World Tribune.com

Open letter to the free people of the world from Iranian students

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, June 23, 2003

From the "Student Movement Coodination Committee for Democracy in Iran" (SMCCDI)

To the Free People of the World:

This, in one part is a plea and an open letter to the free people of the world. No, not the leaders, the politicians, nor the experts or the media; it is a plea to the decent men and women of conscience throughout the world; those who exert the real power behind any true democracy and those who believe in the freedom and liberty of the human spirit.

The other part is a warning to those, nations or otherwise, who out of greed, self-promotion, financial gain, access, ignorance or arrogance for the last twenty-fours years have cuddled the theocratic regime in Iran; especially, those who insist on extending the life of this odious regime and prolonging the misery of the Iranian people.

More directly, those who continuously perpetuate the sham of a divided government within Iran and, while repeating the call for dialogue and engagement with their so-called "reformer," coddle the discredited Mr. Khatami and his cronies Ñthe very ones who are yesteryear's communists, turned Marxist, turned Islamists, labeled today's "reformists." Those who have amassed enormous wealth with private bank accounts in Europe, the United States and property spanned across the world!

For their information, and to their dismay, we repeat again, the dynamics of what is happening in Iran is not, as they like to portray and fit into their own agenda, the clash between their so-called "hardliners" and "reformers," it is between a fed-up, frustrated and oppressed nation and the entire gang of the theocratic regime.



To them we say, no matter how hard or long it will take we will not permit you to succeed in derailing our movement once again. This is the beginning of the end for the entire band of the terrorist, corrupt and ignorant Mullahs. They can kill us but they cannot kill the idea. They are breaking our bones, with the equipment supplied by the industrial nations of the world, but they will never break our spirit. We will overcome!

Once again, the theocracy and the Mullahs in Iran are making killing fields of our universities. Once again, the courageous and besieged students and people of Iran are face to face with the brutality of a regime that has had its terrorist grip on Iran for the last twenty-four years. What the Regime has been doing in secret and dark is now brazenly repeating in open sight and light.

Within the last few days, once more, thousands of our young have disappeared, imprisoned, maimed and killed. Their houses are being raided and everyone in sight raped. The Regime is again using one of its most preferred means of torture for women: Their breasts slashed and bodies thrown from the balcony of their dormitory in plain view of the horrified eyes of thousands of their fellow-students!

Torture and terror are Regime's proven methods of control; that is how they have sustained their power for the last two decades. To carry on their inhumane acts, as usual, they have at their beck and call their pillars of support: The alien terrorists of Hizbollah and other foreign mercenaries; for no decent Iranian could be as barbaric as they are. These conniving and treasonous Mullahs are shedding the blood of our beloved students by the hands of those foreign terrorists whom the Regime has bought with the wealth of our nation and what rightfully belongs to the very students whose blood they spill!

In 1979, through deception and ignorance of the populace, intrigues and plots of Western powers, inept foreign policies of the United States and the support of hungry, backward and atrocious terrorists groups such as Hezbollah, and other Palestinian groups our blessed land was handed on a silver platter to a gang of corrupt and Godless Mullahs.

They hijacked a nation and took its population hostage under the sham of religion and their perverted brand of Islam. At the expense of Iran and Iranians they pulled the biggest hoax in this ancient land and thus stained its history and civilization. They have forever shamed and disgraced an entire nation.

In the span of twenty-four years they have totally destroyed the socio-economic fabric of the country and have taken it to the abyss. The economy is sick and dying; they have completely bankrupted the nation. In 1977, per capita income of Iran was the same as Spain, today it rivals Gaza; inflation is at 20 percent; unemployment at 30 percent; debt in the billions; the currency is so devalued that it is not worth the paper printed on; unpaid teachers and workers; complete deterioration of the standard of living; petroleum industry in ruins; brain drain; pervasive corruption; and total pollution of the environment. In short, they have decimated everything they have touched. These are just a few of the accomplishment of this Regime!

In a nation rich with petroleum and natural gas, 57 percent of the population lives under the line of poverty. This is the shameful legacy of this corrupt theocracy and, West's favorite "reformer," Mr. Khatami!

