Iranian National Congress
Iranian National Congress کنگره ملی ایرانیان | |
|---|---|
| File:IMG Iranian National Congress.jpg | |
| senate chairman | Amir-Abbas Fakhravar |
| Secretary General of the Cabinet | Ramin Nikoo |
| Founded | 21 March 2014 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles-United States |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre |
| Website | |
| https://www.iraniancongress.com | |
The Iranian National Congress (Persian: کنگره ملی ایرانیان, romanized: Congress Meli Iranian) is an opposition[1] political organization in Iran, founded in 2014.[2]
History[edit]
After the IslamicRevolution the clerics and their supporters took over power as the new leaders in Iran. By organizing an undemocratic style of a so-called referendum, which was nothing but an emotional manipulation based on lies and by using misleading propaganda in order to choose the form of system, a dangerous ideology called The Islamic Republic gave the new power its legitimacy. Many well-known political figures becoming aware of this immediately started their widespread efforts to put an end to this nightmare of Mullahs in Iran.
November 4, 1979, nine months after Islamic Revolution in Iran designed by Soviet KGB, a group called “the Moslem Student Followers of the Imam Line” played a central role in the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran and took American Diplomat as hostage for 444 days. Based on authentic documents that have been published three decades after the hostage crisis, many of those so-called students who stormed the embassy were in fact not students at all. They were instead special force of the newly created Revolutionary Guards backed by Soviet intelligence services. Office for Strengthening of Unity Between Universities and Theological Seminaries (OCU) was the name this group picked to have more influence in Iran’s post-revolution politics. During the crackdown on universities in 1980, which Khomeini called the Islamic Cultural Revolution, the OSU played a critical role in purging dissident lecturers and students many of whom were arrested and later executed. The Cultural Revolution shut down Iran’s Higher Education system for 4 years to completely Islamize it. It took a decade to see again the sign of students movement to resist Islamic regime of Iran.
On July 9th 1980 the last prime minister of Shah, Dr. Shahpour Bakhtiar, together with a number of airforce officers building a commandounit, was planned a coup d’etat in Hamedan Shahrokhi Airbase. The “Operation Shahrokhi Airbase” task was to seize control of the airbase and to overthrow the regime. The coup attempt was leaked and the regime was able to arrest the ones involved and shortly after executed them all.
The crackdown on universities in 1980, which Khomeini called the “Islamic Cultural Revolution” closed all universities for several years and left many individual student cores disabled of any sort of activities. In the early 90s the Islamic Regime was finally able to stage an image of stability to the outside world. This led to a period of frustration among those still struggling for freedom and democracy. It forced them to build their underground movement to fight the Islamic Regime.On July 9th 1999 a new wave of student [3] protests came back to life. Soon after, key members of the movement were arrested and charged´with long term jail sentences and brutal tortures.[4] In 2002 the movement took its shape based on a suggestion made by late Mohammad Bagher Fakhravar, brought individuals together to organize themselves. Arzhang Davoodi, Amir Abbas Fakhravar, Iman Samizadeh, Potkin Azarmehr, Dr. Bijan Karimi, Mohammad Shams and Parvin Ghaffari were among the members who formed the “Iranian Freedom Movement” in 2003 and later the “Confederation of Iranian Students” Arzhang Davoodi was then arrested on charge of founding the “Iranian Freedom Movement” and was first setenced to 25 years and later in 2014 recieved a death sentence and is currently being held on death row in an Islamic Regime prison. On February 20, 2006, on the third anniversary of the foundation of “Iranian Freedom Movement” a letter was signed by more than 600 activists and members of various movements who came together demanding unity among freedom and democracy-seeking political and human rights activists by building the National Iranian Council. In March 2006 [5] Mr. Abbas Amir-Entezam, a famous politi
Purpose[edit]
The people of Iran have campaigned in quest of freedom and democracy for over a century. Such has been a battle to cut short the hands of celestial and terrestrial ideologies from the people’s lives, affording them proprietorship of their destiny. In an era when civilized citizens of the globe hand in hand with their wise and elected governments strive for welfare, happiness, peace and security, we the people of Iran seek the opportunity to restitute love, hope, and sanctity of life to our homeland, a land which has for millennia served as the cradle of human civilization. Deriving guidance from the ancient Persian principles of righteousness of thought, of utterance, and of deed, our belief is predicated upon the creative essence of freedom for all mankind, hence the inalienable right of all Iranian to live free of oppression and discrimination with justice and equality in structuring the path of our country. In this spirit a mass endeavor is underway in which Iranian patriots, living in Iran or abroad, have equal determination rights and are in pursuit of three goals, any success obtained in the course of which will be preserved to the last breath:
