The message is clear, The people of Iran yearn and are ready for change

Maryam Rajavi’s speech to a group of French Parliamentarians in Paris on Iran proposing a plan for democratic change

The mullahs

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to you honorable representatives of the people of France and to the other honorable guests present.

We speak at a time when over the past several weeks, Iran’s four north-western provinces – East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardebil and Zanjan – have risen up and staged protests against the mullahs.

The state-run news agencies have reported at least 10 deaths in the city of Naqadeh. These demonstrations have coincided with a new wave of uprisings by university students in Tehran and acrosss the country.

The state-run news agency IRNA wrote, “Students shouted slogans against high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic.” The demonstrators screamed, “The cry of every Iranian is for freedom.”

In recent months, the regime has cracked down on several large-scale protests. At least 2,000 people were arrested and had to endure torture for taking part in strikes by Tehran transit workers. The authorities cut off the tongues of a number of those arrested. The women’s demonstration on March 8 was brutally suppressed.

Early this year, a number of those arrested in the south-western city of Ahwaz were hanged in public following widespread antigovernment protests.

Dissent in the south-eastern province of Sistan and Balouchistan has created a major security crisis for the regime. Public executions are on the rise.

The message is clear. The people of Iran yearn and are ready for change.

Under the present circumstance, coupled with stepped-up crackdown on the home front, the mullahs’ regime needs crisis and the export of fundamentalism and terrorism abroad more than ever to cover-up its domestic problems.

During the May Day celebrations, workers rejected the mullahs’ nuclear program and instead called for job security.

The mullahs’ nuclear program is currently the biggest challenge the international communality is facing. Today, I want to say that the dimensions of this crisis go far beyond mere nuclearization or non-nuclearization of a country.

What the world has to decide is the concept of a theocratic fundamentalist dictatorship acquiring the nuclear bomb; a regime that aspires to create an Islamic empire and one that proclaims the leadership of 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. Imagine for a moment what a regime with a president like Ahmadinejad, who calls for the destruction of Israel, would achieve with nuclear weapons.

Unfortunately, the incentives, given to the regime by the West in the past decade have had the opposite effect. Ahmadinejad’s presidency, the mullahs’ impudent meddling in Iraq, and the increase in activities to acquire nuclear weapon are the outcome of Western appeasement.

Today, we witness that under the guise of preventing war, more incentives are presented to the regime. This is a recipe for disaster. Europe should learn from its history. Giving up a part of Czechoslovakia never quenched the appetite of Hitler’s fascism and only gave it more time to prepare for greater expansionism.

Today, European leaders use the same logic and the same excuse to hold talks with the theocracy ruling Iran in order to prevent a war.

Therefore, on Tuesday a so-called package consisting of both “carrots and sticks” was presented to the mullahs. The experience has proven that the mullahs have always taken the carrots and used the stick against the people of Iran and the Iranian Resistance and ultimately the world community.

War cannot be averted by making the Iranian people’s Resistance the sacrificial lamb. On the contrary, the only democratic solution is in the hands of the Resistance.

The mullahs’ nuclear program is currently the biggest challenge the international communality is facing.

The mullahs should not be allowed to exploit the anti-war movement to justify their quest for a nuclear bomb. The mullahs’ propaganda that the people of Iran support their nuclear program is a lie. The Iranian people know very well that they would be the first and biggest victim of the regime’s nuclear aspirations.

Today, the world community is faced with a choice between war and democratic change in Iran. Change is the only way to prevent the mullahs’ regime from obtaining nuclear arms.

But the West’s appeasement policy has been the main obstacle to this change. The terror tag against the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the main actor of change in Iran. is at the heart of the appeasement. It has hamstrung the potentials of the Iranian Resistance.

Unfortunately, France has been one of the main supporters of the policy of rapprochement and one of the regime’s main trade partners. Three years ago, following a deal with the mullahs and under the pretext of the war on terror, the office of the NCRI and the homes of Iranian refugees in France were attacked. Even today, despite the fact that the case is empty, harsh limitations continue against members and supporters of the Resistance. Who else benefits from this injustice other than the mullahs’ religious dictatorship?

It is the tragedy of the 21st century that the mullahs have managed to put the main resistance movement, opposing them, in the terrorist list and succeeded in extending their crackdown on their democratic opposition beyond the borders of Iran. Our freedom of speech and right to be heard has been violated in Europe. We are judged based on the mullahs’ false campaign and colossal economic profiteering. But we completely lack any possibility to defend ourselves.

Putting aside differences of opinions, no one can deny that the National Council of Resistance of Iran is the most organized resistance movement against the mullahs’ regime. But it is most unfortunate that it has had to overcome many obstacles just to present its views. Is this the meaning of democracy? For what reason are our freedoms restricted? Is it not because they want to maintain ties with the regime? Not only does this policy fly in the face of known principles of democratic countries, but even from a purely economic perspective it is indeed shortsighted.

What the world has to decide is the concept of a theocratic fundamentalist dictatorship acquiring the nuclear bomb; a regime that aspires to create an Islamic empire and one that proclaims the leadership of 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is important to understand the nature of this Resistance.

The Iranian Resistance enjoys widespread support among the people of Iran and maintains a nationwide network inside the country. It has an organized force in Ashraf City on the Iran-Iraq border and a political alternative offering a specific plan and enough capability to bring about change in Iran. The mullahs’ great concern about the Resistance testify to the abilities and the potentials of this movement.

The people of Iran desire freedom and democracy. They are not willing to accept any forms of dictatorship. Our goal is not to acquire power at any price. Our goal is to guarantee the transfer of power to the Iranian people. Universal suffrage is the only criterion for legitimacy.

For us, democracy and freedom are strategic goals and an inevitable political, historical and social necessity. We believe in a pluralist republic based on the separation of church and state, complete gender equality, individual, political, and civil freedoms, respect for international conventions including the universal conventions on human rights, civil and political rights as well as women’s rights, free-market economy, co-existence and mutual relationships with all countries around the globe. We will defend the abolition of death penalty in the future Iran and will stand by this commitment.

The people of Iran desire freedom and democracy. They are not willing to accept any forms of dictatorship.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Unfortunately, Western governments’ appeasement policy has profoundly damaged the Iranian-European relationship.To stop the trend, Europe must end this policy and take a firm stance. The terror tag against the PMOI must be lifted. Europe must prove to the people of Iran that it does not support the mullahs by recognizing the Iranian people’s Resistance for freedom and democracy.

Do not let the mullahs exploit oil revenues and trade to oppress the people of Iran and acquire nuclear weapons. The time has come for the international community to impose diplomatic, military, technological and oil sanctions on the mullahs.

To prevent a disaster, I call upon you all to support democratic change by the Iranian people and Resistance. We are running out of time.

Thank you