NCRI, 14 June 2010 – At a Congressional briefing on Thursday, June 10, several members of the U.S. House of Representatives emphasized the need for the continued U.S. protection of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The bi-partisan call was made in light of the announcement by the United States military that the U.S. intends to evacuate Camp Grizzly in Ashraf and turn it over to the Iraqi Security Forces by July 1st. Many members at the briefing, which coincided with the anniversary of the uprising in Iran, also called for the removal of Iran’s main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). The following is the text of speech by Congressman Trent Franks(R-AZ)

Good morning. I’m glad to be here with all of you this morning.  I sometimes have a difficult time following someone like Dana Rohrabacher. He’s been a champion of freedom in our country and in our Congress.
And yet I just want to try to join with all of you in one fundamental truth that is common to all humanity and that is that there is something in the hearts of each of us that yearns for freedom, that somehow knows that this miracle of life is of great consequence.  And we want to find our place in the world, we want to find freedom, we want to worship as we choose, and we want to do that purpose that we feel God has put us here on this earth to do.  That has been the great yearning for mankind for centuries.  And I would suggest to you that that is the common history of the United States. 
There was a time when we found ourselves in this country wanting to take our own station in the world and yet we found ourselves under a rule of man rather than a rule of law.  And whenever the rights of man are in the hands of man, then they are subject to the whims of man.  When the rule of law, when a secular government that believes that every person from the janitor to the senator should be treated equally under the eyes of the law, then you have a freedom that allows each person to worship and to work and to dream and to pursue as they believe is right in the site of their own God. 
And I believe that’s what the dissidents of Iran want more than anything else. They want to take their station in life as free people and the mullahs and the government of Iran have oppressed them in a profound and hideous way.  And I want the people of Iran to know that sometimes it may not seem that the leaders of America understand the challenges that you face but the people of America are with you. 
We understand that you are oppressed by a government that seeks to force its own will upon you and to rob you of your freedom.  But the people of America truly understand that in a way that few nations on earth, perhaps, do as well as we do and we want you to know that with all of our hearts, the people of this nation stand with the dissidents of Iran.  We support you in your effort to seek a government that is free and that allows you to worship and to live as you choose under the rule of law where all people are protected and their rights are protected and we support you gaining that republic someday and dismissing these mullahs as the power hungry madmen that they are.  And I just want you to know that we believe that your struggle is critically important to the whole world. 
If Iran gains a nuclear capability under this repressive, dangerous government that is now in control of the state of the republic of Iran, it threatens the peace of the whole world and certainly, certainly, threatens the peace and stability and safety of the people of Iran.  And we are especially outraged when this government has perpetrated these political executions against your own people.  The outrageous killing of even the families of those at Camp Ashraf is beyond my ability to express.  It is a terrible, evil thing and I want you to know that it does not go unnoticed by many of us here in this country. 
Now, I guess I would just say this to all of you. Please continue to support these dissidents in Iran. I believe that, with all the challenges in this world, the people that are trying to rise to freedom in Iran represent the best hope of seeing this dangerous regime in Iran being overcome and replaced by a peaceful government that does not seek nuclear weapons to destabilize the planet.
It’s tragic in my mind that our own government hasn’t stood up to the repressive government of Ahmadinejad and the mullahs.  And sometimes it just amazes me that it is left on the shoulders of those, like the dissidents in Iran, like those that are seeking freedom, to somehow save the world. But that’s, in a sense, one of the challenges that you have and I hope that we somehow can support the dissidence of Iran, somehow let them know that we believe in their cause and that we appreciate the sacrifices that they’ve made and the tremendous danger that they have incurred. 
There are so many here behind me in these pictures who are silent witnesses to how great a sacrifice sometimes has been made for the cause of human freedom. And I pray that we can today commit ourselves to making sure that all of their lives were not lost in vain, and that they understand that they are still people who are committed to freedom for the whole world and, certainly, for the people of Iran. And with that, I just want to remind you that the God of universe sees these things and there is still great hope. And I hope that the people of Iran do not grow weary and I hope the people in this room do not grow weary of supporting them so then someday the light of human freedom can fall across every lonely face on this planet.
 Thank you all very much.