Ted Poe: ‘World must protect the dignity, the sanctity, and the safety of the people in Camp Ashraf’

Congressman Ted Poe: "I’m Ted Poe from Texas. I’m glad to be among friends. I see some of my fellow Texans over here. It’s an honor for me to be here and to talk to some right-thinking people about really one of the things that every person has in the world: Deep down in our souls, the way that we are made, there is a seed for the desire to be free. We are all made that way, no matter where we are from, no matter whether male or female; we have that in us. In some places that seed never gets to grow. In other places it does."

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 Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX)

I’m Ted Poe from Texas. I’m glad to be among friends. I see some of my fellow Texans over here. It’s an honor for me to be here and to talk to some right-thinking people about really one of the things that every person has in the world: Deep down in our souls, the way that we are made, there is a seed for the desire to be free. We are all made that way, no matter where we are from, no matter whether male or female; we have that in us. In some places that seed never gets to grow. In other places it does.

And today we are here to talk about our friends half way around the world, your families, your loved ones, and oppressed people, oppressed by their own government. Governments should represent the people. The people should decide what a government should be. The people should control government, not government control and enslave people.

We have a situation in Iran where the government has enslaved the people and denied them the human right of freedom. This week, just this week, the government has executed 27 Iranian political prisoners. Their crime, their only crime, was seeking to grow that seed in their soul for freedom. And for that they paid the price of their lives.

But you know some things are worth dying for. And freedom is one of those things. So I say to the sons of liberty and the daughters of democracy in Iran: Be strong, be courageous and be vigilant because we in the world know what is taking place in your country. We in America share your concern for the fact that you are being denied the human right of liberty

The government says that if you oppose them you are fighting God. But the government is a rogue government. The government is a corrupt government. The government is an illegitimate government. Does not God care about the freedom of the human spirit? Does not God care about liberty? Does not God care about justice? I think so.
 
And to the women of Iran: let me say this: My grandmother was the most influential person in my life and she told me a lot of things when I grew up that were true then and are true today. She said this about women; she said there is nothing more powerful than a woman that has made up her mind. That is a true statement. So to you, daughters of democracy in Iran; you have made up your mind that you will be a free people and you will be, because there is nothing like a woman that has made up her mind. I encourage you.

The world knows what takes place in Iran. The people in Iran may or may not know what the world sees because the government controlling the press and media only tells you what they want you to know. But we know what takes place in this corrupt, illegitimate, and rogue government and how the peoples are being treated. We are watching and we will be vigilant and make sure that the government be held accountable for the way that the citizens of this wonderful nation are being treated.

We are not just watching what takes place in Iran, we’re watching what takes place in the country of Iraq, in Camp Ashraf, where other good people, no fault of their own, find themselves housed in a camp. And it is important to the world, important to these people and to the people of Iran, to let these individuals know that we demand that they be safe, that they not be abused, that they not be kidnapped and tortured, and that they not be taken to other remote places in Iraq or other countries and hidden out, because the world must protect the dignity, the sanctity, and the safety of the people in Camp Ashraf. S, we are watching what takes place in Iraq as well.

Behind me are the photographs of many that have sacrificed their own life for liberty. But their voices cry from the grave, their freedom and their spirit of freedom cries from the grave and we hear that. We will not rest, we will not sleep, we will not eat until we make sure that the people of Iran have the right of individual freedom, liberty and have a government that they should put in place that represents them and they, the people of Iran, control their own destiny.

Thank you very much.