Marking the Anniversary of Anti-Monarchic Revolution in Iran
Maryam Rajavi: the people of Iran will not be satisfied by anything less than overthrowing the ruling theocracy
On the eve of the 39th anniversary of the overthrow of the Shah’s regime in Iran, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi attended a gathering of Iranians on February 10, 2018. The President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran hailed all the martyrs fallen for Iran’s freedom in the 1979 Revolution up until the uprising in January 2018. She told the gathering, “The courageous uprising in December-January and its subsequent protests across the country proved that the Iranian people will not be satisfied by anything less than the overthrow of the clerical regime in its entirety. The presence of women and youths at the forefront of the protests guarantee the continuation of the uprising. Iranian women have not succumbed to the regime’s crackdown despite 39 years of systematic repression and humiliation, including the imposition of the compulsory veil.”
Recalling the demands, she had mentioned to the meetings at the Council of Europe two weeks ago, Mrs. Rajavi reiterated, “We seek the immediate release of all prisoners of the uprising, freedom of speech and assembly, abolition of women’s suppression and the compulsory veil, right now.”
Maryam Rajavi said, “The record of four decades of the mullahs’ religious dictatorship can be summed up in five words, ‘slaughter, plunder, destruction, export of fundamentalism and terrorism under the name of revolution, and misogyny.’ Khamenei acknowledged a couple of days ago that the clerical regime’s internal corruption is a seven-headed dragon. In reality, the main head of this dragon is in Khamenei’s house.”
“The Iranian people and protestors have decided to replace the Velayat-e Faqih regime and its Revolutionary Guard Corps and Bassij with a republic based on freedom and democracy. They want to invest in the country’s education, health, sports, social welfare, jobs and economy instead of investing in nuclear programs and other weapons of mass destruction,” Mrs. Rajavi pointed out.
To those employed by the regime’s suppressive forces: Separate your ranks from those of executioners. Refuse the shame of serving the criminal forces
She called on everyone who is employed by the repressive forces, particularly the IRGC and Bassij, to refuse the shame of serving these criminal forces and disobey when ordered to clamp down on the public. She said, “Poverty and destitution are a thousand times better than receiving the wages and salaries paid by murderers and torturers. Separate your ranks from those of executioners who killed the deprived youths of Izeh, Doroud and Arak. I am also addressing the personnel of the Army and the State Security Force. You should refuse every form of cooperation with the criminal IRGC. Do not let the mullahs take advantage of you in spilling the blood of Iran’s children.
Mrs. Rajavi reiterated, “We have always said this and I repeat: no to compulsory religion, no to religious compulsion, no to the compulsory veil and no to compulsory government. The time has come to put an end to these coercions. To achieve a free republic based on equality, however, we do not expect any miracles to happen. Nor do we expect any coincidental or chance occurrences in our favor. Our entire asset is the Iranian nation and its vanguard children. And this is indeed the greatest power in the world. So, we must expect everything to be achieved with our own hands and through our own determination.”
Addressing Iranian youths, Mrs. Rajavi asserted, “The uprising, and its continuation and expansion, place numerous duties and responsibilities on the shoulders of every single one of you. Surely, each of you can undertake part of these duties. you should not heed talks about IRGC being powerful. They are powerful only when there are no protests and no uprising. But when every one of you undertakes a role in the advancement of the uprising, they become crippled.”
A large number of youths from Iranian diaspora in Europe and North America participated and spoke in this gathering.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran