Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, addressed a rally in Paris by thousands of Iranians on the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 that deposed the Shah’s dictatorship.
Mrs. Rajavi paid tribute to the pioneers, trailblazers, and true leaders of the 1979 revolution who had either been killed in the field or imprisoned by Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, paving the way for the mullahs and specifically Khomeini to hijack the leadership of the Iranian people’s revolution for democracy and independence.
In parts of her speech to the rally in Paris, Mrs. Rajavi said:
Dear compatriots!
We find ourselves in the midst of a new democratic revolution, where our people strive for a democratic republic free from torture, violence, oppression, and dependency. Let us remember that dictatorship, whether draped in a turban or a crown, remains a dictatorship.
And let us not forget that plunder, whether committed by Khamenei’s Setad or the Barekat Foundation, or by Reza Shah who forcibly seized the lands and villages of our country, or by his son who took billions of dollars of Iran’s wealth abroad without accountability, is plunder, nonetheless.
Coercion, too, remains coercion, whether it takes the form of forced removal of the hijab or forced imposition of the hijab.
And now, the son of the Shah dares to question the PMOI over the headscarves of their women and to separate them from men, mirroring the repressive culture of Reza Khan and Khomeini’s patronizing attitude.
Where has the respect for others’ beliefs, customs, rights, and freedom of choice gone? We must remember the heroic women who were tortured or executed in their fight against Khomeini, and the women who held leadership positions in the vanguard organization advancing the cause of freedom.
Does the image of Commander Sara, with a dagger piercing her heart and hanging by her feet from a tree on a rock in Hassan Abad Pass, not bear witness to the atrocities the regime committed?
I must ask, did your SAVAK interrogators not brutally murder my sister?
This is the common thread of misogyny that unites the Shah and the Sheikh, and their fate will be the same – certain overthrow.
What we and the people of Iran say
Dear friends,
It is time to embrace the realities of the world we live in. This is what our people, as well as ourselves, demand: The IRGC must be added to the list of designated terrorist organizations by the European Union. The IRGC and the Intelligence Ministry, which has been used as a diplomatic facade for the regime’s bombing plots, must be disbanded. This is what people of Iran demand and indispensable to promoting regional and global peace.
The era of granting concessions to the mullahs is over. This is no time to cultivate constructive relationships with a regime that perpetuates atrocities through executions and massacres. Instead, it is imperative to extend sincere apologies to the people of Iran for past support of religious tyranny.
The people of Iran have a fundamental right to reclaim their country from the shackles of religious fascism, and the valiant youth have the right to defend themselves against the IRGC, covert agents, and the barrage of bullets that pierce their eyes, heads, and hearts. The world must officially recognize these rights for the people of Iran.
I am now addressing you, courageous youths, Resistance Units, brave women, and freedom-loving students who seek to overthrow the mullahs’ regime.
Rest assured that with unwavering determination for freedom, democracy, equality, active participation of women in political leadership, as well as the flourishing of the talents of young people, we can pave the way towards a prosperous and advanced Iran. This is not only my fervent wish, but also the impetus behind our unwavering pursuit of freedom.
Let us be confident that the radiant spring of Iran is imminent, brought about by the unwavering bravery of its men and women.
We salute the fallen heroes, may freedom endure! May the democratic revolution of the Iranian people be victorious!
