The Path to a Free and Democratic Iran

Editor’s note:

 

Global Solidarity: Embracing Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for Iran’s Future

 

The nationwide protests in Iran, which commenced in September 2022, have fundamentally altered the country’s political landscape. These demonstrations represent a pivotal moment in Iran’s history, signaling that there can be no return to the previous status quo. A novel balance of power has emerged, and a growing consensus within policy circles indicates that the current regime is facing an existential crisis. It appears incapable of providing solutions to the problems plaguing it, thus threatening its very existence, despite its desperate attempts to retain control.

As a result, the critical question of what will succeed the current regime has moved to the forefront of discussions. In this context, it is essential to examine the program proposed by the opposition. Furthermore, it is crucial to determine what measures will be necessary to guarantee the successful implementation of this program once the regime has been overthrown. Her plan, which was first announced at the Council of Europe in 2006, has garnered an unprecedented level of support from around the world, reflecting a shared vision for a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Iran.

In 2006, at the Council of Europe, Mrs. Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), unveiled her Ten-point Plan for Iran’s future. This comprehensive blueprint envisions a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic nation, resonating with Iranians across various societal backgrounds. Consequently, it has garnered widespread support from diverse segments of the Iranian population.

The Ten-Point Plan, a blueprint for Iran’s future, is built upon the pillars of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law within a secular and democratic republic. Besides its core principles, the plan exhibits several notable features:

• The plan encompasses the most fundamental historical rights, ideals, and pressing needs of the Iranian people in pursuit of a republic grounded in free and fair elections.
• Rooted in the comprehensive program of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which was established and announced four decades ago, the ten-point plan pledges to conduct a free election for the Constituent Assembly within six months following the regime’s overthrow. As per the council’s program, this assembly will be tasked with drafting the constitution for the new republic. For the first time in Iran’s history, no religion will be designated as the official state religion, ensuring that discrimination against adherents of other religions or beliefs is eliminated, and maintaining the separation of religion and state.
• The Ten-Point Plan is backed by a resistance movement with over four decades of dedication, marked by 120,000 martyrs. The NCRI stands as the most enduring political coalition in Iran’s history, steadfastly committed to upholding the nation’s independence and freedom. The PMOI/MEK, the council’s pivotal constituent, is the sole nationwide organized entity within the country. Presently, it is actively involved in establishing and managing Resistance Units across Iran, with its extensive and growing activities evident to all.
• The Ten-Point Plan is more than just a theoretical or academic proposition for an alternative. The National Council of Resistance and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran have actively demonstrated their commitment to the plan’s provisions. For instance, when the plan advocates for complete gender equality, both organizations have been championing this cause for decades. Likewise, in alignment with the plan’s vision for a non-nuclear Iran, the People’s Mojahedin has played a crucial role in exposing the regime’s nuclear ambitions over the past two decades.

In 2023, some 229 bipartisan members of the United States Congress, 250 cross-party members of both houses of the British Parliament, and dozens of Nobel Laureates have expressed their backing for the plan. This impressive list of endorsers also includes hundreds of dignitaries and former officials from dozens of countries such as the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Romania, Poland, Hungry, Lithuania, Latvia, the European Parliament, and the Middle East. This widespread support is a testament to the shared belief in a brighter, more democratic future for Iran.

The global endorsement of Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan represents just one facet of the narrative. Within Iran, the plan garners significant backing from the populace, a topic deserving of its own dedicated magazine issue. It is worth noting that, despite the challenges in openly expressing their support, Iranians have ingeniously devised methods to demonstrate their solidarity with the plan and the NCRI. Employing graffiti, covert gatherings, and the surreptitious dissemination of literature, the Iranian people courageously convey their aspirations for transformation and a more promising future.

In the following pages, you will discover statements of support and remarks from prominent figures who endorse this plan, which promises a brighter future for the Iranian people. We hope that this issue serves as both an enlightening and motivational resource for our readers, and we express our gratitude for your ongoing support and engagement in this vital cause.

By steadfastly uniting in our support for the Ten-Point Plan, we deliver a resounding message to those who attempt to silence the voices of the Iranian people: change is not inevitable and unstoppable. The Iranian people are not dwelling on the past; instead, they set their sights on a free, democratic, and prosperous future as envisioned by Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan. The plan calls for the following:

1. Rejection of velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule). Affirmation of the people’s sovereignty in a republic founded on universal suffrage and pluralism;
2. Freedom of speech, freedom of political parties, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and the internet. Dissolution and disbanding of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the terrorist Qods Force, plainclothes groups, the unpopular Bassij, the Ministry of Intelligence, Council of the Cultural Revolution, and all suppressive patrols and institutions in cities, villages, schools, universities, offices, and factories;
3. Commitment to individual and social freedoms and rights in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights. Disbanding all agencies in charge of censorship and inquisition. Seeking justice for massacred political prisoners, prohibition of torture, and the abolishment of the death penalty;
4. Separation of religion and state, and freedom of religions and faiths;
5. Complete gender equality in the realms of political, social, cultural, and economic rights, and equal participation of women in political leadership. Abolishment of any form of discrimination; the right to choose one’s own clothing freely; the right to freely marry and divorce, and to obtain education and employment. Prohibition of all forms of exploitation against women under any pretext;
6. An independent judiciary and legal system consistent with international standards based on the presumption of innocence, the right to defense counsel, right of appeal, and the right to be tried in a public court. Full independence of judges. Abolishment of the mullahs’ Sharia law and dissolution of Islamic Revolutionary Courts;
7. Autonomy for and removal of double injustices against Iranian nationalities and ethnicities consistent with the NCRI‘s plan for the autonomy of Iranian Kurdistan;
8. Justice and equal opportunities in the realms of employment and entrepreneurship for all people of Iran in a free market economy. Restoration of the rights of blue-collar workers, farmers, nurses, white-collar workers, teachers, and retirees;
9. Protection and rehabilitation of the environment, which has been massacred under the rule of the mullahs;
10. A non-nuclear Iran that is also devoid of weapons of mass destruction. Peace, co-existence, and international and regional cooperation.

 

The Path to a Free and Democratic Iran (2)