Conference at Paris
After a conference held on Tuesday, October 29, in Victor Hugo Hall on the situation in Iran three month after a new presidents assumed office in Iran and the massacre at Ashraf, the Parliamentary committee for a Democratic Iran comprised of dozens of parliamentarians from all political groups in the French National Assembly published a Press Release. Parts of this Press Release are as below:
The honorary guest to the conference was Maryam Rajavi who offered her analysis of the situation to the conference that was moderated by Mr. Dominique Lefebvre, vice-president of the parliamentary committee. A delegation from senate headed by senator Jean-Pierre Michel, president of the French Committee for a Democratic Iran, participated in the discussions.
Maryam Rajavi stated: “The objective of the regime is to diminish the sanctions that have aggravated its situation without giving up the bomb. Despite gestures of overture, nothing in substance has changed. Khamenei tries to use deceptive histrionics by Rouhani to advance his own strategy.”
Parliamentarians present signed a statement that “Calls on France to adopt an astute policy towards the maneuvers by Iranian regime and its new president that would ensure preventing mullahs from attaining nuclear weapon and supports the democratic wishes of the Iranian people.”
Speakers reminded that the negotiations between Iran and P5+1 on Iran’s nuclear program that began with excessive optimism has now collided with the “redlines” of real power-holders in Iran, especially regarding enrichment of uranium that is in breach of UN Security Council resolutions.
This hardheadedness is the other side of the coin of imposing hegemony on Syria and Iraq and violations of human rights in Iran. The UN Special Rapporteur declared on October 23 that no sign of change has been seen in the condition of human rights in Iran. Around 300 executions have been carried out in Rouhani’s first three months of presidency.
Parliamentarians noted Iranian regime’s unceasing brutality towards the opposition. On September 1, Iraqi forces affiliated with the Iranian regime attacked Camp Ashraf killing 52 members of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran and abducted seven, including six women. Hostages are threatened with extradition to Iran where torture and death awaits them.
This has led to a hunger strike since September 1 by hundreds of Iranians in Camp Liberty, Geneva, Ottawa, Melbourne, London and Berlin that has now reached its sixtieth day with health conditions of the hunger strikers turning quite worrisome. French parliamentarians called on the global community to support the demands of hunger strikers to compel government of Iraq to release the hostages and provide security and protection to over 3000 Camp Liberty residents who are threatened by violence from regimes of Iran and Iraq.
Parliamentarians called on the French government to lead a European and international initiative to prevent recurrence of a human catastrophe in Camp Liberty and to take steps regarding government of Iraq to secure the release of the seven hostages who are threatened with forced expulsion to Iran where their lives will be in great peril.
Without standing up to crime against humanity by Iranian rulers committed against their opposition, Iranian regime cannot be coerced to abandon building nuclear weapon.