Crime and drug abuse soaring; prostitution rings abound; executions; torture; public hangings, stoning, flogging; abuse of children; child marriages; polygamy; domestic abuse; abuse of women; diseases; hunger; and 700,000 imprisoned in secret prisons. These are some of the social triumphs of this inept government!

In a land blessed with abundance of natural resources, and one of the richest in the region, in the Capital City alone, 200,000 children are homeless wandering the streets, and, tragically, people are reduced to selling their body parts, for organ transplantation, to feed their families. Yet, the theocratic regime is spending billions on armaments. During the Khatami years, the Islamic Republic has invested enormous amounts in Iran's conventional and non-conventional weapons programs. Indeed, while the masses are hungry, workers strike for unpaid wages and the average Iranian family cannot afford food, Iran is packed with every sophisticated weapon. Many of which find their way to every terrorist group in the region. While Khatami is portrayed as a champion of the people, by the Western powers and the media, he has done immense harm to Iran's economy and subsequently the living conditions of millions of Iranian families have depreciated steadily. For the last twenty-four years while the Iranian lives have deteriorated the riches of Iran are being emptied into the pockets of the Mullahs and the coffers of Hezbollah and other terrorists. While Iranian children are going hungry the petroleum money buys arms and sustains those alien murderers in Lebanon and Palestine. The blood of Iranian youth is sucked by these Mullahs and fed to those leeches!

A gang of illiterate Mullah and their insatiable brood have latched onto the treasury of the country and hang to power through the brutality of the two million mercenaries they have bought. These traitors have hijacked an entire nation. Every sensitive organ of the country is in the control of these foreign terrorists. In the land of Cyrus and Darius the head of the judiciary is an alien, and the country is run through layers and layers of terrorists.

To this occupying, illegitimate and demented theocracy we say:

While we are devastated and strive to eke out a living not knowing how or where we can provide for our family's daily sustenance, you, your litter and the foreign parasites are like pigs at the trough feasting on Iran's riches. As much as we abhor xenophobia, at this juncture we demand:

Our blessed motherland belongs to us, and us alone; Iran, solely for the Iranians; Iran and her resources must remain only for the Iranians! As long as an Iranian child is hungry, an Iranian mother can't afford medicine, Iranian workers have no wages, teachers are paupers and men and women can't provide for their families, not a penny, not a single cent is to be wasted on these foreign terrorists that have taken over our land and are murdering our brothers and sisters. No cause, not a single cause, is greater than the cause and the right of well being of every solitary Iranian.

Palestine is not our cause; Arab-Israeli conflict is not our fight. We are Iranians! That is totally between the parties involved. Nonetheless, as a peace-loving nation, we should encourage and support a peaceful solution rather than interfere in their affairs and instigate terror and war.

We need to turn inward; we need to face our own problems! Our care is feeding the hungry mouths of our children, having medicine for our sick mothers, finding a job and having a life. We want to breath, breath, and breath freely; we want to be allowed to feel like a human being again. We want to feel alive!

You, you, with your depraved minds, you have suffocated us. You have reduced us to sub-humans. Iranians were respected for their culture and humanity. Today, the adjective of terrorist follows us. You have done this to us, you ignorant gang of Mullahs! We want to belong to the human race once again; we want to join the world again. You belong to the dark ages, we want to move forward; it is the twenty-first century!

You have taken our nationality, identity, our heritage, our dignity and our honor. You have made every attempt to erase and deny us our nationalism and 7,000 years of history and civilization. You have taken our music, our glorious literature, our poetry and our beautiful traditions. You have tried to kill every human emotion in us; we are not monsters like you hypocrite mendacious bunch of criminals. You have buried us alive! You have buried us alive!

How dare you claim to represent God on this earth? We would burn in Hell before we allow you to come between our God and us. You have already placed us in Hell on this earth; you have created a "Satanic Republic" and we are burning in it!

Almost three thousand years ago, while most of the world was barbaric, Cyrus the Great decreed the first Declaration of Human Rights. Today, the children of Iran have to go begging to a pathetic organization like the United Nations and its ineffective, sycophant Secretary-General for their most basic rights as a human being. And you, you, you have reduced us to this!

We demand our freedoms: freedom of thought, expression, religion, and freedom to be and feel human. We demand total separation of religion and state.

