Posted on 05/27/2005 11:38:08 PM PDT by Interesting Times
The 200-mile "Iran Freedom Walk," organized by the Iran Freedom Foundation, concludes today with a rally at noon in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.
The keynote speaker is Richard Perle, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense and a key architect of President Bush's Middle East policy. Also featured is former Ambassador Mike Palmer; Joe Grieboski, founder and president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy; and "Atomic Iran" author Jerome Corsi, who is leading the walk.
The final three-mile stage of the journey, launched in Philadelphia two weeks ago, begins at 10 a.m. in front of Union Station in Washington.
Corsi spent much of Wednesday on his cellphone talking to government officials and radio talk show hosts. Midway through the morning, he informed his fellow marchers he had been in touch with both the White House and the vice president's office.
Corsi told the marchers President Bush offered his encouragement.
The president thanked them for their efforts to bring greater attention to the plight of the Iranian people, Corsi said, and agreed to press for better treatment of political prisoners held in Iran by the ruling mullahs.
The news brought some tears from the Iranian marchers.
"God bless America, and God bless George Bush," said Yousef Dinmaghani.
Another walker is Shahrokh Ferdosi, who worked in the Ministry of Culture and Art in Tehran and as a television host and columnist before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Under the radical, cleric-led regime, Ferdosi was tortured and continues to have pain and problems with his toes and feet.
"I was lucky that I was able to escape Iran," he said. "First of all I sent my family to Canada to escape the mullahs. From 1979 I traveled almost around the world including Tokyo, Japan; Paris, France; Malaysia; Singapore; Italy; while traveling on a forged passport. I finally came to Canada in 1989."
Ferdosi now leads a small underground party in Canada called "New Iran For Us" and is a member of the opposition Islamic government in exile.
In that capacity, he works with seven television stations and four radio stations that focus on political issues inside Iran.
On the walk he's in almost constant contact with other Iranians in the U.S. and in Iran.
"We are friends with American people," he said. "We work with Americans for long time -- more than 75 years. We love American people and American country. Americans love Iranians and together we face the mullahs. And we continue like brother and sister until free Iran and coming back democracy to Iran."
Ping...
Thanks for the uplifting post. Best wishes for the exhiled patriots of Iran.
I was in Hyattsville, MD on Friday afternoon (15 Hrs Ago) and I saw a group of pro-Iran protesters in front of a State or County Building near the intersection of Rhode Island Ave. and East West Hwy. Do you know if this group was part of this demonstration that ended up ain Lafayette Park?
Looking good.
thanks for keeping us informed. Iran is quickly becoming a bigger problem...
I am in college park maryland and saw the same group on route 1 by the diner near university of maryland yesterday morning. Looked like a group of about 15 with iranian flags.
Sometimes we get so used to the constant anti-America and anti-war twaddle by the left that the sentiments expressed above almost seem unique.
Leni
Here's hoping the Iranian people get their country back from the wackos in Qom.
Thank you for the ping!
Very cool...
I hope that freedom reaches Iran soon.
It is good that the President is aware of the march.
Regards,
TS
"Corsi told the marchers President Bush offered his encouragement.
"The president thanked them for their efforts to bring greater attention to the plight of the Iranian people, Corsi said, and agreed to press for better treatment of political prisoners held in Iran by the ruling mullahs."
Wow, right to the top! That's great.
Thanks Scott for all you have done and are doing to bring Dr. Corsi's efforts and Iran's plight to the forefront of National attention.
I'm glad to have met him and his lovely wife earlier this year in Washington DC at the Freeper Ball.
Thanks for the ping.
I worked with a Iranian at Bell Labs on a microprocesor design destined for the AT&T small business Marlin system. Reza was one of the lucky ones to get his family out of the hell hole early on. He was gentle, kind, intelligient, and got along well with everyone. I envision there are hundreds of thousands of Iranians that fit that shoe. They are no more barbaric then most of us in the reality of things. It is the barbaric Satanic cult of Islam and it's radical followers that force to many of us to distrust all Muslims regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. We tend to forget Arabs are a minorty in Iran, and they often stir up trouble.
But due to the terrible cult's ideologies, and how it effects all who are under it's yoke, we tend not to differentiate between Persians and Arabs heritages. They fall along quite different lines.
You might be interested in this.
nw_arizona_granny wrote:
I hope that freedom reaches Iran soon.
I hope so too, Arizona Granny! Thanks for the ping. :)
This is really nice. Glad to know there are some Iranians yearning for freedom and appreciating our values.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.