INU - At the Free Iran Gathering in Paris today, the president of the Iranian Resistance forces, Maryam Rajavi, gave a stirring and inspirational speech about how we can achieve freedom in Iran and peace in the Middle East simultaneously. The answer lies in supporting the democratic opposition forces, both the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its largest member group the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), and the will of the people of Iran.
In her speech, entitled “Three fundamental truths for obtaining freedom in Iran, peace and tranquillity in the Middle East”, Maryam Rajavi began by paying tribute to the over 100, 000 dignitaries, politicians, and activists from all over the world who came together to publically call for regime change in Iran.
She said: “I am humbled by your love for freedom. And I pay respects to the distinguished personalities who have joined us in solidarity with a free Iran and freedom for Iran from five continents around the world.”
Maryam Rajavi then noted the three major developments that impact on the Free Iran gathering and spell the end for the Iranian Regime:
1. Foiling the Iranian Regime’s plan to annihilate the Resistance movement be relocating members of the MEK to safety in Albania
2. The failure of the US and Europe’s policy of appeasement towards the Iranian Regime
3. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s defeat in the sham elections
Relocation of MEK
Maryam Rajavi also celebrated last year’s successful relocation of the brave members of the MEK from Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty in Iraq to Albania
She said: “Last year this time, the religious dictatorship ruling Iran was launching missiles at Camp Liberty to slaughter the members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (PMOI/MEK). Now, with their victorious relocation from Camp Liberty Prison in Iraq to Albania, it is the Resistance that is advancing and on the offensive vis-à-vis the regime. We are all jubilant and proud to have PMOI members and officials in Albania joining us in this gathering just now.”
The sham elections
Maryam Rajavi noted that Khamenei had originally planned to rig the elections in favour of Ebrahim Raisi, a member of the Death Committee who was in charge of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, because he thought Raisi would be the one to frighten the Iranian people into compliance with the mullah’s rule and end the rising tide of popular social uprisings.
However, the Iranian people were far beyond this point and Khamenei had to back down and rig the election in favour of incumbent Hassan Rouhani.
Maryam Rajavi said: “This readiness against the totality of the regime was prompted by the campaigns of Iranian Resistance forces and supporters about the 1988 massacre, exposing Raisi’s background, and calling for the boycott of the sham elections. Hundreds of articles and interviews appeared in the state-run press and media to justify the massacre and Khomeini’s fatwa on the massacre was published for the first time 29 years after the massacre.”
She continued: “Khamenei’s representatives were saying that the MEK has resurfaced in the country. Intelligence and security officials were repeatedly boasting of the arrest of MEK members, who were attempting to sabotage the election. In the final days before the election, Khamenei, cognizant of the volatile state of society, had to back down from his plan because he feared a repeat of the 2009 uprising.”
Maryam Rajavi made clear that appointing Hassan Rouhani will not sate the Iranian people’s desire for change because Rouhani, for all the false shows of “moderation”, is just as complicit in the crimes of the Regime.
Maryam Rajavi said: “By “engineering” the election and fabricating the vote tally, the mullahs claimed more than 70 percent of Iranians had voted for their own executioners. A month later, however, the Assembly of Experts issued an official statement in which it declared that under the mullahs’ Islam, “people’s vote, demands, and views” have no importance whatsoever.”
She continued: “With this election, the mullahs had intended to improve the regime’s situation. But they divided and destabilised the regime. Now, they are planning and threatening to oust Rouhani.”
However, this sham election has demonstrated just how much the Iranian Regime fears their own people and the MEK.
Maryam Rajavi said: “By slandering the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK), they sought to set the stage for bringing to power an executioner. But they failed again and showed how much they fear the MEK and the Iranian Resistance.”
She then warned the Iranian Regime that their time was running out and the MEK would keep fighting for the freedom of the Iranian people until it was achieved.
Maryam Rajavi said: “So, to the ruling mullahs, we say: Do whatever you can; say and make up whatever you want against our movement in your Friday prayer masquerades, but beware that the same people for years whom you claimed had been annihilated, are present in the scene and have come after you. The same people you hanged and whose graves you concealed, have risen again as a new generation of rebellious youths who, with their calls for justice, have encircled your regime. The nooses you tightened around the necks of Iran’s valiant youths, have turned into rings of fire from which you have no escape.”
