The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF) congratulates brave residents of Camp Liberty on the occasion of 50th anniversary of founding of their organisation, the PMOI
In September, Iran's main opposition group the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) marks its 50th anniversary and the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF) joins Iranians, both in exile and inside the country, to salute members of the PMOI in Camp Liberty and the Iranian Resistance movement for their sacrifices and principled struggle to bring freedom and democracy to Iran.
Following the 1979 popular revolution in Iran, the PMOI firmly rejected the doctrine of absolute rule of the Ayatollahs as another form of dictatorship and acted as the stalwart barrier to the regime’s retrogressive and misogynist policies. It evolved as the driving force for establishment of a new government based on popular vote and the separation of church and state.
This democratic stance made the PMOI and its members, the main target of its political violence and defamation propaganda. The Iranian regime has executed 120,000, including 30,000 political prisoners massacred during the summer of 1988, a majority of whom were members, or activists of the PMOI, in an effort to annihilate the organised political opposition to the theocratic rule.
However, due to its grassroot support among the Iranians at home and in exile it has kept striving for establishment of democracy in Iran. the PMOI has been the driving force in the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the coalition of Iranian groups and personalities dedicated to democratic change in Iran, headed by Maryam Rajavi.
The PMOI played a vital role in exposing the Iranian regime's clandestine nuclear programme. It has been an indispensable voice in revealing abysmal human rights abuses in Iran as well as Tehran’s sponsorship and support for terrorism and export of Islamic fundamentalism abroad.
As it was evident in the NCRI’s major gathering in Paris last June, the cause of freedom and democracy in Iran is gaining momentum and is getting stronger with the passage of time.
The international community should honour the sacrifices made by many Iranian opposition activists to reveal the true character of the regime’s nuclear program, by stringent implementation of the recent nuclear deal with Iran emphasis on total verification while adopting a firm policy that includes concrete actions to counter the alarming rise in the number of executions and the increased repression in the country as well as the regime's unabated support for terrorism abroad.
Any successful policy vis-a-vis Iran can no longer ignore the decades-long democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. Instead it should offer tangible support for the million of Iranians yearning for freedom by diplomatically backing the NCRI and its 10-point plan for future Iran that advocates and promotes the same democratic principles and values.
Failing to do so will only contribute to the rising threat of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism in the region and the world over, since the theocracy in Tehran is the main source of religious fundamentalism.
British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom
30 August 2015