The Iranian regime threatens to suppress people during Fire Festival (Chaharshanbeh Souri, March 16)

The Mullahs regime fearing another mass anti-regime uprising during the annual Fire Festival celebration (Chaharshanbeh Souri, March 16), has given special guidelines to its repressive forces to stop students’ participation in the festivity.

Some of their actions reported:

- Summoning parents of students to schools to put pressure on them to prevent their children from going out on the day of festivity.  Regime's authorities are warning them that if their children were to be arrested, they will not be released until the last day of Iranian New Year holidays in April.

- Members of Bassij force in schools have been told to write essays about the dangers associated with Fire Festival.  Prizes will be given to 150 Bassij members for writing such essays.

- The state-run radio and TV station have been ordered to broadcast series of programs with the theme of “enlightening and warning” families and the young general in the run-up to Fire Festival. To this end a 90-minute program has been recorded that shows the dangers of fire crackers and Fire Festival ceremonies in addition to another 30-minute program that introduces the Fire Festival in a way approved by the regime. These two pieces are going to be shown widely by various TV channels, which are all run by the regime.

Common theme in messages and contacts received from people in Iran is very obvious people are not going to be intimidated and lured by such ploys and are going to continue with their uprising by chanting “Down with Khamenei” and “death to the principle of velayat-e faqih (absolute rule of clergy).”

Source:
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran- NCRI

Iranian women for a Democratic Change

President of National Council of Resistance of Iran Maryam Rajavi attends a meeting of MEP from different political groups on 23 February, 2010 at the European Parliament.

The Iranian opposition leader urges the EU to impose sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guards and place them on a European list of banned terrorist organizations.

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Excerpts of Speech by

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-Elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in the European Parliament, 23 February 2010

Courageous Iranian women are the forerunners in the uprising to topple the most barbaric dictatorship in the world today. They are mothers who gather in different parts of Tehran and urge the citizens to continue the uprising for freedom. They are young girls who have been imprisoned in recent months and are waging a resistance against the henchmen's tortures, insults and assaults. They are women who are leading the people in the course of the uprising.

It is no coincidence that Neda [Agha Soltan] became a symbol of the Iranian people’s uprising and that her image inspired respect for and solidarity with the Iranian people around the world.

The struggle of Iranian women against religious dictatorship has matured in an organized resistance movement, such that the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which is the principal movement in our resistance, is led entirely by women. Moreover, women comprise half the membership in the Resistance's parliament.

The first concerns with women’s participation in leadership positions which supplies the dynamism and vitality for this resistance's perseverance and progress.

Second is the impact of women's active presence in rejecting any capitulation to the dictatorship.

Third is the influence that women's presence has on creating a new humane culture and set of relations as well as on growing solidarity.

The fourth reality concerns the decisive role of women in bringing down the ruling regime

And finally, the role of women as a guarantor for lasting democracy and development in tomorrow's Iran.

Allow me to repeat what I said years ago in a major gathering of Iranians in London when addressing the mullahs ruling Iran: "You have done your utmost to humiliate, suppress, torture and slaughter Iranian women. But rest assured that your system of oppression will be eradicated everywhere by the same enlightened, liberated and emancipated women."

As the uprising continues, it is necessary for me to point out the attitude of the Iranian Resistance toward the defeated faction of the regime, which was declared from the outset of the protests. We have consistently condemned all assaults against them by the ruling faction. Moreover, the Resistance's leader, Massoud Rajavi, has stressed, "We welcome any attempts by the defeated faction to distance itself from velayat-e faqih [absolute clerical rule]. This is not merely a desire but a patriotic duty to prove our sincerity and commitment to the overthrow of the regime."

As far as women's issues are concerned, they have distanced themselves greatly from the demands of Iranian women.

Iranian women, of course, seek the overthrow of the religious dictatorship. But, I can raise a very simple yardstick: abolishing of forced veiling, which was ratified by the National Council of Resistance of Iran in 1987.

Inspired by the genuine Islam, we emphasize freedom, including women's freedom in choosing their clothing and attire and we reject any compulsion or obligation in this respect. This is what the Quran means by stating "there is no compulsion in religion."

