{"id":225520,"date":"2020-09-09T13:03:47","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T12:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=225520"},"modified":"2023-01-25T17:54:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T16:54:27","slug":"online-conference-reject-mullahs-propaganda-against-irans-democratic-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/online-conference-reject-mullahs-propaganda-against-irans-democratic-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Conference Reject Mullahs\u2019 Propaganda Against Iran\u2019s Democratic Resistance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MEK virtual conference in Ashraf-3 (Albania)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Saturday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran held the latest in a series of virtual conferences to discuss escalating conflicts between the Iranian regime and its people. As well as highlighting recent activities by the country\u2019s democratic opposition, the event celebrated the 55th anniversary of the founding of the NCRI\u2019s main constituent group, the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In July NCRI held a similar conference over three days, in place of an annual in-person gathering of expatriates. Saturday\u2019s event conveyed much the same message as the \u201cFree Iran Global Summit,\u201d<\/a> but placed much more emphasis on the perspective of the Iranians themselves, as opposed to the geographically and ideologically diverse supporters who have participated in previous gatherings.<\/p>\n

Both events were viewed in real time by members of approximately 300 Iranian communities from throughout the world. Many representatives of those communities took center stage in Saturday\u2019s livestream, as individual supporters of the MEK<\/a> delivered personal remarks detailing the MEK\u2019s ongoing struggle for freedom and outlining their expectations regarding the aftermath of recent mass uprisings in Iran.<\/p>\n

Speakers joined the conference from California, Texas, Virginia, Germany, France, Sweden, and so on. While many are professional or political activists, others hold careers in fields like education, medicine, and engineering, but have committed to supporting the Iranian Resistance through financial donations, political campaigns, and echoing voice of the Iranian people in events and demonstrations organized by the NCRI and MEK.<\/p>\n

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Maryam Rajavi waving to thousands of Iranians all over the world joining the Iranian Resistance’s virtual conference<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some speakers acknowledged being raised in families that have supported the MEK since its founding, but others described realizing later in life that the MEK and NCRI represent the best hope for democracy and civil rights in Iran. Fatemeh Sarhadi, of the Association for Human Rights and Democracy, told the conference, \u201cMy relationship with the MEK did not begin in friendship. I had many questions. But as I asked and learned, I came to respect their ideals, the sacrifices they have made and the struggle they lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The MEK\u2019s leading role in the Iranian people\u2019s struggle for freedom, particularly inside Iran, has become much more apparent in recent years. For most of the 41 years the mullahs have been in power, the Iranian regime has been trying to downplay the MEK\u2019s strength and popularity, brushing off the MEK as a \u201ccult\u201d or a \u201cgrouplet\u201d with little organization or support within Iran. But in January 2018, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was effectively compelled to walk back this propaganda after a nationwide uprising revealed widespread popular endorsement of the MEK\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n

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Thousands of Iranians from all over the world join the Iranian Resistance’s virtual conference<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Khamenei explained in a speech while the uprisings was still ongoing, the MEK had \u201cplanned for months\u201d to popularize anti-government slogans and facilitate public demonstrations in upwards of 100 cities and towns. Participants in the uprising called attention to a false distinction between two factions of the regime. Identifying \u201chardliner\u201d and \u201creformists\u201d by name, the protesters declared that \u201cthe game is over\u201d and that they intend to overthrow this regime.<\/p>\n

But unlike other countries, the alternative to the mullahs\u2019 regime is clear. The NCRI has long identified Mrs. Maryam Rajavi<\/a> as the prospective leader of a transitional Iranian government following the mullahs\u2019 overthrow and pending the country\u2019s first truly free elections. Commitment to such elections is part of Mrs. Rajavi\u2019s 10-point plan<\/a>, which outlines the NCRI\u2019s vision for the future of Iran. Other specific principles that attract the people and especially the youth of Iran to the Iranian Resistance include separation of religion from the state, gender equality, freedom of expression, and disregard for nuclear weapons and ethnic or sectarian conflicts.<\/p>\n

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Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the conclusion of Saturday\u2019s conference, the participating Iranian communities presented a joint statement affirming these principles and making it clear that they can be achieved only via the overthrow of the existing regime. And toward that end, the participants also appealed for international assistance, not in the form of direct intervention but simply through coordinated political support for the Iranian people and recognizing their right to overthrow the mullahs\u2019 regime.<\/p>\n

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Ashraf-3, home of the MEK members<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe international community must recognize the right of the Iranian people to fight against religious fascism and to establish democracy and the rule of the people in Iran,\u201d the concluding statement said. \u201cSupporting the MEK and [its] Resistance Units<\/a>\u2026 is the national duty of anyone who is committed to the freedom of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the conference touched upon the idea that the international community and especially the have traditionally been derelict in this duty. Although the three-day teleconference in July and the previous annual gatherings have made it clear that the Iranian Resistance enjoys considerable support among foreign policymakers. The Resistance, in turn, has repeatedly criticized status quo \u201cappeasement\u201d policy of the international community toward the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n

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Furthermore, the NCRI has described that appeasement as resulting from the influence of Iranian propaganda, much of which is squarely focused on the MEK. In her own speech on Saturday, Mrs. Rajavi noted that \u201cthe clerical regime is admitting\u2026 in a thousand different ways that its main problem is the structure of the PMOI\/MEK. So, it must be obliterated and beheaded to guarantee the regime\u2019s survival. This is the common goal pursued by all the regime\u2019s mercenaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

This preoccupation has led to a number of direct attacks on MEK members and supporters, and to over 100,000 deaths, including 30,000 in a massacre of political prisone<\/a>rs during the summer of 1988. The appeasement policy has also led to the MEK being included, for a time, on the State Department\u2019s list of foreign terrorist organizations. This designation was removed in 2012 following multiple court cases that failed to establish any wrongdoing on the part of the organization. Yet false narratives about the MEK have lingered in international media and policy circles because of attempts of the regime\u2019s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.<\/p>\n

Even where the regime has failed to demonize the MEK as a terrorist group, it has spread the much bogus notion that the Resistance enjoys little support inside its homeland. But the regime\u2019s historical propaganda campaign against the MEK and remark by mullahs\u2019 top officials such as Khamenei rejects these bogus claims.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s conference in Ashraf 3 alone rejects these claims. Thus, speeches from Iranian expatriates were accompanied by video messages from MEK supporters and \u201cResistance Units\u201d inside Iran. The subjects of those videos remained anonymous, underscoring the fact that any affiliation with the MEK is potential grounds for the death penalty. But that in and of itself goes a long way toward falsifying the regime\u2019s claims accusing the MEK as being a cult.<\/p>\n

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MEK Resistance Units celebrate the 55th anniversary of MEK\u2019s foundation<\/div><\/div>
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