Understand this: The Iran of tomorrow is ours! We will reclaim our land, our national identity, pride, heritage, proud history, and our civilization!

Free people of the world, this "Satanic Republic" this invention of a group of grotesque maniacs, this is what those heroic students are facing in Iran today. All they ask, all they are merely demanding are their God-given rights. Our compatriots need your help!

Alas, we have experienced and learned the bitter truth that it is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule the world today. That is the reason we turn to you directly. You must demand from your governments and international organizations to intervene on our behalf, to relinquish a dying monstrous regime, and support our tortured students and our cause: Democracy and Secularism in Iran!

You might ask: why don't we turn to the officials or international organizations directly?

You could say: For one, why not the United Nations? The first few lines of the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations reads: "We the peoples of the United Nations determined: To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women"

You may add: After all wasn't the organization precisely conceived to combat abuses of human rights and to protect the people of the world?

Indeed! But, for the last twenty-four years we have done just that! We have made numerous appeals to the United Nations' Secretary-General and its pathetic Human Rights Commission. Sadly, the words in the Charter ring hollow in Mr. Kofi Annan's United Nations. With a Secretary-General like Mr. Annan who is so blindly enamored with the Islamic Republic and its Mr. Khatami our pleas are ignored completely and repeatedly. And by all indications, purposely!

This is the Secretary-General that had assigned a self-serving charlatan as his personal representative to Iran Ñ one that at the expense of the Iranian people, while singing the praises of the Islamic Regime, was filling the coffers of the European countries and others.

This is the Secretary-General that, even when the world had finally was forced to admit the regime for the terrorist that it is, stood shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Khatami and praised his accomplishments, most notably, the freedoms he had bestowed upon the Iranian population! This is the man that while visiting Iran didn't have the gumption to demand a visit to the prisons or question the fate of the detained students. This is the man that while he was so pitifully busy lavishing compliments on his host was deaf to the screams of the demonstrators down the street while elements of the regime, brandishing clubs and chains, were smashing the bones of Iranian workers, mothers and students.

The very Secretary-General under whose auspices the Commission on Human Rights has made a complete mockery and a travesty of the United Nations and its principles. The same Human Rights Commission with representative of Libya as its Chairman! The very Commission that, thanks to Mr. Kofi Annan, completely exonerated the Islamic Republic of all its human rights abuses! This is the very Secretary-General that during his tenure the representative of Iraq was poised to become Chairman of the Disarmament Commission just a few days before the liberation of Iraq!

If it were not so hideous it would be hilarious! Even fiction couldn't come up with a more dysfunctional United Nations than this. But, alas, it is reality! This is the status of the United Nations under the stewardship of Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General.

Need we say more? Do you blame us our hesitance and refusal to put the destiny of our youth in the hands of such a man any longer?

All we say to him is: Mr. Secretary-General, you have disgraced men of honor who had previously held your position. Stop supporting Mr. Khatami and do not presume to make decisions about Iranian people or our beloved land; we do not expect anything from you. We are well aware that you are incapable and impotent of such statesmanship.

As we said: It is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule.

Mr. Secretary-General, just back off! Back off!

You might add: How about the media, the academia, the experts or the intellectuals? To be sure, one expects the truth and professionalism from them!

Unfortunately, not so! Michael Ledeen, Michael Rubin or others like them are not heard often and are relegated to the periphery. Yet, "The New York Times" reporters and articles claim to know the truth about Iran. And, ignorant, self-promoting and self-serving Judith Kipper, Robin Wright, Shirin Hunter and Christiane Amanpour are the ones who are paraded for the viewers. And, of course, Charlie Rose revels in having the agents of the regime as his friends and invites them on his program as often as possible.

Today, Nikki Keddie, University of California professor, who lamented and criticized the large arm sales of the 70s to Iran, is utterly deaf and mute about the very expensive and billions of dollars military build-up that is pursued by Khatami at the expense of bankrupting the country and denying the masses their basic needs.

Hypocrisy? Arrogance? Ignorance?

Here they are: The self-promoted great thinkers, journalists, academics, experts and intellectuals.

The self-appointed experts, Judith Kipper and Robin Wright, evidently have difficulty differentiating between a theocracy and a democracy, ergo they refer to the repressive regime of the Mullahs as a democracy!