Let any woman to be free in choosing what to wear or not to wear.

Sentencing women to imprisonment or 74 lashes because of the type of their clothing is a barbaric law.

We seek:

• The establishment of a republic based on the separation of church and state
• Pluralism and respect for human rights
• Abolishment of the death penalty in Iran after the fall of the clerical regime
• A non-nuclear Iran

Gender equality occupies a significant place in our viewpoints and programs for tomorrow's Iran. Details of these viewpoints are at your disposal. In tomorrow's Iran, all individual freedoms for women must be recognized, including freedom in choosing one's clothing, freedom of belief and religion, and freedom to marry and divorce, as well as freedom of choosing an occupation and travel. We believe in complete equality in social, political, cultural and economic rights between women and men. We particularly emphasize that women must have equal participation in the country's political leadership.

The clerical dictatorship has stepped up its policies of suppression and terrorism in all arenas in an attempt to forestall its overthrow.

Inside Iran, it has resorted to widespread arrests and increasing pressure and torture on political prisoners. Simultaneously, it has dispatched teams of agents from the Intelligence Ministry and the terrorist Qods Force agents to the gate of Camp Ashraf, embarking on an abhorrent psychological warfare to set the stage for carrying out another round of massacre against the residents of Ashraf.

In Iraq, it has attempted to highjack the upcoming parliamentary elections in March. It has also accelerated its nuclear weapons program and extended the range of its missiles to Europe.

The truth is that today, the sweeping aside of the main obstacle to democracy and freedom in Iran and the elimination of the grave danger to global peace and security have both merged into a single issue.

In the face of this danger, we all know that the European Troika talks in recent years, the policy of offering packages of incentives by the P5+1, and the US attempts at rapprochement over the past year, have all failed to produce any results other than emboldening the regime. They also failed to prevent the mullahs from getting closer to the nuclear bomb.

Fortunately, there are now growing calls being heard for imposing sanctions on the regime and blocking of the Revolutionary Guards.

But, these calls will only be taken seriously if the European Union and the US undertake specific and serious measures. These measures do not even rely on Security Council approval. They can be launched from right here in Europe.

Therefore, on behalf of all the arisen people of Iran, especially Iranian women, I call on the the European Union to:

1. Undertake effective and practical measures to confront the wave of suppression, arrests, show trials, sentencing of opponents on the charge of Moharebeh [“waging war against God”] and executions of political prisoners.

To this end, I propose that you form a special committee to address the flagrant and systematic violations of human rights in Iran, including the conditions of prisons, political prisoners, the families of prisoners and political activists and the families of the residents of Ashraf.

2. Conduct a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of female political prisoners in Iran, especially the systematic and premeditated crime of rape against the prisoners.

3. Shut down its extensive and active back-up institutions operating right here in Europe in order to counterbalance the suppression of the Iranian people by the Revolutionary Guards, The Guards has numerous front companies in Europe, which are active in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy and are involved in procurement of equipment and material for the suppression of the Iranian people as well as for the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. We expect the Council of Ministers to shut down all these companies.

4. Prevent the growth of the influence of the Revolutionary Guards in Iraq is an imperative in every respect. It is common knowledge that after occupying Iraq, the United States committed an even greater blunder by giving a share of Iraq's leadership to the mullahs' proxies and a part of the Qods Force.

Today, the most senior US commander in the region admits that the committee which eliminated the leaders of Iraq's nationalist parties from the list of election candidates is affiliated with the Qods Force. Nevertheless, the US continues to engage the very same Qods Force elements in Iraq.

5. Shut down the intelligence network of the mullahs' regime operating in various EU countries. They are actively engaged in espionage against the opposition and limiting of the Iranian society's breathing room. Western services are profoundly aware of the details of their activities. The religious dictatorship's spies are sleeper cells for terrorism against the people of Europe. The time has come to uproot them.

Call for support for Iranian students for democratic change

Rally in London 4 November 2009

Please join us in front of the 10 Downing Street – London for a rally in support of the people in Iran.

