Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNEWSRESISTANCEWho Set Iran’s Washington Lobbyist on Fire?

Who Set Iran’s Washington Lobbyist on Fire?

By Nima Sharif
Stop Fundamentalism, 22 July 2011 –
Peculiar things happen in Washington.  But one that is most bizarre is an Iranian lobby group which has now turned green, that is merely going bananas over the possibility of Washington delisting the main Iranian Opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (Mek/PMOI).
For years, the lobby group known as NIAC has promoted ways and means of just how to “get along” with the Ayatollahs regime in Iran.  First it was Rafsanjani, Iran’s former president, who was the most moderate man in the world, and then it turned out that Khatami was even more moderate.  And after Khatami, surprise, there came Ahmadinejad who was just the man that America could sit and talk to.
And now NIAC is banging its head against the walls in the Hill to press American policy makers that they should at any price continue the policy to appease the terrorist Mullah’s ruling in Iran and instead of pressuring Iran, suppress its legitimate opposition movement in exile.  That way democracy will prevail and Iran’s “indigenous democratic movement”,   led by individuals who have held high offices during the past 30 years of brutal rule of clerical regime will succeed. 
That is some democratic Opposition movement that requires the other dissidents and movements to be suppressed in order to be triumphant and survive.  How preposterous.  Who is NIAC trying to fool?
Furthermore, the Mullahs’ lobby group claims that the Mujahedin-e Khalq have no popular support among Iranians so they should be tied up and put away; perfect similarity to a prescription Mullahs’ ministry of intelligence would write for you.  That is the way of the Mullahs. Execute, torture, rape and put thousands of people in jail and then scream that they have no public support.  No more expected from the lobbyist promoting Iranian regime.
But if the Mek really don’t have any popular support, why bother? Why is NIAC screaming its head off?  May be NIAC instead of going nuts over Mujahedin-e Khalq’s delisting, should lobby their own favorite regime. NIAC’s tactic is very clear. It cannot openly support Ahmandinejad so the best way is to attack the Opposition which is seeking fundamental change in Iran. By discrediting the democratic alternative, NIAC is hoping to help Mullahs’ regime to stay longer in power.
It is true that Secretary Clinton will have to make her decision soon.  That is whether she wants to continue to – as Persians say – “tie-up the stone and leave the mad dog unleashed” or to set history back on its right side up and side the American people with the Iranian people and their democratic movement for freedom.  I hope she will delist the Mujahedin soon.
And as far as NIAC’s concern about Mek’s popular support goes, the restless Iranian lobbyists can ask some well known people in Washington and reporters who just happen to be in Paris on June 18, seeing the gathering of tens of thousands of Iranians there in support of the Mujahedin-e Khalq – who don’t have any popular support – and then tell them that NIAC will gather the same number of people in Washington, or even half or one third of it, to show that it has in fact some support among Iranians.

RELATED ARTICLES

Selected

Latest News and Articles

Most Viewed

[custom-twitter-feeds]