Shirin Hunter is a paid agent for the theocracy and the very symbol of the regime of Mullahs. She is an "Akhoondzadeh," meaning child of a Mullah, and feeds at the same trough as the rest of them. The word "Akhoondzadeh" in Persian is self-explanatory and alone denotes all the proper references. Naturally, we know her for who she is, and we expect nothing more!

As we said: It is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule.

All of you, you have done your duties for the last twenty-four years.

Just back off. Back off!

And, of course, the grand and magnanimous "The New York Times," aka, "the Old Grey Lady," the paragon of journalism! This stalwart defender of Mr. Khatami and supporter of "Dialogue" with the repressive regime! It was their reporter who was among the first to perpetuate the charade of divided government and the sham of "hardliners" and "reformers." What we have known about their reporting for sometime has just come to pass! In view of the recent events at the famous newspaper, now the world can judge their reporting as well! We have known that their reporters don't always have the truth!

We have known for sometime that their "News Are Made To Fit The Print!" and not their famous slogan: "All the News That's Fit to Print."

It is the question of credibility!

We ask: Ms. Amanpour, you don a veil in direct insult to the brave Iranian women and kowtow to Khatami gushing over the democracy he has brought to Iran, in every chance, perpetuating the biggest deception of free elections and the democratic system. Why?

Ms. Amanpour, Did you know that historically Iran is a matriarchal civilization? Did you know that equal rights and equal pay were part of the tenets of the Iranian society going back to thousands of years in history? Persepolis and its records are a living testament to that.

Ms. Amanpour, did you ever learn that it was the Regime's Islamist leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who in the early days of their killing spree had given permission for the execution of girls as young as nine years old. But, to keep with the laws of his warped version of Islam they were to be raped before killing, for it was illegal in Islam otherwise. This is the twisted and sick mind of the founder of this regime. Madam, as a woman, as a human being doesn't it make you sick in the stomach? This is the precise regime you have been praising!

Did you know that "Sheer-zan," meaning "Lioness," is a direct adjective for women and part of the every day vernacular of Persian? Did you know that more than 2,000 years ago Iran had number of rulers who were female? Except for the inadequate Mullahs and their inferiority complex the men of Iran take pride in the fact that strong women have raised and nurtured them. You need not even go far, just look at their heroism and the courage of the Iranian women in the last twenty-four years. But then, you wouldn't even recognize courage if it bit you; you are too busy getting access and personal gain!

Ms. Amanpour, cover yourself in seven veils and pay homage to Khatami, those "Sheer-Zanon" of Iran, today, as an act of defiance, are burning their veils--this symbol of their oppression Ñ and tomorrow they will hang your coddled Mullahs with them!

Ms. Amanpour, one word of advice: Don't mess with Iranian women! Now, you have done your duty for your Mr. Khatami, and in turn have been rewarded handsomely. We hope, betraying not only your heritage but also journalistic integrity was worth it.

Ms. Amanpour, the truth is out!

As we said: It is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule.

Ms. Amanpour; back off! Back off!

To Mr. Charlie Rose we say: For the sake of intellectual integrity, we recommend the next time you have your favorite trio: Khatami, Kharazi, and Zarif, the three terrorists who represent the Islamic Republic, on your numerous shows, you may want to present a disclaimer for the benefit of the viewers. You owe it to them! May we suggest the following: Known and documented terrorists! In case you plead ignorance of the facts, permit us to enlighten your "intellectualship" briefly. As a member of the Islamic Republic's ruling council in 1988, Khatami was complicit in the execution of several thousand political prisoners, ordered by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Before becoming the so-called elected President, one of the minor sins of Mr. Khatami was an active member of the Commission that purged 5,000 young students--their status still unknown. Kharazi and Zarif 's claim to fame and rise to power are due to the fact that they were among the original hostage-takers at the American Embassy in Tehran. Innocent Americans were kept in their filthy grip for 444 days.

One expects that on your trips to Iran as a very special guest of the Islamic Republic you might have sought the truth. Regrettably, Mr. Rose, your intellectual prowess in regard to Iran reeks of total ignorance, if not otherwise!

As we said: It is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule.

Mr. Rose, back off! Back off!

