Deploring the ongoing violence by Iraqi security forces against the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

Madam Speaker, on March 17, 2010, Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, were joined by 10 of their colleagues, including three from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a briefing to announce the support by a bi-partisan House majority for the humanitarian rights and protection of residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

In his remarks, Filner announced that following last July's deadly assault by the Iraqi security forces against unarmed residents of Camp Ashraf, home to 3,400 members of Iran's main opposition, the People's Mojahedin

Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), he introduced a resolution (H. Res. 704) which ``deplores the ongoing violence by Iraqi security forces against the residents of Camp Ashraf; calls upon the Iraqi Government to live up to its commitment to the United States to ensure the continued well-being of those living in Camp Ashraf; and calls upon the President to take all necessary and appropriate steps to support the commitments of the United States'' to ensure protection of Camp Ashraf residents.

The majority of the members of the House of Representatives who have co-sponsored the resolution include 11 Committee Chairs; 13 Committee Ranking Members; 54 Sub-Committee Chairs; 49 Sub-Committee Ranking Members; and 30 House Foreign Affairs Committee members.

Ros-Lehtinen stressed that in light of repeated breach of guaranties provided by the Iraqi Government to the United States that residents of Camp Ashraf would be treated humanely, ``the U.S. is obligated to take all necessary and appropriate steps to uphold our commitments.'' The Florida lawmaker added that ``we must send a clear message to the residents of Camp Ashraf that the U.S. Congress stands with them.''

Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, lauded the bi-partisan nature of support for Camp Ashraf and said ``it's so important that we continue to work together . . . to bring about the change that is so needed today.''

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ranking Member of House International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight Subcommittee, remarked that ``we must make sure that anyone who is fighting the mullah regime and would replace it with a democratic government is an ally of the people of the United States and we should not allow them to suffer negative consequences if we can prevent it. That is especially true of the people of Camp Ashraf.''

Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade said: ``It is important that we constantly stay vigilant that we let the people in Camp Ashraf know that their silent voices are heard here in the United States . . . We are not going to stand idly by while those who wish to do harm to the residents of Camp Ashraf mend, weave their wicked ways and they will not be dispersed into parts and regions unknown to the rest of us.''

Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) described the Iranian regime as ``regime of thugs,'' and added ``this is most impressive to have the majority of the U.S Congress of one mind with regard to a critical issue and the travesty the brutality that was engaged against the innocent people in Ashraf. And so we will get this to the floor and we will pass it and we will stay on this issue.''

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) described the attack on Ashraf as ``a cold-blooded murder'' and emphasized that the only way that they ``could ever be totally safe is by having a free homeland.''

Filner added that ``the administration should encourage the United Nations to play a much more active role insofar as it concerns Camp Ashraf and strengthen the role of a U.N. monitoring team in Ashraf to one of protecting the residents to ensure that their rights and safety are respected and all the inhumane restrictions placed on them by the Iraqi government are lifted.''

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also addressed the briefing via video from Paris. She emphasized that the House majority support for Ashraf indicates its recognition of the Iranian Resistance, especially Ashraf, as ``a decisive factor in confronting this antihuman regime'' in Tehran. Addressing the co-sponsors of the resolution, Mrs. Rajavi remarked that ``While appreciating your efforts, I would like to ask you to continue your noble and humanitarian work in order to ensure that: The protection of the residents of Ashraf is guaranteed as long as the U.S. forces remain in Iraq; Mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq is expanded to guarantee the rights of Ashraf residents. The United Nations assumes the protection of Ashraf and a U.N. peacekeeping force is stationed at Ashraf; all restrictions and the blockade imposed by the Iraqi government against Ashraf in the past 14 months are lifted.''

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) of the Judiciary Committee told the reception that ``I was happy to support House Resolution 704. Certainly there needed to be protection for the people in Camp Ashraf. We should make sure that they continue to be safe. The United States and the Iraqi government should ensure that these residents have all security that they need. And so we must continue the pressure to make sure that happens so that the pro-democracy movement can continue to be safe and the Iranian people can be safe. So let us continue our relationship. I'm very, very happy to see that you are here on the Hill and that you're presenting your issues to us.''

Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), member of the Armed Services Committee, told the gathering that ``We see some of the people of Camp Ashraf in Iraq that are being persecuted and threatened and even the Iranian government wants to see them repatriated to Iran and I think that represents a great danger to them and I want you to know that there are a lot of us that reject that completely. We want to see both the Government of Iraq and the Government of the United States stand up and make sure that we protect these people in Camp Ashraf.''

In his remarks, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) from the Homeland Security Committee told the reception that ``Doctor King was right when he said decades ago--and his words ring true today--`Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere'. Injustice in the streets of Iran is a threat to justice in the streets of every nation on the planet Earth and we must end injustice in the streets of Iran . . . We must support the human rights movement that is taking place in Iran.''

Madam Speaker, on Saturday, June 12, 2009, the Iranian people went to the polls to vote in Iran's tenth presidential election. Today, almost exactly one year later, two things have become much clearer.

First, we have seen just how oppressive and authoritarian the Iranian regime is. When Iranian citizens took to the streets to dispute the results of the election, government officials responded with violence, murdering innocent people like Neda Soltan and assaulting others. Rather than apologizing for these atrocities, President Ahmadinejad dismissed the initial unrest as ``not important'' and accused foreign media of launching a ``psychological war'' against Iran. In the months following the election, government officials continued to arrest, torture, and imprison protestors and their family members.

Even now, the government's persecution of pro-democracy demonstrators continues. On May 9, five political prisoners, four of them Kurds, were hung. The following day, the Iranian court sentenced a Newsweek reporter, in abstentia, to 13 years in prison. In addition, Amnesty International reported a few weeks ago that 6 more people were sentenced to death for their association with the banned Iranian opposition, or having visited the group's Camp Ashraf, in Iraq.

Second, we have seen just how much the Iranian people desire freedom from the current regime. Despite the threat of injury and even death, Iranian citizens continue to express their displeasure with the current government. In December, Iranian activists participated in demonstrations in Tehran and other cities across the country. When President Ahmadinejad visited Tehran University a month ago, student demonstrators protested.

In light of these events, I recently joined twelve of my colleagues in signing a bi-partisan letter to President Obama, encouraging him to support the Iranian dissidents' efforts and work with international partners to put pressure on Iran.

I am also a co-sponsor of H. Res 704 that has 224 bi-partisan co- sponsors and supports the rights of the Iranian dissident members in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. We must condemn attempts by the Iranian regime and the Al-Maliki Government to harm these Iranian political refugees.

Finally, I praise New Jersey Assemblyman John Bramnick and the teen advocacy program No Nukes for Iran for planning a rally in Trenton on June 10. This event is sponsored by numerous Jewish organizations who wish to raise awareness of the danger a nuclear Iran poses for the citizens of Iran, as well as Israel and the U.S. As a conferee on the Iran Sanctions Conference Committee, I will continue to support prompt, aggressive action to deter Iran's nuclear ambitions. I also praise New Jersey government officials and non-profit groups for divesting pension and annuity funds from companies that do business with Iran's petroleum sector.

I am honored to stand with the thousands of Iranians who have dared to voice their opposition to the current regime and the journalists who have had the courage to cover their actions.

Madam Speaker, the United States must stand by our commitment to humanitarian protection for the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

When we transferred responsibility for the security of Ashraf to the Iraqi Government, we sought and we were provided with Iraqi assurances that the residents would, in fact, be treated humanely and would be safe from any actions against their lives and well-being. However, Madam Speaker, repeated conduct by the Iraqi security forces has called these guarantees into question.

Camp Ashraf residents are in jeopardy. We must ensure that the Iraqi Government adheres to its obligations.

I call on the majority here in the House to bring House Resolution 704 to the floor for immediate consideration.

Further, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees must take all necessary and appropriate steps to extend Camp Ashraf's residents the humanitarian protections to which they are entitled. There is no time to waste, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor of H. Res. 704.