Iran Focus
London, 29 Jun – In Iran’s recent sham elections, the Iranian Regime declared Hassan Rouhani as the victor and many Western media outlets fell over themselves to declare a victory for moderates over extremism.
But Rouhani is no moderate. He used violent, extremist speech in his campaign. He executed nearly 4,000 people in his first term, including juveniles and political prisoners. He supported a crackdown on the rights of the Iranian people. He was a senior security officer during the 1988 massacre which killed 30,000 political prisoners, many of whom were supporters of the main political opposition the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK).
Tom Ridge, the former US secretary of homeland security and governor of Pennsylvania, wrote an op-ed for Arab News explains why the West should challenge Rouhani and the Iranian Regime through the next four years and called for the support of the Iranian Resistance (NCRI/ MEK).
Ridge wrote: “Many Iranians boycotted the presidential election to draw international attention to the fundamental lack of choice in a system where even self-described moderates like Rouhani are vetted by unelected clerics and judiciary officials based on their loyalty to the supreme leader and the ruling theocracy. The Iranian people have always recognised Rouhani as a veteran regime insider.”
He continued: “In doing so, they expressed more than just general frustration with a political system in which both factions act against the interests of the people. They also exhibited support for the alternatives to those factions – alternatives that have enough social capital and public support to organise a boycott, yet are barred from participating in elections or, in many cases, from even speaking publicly about their secular, democratic platforms.”
Ridge advised the West heed the wishes of the Iranian people for regime change and democracy, as appeasement of the mullahs has never lead to better cooperation and mutual respect. It’s actually become worse.
He wrote: “Tehran’s anti-Western rhetoric has intensified, backed up by illicit ballistic missile tests and public declarations of readiness for war by officers of the Iranian military and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
He writes that despite their support of the murderous Assad Regime, support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah, and their kidnapping of dual nationals to use bargaining chips, the Iranian Regime has barely been punished by the international community at all.
Ridge wrote: “Time and again, the US and its allies have bought into the moderate versus hard-liner narrative, despite proof to the contrary. This time, let us get it right.”
This is why we must support the Iranian Resistance (NCRI/MEK) and its elected leader Maryam Rajavi, who currently serves as a government-in-exile and have a ten-point plan to create an Iran for the 21st century. They believe in having better relations with other countries, disbanding their nuclear weapons programme, and putting human rights at the centre of their organisation.
On July 1, the Resistance is holding a Free Iran rally in Paris with over 100,000 dignitaries, politicians and activists in attendance, where they will call for freedom for their people, which Ridge will attend.
