“Madame Rajavi, you will always have the members of this Parliament at your side” – EP Vice-President

Vidal“If the Iraqi government wants to make a good impression in Europe and in this House, it should treat the Ashraf residents in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Furthermore the Iraqi government should implement the European Parliament resolution of 24th of April 2009” said Alejo Vidal-Quadras, EP Vice-President, in Brussels on November 11.

He was speaking in a meeting organized by the parliamentary intergroup «Friends of a Free Iran», which he chairs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Iranian Resistance, was the special guest.

Here are excerpts from Mr. Vidal-Quadras’s speech:

We are very happy that the president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, our very good friend, Mrs Maryam Radjavi is here today as our main speaker and our special and distinguished guest.

Many of us in this House share and support her vision and the political platform she represents for a future democratic Iran. I would like to convey my congratulations to the PMOI members in Ashraf and all of those across the world who took part in the 72 day campaign which lead to the successful release of the 36 Ashraf residents. These 36 residents were illegally taken hostage by the Iraqi security forces during the brutal raid at the end of July.

On my trip to Camp Ashraf in October last year, I was able to experience the PMOI and Ashraf. Before leaving Iraq, I said that Ashraf is a moral reference for democracy, not only for Iran, but for the whole region and for the world in general. Today, I would like to add and to emphasize that Ashraf is a symbol of courage and moral strength and the residents there deserve all our admiration.

In order to appease the regime in Iran, our governments place the PMOI on an EU blacklist for many years, making life extremely difficult for them. However, the PMOI did not lose hope. They continued to fight peacefully and democratically, gathering the support of over 2000 parliamentarians in Europe, until they were removed from the blacklist in January.

Their sincerity and the justice of their cause, and also their will and determination made us stand on their side. Today, the Iranian regime, through some elements in the Iraqi government is trying to forcibly displace the residents of Ashraf to remote deserts in southern Iraq, where they will be extremely vulnerable to the threats of the Iranian regime.

As a friend of a democratic and independent Iraq, I would like to remind the Iraqi government not to repeat the mistakes and bloodbath which occurred at the end of July. The world will not tolerate crimes against the defenceless and unarmed residents of Ashraf.

The Iraqi government has set up a committee to deal with the issue of Ashraf. However, it seems that this committee is not acting independently, but rather under the influence of some external forces originating from Tehran. If the Iraqi government wants to make a good impression in Europe and in this House, it should close down this committee and treat the Ashraf residents in accordance with international humanitarian law. Furthermore the Iraqi government should implement the European Parliament resolution of 24th of April 2009. Iraq should abandon the idea of forcible displacement of the Ashraf residents within Iraq and immediately end its inhumane blockade of the camp, while recognising the rights of the residents under the 4th Geneva Convention.

The Iraqi government should look to the streets of Tehran and other cities in Iran and realize that the totalitarian Iranian regime has no future and is not worth being invested upon.

I believe that the nationwide uprising in Iran which is now entering its 6th month will never dry out. These uprisings have proven to have deep roots within Iranian society. In the recent rallies on 4th November 2009, people were shouting openly “Down with the dictator”, “Down with Khamenei”. The Iranian people would not risk their lives in the streets in support of this or that faction within the present regime. They wholeheartedly want to topple the regime and to replace it with a secular and democratic republic.

I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate the statements made by the historic leader of the Iranian Resistance, Massoud Rajavi, on this uprising who has actively encouraged the ayatollahs to distance themselves from the rule of the so called Supreme Leader. Many leading clerics have now rejected Ali Khamenei and are joining the uprising. This is very encouraging for all of us.

I want to conclude by expressing my faith in the final victory of freedom in Iran. I believe in this victory, because history has proved as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that totalitarian regimes collapse because they are against the true nature of human beings.

The theocratic regime of the ayatollahs stands against everything the overall majority of Iranian people desire. Iranians want to live in a country where they can express their opinion without fear, where dissidents are not executed and tortured, where women are not humiliated but treated in equality with men, where rulers must respond to the people, where the wealth produced by the natural resources of the Iranian land are used for the wealth of the people and not for financing terrorism or for a crazy nuclear military program, where all religions are tolerated and respected and where elections are clean and fair.

Madam President you will always have the members of this Parliament at your side, fighting with you, suffering with you, hoping with you, and persisting with you, until the complete liberation of the Iranian people. Thank you, Mrs President, for your dedication and unfailing commitment to the cause of freedom in your country.