The Foundation for Democracy in Iran applauds the move by 222 U.S. Members of Congress, who in a letter released today have expressed their opposition to the Tehran regime and their support for freedom and democracy in Iran. However, the Foundation has protested what it believes is misguided support for an anti-democratic opposition group, the People's Mujahidin Organization of Iran, that has been closely associated with the Tehran regime in the past and more recently has taken shelter in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
The Congressional letter released today by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R,Fla), Gary Ackerman (D,NY), and James Traficant (D,Oh), calls on the United States and Europe "to adopt a more determined policy to launch a united multilateral effort to oppose the present Iranian government and encourage democratic change in Iran."
A more detailed statement attached to the letter, which some of the signatories may not have read, includes a clear statement of support for a group which the U.S. State Department has included on its annual list of International Terrorist organizations, the People's Mujahidin Organization of Iran, also known as the Mujahidin-e Khalq (MEK).
FDI fully agrees that the United States should take a firm stand against the Tehran regime. We are on record as fully supporting the U.S. policy of economic sanctions against the Tehran regime, and have advocated taking a tougher stance against the Islamic Republic's abysmal human rights record as well. The United States should act in cooperation with its allies, where possible, and unilaterally if that fails, to increase pressure on the regime. We fully believe that a strong, free, and democratic Iran would abandon the behavior the United States finds objectionable.
However, in a letter to the signatories of the Congressional letter released today, the Foundation warned that "the MEK has shown that it does not support a democratic, pluralistic Iran, but instead is dedicated to bloodshed and an era of renewed radicalism. The group's own statement of principles (Maryam Rajavi's "16 points") explicitly excludes from any future democratic polity in Iran groups it finds objectionable or that disagree with its aims. Clearly, this is a recipe for more dictatorship, not for democracy."
The full text of FDI's letter can be accessed electronically from our Internet site.
Members of Congress signing the pro-Mujahidin letter included: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Gary Ackerman, Sam Gejdenson, David Dreyer, Eni Faleomavaega, Jon D. Fox, Robert Menendez, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Edolphus Towns, Steve Chabot, James Traficant, and Robert Ney.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director. Tel: (301) 946-2918. Fax: (301) 942-5341. FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org