Background on Iranian Resistance Movement
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI):
- Is a political coalition founded in 1981 with the aim of unseating the “religious dictatorship” in Iran; acts as a parliament-in-exile; is comprised of well-known political figures and representatives of religious minorities and ethnic groups; 52% of its members are women;
- Advocates a democratic, pluralist and secular system of government;
- Has committed itself to a nuclear-free Iran;
- Advocates normalized relations with all the governments of the region and the world;
- Guarantees the individual and social rights stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants;
- Guarantees separation of Church and State, gender equality, autonomy for Iranian Kurds, abolition of the death penalty; Advocates elimination of all forms of discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities.
People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI):
- Formed in 1965 in Iran by young middle class intellectuals;
- Is a member party of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI);
- Under the mullahs, became the largest and most active opposition movement in Iran;
- Espouses a democratic and modern interpretation of Islam which has proven very effective in combating Islamic fundamentalism in Iran and Iraq.
Afrique Asie reported about the PMOI
Council On Foreign Relations´s interview with Ambassador Mark Palmer about the PMOI