Iran Update
Volume: 1 - Issue:  5111 June 2010
Iran Update
Dear Friend,

We are delighted to present you with the current issue of Iran Update, a publication of International Solidarity for Democratic Change in Iran (ISDCI).    
Resolution in Congress seeks Iranian freedom
The Washington Times
Michelle Phillips
11 June 2010

A bipartisan group of House members on Thursday put forward a resolution calling for the Iranian government to cease the oppression of its people and political dissidents.
The representatives held a news conference to highlight the resolution, which is being sponsored by Rep. Bob Filner, California Democrat, and which they put forward on the first anniversary of the start of Iran's violent postelection uprising.
The representatives, many of whom are on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said they hope their resolution will help bring democracy to the Islamic republic.
"This will signal to the regime that the resistance has support on the Hill," said Raymond Tanter, president of the Iran Policy Committee, a nonprofit advocacy group.
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U.S. shifts toward support for Iran's dissidents
The Wall Street Journal
Jay Solomon
11 June 2010

WASHINGTON-The U.S. has accelerated its effort to provide dissidents in Iran with computer hardware and software to evade government censors. But it's a shift that many activists say is insufficient to bring political change in Tehran.
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Iran's Revolutionary Guards point to fresh dissent within oppressive regime
The Guardian
Angus Stickler and Maggie O'Kane 
11 June 2010

Six months ago Muhammed Hussein Torkaman was a young Revolutionary Guard in Iran, working in the security team attached to the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
As part of this inner security force, the Sar-Allah, or Avengers of God, he was also responsible, he says, for the leaders' personal safety during the protests after the presidential elections, which were widely viewed as having been stolen by Ahmadinejad.
He witnessed increasing dissent within the guards. "We have Revolutionary Guards who defied orders, though they were severely punished, expelled from the force and taken to prison," he says.
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US to close base near camp housing Iranian exiles
The Associated Press
KIM GAMEL
10 June 2010

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military will relinquish control of a base near a compound housing an Iranian opposition group next month, a move that will close a chapter on one of the most intractable issues in U.S.-Iraqi relations.
The presence of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran at Camp Ashraf has long been an irritant to Iraq's Shiite-led government, and the exiles expressed fear that they would face violence without the Americans there to protect them.
The announcement Thursday of the base closure on July 1 came nearly a year after Iraqi security forces raided the camp, prompting a melee that officials said left 11 residents dead and dozens injured...
A member of the European Parliament sent a letter this week to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton raising concern about a U.S. departure from the area.
Struan Stevenson, the European Parliament's point man on relations with Iraq, warned it would "be an extremely dangerous development that could lead to a new humanitarian catastrophe with far greater dimensions compared to the events of last July."
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McCain urges Obama to back regime change in Iran
The New York Times
PETER BAKER
10 June 2010

Senator John McCain called on the United States on Thursday to support regime change in Iran, saying that the latest United Nations sanctions are "inadequate" and that it is unrealistic to expect the current government in Tehran to stop pursuing nuclear weapons, supporting terrorism and cracking down on its own people.
In a speech at the National Endowment for Democracy honoring Iran's dissident Green Movement, Mr. McCain said President Obama's attempt to talk with Tehran has been "defiantly met with a clenched fist" and that the hope that Iran's rulers will finally negotiate in good faith "seems totally at odds with the character of this Iranian regime."
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Support for opposition has better chance of forcing change in Iran
The Washington Post
Editorial
10 June 2010

...Encouragingly, Mr. Obama spoke of the anniversary this Saturday of last year's fraudulent presidential election and of how the regime "brutally suppressed dissent and murdered the innocent" in its aftermath. Though it has been forced off the streets, the Green movement probably has a better chance of forcing meaningful change in Iran than the sanctions approved Wednesday. The Obama administration would do well to devote as much attention to a strategy for supporting the opposition as it has to collecting votes at the United Nations.
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Thank you for your reading Iran Update. We welcome your comments. 
 
 
Sincerely,
 
ISDCI News Group
In This Issue
Resolution in Congress seeks Iranian freedom
U.S. shifts toward support for Iran's dissidents
Iran's Revolutionary Guards point to fresh dissent within oppressive regime
US to close base near camp housing Iranian exiles
McCain urges Obama to back regime change in Iran
Support for opposition has better chance of forcing change in Iran
Quick Links
 
 
 
Invitation
to Grand Assembly in Paris
International Solidarity with the people of Iran &
Members of Iranian opposition in Camp Ashraf - Iraq
Paris - 26 June 2010
 
A grand assembly will be held near Paris on the anniversary of the Iranian people's nationwide uprising for democracy and to express solidarity with Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf-Iraq. The event has already been sponsored by over 100 European Parliamentarians and political dignitaries. Hundreds of dignitaries across the world as well as tens of thousands of Iranians are expected to participate in the event. Please call or email us to register for an advance entry pass and an introduction booklet. Early registrations begin on Friday, 21 May 2010