To these members of the media, the academia, the experts or the intellectuals, and your ilk: If you think that you impart your wealth of knowledge and inform the public, think again! The misled audience or viewer sees through your ignorance, uninformed and misguided judgment and your agenda; you fail miserably in persuading them otherwise. To protect journalistic integrity and semblance of some dignity, at least, the unsuspecting and the less-informed audience or viewer is owed an explanation of where you are coming from!

Back off, back off!

What about the European nations and other countries, you may wonder?

As Islamic Republic's main trading partner, regrettably, EU members are the biggest culprits in sustaining this regime. Blinded by their ravenousness, they kowtow to the Mullahs and supply them with all their needs: From technology for weapons of mass destruction, to arms, to equipment for the torture and silencing of the Iranian population.

For the last two decades the European countries have embraced and sustained this terrorist regime in power. For long, European Union has disseminated the myth of a polarized government in Iran and under the pretext of dialogue, to strengthen the so-called "moderates" and instigating "reforms," they have consistently and deliberately fed the beast.

They are hypocrites and their motive is: Greed, pure and unadulterated greed! The same greed that prevented them to support their old ally in the war with Iraq; not out of principle but mere greed!

We are not na•ve to entertain the notion that European governments would have respect for the rights of Iranian nationals to freedom and liberties, nor do we expect that they will defend and champion the ideals of democracy, what is alarming is that they seem to be willing to jeopardize the world's and their own national security as well. But, then, of course, they must feel safe in the knowledge that, at the end, they can always count on the American blood and labor to rescue them!

And of course, we find the latest words of the Honorable Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, extremely offensive. It was attributed to him that he had remarked: " I do not believe in regime change in Iran."

Mr. Blair, with all due respect, Sir, it is not for you to decide the fate of Iran, it is our choice!

It is ironic that Mr. Blair insisted on regime change in Iraq on the flimsiest of evidence yet he believes Iranians do not deserve freedom! But, then of course, United Kingdom had always counted on the friendship of the Mullahs in Iran. Our history is a witness to that. The penchant of Mr. Blair's country for the Mullahs is well known in Iran and the mutual admiration society between England and Iranian corrupt "Akhoonds" is well documented. Honorable Mr. Blair, why do you suppose our young students keep shouting: "Akhoond-e-Ingilisi"? Sir, they have studied the history of their land.

To him we say: Mr. Prime Minister, the causa belli of war and change of regime in Iraq was that country's weapons of mass destruction. You are still searching for them; Iran's possession of these weapons is a well-known fact. Instead of feeding the populace and caring for the inhabitants, since the mid-eighties the Islamic Republic has had an established chemical weapons programs and the government has aggressively continued its purchase of necessary components for offensive weapons capability. In fact it is a very sophisticated and progressive program since the technology is purchased from countries well advanced in these projects. It is well documented that at least three Indian firms had helped Iran equip a factory capable of producing Sarin and Tabun; two of the most deadly nerve agents.

Mr. Khatami's administration has been extremely active in Iran's production of banned biological weapons. European countries are falling over each other to engage and trade with Iran in order to further the Islamic Republic's program. German, Italian, Swiss and Spanish companies stock Iran's biological laboratories with the most advanced equipment and supplies.

The testing of missiles capable of striking India, Israel, Turkey and beyond shows the Regime is pursuing long-range delivery and strengthening its defense capability. While the Islamic Republic is deep in debt, and could not afford basic necessities of life and civil services for its people, the Iranian government purchases C-801 and C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles from China.

As for Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, there is no need to fabricate stories like the Niger-Iraq connection. It is very advanced, extremely well equiped and it is in the open, with Russia being the main beneficiary of the billions that is being wasted on the nuke-envy program of the Mullahs. Mr. Blair, Sir, you might want to check your intelligence services and find out how tight the "Satanic Republic" in Iran is with the crazies in North Korea. They may be able to inform you about the most recent trip of the clerical delegation to that country and what transpired. While the world may worry about the possibility of the "Nuked-up Mullahs," with their fingers on the trigger, as residence of Iran we are the ones who will have to live in this land and bear the brunt of it. Our children will have to breath the air and drink the water. Knowing the ineptitude of these Mullahs, most certainly, before long, they will turn our beloved country into a total nuclear wasteland! Chernobyl's nuclear tragedy may become minor in what could happen in Iran under the supervision of this incompetent gang.

