Statement by American Dignitaries to the July 13, 2019 rally at Ashraf III, Albania

“Year of the Ashraf Resident”

As members of the American team, we call on our friends and colleagues from all over the world to recognize 2019 as the “Year of the Ashraf Resident.”

The members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK) residing at Camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq from 2009 to 2016 suffered three ground assaults, five rocket attacks, deprivation of basic life support (such as food, water, and proper sanitation), and denial of reasonable access to timely medical treatment. One hundred and sixty-eight members lost their lives and 1,487 suffered injuries. For all they endured, and for their unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom, justice and a democratic Iran, they have not only earned our admiration, but they have also earned their place in the history of Iran and the world.

Now residing in central Tirana, Albania at their new encampment, appropriately named Ashraf III, on July 13, 2019, the residents will host many of their supporters and defenders from around the world. American team members participating in the event will carry with them the message of respect from all of us.

We have worked over the years for their safe relocation and to reinstate the broken promise of “protected person status” awarded in 2004 by the United States government to every resident who then resided at Camp Ashraf. But it was the residents who persevered despite the torment and horror inflicted on them by the Iranian and Iraqi governments. The residents demonstrated their fierce determination to survive and show the world what people dedicated to democratic principles can achieve.

These democratic principles prioritize the return of Iran to its rightful owners, its citizens. The instruments of government power have been seized by religious extremists who have subjugated the Iranian people and others across the region. These religious extremists have become the number one state sponsor of terror.

The MeK and coalition of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) are committed, through peaceful political means, to building a viable and democratic alternative to the current regime in Iran. The foundation of this commitment is the Ten Point Plan developed by NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

No one has worked more diligently to bring the residents out of Iraq to safety than Mrs. Rajavi. Mrs. Rajavi led the worldwide relocation effort.

The residents at these Camps also demonstrated a heroic commitment to each other. Enduring the risk of death, during rocket attacks and under rifle fire, they always helped bring their wounded to safety. This is precisely what they are now trying to do for all citizens of Iran. They know their countrymen are being subjected to imprisonment, torture, and execution from a brutal regime. The MeK and the NCRI are determined to create an environment in Iran that creates a government dedicated to bettering the lives of its people, not exploiting them. The fundamentalist government of Iran fears the MeK and the NCRI more than any other organization in the world. The regime’s days are numbered, and every day that number becomes smaller.

NCRI is not dedicated to achieving power in Iran; it is dedicated to achieving democracy in Iran for all Iranians consistent with the four freedoms articulated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Despite the efforts of the Iranian government to discredit the MeK and the NCRI, the truth about the regime is emerging throughout the world. Nowhere is this more evident than the MeK having been removed from its wrongful designation on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization list and being replaced by the Iranian Regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Ashraf III is evidence of what can be created in Iran. At the original Ashraf, the residents built a city out of the Iraqi desert. Now at Ashraf III, the residents have built a modern city in the Albanian hills. This quality of life will become available to all citizens in Iran, once the religious extremists in Tehran have been removed from power.

Last month, in Washington D.C., many thousands of supporters of the NCRI and the MeK came together to call for regime change. This same growth in support is being witnessed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and especially in Iran. History is on the side of the MeK and the NCRI. When that history is written, a special chapter will be dedicated to what was endured and accomplished by the MeK residents who were in Iraq and now are in Albania.

Again, we call on our colleagues from all over the world to recognize 2019 as the “Year of the Ashraf Resident.”

©2022 Wes Martin