We have learned that Mohammad Khatami, president of the Iranian regime, is planning to attend the United Nations programs in September in New York. He represents a brutal regime that over the past two decades has executed 120,000 persons on political charges and imprisoned and severely tortured hundreds of thousands more. Khatami's presence in the United States and appearance at the UN contradicts the democratic, human rights and other principles upon which our nation and the United Nations were founded. Welcoming the president of such a regime is tantamount to ignoring these values and sanctioning the atrocities committed by the fascist theocracy ruling Iran. During Khatami's tenure, 670 public executions have taken place and 13 persons have been stoned to death. Inhuman medieval punishments, such as gouging out eyes and amputation, are routine. Khatami personally ordered the crackdown on student protests. The persecution of religious and ethnic minorities has continued unabated. On June 10, ten members of the Jewish community were sentenced to long prison terms on bogus charges of "spying." Forty-one members of the Iranian opposition have been assassinated abroad.
We the undersigned condemn the Iranian regime for its crimes against humanity, and support the Iranian people's Resistance against dictatorship. We condemn Khatami's trip to New York and protest his appearance at the UN, because he does not represent the Iranian people.