1. Establishment of a Democratic Government befitting Iranians 2. Drafting a Constitution to define a Free, and Democratic Iran 3. A Free, and Democratic Iran as an honorable member of international community[6]
Organization[edit]
Senate[edit]
Senate is one of the three branches of the National Iranian Congress. The NIC Senate proposes and considers new laws and legislations, nominate Secretary General and Attorney General of the National Iranian Congress, approves or rejects executive and judiciary branches nominations, provides advice and consent on international treaties. Senate shall be composed of a hundred senators led by Seven members of Senate Leadership. A Senate committee usually examines and discusses a bill and then accepts or rejects it. The full Senate votes on accepted bills. Each Senator will serve for three years.[7]
Cabinet[edit]
Executive Cabinet is one of the three branches of the National Iranian Congress. The duty of Executive Cabinet is to enforce laws and regulations adopted by the Senate of National Iranian Congress. Executive Cabinet shall be composed of fifteen cabinet members led by Secretary General who will be appointed for three years by the Senate. Secretary General should introduce fourteen Secretaries to the Senate leadership and, with Senators approval, they will be appointed to the Executive Cabinet of National Iranian Congress.[8]
statements[edit]
Proposed Draft Constitution of IRAN[edit]
President Trump’s New Strategy[edit]
President Donald J. Trump’s new strategy toward the Iranian regime announced on October 13, 2017 is a landmark in U.S. foreign policy – it marks the first time in over 30 years that the United States has adopted a comprehensive, coherent strategy for dealing with the Iranian regime. The National Iranian Congress (NIC) wishes to express its deepest gratitude to President Trump for exposing the nature of the Khamenei regime and standing shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with the Iranian people.
The NIC is especially grateful to the President for drawing the crucial distinction between the Khamenei regime and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the one hand, and the legitimate national institutions of the Iranian state on the other. As we noted in the NIC statement of December 5, 2016, congratulating the President-Elect Trump on his victory in the presidential election, four decades of Islamic fundamentalist propaganda against the U.S. and Israel paradoxically has produced a large young Iranian population that is not hostile to Washington and Jerusalem, but friendly; not fanatically attached to fundamentalist interpretations of Islam, but alienated from them and often from Islam itself.
Immediately imposing crippling new sanctions on the IRGC is a critical first step in the new U.S. approach to dealing with the threats posed to the U.S. and its allies. The IRGC sanctions will contribute to rolling back and defeating the Khamenei regime’s strategy in the Middle East.
With respect to the regime’s nuclear program and the nuclear deal itself, the NIC applauds the President’s courageous, resolute decision to reject certifying that the continued suspension of sanctions under the deal is appropriate. Pursuant to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, the President went the extra mile in seeking to work with the Congress and U.S. allies to remedy the numerous fatal flaws in the nuclear arrangement. Our considered judgment, however, is that the Khamenei regime will never accept the changes required to allow President Trump to have high confidence that the terms of the arrangement will protect U.S. national security interests and that the regime’s compliance can be effectively verified. Moreover, it is very unlikely that the European participants in the nuclear deal will be willing to change any terms of the deal as even their willingness to do so would be seen politically as an embarrassing admission that the deal is deficient. Consequently, we await the results achieved in the next two months.
The NIC position on the nuclear deal, as enunciated in our December 5, 2016 Statement, is that President Trump should withdraw from this arrangement. Hence, for our part, the NIC will strongly support the President in a decision to cancel U.S. participation in the nuclear deal when he is convinced that achieving a new, effectively verifiable arrangement with the Khamenei regime that meets U.S. national security needs simply will not succeed. Our oft repeated view is that the only likelihood of a nuclear weapons-free Iran lies in a free, democratic Iran. The notion that the only alternative to seeking a nuclear deal with the Khamenei regime is war is an illusion created by the previous U.S. administration. The truth is that the oppressed majority of the Iranian people did not then, and do not today, support the Khamenei regime’s nuclear program or the nuclear deal and desperately want to be rid of the regime itself.