Students, workers, teachers, women’s rights groups and millions more are planning to take to the streets in Iran to demand change.
Despite the Government’s threats to crack down on those who come out that day, brave men and women are determined to show their resolve for change one more time. Let us add our voice and send a message of support that they are not alone.

They deserve our support.

Time: 11:00 – 13:00
Date: Wednesday, 4 November
Place: Whitehall, opposite 10 Downing Street (Nearest tube station: Westminster)

Background Info:

On 4 November, 1979, hardline radicals who called themselves student followers of Imam Khomeini, stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took American diplomats hostage, holding them for 444 days. This action was highly praised by Khomeini. Since then the mullahs’ authorities have organised an annual demonstration to commemorate the event marking it as the day of struggle against oppression.

However, after 30 years, those who have claimed to struggle against oppression have become oppressors themselves! Ahmadinejad, was one of the radicals in the US embassy tormenting the hostages, later in Evin prison he evolved to one of the most cruel interrogators and torturers who used his talent to break the morale of the dissident Iranian students, intellectuals, and opposition leaders in dungeons taking part in their execution. 

This year, on 4 November, calls have gone out on the Internet by all opposition groups inside and outside Iran who want to see an end to this regime to stage a counter-demonstration against the mullahs.

This is the first big planned protest since June 2009 presidential elections when widespread demonstrations rocked all major Iranian cities. Over 300 people were killed and some 4,000 opposition backers were arrested in a crackdown in street protests that erupted after Ahmadinejad was re-elected.  Hundreds of thousands chanted “Down with dictator” and condemned the fraudulent election result.

Ahmad Jannati, a top mullah official and head of the Guardians Council, in last Friday prayer sermon broadcast on state radio, threatened people against popular plans for holding demonstrations on 4 November.
He said,” 4 November is a day of struggle against oppression worldwide, some people who have made plans for this day to do something else must know that their plans will fail".
He added; "Any action that goes against the path of the people and against Velayat (religious rule) is destined to fail. ...authorities must act firmly against them".
"If the judiciary and the intelligence services act lightly, this would be a betrayal, you cannot treat with kid gloves those who have acted like our worst enemies" Jannati said.

Despite threats and promises to crack down on the crowd, opposition networks are working tirelessly to hold a momentous rally.

36 Ashraf Hostages were released

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”

Free At last, after 72 days, the 36 Ashraf residents, who had been abducted, were released and safely returned to Camp Ashraf.

Many of the hostages, who were on a hunger strike, are seriously ill but in a very high spirit. They were immediately taken to Ashraf medical center for treatment.

Mrs. Rajavi, Iranian opposition leader, who had repeatedly asked the hunger strikers to break their fast, sent a video message via satellite television to express her joy and commended their decision to end their hunger strike. President-elect of the Iranian resistance thanked Iranian compatriots, Iraqi officials and tribal leaders, members of parliaments and jurists, international human rights organisations across the globe for their relentless efforts to release the 36 hostages.

Also in London, hunger strikers ended their 72-day fast celebrating this victory.

Twelve  people in UK and hundreds more in 21 countries started to fast which continued for more than ten weeks in solidarity with abducted Ashraf residents in an attempt to convince international authorities to help with release of the 36 fellow Iranians taken hostage in a violent raid on Ashraf in July.

Upon hearing the news of the hostages’ release, everyone was crying, dancing, singing in the street in Grosvenor square in front of the US Embassy.
Video Clip
Celebrations continued late into the night. It was a truly wonderful end to a long rally for humanity, justice and love.

Huge international pressure, prompted by hunger strikers, helped bring about their release.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the vice president of the European Parliament, Dr Alejo Vidal-Quadras, and the former Prime Minister of Algeria, Sid Ahmed Ghozali, and thousands of parliamentarians, jurists, human rights icons, dignitaries and personalities across the world condemned the Iraqi regime for failing to release the refugees, despite three separate rulings by Iraqi judges.

