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“SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN TO FREE EXPRESSION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E28-E29 on Jan. 10, 2018.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN TO FREE EXPRESSION
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speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my continued support for the people of Iran and continued support for freedom of speech as it is encapsulated in H. Res. 676, a resolution supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression and condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests.
On Sunday, January 7, 2018, I stood in protest with Iranian-Americans on the streets of Houston to take a stand for human rights in Iran.
At that event, I stated ``It is time for freedom to take over'' and I stand by that statement here in Congress and add that separation of church and state is essential for a free and democratic Iran.
On December 28, 2017, popular protests against the Iranian regime began in the city of Mashad and rapidly spread throughout the country, in the most significant antigovernment protests in Iran since June 2009.
The protesters have expressed numerous economic grievances, including the regime's widespread corruption and the Revolutionary Guard Corps' control of the country's economy.
Protesters have decried the regime's costly, destabilizing activities abroad, including its support for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and the murderous Assad regime in Syria.
Reports indicate that more than 1,000 Iranians have been arrested and almost two dozen killed in connection with the protests.
The Iranian regime has shut down mobile internet access and has blocked and pressured companies to cut off social media applications used by activists to organize and publicize the protests.
Congress has provided authority to license the provision of communications technology to Iran to improve the ability of the Iranian people to speak freely.
I encourage the Administration to expedite the license of communications technology to Iran to improve the ability of the Iranian people to speak freely and I call on companies to reject requests by the regime to cut off the Iranian people from social media and other communications platforms.
On January 1, 2018, regime officials threatened to crack down, with Brigadier General Esmaeil Kowsari of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps stating, ``If this situation continues, the officials will definitely make some decisions and at that point this business will be finished.''
Congress has provided authority to designate and sanction elements of the Iranian regime involved in significant corruption and serious human rights abuses.
I urge the Administration to use targeted sanctions and work to convene emergency sessions of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Iranian regime and establish a mechanism by which the Security Council can monitor such violations.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Basij militia have been sanctioned by the United States for planning and carrying out serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people, including for the cruel and prolonged torture of political dissidents, behavior that is absolutely intolerable.
The regime has routinely violated the human rights of Iranian citizens, including ongoing, systematic, and serious restrictions of freedom of peaceful assembly and association and freedom of opinion and expression, including the continuing closures of media outlets, arrests of journalists, and the censorship of expression in online forums such as blogs and websites.
The Department of State's 2016 Human Rights Report on Iran noted:
severe restrictions on civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, religion, and press.
Other human rights problems included abuse of due process combined with use of capital punishment for crimes that do not meet the requirements of due process, as well as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; and disregard for the physical integrity of persons, whom authorities arbitrarily and unlawfully detained, tortured, or killed.
For a country that once enjoyed great pride in its freedom of thought, the information in this Report comes with sadness.
On December 29, 2017, the Department of State strongly condemned the arrest of peaceful protesters and noted that ``Iran's leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.''
On January 1, 2018, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, stated that:
The UK is watching events in Iran closely.
We believe that there should be meaningful debate about the legitimate and important issues the protesters are raising and we look to the Iranian authorities to permit this.
On January 2, 2018, the French Foreign Ministry stated that:
French authorities are closely monitoring the situation in Iran.
Demonstrating freely is a fundamental right.
The same is true for the free movement of information.
France expresses its concern over the large number of victims and arrests.
On January 1, 2018, a spokesman for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that:
We call on the Iranian authorities to uphold and respect democratic and human rights and ``We are encouraged by the Iranian people who are bravely exercising their basic right to protest peacefully.
Canada will continue to support the fundamental rights of the Iranians, including freedom of expression.
As hypocrisy has it, Iran is a member of the United Nations, voted for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among other international human rights treaties.
In violation of these and other international obligations, Iranian regime officials continue to violate the fundamental human rights of the Iranian people.
Today, I rise with my colleagues in Congress to stand with the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime.
I rise in support of H. Res. 676 which condemns the Iranian regime's serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people, significant corruption, and destabilizing activities abroad.
I call on all democratic governments and institutions to clearly support the Iranian people's right to live in a free society.
I rise to urge the Iranian regime to abide by its international obligations with respect to human rights and civil liberties, including freedoms of assembly, speech, and press.
The Iranian regime must do the right thing and respect the proud history and rich culture of the Iranian nation.
The people of Iran want nothing more than to promote the establishment of basic freedoms that build the foundation for the emergence of a freely elected, open, and democratic political system.
I whole-heartedly support H. Res. 676 and continue fighting for a free Iran.
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