Iranian communities’ summit in Canada marks the anniversary of the 1979 anti-monarchic revolution

Maryam Rajavi: The Iranian people’s democratic revolution will win

Dear friends of the Iranian people and Resistance,
Fellow compatriots,
Your gathering on the anniversary of the 1979 anti-monarchic revolution manifests the determination and fervent struggle of the Iranian people who have chosen an uprising and revolutionary solution to overthrow the mullahs’ clerical dictatorship.
If the revolution means rising up and sacrificing, if it means upsetting the status quo, and if it means to close all roads to regression, deviation, despotism, and dependence (as opposed to independence), then you and the Iranian people have the key to victory and freedom.
Your gathering today has two fundamental messages: it echoes the voice of the Iranian people who say that the uprising and revolution will continue until the regime is overthrown; and is also the expression of readiness by Iranians away from their homeland.
You have come to say that you are ready to support the uprising and to close all the paths to the reactionary and anti-human regime with all your heart, love, and emotions. Hail to all of you!

The 1979 revolution sought freedom and democracy

Dear friends!
We are in February. You all remember the memories of the 1979 revolution, of how the people of Iran expelled the Shah and overthrew the monarchical regime.
The 1979 revolution sought freedom, democracy, and independence and opposed dependency and a client state. It sought a republic for which the Iranian people, who oppose Monarchy, yearned.
It sought to liberate the Iranian people from suppression, imprisonment, torture, and discrimination.
And it sought social justice and welfare for all sectors, classes, and nationalities.
From the outset, Massoud [Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance], released from prison after 7.5 years, just 10 days before Khomeini’s arrival in Iran, called for a “democratic revolution” and stressed “no one should talk about an Islamic revolution.”
In a speech at the University of Tehran, 10 days after the fall of Shah’s regime, he reiterated, “In Kurdistan, in Baluchistan, or anywhere else,” don’t invoke the pretext of separatism. The demands of the people of Kurdistan and Baluchistan are no different from those living in Tehran and Azerbaijan. All of them want the same thing, except that the Kurds and the Baluchis have been subjected to dual oppression because of their language and ethnicity.” As for the country’s administration and the political and economic life, he called for the formation of people’s councils, concluding his remarks by saying, “The road ahead of us is long and tortuous.”
Why? Because the backward mullahs had hijacked the leadership of the revolution. Neither in the past, nor at the present, and nor in the future a reactionary force cannot assume the leadership of a revolution.

Khomeini, the greatest thief of the century

The greatest thief of the century, Khomeini, had arrived. He was at the peak of his social and religious popularity, making the situation doubly complicated for us. It was the only example and a unique case in the entire Iranian history where one person held religious and social legitimacy simultaneously with political legitimacy resulting from a revolution. Therefore, all the politicians of the time, except Massoud [Rajavi], kissed his hand when meeting him.
The problem was that during half a century of dictatorship, the Shah and his father had left no room for anyone and anything except the mullahs’ network. It got to the point that one day the Shah dissolved his puppet parties and said that there could be only one party, “Rastakhiz (resurgence),” and everyone who did not agree should either leave Iran or go to prison.

The people of Iran sacrificed many lives to welcome Khomeini, but he established a monopolistic religious dictatorship erected on what was left from the monarchical dictatorship.
Again, it was Massoud [Rajavi] who, in his very first speech, 10 days after Khomeini seized power, explicitly said that he could sense all kinds of restrictions being imposed on the revolutionary forces that had fought the Shah in the past; those who had not jumped on the stage abruptly and had not come to reap the revolution’s rewards for themselves. He used a metaphor from the Quran and, in the most expressive way, said that the forces who brought about the revolution were not close to Khomeini, but very far away from him.

Those days, from a social, political, and religious point of view, those positions were absolutely not welcome, and provoked pressure, isolation, and restrictions for the PMOI/MEK. Likewise, the MEK’s boycotting of Khomeini’s referendum on the Velayat-e faqih constitution, resulted in its members being attacked with clubs and bullets.
These were indispensable to preserving our honor and rising to our historical responsibility; otherwise, no viable democratic alternative would have existed today.
By encouraging PMOI’s female members and sympathizers who wore headscarves to protect and support women who opposed Khomeini’s decree on mandatory hijab, Massoud Rajavi further upset the mullahs. The photos of PMOI women and girls protecting the march of unveiled women were published at the time.

