to remain in power.
You can admonish the youth from calling for the overthrow of the system. But according to which religion is rising up against torture and rape considered a crime? And according to what religion is submission and surrender to the regime justified?
More than that, why don’t you clarify what you have to say?
Ahmadinejad said that the Ministry of Intelligence is a place of worship. We say this notorious ministry must be abolished.
What do you say?
Khamenei said the Revolutionary Guards is a momentous birth. We say this evil force has to be dismantled.
What do you say?
We say that the institution of the velayat-e faqih is a corrupt institution that must be abolished at all costs. What do you say?
Do not speak so much about the implementing the Constitution to the letter. Look at Evin and Kahrizak. That’s where the constitution is being implemented to the letter.
Don’t speak so much about the potentials of the constitution remaining idle. I remind you that Khomeini used these very potentials of the Constitution with which ordered the massacred of 30,000 Mojahed and dissident political prisoners in 1988.
Don’t speak so much about Khamenei and the dominant faction deviating from the “Imam’s line” and Khomeini’s path. Khamenei is a cheap replica of Khomeini in our times, with the same sinister and ruthless character.
You abandoned calling the Ahmadinejad government illegitimate. Worshipped Khomeini non-stop and shed tears for his unpatriotic eight-year war with Iraq. Tell us why are you still clinging on to a regime that is about to drown?
If you want, you can try to cozy up to Khamenei. Rest assured, though, that as was the case in the past year, he will not make any concessions to you other than demanding your repentance.
Nevertheless, opportunities are not lost. Join up with the demands and slogans of those in the uprising.
As far as we are concerned, criticize the Mojahedin and the resistance movement as much as you like. But acknowledge the right to sovereignty for the Iranian people and reject the totality of absolute clerical rule. This will be to your benefit and we will stand by you.
In his message on April 27, 2010, Massoud Rajavi called “on the dominant faction to respect the rights and share and the demands of Messrs Moussavi and Karroubi within the framework of the regime,” and emphasized “the need for their protection.”
Dear compatriots,
Owing to the uprising and the perseverance of Ashraf, the velayat-e faqih reached a point where appeasement was no longer effective. The fourth round of Security Council sanctions has not left any room for the policy of appeasement.
We tell Western governments,
For years, you engaged in futile negotiations with this regime. You bought time for it to complete its nuclear installations. You helped those affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards to assume power in Iraq. You included the PMOI in the list of terrorist organizations and betrayed the Iranian people’s resistance. You provided the regime the windfall gains of such a policy. Ultimately, however, you reached a dead-end.
We ask the US government, did you not sign an agreement with each resident of Ashraf in which you pledged to protect them in return for consolidating their weapons?
Why did you abandon protecting the residents of Ashraf?
Why did you renege on your promise before the Iranian people and the world public?
We ask policymakers in France: Is handing over a ruthless terrorist and murderer to the regime in Tehran legal? Or as the French media wrote, is it not kneeling, but prostrating before the mullahs?
We say that now this road has come to its end. You saw for yourself that this decadent regime lacks the slightest flexibility or openness. So, it is incumbent upon you to reverse the wrong course you had taken.
From our point of view, the new Security Council resolution and complementary sanctions by the US and Europe are necessary, but insufficient. Nevertheless, we insist that you do not hesitate in implementing these provisions.
The Iranian people, of course, demand far more than this; they demand that this regime must go.
We demand that you stop the purchase of oil and gas from this regime right now.
The oil, whose revenues are spent on Evin and Kahrizak torture centers, should remain in oil wells for the Iranian people.
Iran’s gas reserves should remain untapped instead of being allocated to the Revolutionary Guards.
We demand that Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and other regime leaders be tried by an international tribunal for genocide, namely the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.
We also demand that all restrictions that have been imposed on the Iranian Resistance in Europe and the United States be lifted.
The time has now come to close the file for a despicable and baseless dossier that has been acting against the Iranian Resistance in France for the past nine years.
The time has now come for the US State Department to remove the terrorist label against the PMOI.
It is incumbent upon you to acknowledge the right of the Iranian people and Resistance in demanding regime change.
It is incumbent upon you to recognize the National Council of Resistance of Iran and shun this regime, its representatives, spokesmen, advocates and operatives.
Dear Friends,
Today, we are witness to the declaration of majorities in 23 parliaments and 3,500 parliamentarians in 44 countries in defense of Ashraf and the Iranian people’s uprising.
2172 French mayors who rose up to defend the rights of Ashraf residents and the Iran uprising are among them and their statement is a golden and unforgettable document.
In these declarations, more than a billion people around the world have rushed to welcome freedom and democracy in Iran.
We recognize the United States and the Europe with the honor and humanity of those personalities who rose to defend the resistance for freedom; those who came to our aid during the most difficult times.