Amnesty International joined the chorus of voices denouncing the actions of Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri Al-Maliki with another Urgent Action appeal which was its 12th statement since the ordeal started.

The hunger strikers chanting: "This is a huge victory for the people of Iran, for democracy, for humanity”.

However, the return of the hostages is just one of the hunger strikers' demands. They vowed to resume their fast if UN and US forces did not agree to monitor the camp and provide security from Iraqi forces.

Time to Celebrate

Please come to celebrate this great victory with us and with the brave men and women of camp Ashraf who have peacefully withstood this aggression using their tolerance and their bodies to shield their rights.

We are holding a vigil at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday 10 October, in front of the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square.

Event includes; Music, videos, presentation and speeches by dignitaries and humanitarian personalities and the latest update on the situation at the camp. Refreshments will be available.

Date: Saturday 10 October, 2009
Time: 17:30
Place: Grosvenor Square, Opposite the US Embassy
Closest tube station: Bond Street - Central Line

Please attend and bring your friends along to share the joy of a successful grass root humanitarian act.

PS. This event is FREE TO ATEND

Young Iranians in London urge support for Iranian youths, Ashraf residents

At a press conference on Friday called by the Anglo Iranian Youth Society, young Iranians living in London declared their support for the nationwide uprising in Iran by millions of courageous young Iranians.

Speakers said that several thousand Iranians had been arrested by the mullahs’ regime in the course of the uprising and have been subjected to brutal forms of torture. They pointed out that hundreds have been killed in recent months by the regime’s suppressive forces and many continue to languish in prison.

Arman Kiamanesh, 21, who works in the real estate business, said: "Iranian society is in an explosive state. The uprising has nothing to do with the factions of the regime or the election itself. The people want regime change. People are now chanting 'Death to the dictator' and 'Death to Khamenei'."

"Despite the atmosphere of heightened repression, Iranian youths are ready for change as has been seen in the recent nationwide uprising. Last year, Iranian students, teachers, workers and women took part in over 7,000 anti-government demonstrations. Iran's parliament-in-exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and its President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi have urged the international community to support the Iranian people and Resistance to bring about democratic change," Kiamanesh said.

The Iranians urged Western governments to end their appeasement of the mullahs’ regime and side with the people of Iran.

The Youth Society strongly supported the rights of Iranian opposition members in Camp Ashraf in Iraq. These refugees are “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the United States and the United Nations have a responsibility to ensure their rights are not violated

The young Iranians demanded Iraqi forces leave Ashraf and release the 36 Ashraf residents they have taken hostage.

They urged the US to take over protection of Ashraf in accordance with Article 45 of the 4th Geneva Convention until an international force can take over.

 Farzaneh Hosseini, 21, whose two parents are on hunger strike outside the US embassy in London and who also has relatives in Ashraf, called on UNAMI and the OHCHR to immediately station an international monitoring team inside Ashraf to prevent further attacks until a UN force takes over protection.

Miss. Hosseini also highlighted the horrendous situation of women who have taken part in the nationwide uprising, saying those who were arrested were raped and tortured in prison to prevent them from continuing. Taraneh Moussavi, she said, was a young Iranian woman who faced such brutalities and her body was later burnt to cover evidence of the crimes committed against her.

Arman Zolrahmi, 21, said: “The majority of those who have been protesting in Iran are young Iranians like me. Young Iranians are today very sensitive to the actions of the US government and the British government. They want to see if these countries are siding with the mullahs or if they are on the side of the persecuted people of Iran and their Resistance movement. In particular they are looking to see if the US will live up to its international responsibility to protect the brave people of Camp Ashraf. We young Iranians in the UK are demanding the US takes action”.

Dr Hoda Hosseini, 25, said: "The youths of Iran and especially women in Iran have been the main victims of oppression and injustice. Ashraf is home to many young men and women who stand for democracy and change in Iran. We in the West grew up with many of those in Ashraf and honour them with the highest respect."

"The  people of Ashraf were attacked like Iranians were attacked in streets of Mashad, Esfahan, Tehran, Shiraz and other Iranian cities, as the Iranian regime cannot tolerate any form of dissent. The Iranian regime knows that it is increasingly close to being toppled and has thus stepped up its campaign to suppress any opposition," Hossein said.