Three fundamental truths
Maryam Rajavi outlined that there are three fundamental truths for obtaining freedom in Iran, and peace in the Middle East:
1. The Iranian Regime must be overthrown
2. The overthrow is within reach
3. The Iranian Resistance (NCRI/MEK) is capable of toppling the Regime
She said: “The winds of change have started blowing in our homeland. The ruling regime is in disarray and paralysed as never before. Iranian society is simmering with discontent and the international community is finally getting closer to the reality that appeasing the ruling theocracy is misguided.”
The only solution is Regime Change
Maryam Rajavi assessed that the Iranian Regime is not capable of reform, as the Regime has been claiming to reform for 20 years now, but not actually doing it. She advised that giving concessions to the Iranian Regime will not help achieve change, because this policy has not been successful over the past three decades. She also advised that it was impossible to contain the Regime and that attempts to do so have only obstructed the adoption of a firm policy against the regime
Maryam Rajavi said: “The conclusion is what the Iranian Resistance has emphasised since the outset and many in the world have reached today: The solution, and the only solution, is regime change.”
The Iranian people’s revolution
The greatest threat to the Iranian Regime comes from those living under it. The Iranian people are ready for regime change; almost 11,000 protests and demonstrations against the Regime took place in 2016 and that number is only set to rise.
Maryam Rajavi said: “Look at those grave dwellers, the 10-million unemployed, the 20-million shanty-town dwellers and the 30 percent who are starving. The mullahs are encircled by these very people. The hand-picked candidates for the sham presidential election admitted that this is a regime of the 4 percent and that 96 percent of the people despise it.”
She went on to say: “The reality is that the overthrow of the religious dictatorship is possible and within reach because of the regime’s incompetence, including its inability to contain the country’s economic disintegration and environmental disasters, the inability to provide for the most basic needs of our enraged people, its inability to obtain nuclear weapons, and its failure to consolidate the regime.”
She continued: “Regime change is within reach because the mullahs have gotten themselves stuck in three wars of attrition in the Middle East. Their withdrawal from these conflicts in whatever form or shape will undermine their own existence.”
The force for change and the democratic alternative
Then Maryam Rajavi outlined her case for the Iranian Resistance and how they provide effective opposition to the Iranian Regime, citing the public support for the MEK, which was especially evident during the recent sham elections.
She said: “Since last July, the Iranian Resistance has hoisted the banner of seeking justice for the victims of the massacre of political prisoners 29 years ago, turning it into the main focus of political discourse in Iran today. In the recent sham elections, our slogan of “No to the executioner, no to the charlatan” was widely embraced by the public such that Khamenei was furious about why the place of the executioner and the victim have been switched. Yes, the time has come for exposing the executioners until the day when they will be held to account before the Iranian nation.”
Maryam Rajavi explained that not only did the MEK and the Resistance have the will of the people, they also have the ability to rule as an effective government, which they have shown as they govern as exiles in France.
She said: “The Resistance is an organised and united movement with thousands of trailblazing and selfless members. It relies on the genuine support of Iranians at home and abroad and the tireless efforts of its dedicated supporters. It is relying on political prisoners, who reaffirmed their support recently for this gathering from the depth of their cells and dungeons. It is relying on women, workers, teachers, professionals, and selfless youths. It is relying on their unsparing love and generous support, those who borrow money and sell their houses and properties to help keep this Resistance independent, strong, and solidified. With the efforts and the audacity of members of the Iranian Resistance, we could expose the mullahs’ secret nuclear sites while no other government had any information about them.”
She said: “We have always stood by what we have said and promised. Not a day goes by without the movement fighting relentlessly for the cause of freedom. Some 120,000 members and sympathisers of this movement have been executed, and the movement has been subjected to massive repression and a continuous barrage of propaganda since June 20, 1981; the mountains wavered, but your Resistance movement remained steadfast. And it will not relent until it uproots the medieval mullahs’ Caliph, Khamenei. Now, [our Resistance] will pass through fire and it will make the ultimate sacrifice… to turn Iran into a flourishing garden of freedom and justice.”
Maryam Rajavi noted that the Iranian Resistance offers a political alternative against tyranny.
She also took the time to praise Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Resistance.
She said: “With a call for freedom, he founded the Democratic alternative and the Liberation Army. When Khomeini was destroying everything, he confronted the religious fascism, by organising the progressive, anti-dictatorial fighting force, which blossomed with the formation of the National Council of Resistance and the National Liberation Army of Iran. He initiated an anti-fundamentalist movement in the region. Through perseverance and with great risk at every step of this half-a-century struggle from Evin to Ashraf, he revived and blossomed an invincible and trailblazing generation in the fight to free Iran.”
