NCRI – New York, United Nations, on Tuesday September 20, Joe Lieberman attended a demonstration, organized by the Organization of Iranian American Communities in the U.S., in which thousands of Iranian-Americans strongly criticized the visit to the United Nations by the Iranian regime’s president Hassan Rouhani and also urged the UN Security Council to scrutinize the shocking massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988, seen as one of the biggest human carnages since World War II.
Following is the full text of Mr. Lieberman’s speech:
Thank you, you know I accept your nomination. Your very kind and thank you for greeting me this way. I so wanted to be here this morning that not even the traffic of New York city could stop me.
I walked the last several blocks and I’m proud to do it, I’m proud to be here. We are here for a very special reason, and I can’t tell you how much I find the passion and commitment and enthusiasm in this crowd contagious. We are here in the cause of freedom. Which is America’s cause, but honestly it is God’s cause. Every person deserves freedom because every person was created by god. And this regime in Tehran which claims to be acting in the name of god. How could a regime that acted in the name of god take gods children and put them in Evin prison and torture and murder them.
How could a regime that believed in god suppress the human rights of its own people, women, journalists etc., political opposition. How could the regime that believed in god really sponsor terrorism and aggression across its neighbors, and repeatedly threaten to the united states of America that it wanted to be bring death to our people. No my friends, that is not a religious regime. That reminds me of something, two of Americas great founders franklin and Jefferson said that resistance to tyrants is obedience to god. Remember that. Resistance to tyrants is obedience to god.
And that’s why we’re here. We’re here in the cause of freedom right? And it’s a universal cause, an American cause, and in this case a cause of the people of Iran. We’re here to celebrate a victory of freedom, for the long suffering residents of camp liberty, a miraculous victory for freedom. We’re here to carry on the fight for freedom now, to all the people of Iran held hostage by this tyrannical regime. And we’re here in this week of the United Nations General assembly, when the worlds powers, heads of state, foreign ministers come here, to speak our truth to these powers. And to say to them, please look at the record. Don’t treat roughen as if he deserved the respect of a recognized leader of a civilized country, like president Obama. Rouhani should be treated as the United Nations would treat the leader of North Korea, Kim Jung Un if he came here today.
Right, and look at the record Iran under this regime. North Korea under Kim Jung Un. Both brutal totalitarian regimes. Both spending much too much money building weapons to threaten to their neighbors.
The fact is that the regime in Iran has more blood on its hands than even the regime in Pyongyang, so we say to the United Nations, don’t be fooled by Rouhani’s smile. And anyway he’s simply a puppet for Khamenei and the IRGC. It is time my friends for a change. It’s time for a change.
It’s never easy to take on power that suppresses. But we’re on the right side and we’re on the right side of history. And we have reason today to be optimistic, I want to say first what did happen at camp liberty. The United States made a promise to protect the people at camp liberty and Iraq under the increasing influence of Iran pushed and broke that promise. For too long too many people at camp liberty and Ashraf before they were killed or wounded, lived in fear, but thanks to the work of the MEK the PMOI and supported in this case I’m proud to say by the United States department of state, notwithstanding the increasing influence of Iran over Iraq, all the residents of camp liberty are now free. Thank god.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urs8IIUeIXE
So…they said it couldn’t be done in camp liberty. But you and we all together did it. They say that the smart analyzers that we can’t bring freedom back to Iran. But you and I don’t accept that do we. Because understand our cause. And we understand the nature of this regime. We’re now as was mentioned, I’m proud to be the chairmen of a group called United against a nuclear Iran. This is more than a year after the Iran nuclear agreement was signed by the P5 +1 plus the Islamic republic of Iran. It’s almost 9 months into the implementation of the agreement. Remember that people in the United States government and all the governments of the P5+1 said this agreement would moderate the government in Iran. Would change its behavior, would bring it to be a member of the civilized community of nations. But what’s happened in the last year? Look at the record, there’s absolutely no change in the behavior in the regime in Tehran. It is in fact worse in every way. It is taking the money it got from the United States and other parties, strengthening its hold on the country, supporting terrorists who are killing people. Including threatening the lives and ending the lives of Americans. Sponsoring aggression throughout the region, and brutally continuing its suppression of the human rights of the people of Iran. So I would say that the record is clear look at the record, facts are stubborn things and they don’t lie. The Iran nuclear agreement has not changed the behavior, civilized moderated the behavior of the regime in Iran, if anything it is acting worse, and will continue to do so.