Miss Soudabeh Heidari, one of the hunger strikers aged 19, said she had decided to go on hunger strike nearly two months ago when she heard of the attack by Iraqi forces on Ashraf. Heidari, who arrived in the UK from Iran two years ago, called on the US government to live up to its international obligations to protect Ashraf residents.

Ms. Charlotte Medlicott, a young Londoner following developments in Iran, said she had been touched by the perseverance of the Iranians on hunger strike outside the US embassy. She urged the Foreign Office and the US to take immediate action to protect Ashraf residents.

The young Iranians want the international community to pay attention to the plight of the youths of Iran and those in Camp Ashraf, especially those who are on week 9 of a hunger strike demanding their basic rights.

For more info contact: angloiranianyouths@googlemail.com

Anglo-Iranian Youth Society
25 September 2009

London priests support Archbishop’s call for protection of Iranian refugees in Iraq

Numerous London priests on Thursday supported a call by the Archbishop of Canterbury urging the US government and the international community to protect 3,500 Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf in Iraq, and in particular 36 people who are being held while on hunger strike at an Iraqi prison despite two court rulings ordering their release.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who recently met several relatives of the Ashraf residents on hunger strike, has urged the US – as the agency responsible for the transfer of the residents to another jurisdiction – to live up to its obligation to secure the rights of these residents and to defend them from further violence or abuse.

Supporting Dr. Williams’ call, Father Frank Nally, from the Missionary Society of St. Columban, told a press conference outside the US embassy he had been in contact with the Archbishop of Westminster who had assigned an official to liaison between the priests and the UN Secretary General in order to compel the UN to station a monitoring team in Ashraf to prevent another attack.

Reverend Lindsay Meader, a minister at St. James' Church in Piccadilly, said: "We are going to contact the Anglican Communion Observer at the UN Dr. Hellen Wangusa and the secretary general of the Communion Canon Keneth Kearon to ask Ban Ki-moon to send a monitoring team to Ashraf to ensure the protection of its residents".

Iraqi armed forces attacked the civilian population in the camp at the end of July, killing and injuring some 500 refugees and arresting the 36. The residents of Ashraf and their relatives, many of whom are on day 59 of a hunger strike, fear another imminent attack.
The priests said they were concerned by the fact that there seems to be no international body which has undertaken to ensure that such an attack is not repeated. They said these fears prompted the head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, earlier this week to publicly state: "The continuing situation in Camp Ashraf, together with the fact that the 36 people taken from the camp in July have not been released, constitutes a humanitarian and human rights issue of real magnitude and urgency.  There is a strong argument in terms of international law that the Ashraf residents are ‘protected persons’.” 

Father Aodh O’Halpin, of the Missionary Society of St. Columban in London, said: "We pray for justice and peace for this group in London and other parts of the world and in Ashraf. We know God will have a special regard for those suffering in Ashraf".

Reverend Joe Hawes, of the All Saints Fulham Church, said: "People are crying out for help and the deafening silence from the responsible authorities is shocking, not least because the residents of Ashraf are on hunger strike".

Margaret Owen, a London barrister and prominent women's rights activist, announced that from tomorrow she would join the Iranians on hunger strike for the next five days.

Paul Walsh, from the Church of Notre Dame de France in London, called for the release of the 36 Ashraf residents.

Father Robert Hampson, of the Holy Trinity Vicarage of South Woodford, said: "36 people have been arrested, and against due law and two court orders they have not been released. We want to see action from those who have a say internationally, namely the UN. We want a UN inspection group in Ashraf; we want the American government to take its responsibilities seriously for human life".

Today is day 59 of a hunger strike by the 36 Ashraf residents in detention, many of whom have become critical ill with one losing his vision completely. Other Ashraf residents and hundreds of Iranians abroad are also on week 9 of a hunger strike demanding action to prevent another attack.

Christian Committee in Support of Camp Ashraf
24 September 2009