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Sarbazan's Shirin Neshat to President Bush: Keep
Ahmadinejad and the IRI Out of America
President of the United States The White House Washington, D. C. RE: Admitting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to New York City to address the United Nations Dear Mr. President: As I write today on behalf of loyal Persian-Americans and the people of Iran who desire the restoration of liberty in their homeland, let me first take this opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to you, and to all of the American people, regarding the recent tragedy in New Orleans. May God provide you with all of the wisdom, resources, and support necessary to bring the United States of America out of this crisis in the days ahead. As the leader of my adopted homeland-in-exile, I also write today to express my loyal, but firm dissent from the decision of the United States government to issue a visa for the leader of the Islamic Republic in Iran (IRI), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to enter America as a prelude to addressing the United Nations in New York City. In this regard, I join thousands of Persians-in-exile, as well as Persians living in Iran under the iron boot of this man and his criminal regime, in strenuously opposing any action which provides a cloak of legitimacy to him personally, or the IRI regime specifically, in the pursuit of their demonic objectives in the world. This criminal cadre has shown since 1979 that its theocratic ideology and government have destroyed any semblance of human rights or decency in the land of my birth, whose martyrs and survivors now call out as one voice for the deliverance of their nation and its historic legacy from the last quarter of a century of destruction, oppression, and genocide. Mr. President, the reasons for my feelings--and those of honorable Persian people everywhere--are a matter of public record. The IRI regime (IRI) is personally responsible for the murder of my father, General Ali Neshat, of the Persian Imperial Guard. This took place on April 10, 1979. I am sure you are familiar with the same fate met at that time by Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda, and scores of others. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his cabal were party to these terrible acts, along with the illegal 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran, the targeted killings of 300,000 members of the Bahai faith in Iran, and instances of incarceration and murder of honorable dissidents from IRI policies, too numerous to recount here. This is a matter of public record. Recent events in Iran have shown that the West has been
deluded in believing that the IRI regime could be negotiated with
in good faith, with "moderates" like Mohammed Khatemi, when
the latter was elected President of Iran in 1997. The results of this
delusion are now apparent for all to see. The most extreme element
of Islamic theocratic fanaticism, embodied by Mr. Ahmadinejad, now
occupies the Presidency. The Iranian Majlis, or parliament, has a
firm majority of ideological fanatics within its walls. The identical
situation governs the Council of Guardians and the Judiciary. This
tragedy will continue as long as the false facade of democratic legitimacy
in Iran, provided by a Constitution of the Islamic Republic undergirded
by the fascist doctrine of the valiyat-e-faqeh (Doctrine of the Religious
Jurisprudent), continues to provide the Supreme Leader, Mr. Khamenei,
and his President, Mr. Ahmadinejad, with the smokescreen necessary
to continue their oppression of the Persian people, even as they plot
criminal activities against the Western world generally, and the United
States of America specifically. But the quiet move toward the eradication of centuries of Persian history and culture is but a prelude to what is to come if the Western World does not unequivocally stand against Mr. Ahmadinejad and the IRI regime without a semblance of hesitation or compromise. The nature of the recent development of nuclear power in Iran, and the secret character of the machinations of the IRI in this regard, would seem to be prima facie evidence of the desire of these Islamic theocrats to develop--and deploy--nuclear weaponry in Central Asia. Even more ominously, I and thousands of other Persians who have personally suffered at the hands of this regime, believe the ultimate goal of Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, and their circle of advisors is to deploy such a device within the continental United States at a future time. The Financial Times story of several days ago which chronicled the security problem at the American southwestern border with Mexico, and the number of Middle Easterners and Central Asians attempting to cross it in recent times, is suggestive. Does not the American government, and the United Nations, see the signs of the times? A miscalculation of the intentions of the IRI regime in Iran, and Mr. Ahmadinejad as its new President, will lead to an apocalyptic catastrophe dwarfing the results of Munich and the benevolent naivete of Neville Chamberlain in 1938. And so, Mr. President, as a loyal Persian-American who has been asked to write you on behalf of countless Persian exiles in America and the rest of the world---who have suffered at the hands of these beasts beyond what can be described in known human languages---I pray that you will heed my heartfelt plea to have nothing further to do with this international criminal and the IRI regime of evil personified that he represents. This man, and the government he leads, continue to oppress the people of Iran, even as they plot the expansion of global terror into the heartland of America. I also respectfully ask you to employ your powers of persuasion and influence to enlist all of the allies of the United States worldwide, in this imperative campaign to isolate, contain, and oppose Mr. Ahmadinejad and all Islamic theocratic ideology in Iran, while there is any time left in world history to do so. The clock is ticking. For all of us. Sincerely, Ms. Shirin Neshat Sarbazan, Los Angeles, CA |