We in the National Iranian Congress cannot overemphasize that the effects of the nuclear deal have only encouraged more abuse from the already brutal Khamenei regime. Oppression is at its harshest, yet at the same time, the President’s new policy toward the Khamenei regime has set in motion events that can overwhelm the regime’s grip on the Iranian people. We are so indebted to President Trump for ending the previous administration’s perverse policy of supporting the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Thank you, Mr. President. [9]
Anti-Regime Protests all over Iran[edit]
On Saturday, December 23, 2017, the Iranian National Congress issued a formal request to the citizens of Tehran to begin a major protest movement to finally end the brutal, oppressive tyranny of the Khamenei regime. On Sunday, the protest in Tehran was launched by thousands of Iranian citizens willing to risk their lives to secure their fundamental human rights and liberty. The demands of the protestors were taken directly to the Khamenei’s palace. The protest movement will accept nothing short of the removal of the Islamic regime and establishment of a free, democratic Iran with a new government defined by a Constitution guaranteeing the right of every Iranian citizen to live free of oppression and discrimination with justice and equality.
Having witnessed the Tehran protest, the citizens of Mashhad notified the National Iranian Congress that they wanted to join in support of the Tehran protest. Last Thursday, thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Mashhad in protest. Mashhad is Iran’s second largest and holiest city. Soon after, social media was inundated with clips of the bold and daring chants that were directly attacking the very foundation of the theocratic regime in Iran and its Supreme Leader. Responding to successive invitations by the National Iranian Congress, tens of thousands more Iranians across the country in cities large and small joined what has now become a full-on uprising. Millions of Iranian citizens in over 40 cities thus far have mobilized against the regime.
The press has reported that three people have so far been killed, but in fact the Iranian protestors killed by the Islamic regime number in the hundreds. The National Iranian Congress has over 2000 videos recording these events. Nevertheless, the riots continue on this third day. Citizens who were once silenced by the regime’s brutal crackdown on any kind of dissent are now!
emboldened and are entering government buildings and either burning all files as in Karaj, or burning down the entire building as in Khorram-Abad. Never in the 39 years of the Islamic Republic has there been such geographically widespread dissent, nor has there ever been such a fearless and direct verbal attack by protesters on the entirety of the ruling clerical class. Never have ordinary citizens had the audacity to stand face to face with fully armed security forces and scream “Death to Khamenei!” Never has this happened, not even during the 2009 Green Movement.
The chants are extraordinary. They reveal the sheer hatred that has accumulated during four decades of oppression, rampant corruption and the squandering of Iran’s national resources and wealth. The seething hatred is vividly displayed in scenes of angry protesters tearing down posters of Khamenei and the much touted IRGC “hero” Ghassemi Soleimani. Old chants of “Death to the Dictator” have erupted into “Death to Khamenei!”, “Death to Hezbollah!” and “Death to the Islamic Republic!” Old chants supporting the reformist Green Movement leaders have been replaced by more powerfully evocative chants: “Reformist,Conservative, this is the end of your story!” and “We don’t want an Islamic Republic!” and “We shall take back Iran!” The derogatory term for Shiite clerics normally used to demean and ridicule them, akhoond, is used in abundance: “Cannons, tanks, rockets, akhoond must get lost!”, “People have to panhandle while the akhoond is living like a god!”, “It’s a mourning day today, the rights of our people are underneath the akhoond’s cloak!”
Yet the mainstream media have largely ignored this incredible bravery and the few outlets that have covered some protests downplay their significance, attributing them solely to “economic woes”. European politicians also have been largely silent. Perhaps they are embarrassed to find themselves aligned publicly with the brutal, corrupt regime against the people of Iran. Or perhaps they secretly are hoping that this disturbance will go away quickly and not disrupt their lucrative commercial ambitions in Iran. In stark contrast, President Trump, his Secretary of State Tillerson, and a handful of United States politicians have spoken in strong support of this heroic movement of the Iranian people. The world indeed is watching the actions the Khamenei regime is taking against the people of Iran. But the Iranian people are also watching the reaction of world leaders to their plight. Will democratic nations simply remain silent or provide trong political support to the people of Iran who surely deserve no less? The struggle for freedom from the Islamic regime’s brutal tyranny is one the people of Iran will resolve on their own terms. They neither desire, nor need any outside intervention. But the Iranian people risking all to secure their basic human rights and freedom are not likely to forget those who stood shoulder-toshoulder with them during this perilous time and those who turned away. The Iranian people are seeking political support from democratic nations in their quest to establish a constitutional republic governed by the will of its citizens and elected representatives through free and fair popular elections.[10]
Iranian Constitutional Revolution[edit]
thousands more Iranians across the country in cities large and small quickly joined what has now become a full-scale uprising. Millions of Iranian citizens in over 100 cities thus far have mobilized against the regime in response to the call for a popular Constitutional Revolution. Over 200 unarmed protesters have been killed and 15,000 people have been arrested. The families of those arrested are now gathering outside prisons across Iran. Even in the face of this repression, the Constitutional Revolution continues to grow dramatically.
