Protesters in the city of Zahedan, NE Iran, hoist a banner saying “Down with the Oppressor, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader [Khamenei]” on March 3, 2023. (source PMOI/MEK)
Overcoming the leadership void of the 1979 revolution, the National Council of Resistance of Iran is paving the way for a genuinely democratic future in Iran.
Across cities and universities in Iran, in a clear demarcation against past monarchic dictatorships and the current theocracy, the cry is: “Down with the dictator, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader.” (https://twitter.com/NCRIUS/status/1611428490062225411)
The 1979 revolution, a milestone in Iran's long-standing quest for democracy, was a direct response to the despotic and corrupt rule of the Shah, who was reinstated in 1953 through a CIA-engineered coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq's democratic government.
The Shah's relentless oppression of democratic and secular opposition left a vacuum, which Khomeini exploited by usurping the leadership and diverting Iran's anti-dictatorial revolution, turning it into a new era of crimes and atrocities.
Throughout Iran's recent history, at crucial moments for democratic progress, monarchs have colluded with clerics against the people's interests due to their inherently anti-democratic and corrupt nature.
Many high-ranking mullahs today were collaborators with the Shah and his notorious secret police, the SAVAK, against pro-democracy dissidents. Even today, remnants of the Shah's regime, deceptively posing as opposition, boast about daily contacts with the murderous and terrorist IRGC.
But nothing can stop the Iranian nation that has decisively rejected the false dichotomy between monarchs and clerics. The Iranian people desire a democratic republic founded on the separation of religion and state, a goal supported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran and its principal member, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
Overcoming the leadership void of the 1979 revolution, this organized, resilient, internationally supported alternative is paving the way for a genuinely democratic future in Iran.
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BACKGROUND
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is a democratic coalition of Iranian opposition organizations and personalities and was founded in Tehran, Iran, in July 1981, as the alternative to the clerical regime, a month after the onset of the nationwide resistance to overthrow the ruling dictatorship.
The NCRI is committed to the affirmation of the people’s sovereignty in a republic founded on universal suffrage and pluralism; gender equality; separation of religion and state and freedom of religions and faiths; freedom of thought, press, and association; support for peace in the Middle East; plan for the autonomy of Iranian nationalities and ethnicities; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as embodied in Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-Point Plan for Future Iran.
The NCRI would serve as a provisional government led by its President-elect Mrs. Rajavi, and its primary responsibility will be to hold free and fair elections for a national and constituent assembly within six months to ensure the peaceful transition of power to the elected representatives of the Iranian people.
Iran’s largest, most organized opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also referred to as the MEK, is the principal member of the NCRI.
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These materials are being distributed by the National Council of Resistance of Iran-U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US). Additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
For more information:
▶️ NCRI-US: https://www.ncrius.org/
▶️ Maryam Rajavi: https://www.maryam-rajavi.com/en/
▶️ NCRI: https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/
▶️ MEK: https://english.mojahedin.org/
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