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The president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Maryam Rajavi, called on European leaders to cut off the financial lifeline to the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to further put pressure on the regime for its eventual downfall.

The call for action came Saturday during a video broadcast to the 2018 Iran Uprising Summit held in New York. More than 1,700 supporters of the NCRI and the People’s Mujahadeen of Iran (PMOI/MEK) gathered to hear information on the status of the uprisings across their home country and to share ideas on how to push for a new, democratic Iranian republic.

Attack On Iranian Military Parade In Ahvaz (Ahwaz)

The gathering was headlined by Rudy Giuliani, attorney for President Trump, as well as other dignitaries.

Ms. Rajavi described recent horrific, desperate actions by the regime as she requested European and American support for the cause, “In committing these crimes, the mullahs are testing Western governments. In such circumstances, a lack of resolve or a passive attitude by Western governments will intensify the regime’s terrorist actions.”

She called for Western governments to shut down Iranian embassies due to the use of diplomats to organize and carry out terrorists attacks, such as the attempted bombing of the Free Iran Gathering 2018 which was held in Paris in June of this year.

When discussing the international community’s response to recent acts of terror by the regime, Ms. Rajavi added, “With regard to the United Nation’s Security Council’s decision to discuss Iran, among other issues, during its September 26th session, I must recall the demands of the Iranian Resistance underscored many years ago. It is an urgent imperative that the Security Council address the flagrant violations of human rights in Iran, especially the torture and massacre of political prisoners, and the regime’s export of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region. It must adopt binding measures to compel the regime to halt its crimes.”

“The financial lifelines which fund the regime’s Supreme Leader and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps must be blocked. This is what the Iranian people demand, and it is indispensible to regional and global peace and security.”

In addition to Mr. Giuliani, speeches were given by Gen. James Jones, former U.S. National Security Advisor under President Obama, the Hon. Bernard Kouchner, former French foreign minister, the Hon. Giulio Terzi, former Italian foreign minister, and the Hon. Michael Mukasey, former U.S. attorney general.

The event began with a heartfelt tribute to the late Sen. John McCain, who was a staunch supporter of the MEK during its difficult times in Iraq, where many were killed by pro-Iranian forces in the region, and the Iraqi government.

by pro-Iranian forces in the region, and the Iraqi government.

Gen. Jones commented that Iran should never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. He called for the support of the Gulf community to push Iran and its militias out of Syria, to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process, and support the Iranian people in their desire for freedom.

Hassan Rouhani’s Economic Report Card

Mr. Giuliani told of McCain’s admission that he would not live to see a free Iran, but hoped that Mr. Giuliani would take his place when Tehran was liberated. Mr. Giuliani also remarked that Iran constantly tries to discredit and diminish the capabilities of the MEK, but asked when speaking to the audience, “If you are so weak and ineffective, why are they constantly trying to kill you?”

Also in attendance were many members of the Iranian diaspora from around the country and the world. One of the most pleasant parts of the afternoon was the live playing of Iranian folk music by two teenage siblings who had traveled across America to attend. The 15-year-old girl told the audience, “I have never been to Iran, where my parents met. But one day I will visit a free Iran.”

Iranian Resistance: PMOI/MEK Elects New Secretary General

By Jubin Katiraie

On Wednesday, September 6, 2017. In a congress chaired by Ms. Zohreh Akhyani, the Secretary General since 2011.The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, PMOI/MEK, (the Mujahedin-e Khalq, MEK) held its annual Congress simultaneously in Tirana and five other countries. On the PMOI/MEK’s 52nd anniversary, the Congress elected Ms. Zahra Merrikhi as its new Secretary General.

Election process in PMOI/MEK

According to the PMOI/MEK’s regulations, the Secretary General is elected to a renewable term of two years. The election is held in three stages. In the first stage, members of the PMOI/MEK Central Council, and in the second the organization’s officials and cadres in different departments, cast their votes in secret ballots. In the third stage, at the PMOI/MEK Congress, all members vote by raising their hands.