An appropriate response to Iran’s political and social schisms
Maryam Rajavi noted that the Resistance was the only appropriate choice to fight the Regime’s disastrous policies.
She said: “Our unwavering belief in universal suffrage and the people’s free choice, our commitment to the separation of religion and state, our emphasis on women’s active and equal participation in political leadership, and our defence of the autonomy of various ethnic groups in the framework of Iran’s territorial integrity and our people’s democratic aspirations for a free Iran in the future, represent significant parts of the Democratic alternative’s wherewithal. This alternative is the appropriate response to the most significant political and social divides in Iranian society: It responds to the differences among various ethnic groups. It responds to discord and divide between Shiites and Sunnis. It also responds to the tensions between Iran and the countries in the region.”
She highlighted the huge differences between the Iranian Resistance, which is committed to peace, and the Regime which is the number one state sponsor of terror.
She said: “You know that the main demand of this democratic alternative is freedom and democracy for Iran, but the Iranian Resistance is also known for its staunch and persistent opposition to the policy of export of terrorism and fundamentalism. From the outset, the regime was at war with the people of Iran. All the other wars waged against foreign countries were designed to cover up this main conflict. These wars are not a sign of the regime’s strength. The problem is that no government in the region has ever attempted to prevent the regime’s belligerence.”
She continued: “Out of the past 38 years, the mullahs were engaged in war with Iraq for eight years, have been at war with the people of Syria for six years, and have pursued confrontation with the international community for more than ten years to build an atomic bomb.”
Maryam Rajavi spoke on the constant, unwavering opposition that the Resistance has provided to the Regime.
She said: “The Iranian Resistance is proud that it has stood up to the mullahs’ religious fascism in all these three spheres: It has been the flag-bearer of peace and freedom; it has been a vanguard in defending the people of Syria, and it has led the way for a non-nuclear Iran.”
She continued: “In our view and in the view of the freedom-loving people of Iran, the Constitution of the ruling religious tyranny is illegitimate, discredited, and void. Our people want a constitution based on freedom, democracy, and equality. The time has come for the international community to heed the demands of the people of Iran.”
She advises that the Resistance does not want money or weapons from the international community, just political support.
She said: “We say that the struggle of the people of Iran for regime change is legitimate, righteous and imperative. We urge you to recognise this “resistance against oppression.” The same notion that is stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in France’s Declaration of Human Rights and Citizens’ Rights. This has also been stated in the American Declaration of Independence where it says, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of” the people’s rights, “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” of their liking. Yes, the Iranian Resistance is determined to uproot the regime which the people of Iran despise.”
Maryam Rajavi highlighted that supporting the Resistance was the only solution to the crises in the Middle East and welcomed the support that they had received from the Arab, Islamic, American Summit in Riyadh in May.
She said: “We emphasise that the ultimate solution to the crisis in the region and confronting groups like ISIS, is the overthrow of the Iranian regime by the Iranian people and Resistance.”
She called on the international community to recognise the resistance of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs’ religious dictatorship, to the regime from the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and hand over Iran’s seat to the Iranian people’s Resistance, to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and evict it from the entire region and to seek justice against the Regime for their flagrant violations of human rights, crimes against humanity, particularly the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran, and for their war crimes.
Maryam Rajavi concluded with a call to the Iranian people.
She said: “Dear compatriots, I rely on your enormous power, on your restless quest for freedom and equality. I count on you, the women and youths of Iran, the Kurds, the Balouchis, the Arabs, Azeris, Turkomans, Lors and Bakhtiaries. There is a power in you that has made the ruling dictatorship desperate in the face of your resistance and protests; there is a power in you which can definitely overthrow the religious fascist regime.