What are the goals of the Constitutional Revolution? There are three:
1. A free and democratic government which the Iranian people deserve instead of the regime’s tyranny.
2. A new Constitution approved by the Iranian people to define a free and democratic Iran.
3. A free and democratic Iran which is an honorable and responsible member of the International Community.
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution’s struggle for freedom from the regime’s brutal tyranny is one the people of Iran will resolve on their own terms. They neither desire, nor need any outside intervention. But the Iranian people risking all to secure their basic human rights and freedom are not likely to forget those who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them during this perilous time and those who turn away. The Iranian people are seeking political support from democratic nations in their quest to establish a constitutional republic governed by the will of its citizens and elected representatives through free and fair popular elections.
What steps can the United States take to aid the Iranian Constitutional Revolution? An urgent step the U.S. government could take is to immediately reinstate sanctions against Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), or to at least allow the waiver of sanctions to expire on January 31. Temporary waivers of the 2013 IRIB sanctions bill have been renewed every six months by the Obama State Department. For years, IRIB has been charged with human rights violations by the International Campaign on Human Rights. Today, IRIB has been broadcasting forced confessions from detained Iranian protesters and photos of protesters to obtain their identities from the public in order to imprison them.
The U.S. government could help to inform Iranian popular opinion supporting the Constitutional Revolution by ensuring that the Voice of America Persian News Service halts its customary practice of reciting the regime’s propaganda and instead provides accurate, honest information to the Iranian public on the actual events occurring in Iran and the president’s steadfast support of the Iranian people. The American people would be outraged to learn that their voice to Iran has long supported the ruthless regime.
The Iranian people would be deeply grateful to President Trump for making available satellite system links to allow the Iranian people’s critically important access to the internet which the regime has been shutting down. In particular, President Trump could try to prevail on IT companies in charge of social media networks, e.g., FaceBook, Twitter, Telegram, to reject regime requests to close channels or to filter websites, all of which is designed to limit or deny access by the Iranian people. Indeed these companies should apply software programs which do not permit filtering social networks or content control by dictatorships.
U.S. and Western democracies could reinstitute rigorous oil and central bank sanctions against the Khamenei regime which would be lifted only after free and fair popular elections are held in Iran. This would cut off the funds subsidizing the regime’s paid domestic henchmen, support to militant groups in Iraq, the Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
American and European leaders could lend strong political support to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution as an interim provisional government is established. The U.S. government could immediately appoint a Special Representative to document and follow up on gross human rights abusesin Iran today committed by the regime and report them immediately to the president and the American public.
And finally, U.S. and European governments could immediately withdraw their participation in the Iran nuclear deal, the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The Iranian people never supported the regime’s nuclear program. The regime’s illicit civil and military nuclear infrastructure will be dismantled and the JCPOA will be dissolved. The nuclear deal is not in the national interest of Iran. It has served only as an incentive for nuclear proliferation in the region. Similarly, the regime’s nuclear collaboration with the North Korean government will be terminated immediately. The best guarantee of a nuclear weapons-free Iran is a free, democratic Iran.
The world indeed is watching the actions the Islamic regime of Iran is taking against the people of Iran. But the Iranian people are also watching the reaction of world leaders to their plight. Will democratic nations simply remain silent or provide the strong political support to the people of Iran who surely deserve no less?[11]
See Also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedGP - ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epNA-JO-57Q
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wqux54Br-Q
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wu1OUBL0Gs
- ↑ https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1151406/opposition-official-asharq-al-awsat-iranian-regime-soviet-product
- ↑ https://iraniancongress.com/nic/fa/news/25
- ↑ https://iraniancongress.com/nic/senate
- ↑ https://iraniancongress.com/nic/executive-cabinet
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/may/08/iran-nuclear-deal-donald-trump-latest-live-updates
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlI3iDt2mQc
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Y2En1fvGg
External Links[edit]
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