The Washington Times released a special edition on Thursday detailing the MEK Iran Free Iran Conference at Ashraf 3 in Albania. The five-day event showcased the newly-constructed MEK Iran headquarters and attracted more than 350 high-ranking political figures, human rights activists, and other dignitaries from 47 countries to speak in support of the MEK, the Iranian people and their fight to overthrow the clerical regime.

The featured article in the Washington Times special edition, entitled “MEK will fight Iran regime from new Ashraf-3 base in Albania,” explained the history of the MEK and the significance of Ashraf 3 in the Iranian Resistance’s struggle against the mullahs.

 

Construction on Ashraf 3, according to the Washington Times piece, began 20 months ago on a piece of Albanian farmland. It is now home to more than 3,000 MEK members. The compound is the size of a small city and includes parks, a hospital, conference halls, shopping centers, restaurants, swimming pools, and a luxury hotel. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani commented on the speed at which the city had been constructed in his speech to conference attendees, saying, “If we tried to do this in New York, it would take 15 years and launch 14 corruption investigations.”

The MEK relocated to Albania after repeated attacks on its previous homes at Camp Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq. Former Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko explained why his country provided refuge to the group in his speech at the conference. “In 1943, the Nazis conquered Albania and had two main demands when an Albanian delegation went to Berlin,” Mr. Majko said. “They wanted our gold transferred to Berlin, and they wanted a list of all the Jews in Albania. Our answer was simple: the gold, yes; the Jews, no. Protecting those in need is part of our identity,” he said.

 

Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), noted the significance of having so many world leaders attend the conference at Ashraf 3. “We look at the fact that so many leaders came to our home so far from where they live as a testament to the international support that exists for MEK and the faith they have in what we want to accomplish,” he said.

The Washington Times article wrote that the primary goal of the MEK is regime change but that “its formal aim is to step into the void that a collapsed Iranian government would leave only long enough to hold free elections and establish a secular state.” Mrs. Maryam Rajavi would serve as President-elect until elections were held within the first six months after the overthrow of the regime.

 

The dozens of speakers were united in their praise of Ashraf 3 and their support for regime change. The Washington Times published excerpts of many of the speeches from the event. A few of the most notable quotes are included below:

Maryam Rajavi

President-elect, NCRI

“We will take back Iran and we will build a new homeland.”

Joseph Lieberman

Former U.S. Senator

“The battle to liberate Iran from the radical religious dictators who control it today is a battle that not only has great significance for the people of Iran but for the cause of freedom throughout the world.”

Rama Yade

Former French Secretary of State for Human Rights

“But it’s you, with your hands, your courage, your hopes, that built this place. Also, by the sacrifice of 120,000 of yours… What you did here in less than two years, you can do in Iran in one day.”

 

Tom Ridge

First U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

[S]ometimes in your life you have the opportunity to pursue and embrace causes bigger than yourself. Some 120,000 men and women have died seeking and promoting and embracing a cause bigger than themselves. There will be an open, pluralistic, non-nuclear, democratic Iran, and you — you, your courage, your sacrifice — will be responsible for future generations to enjoy the liberty and freedoms.

 

Sid Ahmed Ghozali

Former Algerian Prime Minister

“What the history will remember is that you are a resistance against repression but also that Ashraf 3 represents a new culture; they are symbols for development and progress. My dream is to see a free Iran and only then, we may have the first democratic government in the Islamic world.”

Louis Freeh

Former Director of the FBI

“One of the things I just wanted to say is listening to the testimony yesterday and viewing the room next door (Martyrs Exhibition), one of the things we have to prepare for is the prosecution and conviction of the thousands of criminals who have murdered, assassinated, killed, not by accident, not by coincidence, but a designed plan to murder, mass murder a group of people.”

Staff writer