Sheila Jackson Lee: Camp Ashraf will not be forgotten, I will continue to press for their safety

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee: "Camp Ashraf will not be forgotten. I will continue to press for the safety of those in that Camp even as the Iraqi government changes. So if you will take your cause as you have done close to your heart. Know that there are many colleagues of mine who likewise understand and know that though time seems to just stand still, it is important to know that we are building blocks, educating, cajoling and working with our leaders who are sensitive to these issues."

NCRI – 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 Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tx)

Thank you so very much for believing in the values of this nation of which you have now called home. Thank you for recognizing the value of petitioning your government. Thank you for showing the worldwide example, that it is the voices that will speak for those who cannot speak, that will be able to continue to rise above obstacles and prevail.

Human rights’ is alive and it is important to recognize the resistance movement for what it is; crying out for democracy, standing for those who have fallen, who are missing, and who cannot be heard.

And so I’ am overwhelmed by the response of a 100,000 who have come through you to stand and declare that the resistance movement is a movement of democracy and a movement of human rights and a movement of freedom. That is what we should declare.

We are between several votes but I left the floor to come and to let you know that many stand with you. This morning in a hearing in the Foreign Affairs Committee, I raised the question of the resistance movement and how we can redefine that movement and why we should take the time to analyze the movement and why we should empower, without violence, because you’ve asked that to be the case, those brave souls who stood up against the dictatorial regime, who went to the streets, who went to the rooftops and fell in battle nonviolently.

We must honor them with the recognition that the resistance movement are freedom fighters who seek only the peace and the understanding that all people are created equal and Iranian resistance supporters and advocates and the people who you have left behind deserve to claim victory through freedom, justice, equality and nonviolence and a nation that respects them for who they are.

Let me thank you for gathering today. You could not have a more able representative than the many I hear but I want to know that this distinguished gentleman really has not soles on the bottom of his shoes because he’s literally walking down to his feet making sure that the cause is heard.
 
Camp Ashraf will not be forgotten. I will continue to press for the safety of those in that Camp even as the Iraqi government changes. So if you will take your cause as you have done close to your heart. Know that there are many colleagues of mine who likewise understand and know that though time seems to just stand still, it is important to know that we are building blocks, educating, cajoling and working with our leaders who are sensitive to these issues.

I do believe if we are steadfast on the true cause and the true attitude and purpose of resistance, we will be able to acknowledge with the education and your advocacy, like my dear friends like Ali Soudjani who constantly reminds us in Texas of what is right that we will be able to sing the song not that we shall overcome but that we have overcome. Thank you so very much to every each one of you.