Now they’re going to think you and I rehearsed that. Because here’s what I want to say next. Based on the total absence of change in fact worse behavior, more threatening, more and more repeated threats to the united states and all of the civilized people of the world, I think we biter conclude that this regime in Tehran will not change. And therefore the only way to change the regime in Tehran is for the people of Iran to rise up and oust the regime that suppresses them and threatens most of the rest of the world.
We must together send that message to the regime but more to the courageous people in Iran who suffer under its brutal grip and they must believe that if they have the courage to rise up against this regime in the cause of freedom, following in the path of freedom fighters before them that unlike what happened during the courageous protests during the elections of June of 2009, this time beginning with the united states of America, we will stand with the people of Iran, we will work with the people of Iran, we will support the people of Iran until the people of Iran are truly free.
As much as you and I believe in our cause, I know that there are people who will tell us that we are foolish idealists. There have been people who have always said that to others who have fought for the freedom of themselves and their country, before. So don’t be discouraged by that. Remember what the great Margaret Mead once said, never underestimate the capacity of a small group of ordinary citizens to change the world, in fact, it’s the only way that has ever happened. We can do it. And remember what Martin Luther King said because, you who fight for freedom of Iran put yourself in the history, along with the heroes who fought for freedom, civil rights, human rights, women’s rights, gay rights, etc. etc. Including Martin Luther King, and Dr. King said at a dark and depressing hour in the civil rights movement, he reminded his followers the moral arc of the universe bends slowly, but it always bends towards justice and freedom. Remember that.
Let me go back a little further, to the American revolution. Because your cause is the quintessentially perfectly American cause. Consistent with the ideals in our declaration of independence, Thomas Paine one of the great courageous leaders of the America revolution said to his fellow revolutionaries when they began to rise up against the British who controlled them, and you know Britain was the great super power of the age, people looked at them as if they were foolish dreamers, and Paine said we have it in our power to begin the world over again. And against all odds they did. They began the world over again. They created a government to secure the rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they won the American revolution just as I am confident the people of Iran can win what I would call the second and true Iranian revolution for freedom for justice and for peace.
Free Syria is right. Look at the- who is the major cause next to Assad of a half a million deaths in Syria. Of millions of refugees outside and inside. It is in Syria- it’s Iran it’s the IRGC, our government has not acted to stand with the people. Let me go back – I’m on your side. Let me go back to what Thomas Paine said much later, President Reagan recalled the words of Paine, to begin the world anew we must vanquish an evil empire, he was speaking of the Soviet Union. Today that evil empire is based in Tehran, with the regime there. It exists in total and I want to end this, in total opposition and contradiction to the United Nations charter, that’s where we are today. What did the charter entered into of June of 1945, after world war 2 say, it said that the purpose of the united nations was to take steps towards and suppress acts of aggression such as Iran has been involved in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen etc. Iraq. To develop friendly relations among nations based on the respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. To encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without regard for race sex religion and language. Ladies and gentlemen this regime under Khamenei the IRGC , Rouhani has violated all of those principles of the United Nations charter, it is why Rouhani should not be greeted as an honored guest, but as an international pariah but as a violator of the principles of the united nations, it is why it is so important you are here today, and why I say to you based on what happened in camp liberty, based on the history that I tried to give you here this morning of those who have fought for freedom before you and causes that people thought could never succeed but did succeed, that we in our time , with the help of god and all of us pulling together, will live to see freedom and justice and the end of this regime in Iran. May it happen speedily in our days, God bless you. Go forward. I will be with you, every step of the way