Then there was the PMOI’s statement on March 12, 1979, which said, “The revolution rejects any doubts or denial of women’s complete equality in legal, political, and social freedoms.” The statement added that “the compulsory imposition of any form of hijab on the women of this country… is unreasonable and unacceptable.”
But these statements fell on deaf ears, and through misogyny, coercion, and dual oppression, Khomeini enchained Iranian women.
He shed blood and suppressed, humiliated, and looted the people of Iran as much as he could. He imposed poverty, deprivation, and despondency on the people, destroying the lives of everyone.
However, the Iranian people, their children, and true leaders did not bow to Khomeini. They started and organized a monumental resistance, and fought the regime by paying a huge price unprecedented in Iran’s history.
The Iranian Resistance has been engaged in a full-fledged war of liberation against the clerical regime for more than four decades. The Resistance movement is the Iranian people’s greatest national and patriotic asset to break out of the clutches of religious fascism.

Six decades of fighting two dictatorships contribute to the 2022 uprising

And today, after overcoming thousands of obstacles, hardships, and difficult challenges, the people of Iran have reached the 2022 uprising. Behind them is a series of uprisings, massacres, and battles. They are backed by 57 years of continuous struggle against the dictatorships of the Shah and the mullahs.
It is the story of freedom fighters who, despite enduring numerous ups and downs, are determined to fight for freedom and against oppression, dictatorship, and coercion. They will bring freedom to Iran in virtue of a solidified organization, the PMOI, that no one can deny regardless of any hostility.
Generations of selfless men and women have sacrificed everything for their people’s freedom and have become inspiring role models for Iran’s courageous youths.
Now the world can see the dawn of freedom in Iran, replenished with the blood of 120,000 brave men and women.

They see the degree of crimes and repression on the other hand, and the courage, bravery of, and the price paid by defiant protesters. Therefore, the world must stand with Iran and the people of Iran and in solidarity with the protesters and their uprising.

Friends and compatriots!
Countless numbers of young and enlightened combatants have joined the fight. And brave women are at the forefront of this struggle. Here are some important points to note:
First, the massive killings and arrests have failed to intimidate and silence the people, especially the rebellious youths. The regime has also failed to stop the courageous fighting force that was the driving force behind the uprising from being bold and defiant.
The Iranian resistance announced that 30,000 people were arrested during the uprising. Later, the regime’s media announced that the number of arrests was 29,000, and recently, the IRGC officially announced that some 10,000 had been arrested in Tehran, alone.
But instead of leading to despair and passivity, the brutal crackdown has led to an explosion of public’s anger and abomination.

Secondly, the regime’s actions have forced innocent and unarmed people to defend themselves.
According to the figures announced in the official media, more than 7,000 suppressive forces have been wounded in clashes with protesters. More than 1,000 Basij militia centers, IRGC bases, as well as government sites and headquarters have been torched.
Also, 700 vehicles and equipment of the repressive forces and 800 financial centers of the regime and IRGC have been targeted.
The resistance and perseverance of Iran’s courageous youths have caused despair and fear among the forces supporting the regime. On November 26, Khamenei comforted the Basij militiamen and asked them to keep their spirits up.

The third point is the regime’s inability to meet the demands of 85 million Iranians. Khamenei and his regime have no solution, program, or roadmap. The uprising has changed the society’s coordinates and the public’s psychology, steering it toward the regime’s overthrow.
Neutralizing the present conditions that are ripe for uprising requires fundamental political changes, which Khamenei will never embark on and which he rightly considers synonymous with overthrow.
From the economic point of view, the society needs urgent solutions and improvement in the foundations of the country’s economy. But Khamenei and his murderous president are going in the opposite direction. The basis of their policy is to empty the tables and pockets of the people.
Khamenei has recently started selling state assets due to the budget deficit. He has given judicial immunity to the commission in charge of these sales to enforce his plan without hindrance.
So, this is yet another significant step in plundering the Iranian nation’s assets. Khamenei cannot help the situation but follow a path where his every step fuels the uprising.
Today, Khamenei relies on his army of assassins and his herds of torturers and murderous judges to preserve his decadent regime. But if repression were the solution, the current uprising would never have erupted.

The result is that all avenues to the past are blocked, and it is not possible to preserve the status quo. There is only one way out, the overthrow of religious fascism and the establishment of a democratically elected republic based on the vote of the Iranian people.

