Articles
Waging Peace, Page 49
Iranian Americans in San Francisco Call for a Secular, Democratic Iran
“PEOPLE, YES! Mullahs, no! They are terrorists, they must go!” chanted some 200 members of the Iranian-American community and other pro-democracy supporters at a Feb. 13 rally in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza. Many in the crowd wore portraits of political prisoners around their necks or carried signs reading, “Stop Executions in Iran” and “Support Democracy and Human Rights in Iran.” The rally was sponsored by the Iranian Ameri-can Community of Northern California (IACNC), supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its principal group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).
“Our goal is to have a republic where there is a separation of church and state,” IACNC communications director Hamid Azimi told the Washington Report. “People want a secular republic in Iran—one that would have peace with all nations. A democratic, secular republic of Iran would change the face of the Middle East.”
The PMOI, a member party of the NCRI which opposes the theocratic administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is on the U.S. terrorist watch list. The group is appealing its designation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which on Jan. 13 heard its case against the U.S. State Department. The United Kingdom and European Union have already removed the group from their terror lists.
Driven into exile in Iraq by the Iranian government, the PMOI is based in Camp Ashraf—named for Ashraf Rajavi, who was a political prisoner under the shah—about 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, near the Iran border. In July 2004, the self-run camp of nearly 3,500 PMOI members was granted “protected persons” status under the Geneva Conventions by the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. For the past year, however, camp security has been under the control of the Iraqi forces, which have prevented the entry of food and other basic necessities. The European Parliament has called on Baghdad to ensure that people in Camp Ashraf have “full access to food, water, medical care and supplies.”
IACNC organizers read letters from the Democratic Party of Sacramento County and from Rep. Mike Honda from California’s 15th congressional district, in support of the rally and the IACNC’s efforts to bring awareness to the plight of the Iranian people and their struggle for democracy.
“Today is more than a simple gathering for democracy,” IACNC student spokesman and congressional liaison Hamid Yazdanpanah—one of many speakers—told the crowd. “It is a gathering for hope and solidarity for those who want freedom all across the Middle East. Today we stand in solidarity with the students and the young people in Iran who continue to protest against this regime....we believe it is our responsibility to serve as a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, and, as they continue to struggle for democracy, we will stand with them.”
Seven-year-old Maryam Hosseini concluded the rally with her youthful rendition of the classic song, “Booye Jooye Moolian.”
—Elaine Pasquini
