On July 12, 2019, dignitaries from dozens of countries across the world attended an exhibition in Ashraf 3, Albania, which depicted 120 years of resistance for freedom and democracy in Iran. The exhibition was part of the five-day Free Iran 2019 event at the main headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Following the exhibition, a conference was held, in which several of the visitors delivered speeches, issuing remarks about the struggles of the Iranian people and their resistance movement for freedom in their country.
Following are key remarks by the first U.S. Secretary of Homland Security Tom Ridge at the Ashraf 3 conference.
Tom Ridge:
Madam [Maryam] Rajavi, my distinguished colleagues from the United States, my distinguished colleagues from around the globe as we join together to recognize, celebrate, honor and embrace the goals, the missions, the aspirations of the NCRI, on this particular moment I must say that it is a humbling honor to be in the physical presence of the men and women of Ashraf 1, of Camp Liberty and Ashraf 3. It’s my honor to be in your presence. I want to thank you for your invitation.
As we briefly toured the exhibit hall, and where the names, faces and history associated with the sacrifice and courage of those who have gone before you, and as we all know, that unfortunately until we have a free, open, pluralistic, non-nuclear Iran around the principals that Madam [Maryam] Rajavi and the NCRI have embraced, others will be perished in this cause.
Forty-plus years in addition to embracing your goal for a free and pluralistic Iran, you have shed your blood and you have signed your own personal declarations of independence, and you are not being satisfied, until that day for you and your children and your grandchildren is realized in Tehran. And I admire it. The world admires it.
The rest of the world needs to understand that we are not dealing with a moderate regime in Iran. I frankly take personal umbrage when I read about it in some of the publications in my own country. No moderate regime suppresses its dissents, no moderate regime subject repression, imprisonment, torcher and death those who dissent. No moderate regime does everything it can to disassemble those who are gathered in protest. No moderate regime acts like the mullahs in Iran. No moderate regime sends terror to support South Sudan, and to Tirana. No moderate regime is responsible for instability in the Middle East. From time to time, I think maybe our ambition is too low, our goals are not high enough. From time to time, as I take a look at this moderate regime, maybe the regime should be viewed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, because that is exactly what it is.
And I think the exhibit that I just walked through its a country that you want to take back. For forty years, if you take a look at those men and women and listen to that history, the MEK and NCRI, you just keep coming, and you just keep coming, and you just keep coming, but it’s that free independence. We admire your courage, your resiliency, your bravery, your determination, and you will achieve what you sought out many years ago.
May God continue to bless you in your march to Tehran.
