Ashraf is a bastion of resistance with deep roots among the Iranian nation.
Ashraf is present in the unrelenting protests of young Iranians and workers’ uprisings and students' strikes.
NCRI – Part 5 of the text of speech by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the gathering of more than 70,000 Iranian exiles in Paris on June 28, 2008:
Ashraf is a bastion of resistance with deep roots among the Iranian nation.
Ashraf is present in the unrelenting protests of young Iranians and workers’ uprisings and students' strikes.
NCRI – Part 5 of the text of speech by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the gathering of more than 70,000 Iranian exiles in Paris on June 28, 2008:
Amid the horrific killings and tragedies that rock Iraq everyday, two weeks ago, we were witness to the blossoming of a stunning political, social and cultural movement against the influence and interference by the Iranian regime in that country, manifesting itself in the declaration of three million honorable Shiites of Iraq.
Three million grievous Iraqi Shiites demanded a halt to the Iranian regime's meddling and crimes and called for its expulsion from Iraq. They demanded an end to the injustice and restrictions against the Mojahedin [PMOI/MEK], who are themselves Shiites.
The called for an end to scenarios similar to the killing of workers going to Ashraf when their bus was bombed.
They called for an end to the bombing of a water pumping station serving Ashraf [home to the members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Iraq], and which also provided water to 20,000 Iraqi inhabitants in 60 to 70 degree weather.
They called for an end to abductions of the Mojahedin, two of whom have so far been kidnapped in Baghdad.
They also called for an end to missile attacks on Ashraf, one case of which happened as recently as May 26th of this year.
The mullahs falsely claim that the Mojahedin had massacred Iraqi Shiites. But now, three million Iraqi Shiites emphasize in their declaration, "The PMOI… acts as the counterbalance to this regime and is a strong bulwark against the regime's meddling in Iraq, and has always stood with the Iraqi people."
The declaration shook the foundations of the mullahs’ rule in Tehran. The regime recognized the threat this posed to its influence, meddling and crimes in Iraq. There was nothing better than this that could have pushed back the mullahs who were exploiting the credibility of the revered Shiite Imams. The mullahs and their policy of sowing discord by taking advantage of Shiites’ grievances were dealt a strategic blow. It was obvious that the mullahs' Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] feared for his investments in Iraq. This was particularly the case because those who drafted this historic declaration chose to announce it in Ashraf City.
Immediately after the declaration, paid agents of the IRGC's Qods Force in Iraq mimicked the mullahs by condemning millions of Iraqis who voiced support for the Mojahedin. So furious were the mullahs that they made no effort to disguise their intention to export their inhuman punishments to Iraq to be meted out to anyone who had supported this declaration.
They declared, "Any individual, party, organization and institution in Iraq that would cooperate with the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq, whether Iraqi or otherwise, would be subject to anti-terrorism legislation and will be handed over to the judiciary."
In the mullah’s book, the three million Iraqi Shiites who signed this declaration are guilty;
135 parties, groups and associations which sponsored the declaration are guilty;
Any association which procured medicine, food or clothing for the Mojahedin in Ashraf has committed an offence;
In addition, all dignified and free-thinking representatives and spokespersons of the Iraqi people who are present here are guilty;
And those courageous and heroic deputies in Iraq's National Assembly who said they are proud to stand with the victim, no matter what the cost, are guilty;
And Paulo Casaca who was in Ashraf when the declaration was announced is guilty and must be handed over to the Judiciary.
In addition, Lord Slynn and many jurists as well as European and American personalities and Members of Congress who have gone to Ashraf, are guilty;
Even Dr. Vidal Quadras, the European Parliament’s Vice President, who has sent many video messages to Ashraf, is guilty.
Lord Corbett begins his message with saluting Ashraf. So he too is guilty! Our neighbors in Auvers-sur-Oise who have been to Ashraf are also guilty! From time to time, our compatriots chant we are Ashrafi! I have heard Raymond Tanter say the same thing! So all of us are in one way or another guilty! Because all of us are Ashrafis.
Indeed, we are all Ashrafis and are proud of it.
Yes, this is the nature of religious fascism. It considers anyone who dissents as being guilty and deserving of being handed over to the mullahs' judiciary so that their heads could be punctured with drills and their unidentified mutilated bodies buried in mass graves.
The International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf has in official letters to U.S. and Iraqi officials, repeatedly declared that the PMOI and residents of Ashraf welcome the opportunity to appear in any international court in Europe or North America to defend against any allegations levied against them by the Iranian regime and its proxies in Iraq.
The International Committee of Jurists has emphatically stated that it recognizes the International Fact Finding Commission, a credible international agency affiliated with the United Nations, as the competent authority to engage in an impartial examination of any allegation against the PMOI [MEK] and accepts its arbitration so as to dismiss the misguided information and demonization campaign of the mullahs' regime.
Let me return to three million Iraqis and their declaration:
The hysteric reaction by the regime and its agents in Iraq demonstrated, above everything else, the importance of the declaration by 3 million Iraqi Shiites.
Indeed, this was a turning point in the struggle of the people of Iraq in rejecting the fascism of the velayat-e faqih in their country.
It was a turning point in the expression of support by Iraqis for the Mojahedin [PMOI/MEK] as a bulwark against the regime.
And a turning point in shedding the dark stain Khomeini has placed on the visage of true Shiism and Islam.
The velayat-e faqih regime, having reached an impasse in Iran, was determined on dominating Iraq as a way to continue its survival.
But, today, its policy of meddling and terrorism in Iraq is backfiring in the face of the mullahs' regime in its entirety.
We can imagine a day when the disintegration of the pro-regime front in Iraq will herald the shattering of the bastion of velayat-e faqih in Tehran.
When the UK Court of Appeal revoked the terrorist label against the PMOI [MEK], Ashraf City came under the mullahs' missile attacks. And now that the Shiites have rebelled against this regime, Ashraf is again the target of vengeance. Why it that?
Because Ashraf is a bastion of resistance with deep roots among the Iranian nation.
Ashraf is present in the unrelenting protests of young Iranians and workers’ uprisings and students' strikes.
Greetings to the heroines and heroes in Ashraf City. As Massoud Rajavi said, "Ashraf is the symbol of perseverance and inevitable victory."
Today, the Iranian people and people in countries that are the targets of terrorism and fundamentalism are suffering from the policies of Western countries, which have emboldened the religious fascism. Their policies, according to the British courts, are perverse. It is treachery because it undermines global peace and security.
End of Part 5 of 9
