US Congress introduces resolution in support of campaign for freedom and democracy in Iran
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Roshan Amiri
- . February 9, 2023
- . Update: February 9, 2023 6:15 pm
A resolution supporting the Iranian people and criticising the “monarchic despotism and religious oppression” of the Tehran regime was sponsored by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Although the resolution lacks legal standing, it affirms American solidarity for the Iranian people and condemnation of the country’s government’s persistent abuses of human rights. The resolution, which has the support of over 165 members of Congress from both major parties, is anticipated to be comfortably passed when it comes up for a final vote.
“The timing of this bipartisan resolution, and the unprecedented number of cosponsors, on the eve of the anniversary of the anti-monarchic revolution of 1979 that overthrew a corrupt and ruthless dictator, reflect the forward-looking policy of Congress and its support for a secular, non-nuclear Iranian republic,” said Ramesh Sepehrrad, chair of the advisory board for the Organization of Iranian American Communities.
Tom McClintock, a Republican congressman from California, proposed the resolution and said that more needed to be done to unite European and Baltic nations against the Iranian government.
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He said he was glad to introduce the resolution, which “supports the aspirations of the Iranian people for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Republic of Iran” and “denounces abuses of human rights and state-sponsored terrorism by the Iranian government.”
It happens as Iranians continue to criticise the country’s current government. They started in September of the previous year after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died while in detention. Mahsa had been detained by the nation’s “morality police” for failing to adequately cover her hair in accordance with rigorous regulations dictating how women can dress in public.
Since the start of the protests, more than 600 citizens, including 70 children, have died, and 19,600 individuals, including 687 students, have been detained.
Through a video link, Maryam Rajavi, the head of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, spoke at the briefing on Wednesday. This Iranian opposition party supports the toppling of the current administration and the establishment of a democratic one. She thanked Congress for its sustained support but insisted that more needed to be done to stop the regime from continuing to use violence to repress protestors.
