U.S. Newswire: On Thursday, April 14, state delegations of Iranian-Americans across the U.S. held their 2005 National Convention for a Democratic, Secular Republic in Iran, declaring their resounding support for democratic change in Iran, in Washington’s Constitution Hall. In its U.S. policy platform, the Convention called for “third option” in policy toward Tehran, first introduced by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in her address to the European parliament last December. U.S. Newswire
To: National and International desks
Contact: Hamid Dara of the 2005 National Convention for a Democratic, Secular Republic in Iran, 202-489-8982, [email protected] .
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, April 14, state delegations of Iranian-Americans across the U.S. held their 2005 National Convention for a Democratic, Secular Republic in Iran, declaring their resounding support for democratic change in Iran, in Washington’s Constitution Hall.
In its U.S. policy platform, the Convention called for “third option” in policy toward Tehran, first introduced by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in her address to the European parliament last December.
The policy option, “No to Appeasement, No to War, Yes to democratic change by the Iranian people and the Resistance”, received strong support for from a wide range of Congressional speakers, policy experts, former U.S. government officials at the Convention.
Addressing the convention via live video link from her residence north of Paris, Rajavi urged all Iranians from different religions and political tendencies to “come together in greater unity for the sake of bringing about democratic change in Iran”.
U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus of the U.S. House of Representative; U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), a member of the House International Relations Committee and Co-chair of the Caucus; U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kansas); and U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R- Texas) were among the speakers who offered their support to the Iranian people’s efforts to topple the clerical regime and replace it with a secular, democratic government.
The crowd gave thunderous applause to words of support by Republican Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson from Texas and James Talent from Missouri.
Several former government officials, human rights activists and parliamentarians from other countries also spoke at this convention. They included Dr. Neil Livingstone, a renowned terrorism expert and author and Prof. Donna Hughes, Chair of Women’s Studies at the University of Rhode Island.
Lt. Col. Kenneth Cantwell and Army lawyer Captain Vivian Gembara, two former officers of the U.S. Army who served year- long tours of duty in Iraq, addressed the convention, as did Rep. Paul Forseth from the Canadian Parliament.
Speakers called on the U.S. government to remove the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), the main Iranian opposition group, from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Several speakers said the terror tag was a key impediment to change in Iran at a time when the country is ripe for such change.
Web: http://www.2005nationalconvention.org
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