Eurasia Press & News
Congressman Bob Filner, Democrat from California, spoke to a crowd of 50,000 Iranians in Paris, Saturday June 30. He criticized the EU policy toward the Iranian regime and expressed support for Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s proposed “Third Option” as the only solution the current Iran-West crisis.
“I bring greetings from the Congress of the United States. Millions of Americans join you in solidarity for the struggle for human rights and freedom in the world.” Mr. Bob Filner who had traveled from United States to France to participate in the gathering said in his speech.
Text of Speech by Hon. Bob Filner, Democratic U.S. Representative from California in the gathering of 50,000 Iranians in Paris in support of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran:
I bring greetings from the Congress of the United States. Millions of Americans join you in solidarity for the struggle for human rights and freedom in the world.
Thank you for what you are doing. It is your efforts that have exposed the true nature of the Iranian government and its fundamentalist ideology – from informing the world of Iran’s nuclear weapons program to information regarding its behavior in Iraq. The Iranian Resistance has brought the world to a true understanding of the Iranian regime. We have seen reports of what the regime is doing now [in Iran]; we have seen pictures of violence. The world is coming to understand this Iranian regime, and the world will rejoice when you end this menace.
We have lots of support throughout Iran as this brutality proceeds. Women, workers, and students have escalated their fight against Islamic extremism, and the world is taking note. From the United States to Europe to Iraq, the mullahs are being confronted at last. But we must, more urgently, engage, support, and empower the Iranian people’s Resistance led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.
As I come to Europe, I see Europe understands the urgency of the situation. Last December’s ruling by Europe’s second highest court to annul the decision of the [EU] to include the People’s Mojahedin on the list of terrorist organizations is one of the most vivid examples of maturing international awareness. The findings of this high court validate the Iranian people’s struggle against a barbaric regime.
Now, we Americans understand that we cannot, and I hope that we will not invade Iran: No to War! But, we also must understand that the appeasement of a brutally oppressive dictatorial expansionist government in Iran will never lead to prosperity and freedom. It is short sighted to think that economic gains dished out by the mullahs are strong enough reasons to justify ignoring the horrific violations of human rights and mortgaging the long term security of the whole world. We must understand that religious extremism is a destructive force, and we cannot take it lightly. We must understand that choosing to deal with the mullahs only serves to embolden them. We must understand that their emboldening leads to monumental chaos for mankind, including war. And the [Iranian] government’s three-decade-long track record leaves no doubt about its terrorist, expansionist, and destructive intentions.
So, what must the US do now? The first thing the US must do now is to take the MEK off the terrorist list. We must recognize who our friends are. We must recognize who the resistance is. We must recognize who is taking the lead, on behalf of the whole world, for freedom in Iran.
So, we must neither take the option of war nor the option of appeasement, but the Third Option; [The option] to let the Iranian people proceed to throw out this corrupt regime.
Let the MEK take the lead. Long term stability, not only in the Middle East but in the world, depends on a stable and secular democratic Iran that does not export terror, or violent upheaval, or radical ideology.
Your efforts here today are historical and profound. You must succeed. And we in the United States must help you to succeed. We must help you, and we will. “Mitavan va bayad†(We can and we must)!
