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Los Angeles
April 25, 2005
THE IRANIAN AMERICAN JEWISH FEDERATION
VOICES ITS STRONG SUPPORT FOR CONGRESS' INITIATIVES
HR 282 AND S 333
The Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF), today voiced its
strong support for HR 282 authored by Congresswoman Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, and S 333 authored by Senator Rick Santorum.
"We have recently witnessed a statement issued by a small group
which appears to be sympathetic to at least some elements of the
Islamic Republic's foreign policy goals, falsely implying that the
Iranian American community opposes these initiatives by an
overwhelming majority" said Elias Eshaghian, Chairman of the Board of
the IAJF.
"Accordingly, the IAJF felt that it was necessary to make it
clear that not only does NIAC [National Iranian American
Council] not represent the views of our community, but that
indeed the IAJF strongly supports both of these initiatives and
deeply appreciates the support of their authors and co-signers in the
U.S. Congress."
Mr. Eshaghian added that: "The policy of the IAJF is
rooted in support for the wishes of the majority of the Iranian
people. In this respect we are in full agreement with the President's
policy of standing with the People of Iran and we support all
initiatives that would be conducive to free expression of opinion by
those people."
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Contact: Sam Kermanian
Secretary General
Iranian American Jewish Federation
(323) 654-4700
April 22, 2005
On February 4th, 2005, the State Department again reiterated that the United
States government does not have a policy of regime change in occupied Iran. One
can hardly be shocked; the State Department is the very same American government
institution that granted Mohsen Sazegara, the founder of the Islamic Republic‚s
Revolutionary Guard, a visa to visit the United States.
While a small minority have voiced their concern regarding the American
government‚s possible adoption of peaceful overthrow of the theocracy, very few
are speaking out about the real danger, namely what devastating impact
normalization of ties between the Islamic Republic and United States would have
on occupied Iran, American credibility and regional stability.
Many Iranians living around the world recognize what a great threat restored
relations between the theocracy and the United States poses. Point in fact: a
sample of 500 Iranians in the United States found that 485 or 97% oppose the idea
of restored relations.
The American president has declared that the stated policy of the United States
government is to promote democracy around the world, specifically in the Middle
East. Though the State Department may not fathom it, the fact is that the
establishment of democracy in Iran translates to the overthrow of the theocracy.
Simply put: if you support democracy in Iran, you support regime change.
Normalization of ties between the occupying clerical regime and America is
tantamount to the same policy that led to the overthrow of Iran‚s national hero,
Dr. Mossadegh, and saw him replaced with the monarchy in 1953. The people‚s
revolution of 1978, prior to being hijacked by clerics, saw Iranians revolt
against a government that was utterly loathed, yet supported by the United States
government. Iranians now have favorable views towards the United States since it
has stood firm against the theocracy. Does the US want to see a repeat of 1978 by
supporting another regime Iranians hate?
The Islamic Republic and it‚s lobbyists in the United States would like the world
to believe that restored relations will be beneficial to Iranians. They falsely
argue that increased trade will benefit Iranians, and that the democratic
movement will be able to progress in a more rapid fashion. This ridiculous
argument can be readily defeated by simply looking at what effects normalization
has had between Europe and the Islamic Republic. While trade between the clerics
and the EU continues to increase, repression and economic hardships have also
progressively gotten much worse. The Iranian middleclass has been decimated to a
point where one is either somehow connected with the ruling clergy and enjoys a
comfortable living, or be like the other ninety percent of Iranians that work two
or three jobs just to make ends meet. The Islamic Republic no longer has to mask
its aggression against Iranians, having a cheerleader by the name of the EU ready
to prevent any negative impact on the theocracy.
Peaceful means to weaken the theocracy, such as sanctions, simply cannot work
effectively when practically every country is doing business with the clerics.
The world needs to realize that an independent, secular republican Iran is the
best way to ensure peace and regional stability. Moreover, if the international
community seeks to preserve their respective national interest then they must
take concrete steeps to support Iranian aspiration for freedom.
Long Live Iran
Compiled by the Foreign Policy Council of the Marze Por Gohar Party
http://www.marzeporgohar.org/index.php?l=1&cat=17&scat=31&artid=560