”
She continued: “With this election, the mullahs had intended to improve the regime’s situation. But they divided and destabilised the regime. Now, they are planning and threatening to oust Rouhani.”However, this sham election has demonstrated just how much the Iranian Regime fears their own people and the MEK.Maryam Rajavi said: “By slandering the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK), they sought to set the stage for bringing to power an executioner. But they failed again and showed how much they fear the MEK and the Iranian Resistance.”She then warned the Iranian Regime that their time was running out and the MEK would keep fighting for the freedom of the Iranian people until it was achieved.Maryam Rajavi said: “So, to the ruling mullahs, we say: Do whatever you can; say and make up whatever you want against our movement in your Friday prayer masquerades, but beware that the same people for years whom you claimed had been annihilated, are present in the scene and have come after you. The same people you hanged and whose graves you concealed, have risen again as a new generation of rebellious youths who, with their calls for justice, have encircled your regime. The nooses you tightened around the necks of Iran’s valiant youths, have turned into rings of fire from which you have no escape.”Three fundamental truthsMaryam Rajavi outlined that there are three fundamental truths for obtaining freedom in Iran, and peace in the Middle East:1. The Iranian Regime must be overthrown2. The overthrow is within reach3. The Iranian Resistance (NCRI/MEK) is capable of toppling the RegimeShe said: “The winds of change have started blowing in our homeland. The ruling regime is in disarray and paralysed as never before. Iranian society is simmering with discontent and the international community is finally getting closer to the reality that appeasing the ruling theocracy is misguided.”The only solution is Regime ChangeMaryam Rajavi assessed that the Iranian Regime is not capable of reform, as the Regime has been claiming to reform for 20 years now, but not actually doing it. She advised that giving concessions to the Iranian Regime will not help achieve change, because this policy has not been successful over the past three decades. She also advised that it was impossible to contain the Regime and that attempts to do so have only obstructed the adoption of a firm policy against the regimeMaryam Rajavi said: “The conclusion is what the Iranian Resistance has emphasised since the outset and many in the world have reached today: The solution, and the only solution, is regime change.”The Iranian people’s revolutionThe greatest threat to the Iranian Regime comes from those living under it. The Iranian people are ready for regime change; almost 11,000 protests and demonstrations against the Regime took place in 2016 and that number is only set to rise.Maryam Rajavi said: “Look at those grave dwellers, the 10-million unemployed, the 20-million shanty-town dwellers and the 30 percent who are starving. The mullahs are encircled by these very people. The hand-picked candidates for the sham presidential election admitted that this is a regime of the 4 percent and that 96 percent of the people despise it.”She went on to say: “The reality is that the overthrow of the religious dictatorship is possible and within reach because of the regime’s incompetence, including its inability to contain the country’s economic disintegration and environmental disasters, the inability to provide for the most basic needs of our enraged people, its inability to obtain nuclear weapons, and its failure to consolidate the regime.”She continued: “Regime change is within reach because the mullahs have gotten themselves stuck in three wars of attrition in the Middle East. Their withdrawal from these conflicts in whatever form or shape will undermine their own existence.”The force for change and the democratic alternativeThen Maryam Rajavi outlined her case for the Iranian Resistance and how they provide effective opposition to the Iranian Regime, citing the public support for the MEK, which was especially evident during the recent sham elections.She said: “Since last July, the Iranian Resistance has hoisted the banner of seeking justice for the victims of the massacre of political prisoners 29 years ago, turning it into the main focus of political discourse in Iran today. In the recent sham elections, our slogan of “No to the executioner, no to the charlatan” was widely embraced by the public such that Khamenei was furious about why the place of the executioner and the victim have been switched. Yes, the time has come for exposing the executioners until the day when they will be held to account before the Iranian nation.”Maryam Rajavi explained that not only did the MEK and the Resistance have the will of the people, they also have the ability to rule as an effective government, which they have shown as they govern as exiles in France.She said: “The Resistance is an organised and united movement with thousands of trailblazing and selfless members. It relies on the genuine support of Iranians at home and abroad and the tireless efforts of its dedicated supporters. It is relying on political prisoners, who reaffirmed their support recently for this gathering from the depth of their cells and dungeons. It is relying on women, workers, teachers, professionals, and selfless youths. It is relying on their unsparing love and generous support, those who borrow money and sell their houses and properties to help keep this Resistance independent, strong, and solidified. With the efforts and the audacity of members of the Iranian Resistance, we could expose the mullahs’ secret nuclear sites while no other government had any information about them.”She said: “We have always stood by what we have said and promised. Not a day goes by without the movement fighting relentlessly for the cause of freedom. Some 120,000 members and sympathisers of this movement have been executed, and the movement has been subjected to massive repression and a continuous barrage of propaganda since June 20, 1981; the mountains wavered, but your Resistance movement remained steadfast. And it will not relent until it uproots the medieval mullahs’ Caliph, Khamenei. Now, [our Resistance] will pass through fire and it will make the ultimate sacrifice… to turn Iran into a flourishing garden of freedom and justice.”Maryam Rajavi noted that the Iranian Resistance offers a political alternative against tyranny.She also took the time to praise Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Resistance.She said: “With a call for freedom, he founded the Democratic alternative and the Liberation Army. When Khomeini was destroying everything, he confronted the religious fascism, by organising the progressive, anti-dictatorial fighting force, which blossomed with the formation of the National Council of Resistance and the National Liberation Army of Iran. He initiated an anti-fundamentalist movement in the region. Through perseverance and with great risk at every step of this half-a-century struggle from Evin to Ashraf, he revived and blossomed an invincible and trailblazing generation in the fight to free Iran.”An appropriate response to Iran’s political and social schismsMaryam Rajavi noted that the Resistance was the only appropriate choice to fight the Regime’s disastrous policies.She said: “Our unwavering belief in universal suffrage and the people’s free choice, our commitment to the separation of religion and state, our emphasis on women’s active and equal participation in political leadership, and our defence of the autonomy of various ethnic groups in the framework of Iran’s territorial integrity and our people’s democratic aspirations for a free Iran in the future, represent significant parts of the Democratic alternative’s wherewithal. This alternative is the appropriate response to the most significant political and social divides in Iranian society: It responds to the differences among various ethnic groups. It responds to discord and divide between Shiites and Sunnis. It also responds to the tensions between Iran and the countries in the region.”She highlighted the huge differences between the Iranian Resistance, which is committed to peace, and the Regime which is the number one state sponsor of terror.She said: “You know that the main demand of this democratic alternative is freedom and democracy for Iran, but the Iranian Resistance is also known for its staunch and persistent opposition to the policy of export of terrorism and fundamentalism. From the outset, the regime was at war with the people of Iran. All the other wars waged against foreign countries were designed to cover up this main conflict. These wars are not a sign of the regime’s strength. The problem is that no government in the region has ever attempted to prevent the regime’s belligerence.”She continued: “Out of the past 38 years, the mullahs were engaged in war with Iraq for eight years, have been at war with the people of Syria for six years, and have pursued confrontation with the international community for more than ten years to build an atomic bomb.”Maryam Rajavi spoke on the constant, unwavering opposition that the Resistance has provided to the Regime.She said: “The Iranian Resistance is proud that it has stood up to the mullahs’ religious fascism in all these three spheres: It has been the flag-bearer of peace and freedom; it has been a vanguard in defending the people of Syria, and it has led the way for a non-nuclear Iran.”She continued: “In our view and in the view of the freedom-loving people of Iran, the Constitution of the ruling religious tyranny is illegitimate, discredited, and void. Our people want a constitution based on freedom, democracy, and equality. The time has come for the international community to heed the demands of the people of Iran.”She advises that the Resistance does not want money or weapons from the international community, just political support.She said: “We say that the struggle of the people of Iran for regime change is legitimate, righteous and imperative. We urge you to recognise this “resistance against oppression.” The same notion that is stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in France’s Declaration of Human Rights and Citizens’ Rights. This has also been stated in the American Declaration of Independence where it says, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of” the people’s rights, “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” of their liking. Yes, the Iranian Resistance is determined to uproot the regime which the people of Iran despise.”Maryam Rajavi highlighted that supporting the Resistance was the only solution to the crises in the Middle East and welcomed the support that they had received from the Arab, Islamic, American Summit in Riyadh in May.She said: “We emphasise that the ultimate solution to the crisis in the region and confronting groups like ISIS, is the overthrow of the Iranian regime by the Iranian people and Resistance.”She called on the international community to recognise the resistance of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs’ religious dictatorship, to the regime from the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and hand over Iran’s seat to the Iranian people’s Resistance, to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and evict it from the entire region and to seek justice against the Regime for their flagrant violations of human rights, crimes against humanity, particularly the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran, and for their war crimes.Maryam Rajavi concluded with a call to the Iranian people.She said: “Dear compatriots, I rely on your enormous power, on your restless quest for freedom and equality. I count on you, the women and youths of Iran, the Kurds, the Balouchis, the Arabs, Azeris, Turkomans, Lors and Bakhtiaries. There is a power in you that has made the ruling dictatorship desperate in the face of your resistance and protests; there is a power in you which can definitely overthrow the religious fascist regime.