While assumptions are made about Iraq's terrorist connections, Sir, observe our land. This is their haven; every brand has an office and a training camp in Iran. Like parasites, that they are, they have attached themselves on the body of our nation and are sucking our blood. In 1979, Khomeini took power and sustained it by unleashing these terrorists on Iranian population. As long as this theocracy is in power, they are there to stay.

In 1979, the "Trio of Terror," Arafat, Qadafi, and Hafez Assad were the first to soil our blessed land with their presence. The terrorist Hezbollah is the backbone of the "Satanic Republic." Since the first days of the Islamic Revolution, the ruling clergy, at the expense of the Iranian people, has embraced the Palestinian cause. Certain dollar amount out of each barrel of oil was paid directly to Arafat. The Iranian government has consistently nurtured and supported other Palestinian groups opposing the peace process. The Regime even helped found Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the only organization in the Sunni world to enthusiastically embrace Khomeini's distorted concept of clerical rule. Until recently, most probably still, the official budget of the Islamic Republic contained a line item for funding Palestinian terrorism. The Regime continues all sorts of material support to various terrorist organizations. And, now they have the appalling distinction of hosting Al-Qaeda as well Ñ one more group of barbarians to unleash on innocent Iranians!

Saddam was a brutal dictator and he was torturing his people denying them freedom and human rights. He is ousted and rightfully so; the world is certainly a better place. Yet, his atrocities are nowhere near what the theocracy in Iran has done and continues so. As brutal as Saddam was, unlike this wretched gang that rules Iran, he did not hire foreign mercenaries to torture and murder the children of his country.

But, that was Saddam not the favored Mullahs of Iran. Mr. Blair "regime change" is our decision, not yours. You may sustain this "Satanic Republic" for a while longer by your worldly wiles but eventually we will succeed!

Hypocrisy? Indeed, it is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule.

Mindful of the fact that it is, merely, the economic support of the European countries and others that sustains the theocracy, Iranians have come to revile the European Union; they recognize these and others for the greedy, self-serving hypocrites that they are. Moreover, they know that the nonsense of "engagement" has only enriched the EU members and filled the coffers of the Mullahs while pushing Iran further into the deep hole.

In view of their experience with these European countries, Iranians esteem and look to the United States for standing firm and not cooperating with the regime. At this juncture, United States is in a unique position indeed!

It would be a grave tragedy to squander this wellspring of good will by following misinformed and misguided policies. In reference to the latest student demonstrations in Iran, we welcome the recent remarks of the President of the United States: "Those courageous souls who speak out for freedom in Iran" supporting the students, he added: "America stands squarely by their side, and I would urge the Iranian administration to treat them with the utmost of respect."

We applaud and appreciate such comments, however, we add: Mr. President, you speak of respect. Respect, Sir? The "Satanic Republic" doesn't know the meaning of the word. These barbarians even deny us our basic human rights! While the world stands blind and mute, the Islamic Regime is ripping our bodies with the equipment provided by the EU member countries Ñ all democratic governments and supposedly the guardians of liberty and justice!

It is the hypocrisy and the greed of these European and other countries that sustain the Regime! Hypocrisy! Greed! Indeed!

Of course, we find the reaction and the comments of the Regime, in regard to the demonstrations, absurd and like always true to form and in line with their paranoia. They see the fury of the masses and, thus, like any authoritarian regime, as usual, they redirect their problems onto others. To deflect from the corruption, political, economic, social, and moral disaster they have brought upon the nation they need, constantly, to create imaginary enemies!

The truth is, our demonstrations and our rage are the direct consequences of what the theocracy itself has done onto us. They are the manifestations of a tired, angry, frustrated and overwhelmed nation that is being trampled under the galloping greed and ignorance of a gang of illiterates and terrorists. We are challenging them and responding to their brutality and their unleashed wrath as a nation united and with our bare hands but steeled will and determination!

While we find President Bush's most recent remarks in reference to the students heartwarming, still, United States' conduct is far from the rhetoric. As late as May 12, 2003, State Department was meeting covertly with the officials of the Islamic Republic. Instead of pressuring the governments that are sustaining this regime, the World Bank, just recently, approved the largest grant to the Islamic Republic. This could not be without the approval of the United States government!