The NCRI’s redline, “Neither shah nor mullah”

Dear compatriots,
In the face of the uprising and revolution, in addition to its routine of arrests and killings, the mullahs’ regime is using all kinds of schemes and deceptions to buy time and prolong its existence.
The events during this uprising have shown how Khamenei covertly or overtly uses the remnants of the past dictatorship.

Undeniable facts have shown that the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC are stage managing these escapes, which in effect undermine the uprising and the regime’s overthrow.
However, the spread of the slogan “Death to the oppressor, be it the shah or the Leader (Khamenei),” although it resulted in the arrest of many young protesters, dashed the illusion of a return to the previous dictatorship. Something that will come more apparent in the future.
It has been proven that the demarcation of “neither the shah nor the mullah,” which has been the “red line of the NCRI and the PMOI/MEK” for four decades, is well-founded.
Iran’s democratic revolution is the outcome of rejecting the Shah and the mullahs, and the historical evolution of Dr. Mossadeq’s strategy of negative balance.
Yes, we come to the same conclusion that the most critical and significant lesson of the uprising is that the answer to Iranian issue is the overthrow of religious fascism and the establishment of a democratic republic based on people’s votes.

Indeed, the answer cannot be found in alternatives propped up in the cyberspace and the media. It requires paying a price and sacrificing one’s life on the field. The roaring blood of the martyrs in more than four decades prevents returning to the past. One must move towards the future. Nothing can be done without sacrifice and struggle, and no one but ourselves will do it for us.

Duties of the Iranian diaspora and supporters of the Iranian Resistance

Dear compatriots,
Precisely for this reason, wherever you are, you must, without exception, consider yourself a supporter of the uprising and a messenger of Iran’s democratic revolution.
– Symbolic or ineffective sanctions are no longer sufficient.
– Khamenei, Raisi, Rouhani, Zarif, and all those whose hands are stained with the blood of the children of Iran must be prosecuted by the international community. They must pay for the blood unjustly shed over the past 44 years, including the victims of the missile attack on the Ukrainian airliner. Of course, justice will be carried out by courts in the free Iran.
– Not only should the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence be designated as terrorist entities, but also, they should be dissolved. The designation is indispensable to international peace and security and must be adopted by the world community, international bodies, parliaments, and governments committed to human rights.
– The regime’s embassies must be closed. These nests of espionage and export of terrorism and fundamentalism are logistical centers and support the suppression of the uprising.
– The passports of all mercenaries should be revoked as the Belgian court verdict did for the terrorist bombers who plotted to bomb the NCRI gathering in 2018. The agents and operatives of the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Quds Force should be expelled.
– The international community must recognize the right of Iranian youths and people to self-defense and the right to resist and overthrow the ruling religious fascism.
– The list of instruments and equipment for espionage, repression, and censorship that Western companies have sold to the regime is staggering. These bloodstained transactions must be stopped.

For Freedom

Dear friends, freedom-loving Iranians,
For the past four decades, a phenomenal and hopeful battle has been waged for the most basic rights of the Iranian people.
For freedom, and rejecting all forms of oppression and dictatorship.
For a democratic republic and people’s sovereignty.
For social justice, and an Iran free from poverty, theft, and plunder.
For the separation of religion and state, the rights of ethnic minorities, and the autonomy of Kurdistan.
For freedom of religions and creeds.
For gender equality and the decisive role of women in political leadership.
For the abolishment of compulsory government, compulsory religion, and compulsory veil.
For the release of political prisoners and the abolition of torture, executions, and inquisition.
Yes, what is happening in the streets of Iran is the continuation of a four-decade-long battle with the same slogans, ideas, and aspirations as 40 years ago, which is led by brave and rebellious women and girls, courageous youths, and resistance units. It is marching towards the overthrow of the mullahs and a free Iran.

I will end my speech by marking the anniversary of the birth of the historic Leader of the People’s Mojahedin, Imam Ali, the first Shi’a Imam, who said in his last speech: “Be a friend of the oppressed and an enemy of the oppressors.” May our uprising and revolution win victory by ending the night of oppression and repression and saving and liberating the oppressed as soon as possible.

Long live the Iranian people!
Long live freedom!
Victory to the Iranian people’s democratic revolution!