Should religious fascism in Iran be allowed to degrade even Europe’s judgment and justice?
“The position adopted by the Council of the European Union on January 30th is absolutely illegitimate and unwarranted, because in its ruling the Court clearly dismissed the terror label against the PMOI.
It stressed that no restrictions could be applied against this movement in the framework of combating terrorism.
Therefore, the letter by the Council of European Union, which keeps the PMOI in the list, is a brazen breach of law. This confirms that the designation was political in nature and lacked a legal and lawful basis. It also shows that it was done from the start to appease the mullahs,” Maryam Rajavi, president elect of the Iranian Resistance, said on March, 1st in a video message sent to a conference in Brussels.
Chaired by Lord Russel-Johnston, former chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the conference gathered prominent MPs, personalities and jurists from various countries. They spoke about the ruling of the European Court of Justice removing PMOI’s name from the terror list and the infringement of this ruling by the EU Council of Ministers.
Here is the speech of Maryam Rajavi:
Ladies and gentlemen,
I greet all of you – distinguished experts and jurists – who have gathered in Brussels to review the impact of the European Court’s decision on the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).
The ruling of the Court of the First Instance of the European Communities, to remove the PMOI from the list of terrorist groups is no doubt, a victory not only for the PMOI and the Iranian Resistance, but of justice over politics and trade.
Those who wish to neglect this judgment in any way violate the Courts decision and ignore the rule of law – which makes the pillar of democracy. Jurists say that this ruling is a major and unique judicial revolution.
The Court acknowledged that the whole procedure of proscribing the PMOI was filled with injustice and violation of law and had resulted in serious errors in judgment. The court ruling therefore discredits the terrorist allegation.
As expected, the mullahs’ regime immediately began to react. Privately and publicly, it used all means to prevent the ruling from being implemented.
In diplomatic circles, the mullahs applied pressure insisting that European officials should ignore the court ruling.
Then, the Council of the European Union refused to admit that the PMOI was no longer in the EU list.
The position adopted by the Council of the European Union on January 30th is absolutely illegitimate and unwarranted, because in its ruling the Court clearly dismissed the terror label against the PMOI. It stressed that no restrictions could be applied against this movement in the framework of combating terrorism.
Therefore, the letter by the Council of European Union, which keeps the PMOI in the list, is a brazen breach of law. This confirms that the designation was political in nature and lacked a legal and lawful basis. It also shows that it was done from the start to appease the mullahs.
I remind those who insist on keeping the PMOI in the list that appeasement will have dire consequences. We are speaking about the lives of individuals.
At the moment, the mullahs, through their proxies in the Iraqi government, are using the terrorist list as a pretext to try to expel and massacre PMOI members in Ashraf City.
I warn that two decades of appeasing the mullahs is now resulting in a new catastrophe.
In every case, the scenario begins with the crackdown on, and injustice against, the resistance movement. Then this is coupled with giving concessions to the mullahs.
This approach will – as happened so far – open the way and encourage the spread of fundamentalism, terrorism and nuclear weapons. It is also coupled with the violation of law and trampling upon democracy and finally violating Europe’s fundamental principles.
We are not talking about the fate of the Iranian Resistance only. Nor are we talking about the negative impact of this policy on the establishment of freedom and democracy in Iran. We are highlighting irresponsible decisions which have made global peace and security and the lives and liberties of European citizens hostage to the mullahs. We are therefore, facing a matter far beyond injustice. It is a self-serving approach; violating justice, law, democracy and human rights.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
If the terrorist label was a great injustice against the Resistance movement, defying the court’s verdict mocks Europe’s judicial system.
Should religious fascism be allowed to degrade even Europe’s judgment and justice?
Should a shocking breach of law undermine European democracy and fundamental values?
In recent weeks, hundreds of MPs from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and the European Parliament, a large number of human rights associations and thousands of European citizens have formally protested against this decision.
They have correctly emphasized that the European Union must stand with the ruling of the court of Luxembourg and remove the PMOI from the terrorist list.
I call on all European governments, parties and personalities who advocate peace and human rights to help correct a mistake that has harmed the stature of Europe among the people of Iran, among the people in the Middle East and among anti-fundamentalist Muslims.
The Iranian issue has now become a major international crisis, which appeasement has failed to resolve. War and foreign intervention are not the answer to the Iranian problem either. There is a viable and effective solution: democratic change by the Iranian people and Resistance.
I would like to thank you for helping us achieve this goal and for encouraging our campaign against baseless charges which have made peace and democracy hostage to extremism and also for playing a part in bringing freedom, democracy and justice to Iran.