These grants or loans, like others before, will not help the populace or solve the acute problems of the nation; they will merely gild the personal treasury of the Mullahs and the terrorists that protect them. This is feeding the beast! Protracting the Islamic Republic's grip on Iran would only prolong our pain and suffering!

What we find most disturbing are the comments and the observations of the high officials, at the State Department, referring to the "Satanic Republic" as a "democracy." It is baffling! How is it possible that, after all this time, the State Department still does not have a grasp and a true perception of the realities in Iran?

To them we say: What constitutes a democracy is: "The substance of democracy, not its hollow forms." As knowledgeable men and women you are expected to have a more profound respect and a deeper appreciation for the true spirit of democracy!

Furthermore, We find the failed policy of the so-called "engagement" and "dialogue" pursued, avidly and incessantly, by Mr. Richard Haass and others, bizarre, misguided and totally devoid of lucidity and deep understanding of the realities in Iran. We fear, even with the recent departure of Mr. Haass from the State, this policy would, most likely, continue with the advocacy of others like Ms. Meghan O'Sullivan.

To those who pursue such policies we say: Would you still insist on having "dialogue" with this oppressive regime if the breasts of your daughter, wife or mother were slashed? How could any person of conscience or a nation of principles consider "engagement" with such a regime?

After all these years, isn't it obvious that "Dialogue" and "Engagement" with the Islamic Republic is futile and a total failure? Reason dictates and demands that any sound policy be based on reality rather than wishful thinking!

We repeat, any rapprochement with the present regime, under the pretext of dialogue and engagement with the so-called "elected " and "moderate" elements, would be rejected by the freedom-loving Iranians and would gravely undermine the status of the United States as the champion of the democratic principles and the ideals that this country stands for; the very foundation of America.

Indeed, any relations or associations with the present regime that would, in any way, extend its life and its hold on power could bear crucial consequences for relations with the future generations of Iran.

While the future of Iran will be decided, solely, by the people of Iran and the ultimate responsibility to free the nation is with the Iranians, all we ask is the moral support of the United States. All we expect is that the United States will remain true to its principles of liberty, justice, and its ideals of democracy.

For over two decades this morally, politically, and economically bankrupt Islamic Regime has counted on the need, greed, and hypocritical foreign policy of other nations to survive and to sustain its dictatorial reign over the population of Iran.

To the world and those who have supported and sustained the "Satanic Republic", we say again: Enough hypocrisy and hiding behind your supposed diplomacy; the world is in desperate need of perceptive, candid and determined leadership!

But alas! It is greed, self-serving ambitions and hypocrisy that rule.

It is for all these reasons that we turn to the free people of the world. For, there's nothing more powerful than the concerned and caring voices of the masses and their clarion call demanding liberty and justice.

It is up to you to insist that our silenced screams are heard throughout the world and that justice is done for our fellow-students who remain in the clutches of one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever seen. They are killing us, they are wounding us, they are breaking our bodies; they are slaughtering the future of a nation. Yet, they cannot break our will! And we, we will deny them the future!

For, we are the future of Iran. We are the 70% of the population that is under the age of 30, and the rest are, simply, our mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. The Iran of tomorrow is ours! We will reclaim our land, our national identity, pride, heritage, our proud history, and our civilization.

At this crucial juncture in our history we are face to face with our destiny and we must and will meet it with steeled resolve to succeed.

And succeed, we must and we will; for, the most glorious successes are but reflection of an inner fire. The fire of rage, for what has been done to us, is our motivator. We will honor our glorious past and achieve the liberated and free Iran of tomorrow.

As children of Iran, we send this powerful message to the repressive theocratic regime: We're facing you with the mighty force of our will to end the reign of your oppression and terror. And we will not waver; we will challenge your brutality and boldly bear it until we bring back dignity and honor and a better life to our land. We will continue, and we will not stop, we will not relent until our beloved Iran is free, secular and democratic.

On behalf of SMCCDI,

Aryo B. Pirouznia
smccdi@daneshjoo.org
Website:www.daneshjoo.org
Tel: +1 (972) 504-6864
Fax: +1 (972) 491-9866

"Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran"

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