Maryam Rajavi: Middle East events, French and European Approaches

A conference was held on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, at the Victor Hugo Hall of the French National Assembly to address “Middle East Developments, French and European Approaches.”

Maryam Rajavi was the key-note speaker. A number of members of the French Parliament including Dominique Lefebvre, Michel Terrot, Brigitte Allain, Pascal Deguilhem, Philippe Gosselin, and Federic Reiss, as well as Amb. Lincoln Bloomfield, former Assistant US Secretary of State, and Dr. Alejo Vidal Quadras, former Vice President of the European Parliament, also addressed the conference.
Speakers underlined the Iranian regime’s role as the main cause of war, crisis and insecurity in the region. They said the US and Europe’s adoption of a decisive policy against Tehran’s clerical regime is a requisite to peace and democracy in the region. They called on France to undertake measures to expel the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its militias from Syria and Iraq and play a leading role in the region.
In her speech in this meeting, Maryam Rajavi said:

Distinguished members of parliament,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
First, I would like to extend my best greetings for the New Year 2017.
We have gathered together while the year ahead is going to be full of developments. The elections in France, the election sham in Iran, and the unprecedented developments in the Middle East and on the international level. Let us hope that these developments would be in the interest of the people of Iran and also in the interest of the people of France, the people of the region and other parts of the world.
As you are aware, the Iranian Resistance managed to relocate all the residents of Camp Liberty to Europe and particularly to Albania. I would like to express my gratitude to the Parliamentary Committee for A Democratic Iran and all members of parliament who took part in this campaign. The resettlement of such a large number of people has imposed a tremendous financial burden on the Iranian Resistance, particularly for the treatment of the ill and wounded who were deprived of medical care for a long time. Thanks to the support of the people of Iran and our friends, however, we shall overcome these problems.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The New Year began with great worries for the Iranian regime. With Rafsanjani’s death, one of the two pillars of the regime crumbled and the regime moved closer to its downfall in its entirety. Over the past 38 years, Rafsanjani played a significant role in suppression at home, export of terrorism abroad, and the regime’s quest to obtain the nuclear bomb. He always was the regime’s number 2 man who helped maintain its internal power balance. The clerical dictatorship has thus become weaker in its entirety.
Khamenei and the regime’s most ruthless factions will have to adopt a more defensive posture and rely more on export of extremism, terrorism, and nuclear projects.
Today, the mullahs’ debilitated religious tyranny fears any unrest particularly in light of its upcoming presidential election next May.
The memories of the 2009 uprisings haunt the regime. Social movements and popular protests are growing. Thousands of demonstrations and strikes by workers, retired employees, teachers, nurses, students, and families of political prisoners took place last year and are going to expand over the next year.
The weakening of the Velayat-e Faqih regime is heartwarming to our people. Political prisoners have become more active in sending out their messages and the social media echo them extensively. The families of the victims have challenged the regime by holding its officials accountable for their crimes, particularly the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988. The people of Iran demand an end to executions and an end to dictatorship in Iran.
Thousands of demonstrators marked the birthday of Cyrus the Great, who wrote the world’s first declaration of human rights, by calling for a future devoid of the criminal mullahs. A few weeks ago, on the Student Day, demonstrators demanded freedom of political prisoners.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The people of Iran have not benefitted from the JCPOA. Instead, the agreement filled the coffers of Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guards Corps and funded their deadly adventures in Syria and other parts of the region.
The world has now learned that the Iranian mullahs’ regime, the IRGC, the Hezobollah, and their other mercenary militia in Syria do not seek to fight the Daesh (ISIS) and extremism but are there to save the dictator of Damascus.
The clerical regime in Tehran is the main source of export of terrorism and expansion of instability to the Middle East. In fact, by engagement in the Syrian conflict, the Iranian regime seeks to guarantee and prolong its own disgraceful rule. A few days ago, Khamenei said, “If we had not fought in Syria, we would have had to confront the enemy in Tehran.”
And the clerical regime also sabotages any ceasefire agreement in Syria with full force. According to the Syrian opposition leaders, the only party that never compromises or makes peace is the Iranian regime that is satisfied by nothing less than preserving Bashar Assad in power.
There will be no political solution as long as the Revolutionary Guards and their militia are on the Syrian soil. So, if we want peace, we must start with expelling the Iranian regime from Syria. The main loser of a ceasefire and peace in Syria is the Iranian regime.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The US government’s inaction is the main reason for the continuation of the tragedy in Syria and the Iranian regime’s dominance over this country. The Iranian regime has invested in the West’s policy of appeasement to export its extremism under the banner of Islam. At this point, I would like to commend President Hollande’s policy and approach to the people of Syria. This is the right policy as opposed to the US policy which abandoned Syria.
The end of the US President’s era leaves little hope for Tehran of enjoying free reins in doing whatever it wishes to do. The situation got worse when the US attacked Iraq in 2003 because the main winner in Iraq and Syria, was the mullahs’ supreme leader, Khamenei. We hope that this opportunity which was held dearly by the mullahs would soon come to an end.
Of course, we are confident that nothing would remain the same as before.
In light of the failure of the policy of appeasement, there is a great need for policy change to end the suffering of the people of Syria, their displacement, and homelessness.
Showing firmness vis-à-vis the terrorist operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and its destructive role in the region is prerequisite to peace and tranquility in the region and the world.
With such perspective and in light of the upcoming presidential election in France, I also call on the French policy makers to heed these realities and particularly, do not invest in the mullahs of Iran. The mullahs belong to the past. I call on those officials to count on the forces of future and on an Iran which would no longer be the source of crisis, but a source of stability in the region. One cannot unite with extremists to uproot extremism. Sunni and Shiite extremism under the banner of Islam are not different in their barbarism because none of them represents Islam, but some brand of religious fascism.
For this reason, no security policy can justify alliance with the mullahs. Principles cannot be forgotten. No country should close their eyes on violations of human rights and women’s rights in Iran for economic interests.
Today, there is an alternative for Iran that is based on a democratic project which respects followers of all religions and faiths, non-believers, all freedoms and women’s equality with men. This alternative deserves to be heard.
The solution proposed by this alternative can herald a new era for the people of Iran and the region, and of course, for Europe. The only thing we need is to adhere to democratic values.
I thank you very much.