Your Iranian Nowruz Message to the Iranian people was a breath of fresh air from the U.S. administration and an apparent turning point away from the indecisive U.S. policy toward Iran. The people of Iran, frustrated by your previous messages to the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), had voiced their dismay by shouting in their 2009 protests: “Obama, are you with them or with us?”
Happily, your Iranian New Year message went a long way toward assuring our people that your administration will not stand by while the oppressive IRI continues to imprison, torture and execute the opposition.
Your supportive mention of some prisoners of conscience, including Mrs. Nasrin Sotudeh, a member of Solidarity for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran, a coalition of more than 25 political, human rights, labor and social activist organizations, was appreciated by our membership, and we wish to voice our gratitude for your thoughtfulness.
Thank you once again. We hope that we can now count on your support for the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy and human rights. Respectfully,