The likes of Mrs. Daniel Mitterrand, Mrs. Anissa Boumediene, Dr.  Vidal Quadras, Lord Corbett, Struan Stevenson, Paulo Casaca, Alain Vivien and Sid Ahmed Ghozali, who are symbols of advocating democracy.
Allow me here to say a few things to our friends from France.
Dear compatriots,
The velayat-e faqih regime will certainly be overthrown.
A testament to this reality is not just the regime’s decadence. The real testament is the steadfastness of your brave children of Iran in the face of this regime. Those, who like Ashraf, resist at all costs; those who keep the uprisings alive amidst darkness and repression; and those who stand resolute before the hangman’s noose.
So, we are with you, in Evin and Gohardasht, when you challenge the mullahs to hang you next.
We are with you, the 27 political prisoners, who have been condemned to death.
We are with those girls, who show off their hands with nails that have been pulled out by Khamenei’s henchmen.
Girls, who fearlessly expose the vicious tortures in prisons; those who, instead of being demoralized, expose Khamenei’s henchmen.
We are with you, the students, workers and teachers, who are incarcerated because of your righteous protests.
We salute each and every one of you, who are persevering in Evin, Gohardasht, Sannandaj, Adel-Abad and other prisons.
And we hail the children of the people of Kurdistan, Farzad, Shirin, Ali and Farhad and other political prisoners who were hanged in different Iranian cities by Khamenei’s murderous thugs.
Our greetings to all the martyrs, peshmargas and the people of Iranian Kurdistan. Those, who like the Organization for the Struggle of the People of Iranian Kurdistan, Khebat, correctly believe that moderation within this regime is nothing but a mirage and insist on their unremitting struggle until the overthrow of this regime and reject any negotiations with it.
Here, I must also remember the proud mothers and fathers whose grief and pain inspired the Iranian people.
I wish to recall an unforgettable symbol among these mothers: my sister, Forough Hassani, the mother of Neda Hassani, who did not rest in defending the ideals of her daughter to her last day. And now, I see Forough in hundreds of brave mothers who gather outside the torture chambers and courts and hold Khamenei and his regime to account every day.
Our greetings and praise to all of them.
And finally, I wish to address you, activists, supporters and friends of the resistance.
Those of you who waged a hunger strike for 72 days in defense of Ashraf. You Iranians, far from your homeland, kept this resistance alive and powerful.
Each and every one of you has an enormous responsibility in obtaining freedom for Iran.
When you return to your homes in Europe, America, Canada and Australia, organize the campaign to defend the uprising and Ashraf.
Compel the governments to change their policy in favor of the Iranian people.
And believe me, it is you who will again shape the world community’s policy towards Iran.
So, once again, renew your pledge with yourselves and your compatriots. Say that you are steadfast and ready to do what it takes to realize the freedom of the Iranian people and your pledge to them.
Dear compatriots,
The National Council of Resistance of Iran has bestowed me with a great, let me say an enormous, responsibility. For this reason, I must be the first to renew that pledge.
At this moment, I can, of course, see mourning mothers, and the agony and pain that the Iranian people, especially women, have gone through [over the last three decades?]; And, I also see the dreams and hopes of generations being dashed by the murderous Khomeini and his heirs.
I pledge before you and the Iranian people:
• For the revival of all the blood that was shed for Iran’s freedom;
• For the creation of a new society, based on freedom, equality, democracy, respect for human rights and separation of religion and state;
• a society, based on gender equality, where women have equal and active participation in political leadership;
• an Iran, where Kurds, Baluchis and Arabs, as well as all those suffering from dual oppression, attain equal rights and freedoms; and
• A country, where young people could expand their talents and creativity without suppression and restrictions and play a fitting role in running the affairs of their homeland. A nuclear free Iran who seeks peace and coexistence with her neighbors and diplomatic relations with all countries around the world.
I pray to and ask God to make me worthy of this responsibility in this struggle, to the very end and to my last breath.
In the course of this unrelenting struggle, I have nothing to count on but God’s benevolence, a leader like Massoud Rajavi, and the compassion and support that all of you have to offer. But, this in itself is everything.
What force can be more decisive than your love, your compassion, your tears and your prayers? What kind of power can trump your genuine solidarity?
So, let us march on with your support. And, let us call upon everyone to gather around the torch and banner hoisted for the regime’s overthrow, namely the resolute Ashraf and for the sake of freedom for the Iranian people.
Undoubtedly, the same power that placed this great ideal before us will also empower us to realize it. The same will and determination that protected Ashraf in the most challenging circumstances, the force that flared up the uprisings in the darkest of nights in Iran, will also establish freedom and democracy.
I believe in this magnificent future with my heart and soul and will offer everything I have to make it happen.
We have abandoned everything so that the Iranian nation gains everything. And so it shall be.
Hail to Freedom,
Hail to the People of Iran
Hail to all of you