Maryam Rajavi testifying before US congress
On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade will hold a hearing in two panels on the rising threat of ISIS.
The first panel would be with Robert Ford, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and former U.S. ambassador to Syria, and Walid Phares, co-secretary general of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Group on Counterterrorism.
The second panel will feature Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition of Iranian opposition forces including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
The Iranian regime lobby and PR machine has already began a campaign of disinformation against the appearance of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi before she utters a single word.
Why are the Iranian regime loyalists having furious convulsions over Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s appearance in Congress? The answer is simple: Maryam Rajavi is the number one enemy of the mullahs in Iran.
Maryam Rajavi said the ballot box is the only criterion for legitimacy in a new Iran and she seeks a republic based on universal suffrage.
Maryam Rajavi wants a pluralist system, freedom of parties and assembly. Her movement respect all individual freedoms, underscores complete freedom of expression and of the media and unconditional access by all to the internet.
Rajavi’s plan for future of Iran supports and is committed to the abolition of death penalty.
Her movement is committed to the separation of Religion and State. And in a free Iran any form of discrimination against the followers of any religion and denomination will be prohibited.
Maryam Rajavi believes in complete gender equality in political, social and economic arenas. Her movement is committed to equal participation of women in political leadership. Any form of discrimination against women will be abolished. Women will enjoy the right to freely choose their clothing. They are free in marriage, divorce, education and employment.
Maryam Rajavi said: We believe in the rule of law and justice. We want to set up a modern judicial system based on the principles of presumption of innocence, the right to defense, effective judicial protection and the right to be tried in a public court. We also seek the total independence of judges. The mullahs’ Sharia law will be abolished.
Her movement recognizes private property, private investment and the market economy. All Iranian people must enjoy equal opportunity in employment and in business ventures. We will protect and revitalize the environment.
Maryam Rajavi wants a non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction.
The decision to invite Maryam Rajavi to appear by teleconference from the NCRI headquarters in Paris provides an opportunity for subcommittee members to connect the conflict with ISIS to other Middle Eastern policy issues, including the evaluation of decisions to either partner with or turn a blind eye to the Iranian regime as it intervenes in Iraq and Syria.
The NCRI and MEK were more successful at capturing the world’s attention when they revealed key details of the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program.
This history coupled with long experience of the NCRI and its leader in countering the mullahs in Iran provides the US Congress with good reason to welcome Maryam Rajavi’s testimony at a foreign policy hearing.
Professor Raymond Tanter, who served as a senior member of the National Security Council staff in the Reagan administration called the scheduled testimony of Maryam Rajavi a necessary outside-the-box perspective amidst major discussions about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and ways to stop it.
In a commentary that appeared on TownHall.org on Monday, Professor Tanter said: “Official Washington is in a box and needs help in escaping from it. Being stuck in the acceptable view, officials did not foresee rise of ISIS, have scant awareness why it grew so fast, much less how to stop it. Congressional hearings are a fresh breeze to blow the lid off orthodoxy…. And if Congress shakes off the accepted view in a bipartisan way, it reinforces Washington’s leverage over Tehran.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC-US), a non-profit organization representing the network of Iranian-American organizations in 40 states, lauded the U.S. Congress for inviting Mrs. Rajavi to speak.
“The Iranian-American communities all over the country are encouraged by this opportunity, since this is the time for the voice of the Iranian people, who have been victims of Islamic fundamentalism to be heard by the U.S. Congress,” OIAC-US statement said.
“Mrs. Rajavi has presented a cultural alternative to the Islamic fundamentalist rulers in Iran as well as those in ISIS. Mrs. Rajavi’s movement has decades of experience in fighting the clerical rulers of Iran.”