In the first stage, on August 20, 2017, Ms. Merrikhi was elected from among 12 candidates by a majority of the Central Council members. The four leading candidates were put on the ballot for the second phase, which was held on September 3, 2017. Ms. Merrikhi received a majority of the votes cast in ten different PMOI/MEK centers. In the final stage, during the PMOI/MEK Congress, Ms. Merrikhi was unanimously elected Secretary General.

Previously, Ms. Merrikhi was coordinator for the offices of Ms. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and Vice-President of the PMOI/MEK’s Central Council.

After election:

Following her election as Secretary General, Mrs. Merrikhi was sworn in, placing her hand on the Holy Quran and paying her respects to the Iranian flag and PMOI/MEK emblem. She pledged to remain faithful to the enormous responsibilities with which she has been entrusted. Ms. Merrikhi vowed to devote all her abilities and those of the PMOI/MEK as a national treasure of the Iranian people, to establish freedom and democracy in Iran.

The new Secretary General expressed her appreciation for the efforts of her predecessor, Ms. Akhyani, and Ms. Mojgan Parsai, the President of the PMOI/MEK’s Central Council. She lauded their efforts and those of other PMOI/MEK officials over the past 14 years, during one of the most dangerous and tortuous periods of the Organizations history in camps Ashraf and Liberty.

“Today, the PMOI/MEK, with the help of the Iranian people, is prepared as never before to overthrow the clerical regime,” Ms. Merrikhi said, adding that the PMOI/MEK has now 18 co-Secretaries General (including seven former Secretaries General). Mr. Merrikhi also introduced Narges Azodanlou, 36, Rabi’eh Mofidi, 35, and Nasrin Massih, 39, as new deputies to the Secretary General.

In congratulating the election of Ms. Merrikhi as the new PMOI/MEK Secretary General, Ms. Rajavi described it as a brilliant election, embodying the height of democracy, cohesion, and growth in the PMOI/MEK . It heralds the breaking of the spell of repression which will lead to the overthrow of the religious fascism ruling Iran.

Biography of Ms. Merrikhi

Born in 1959 in the city of Qa’emshahr in the Northern Province of Mazandaran, Ms. Merrikhi became acquainted with the PMOI/MEK during the 1979 anti-Monarchic Revolution and joined the PMOI/MEK after the Shah’s overthrow. She was soon appointed head of the women’s section in Qa’emshahr, and later became a member of the editorial board of the PMOI/MEK publication in Mazandaran, called Talavang.

In 1981, she was transferred to Tehran and acted as liaison between the PMOI/MEK and its branches in the forests of northern Iran. In 1984, she moved to PMOI/MEK bases in the border region with Iraq, and a year later became a member of the Central Council.

Her younger brother, Ali Merrikhi, was murdered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in 1988.

Ms. Merrikhi oversaw PMOI/MEK branches in Scandinavia and Germany for some time. In 1991, she became a member of the Executive Committee and was later appointed head of Radio Mojahed, Simay-e Moghavemat (the Iranian Resistance’s television network) and the publication Mojahed.

She became a member of the NCRI in 1992 and was appointed Chairwoman of the Public Affairs Committee.

Ms. Merrikhi had been the coordinator of the offices of Ms. Rajavii since 2003 and the Vice-president of the PMOI/MEK’s Central Council since 2004.

Youth Supporters of MEK: Responsibility to Attend Iranian Opposition Convention

On July 1^st thousands of Iranians will gather in Paris to support the movement to obtain freedom and democracy for their homeland. The convention is organized each year by the Iranian opposition movement (PMOI/MEK). Iranian youth especially look forward to this event as it’s a time to come together and support human rights.

Too often we hear about the arrests, ill-treatment, and executions of Iran’s youth population.

Reports indicate 10 inmates were executed merely a few days after the 2017 Iranian elections, including a 30-year-old Abdulkarim Shahnavazi. Reports also emerged that 24-year-old Diyako Hashemi was killed under torture by Iranian intelligence agents. Two men in their 30s were sentenced to have their fingers amputated and 90 children were also arrested in Sepidan, central Iran. The Iranian regime has a history of raiding gatherings and parties, and imprisoning the attendees, which has heightened during the past few years.

Political prisoner Ms. Atena Daemi was recently on hunger strike for 54 days protesting against the arrest of her sisters. Political prisoner Arash Sadeghi was previously on hunger strike for 71 days protesting against the imprisonment of his wife, Golrokh Iraee.

3000 Executed Under Rouhani

Over 3000 were executed during President Hassan Rouhani’s first term, including many in their 20s and 30s. By targeting the youth and spreading fear in society, the regime aims to prevent anti-government uprisings. It must be mentioned that many of those executed haven’t received fair trials or proper due process.

Youth supporters of the PMOI therefore believe the Iranian opposition convention is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness and bring attention to the plight of their people

Voice of the Voiceless

Ehsan Qaraee, a civil engineering student in Norway, will attend the convention for the 5^thtime since he left Iran. While living inside Iran, Qaraee recalled witnessing young children working and begging people in the streets to buy flowers or gum from them, to make money for their family and put food on the table. These children would have to leave their schooling behind.

“As long as this regime is in power, I realized the suffering will continue. By participating in the Iranian opposition convention, I can be the voice of those children; voice of the voiceless,” Qaraee said.

He also mentioned that events such as the upcoming July 1^st convention establish a sense of hope for Iran’s oppressed population.

“Gatherings like this can bring hope among people in Iran, specifically to youth and women who are direct targets of the regime,” he added.

Not only does Qaraee believe this convention would benefit freedom-loving Iranians, but Syrians and all who seek peace in the Middle East.

“The only solution to end these human rights violations in Iran and the region is to help the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance overthrow this barbaric regime and establish a state based on democracy, freedom and respect to its neighbors,” Qaraee continued.

In Syria, the regime of Iran has aided President Bashar al-Assad with troops, money, and weapons, which has led to increased bloodshed.

Supporting Iran’s Oppressed People

Nargis Rahmanfard, a psychology student in London, has been attending the annual convention since 2004. She was born in Ahvaz and left Iran along with her family when she was just 7 years old.

“The arresting of young people at parties, the poverty, suppression of ethnic minorities, suppression of women in Iran are violations that do not have a place in the 21^st century, yet are enforced every day to keep the regime in power,” Rahmanfard said.

She spoke of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 27-year-old woman executed for defending herself against sexual assault by an Iranian intelligence member. By putting her under torture, the government demanded Jabbari recant her story, but Jabbari refused.

“She was executed for defending herself against sexual assault by a regime agent and until the very last minutes of her life she refused to back down,” she explained.

Rahmanfard went on to highlight the significance of this upcoming gathering and feels that as an Iranian youth it is her responsibility to attend.

“I believe that all freedom-loving Iranians have a duty to come together and spread awareness about what is happening behind closed doors … As an Iranian youth, I feel it is my duty to represent other youth my age inside Iran and those that do not have the same opportunities I do,” Rahmanfard continued.

“If they are risking their lives in Iran, how can I, as a citizen living in a free country, not do anything to take at least a little of the weight off their shoulders?” she explained.

Maryam Rajavi’s 10-Point-Plan for a Future Iran

Qaraee and Rahmanfard are also supporters of Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point-plan for a future Iran. Rajavi is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and advocates a free, democratic, and secular Iran.

Qaraee and Rahmanfard both support Rajavi’s call for separation of church and state and reiterated its importance as its non-existent under the mullahs’ regime. Many are persecuted and imprisoned simply because of their faith.

“In a future and free Iran, Christians, Jews, Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs and all others who make Iran beautiful should be able to live together in peace,” Rahmanfard said.

The July 1^st Paris convention will be a platform for Iranian youth to unite, chant against the regime and join the call for its overthrow. They support the movement for democracy led by Rajavi, with hopes that soon the people of Iran will be freed from the mullahs’ dictatorship.

http://newsblaze.com/world/middle-east/youth-supporters-of-mek-responsibility-to-attend-iranian-opposition-convention_81579/http://newsblaze.com/world/middle-east/youth-supporters-of-mek-responsibility-to-attend-iranian-opposition-convention_81579/