Support for the Iranian people’s uprising
Meeting of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom at the UK Parliament
The meeting of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom was held on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at the UK Parliament. The conference declared support for the Iranian people’s uprising and the Iranian Resistance. A group of members of parliament from various parties attended the meeting presided over by Baroness Verma.
Maryam Rajavi addressed the meeting online and elaborated on the developments regarding the nationwide uprising in Iran and the Iranian people’s expectations from the international community.
MPs representing five British parties at the UK Parliament attended the meeting. They included Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers, MP and former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Hon. Liam Fox, former Secretary of State for Defence, Hon. Hilary Benn, the former Shadow Foreign Secretary and a Labour Party leadership hopeful; the Hon. Steve McCabe, co-chair of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom and former Parliamentary Whip; Hon. Anna Firth, Hon. Jim Shannon, the Irish Democratic Unionist Party spokesman for human rights; Martyn Day, a Scottish National Party leading official; Sir Roger Gale, former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party; Hon. Ian Paisley Jr. and Hon. Sammy Wilson, Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party at the UK Parliament.
Also participating were Baroness Verma, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development and Energy; Baroness Meacher; Lord Henry Bellingham, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and Lord Dholakia, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats at the House of Lords; Lord Harris; Lord Singh; and Mr. Tahar Boumedra, former director of the Human Rights Office of the UN Mission in Iraq.
Baroness Verma opened the meeting by welcoming the participants and inviting Maryam Rajavi to deliver her speech.
Following is the text of her speech:
Distinguished members of the Parliament,
Friends of the Iranian people’s Resistance,
Greetings to you all.
I appreciate your support for Iran’s uprising to overthrow religious fascism.
I am happy to have the opportunity to both see you and briefly discuss Iran’s uprising.
Allow me first, to pay tribute to the memory of a long-standing friend of the Iranian Resistance, Sir David Ames on the anniversary of his tragic death.
For 25 years, he supported the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom. Today, his spirit is with us as we are approaching the D day for the Iranian people.
Volatile circumstances in Iran
I would like to focus on three issues and would be more than glad to hear your views.
First, the present situation and the progress of the protests in Iran.
Second is the issue of women.
And third, the duties of the international community.
The first issue:
The people of Iran have risen up against the mullahs.
The regime’s suppression and violence have not been able to stop the protests.
The wall of fear in society has cracked.
The uprising has entered its second month.
The anti-regime protests expand daily.
More cities and new social sectors join the nationwide protests.
The IRGC has so far murdered at least 400 protesters.
In the city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province in the southeast, just in one day, they killed some 100 of our fellow Baluch citizens, including 28 children.
The killing of Mahsa Amini, an innocent young woman, shocked the world.
Since then, many more young women like Nika, Sarina, Ghazaleh, Hannaneh, and Asra, the 15-year-old student, have been murdered or arrested by Security Forces.
3,500 members of the Iranian Medical Society have signed a statement. They announced that security forces in Iran use ambulances to transport regime’s repressive forces or transfer the arrested citizens to prisons. At least 20,000 people have been arrested, so far.
Lives of political prisoners at risk
Just a few days ago, IRGC forces stormed Evin prison in Tehran to suppress prisoners for chanting slogans in support of the uprising and against the regime.
They committed a horrific crime in Evin that shocked the world.
So far, the mullahs have admitted killing eight prisoners in this attack but the number of killed and wounded rises to dozens.
In a similar incident a week ago, on October 9, the regime set fire to Lakan Prison in Rasht.
All indications are that the fire in Evin was pre-planned.
The UN and the Security Council must hold the clerical regime’s leaders accountable for the crimes they commit every day. Like the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, they stop at nothing to preserve their rule.
Dear friends,
In recent days, the mullahs’ supreme leader Khamenei and his president, Ebrahim Raisi have repeatedly emphasized the decisive crackdown on the protesters.
They are responsible for the massacre of 30 thousand political prisoners in 1988.
They ordered the massacre of at least 15 hundred protesters during the uprising in November 2019.
And today, they are actively leading the killing machine against young people and teenagers in Iran.
They must be brought to justice by international courts.
The mullahs’ brutality has an obvious reason. They see the end of their regime. Regardless of any ups-and-downs, the protests have left no future for the mullahs.
Iranian women defeat the religious dictatorship
The second topic, which is the central issue of the present uprising in Iran, is that the brave, young women of Iran are leading the way and the world admires their role.
Iranian women have been deprived of their fundamental freedoms and rights over the past four decades.
Nevertheless, they have always been at the forefront of the anti-regime struggle.
Tens of thousands of women have been tortured and executed for resisting the mullahs’ regime.
For many years, I have pointed out that Iranian women are the force that will eventually topple the mullahs’ religious dictatorship.
All Iranian protesters, including women, reject any kind of dictatorship and they want regime change as their primary demand.
Iranian people are chanting in streets that we are against all oppressors, be it the shah or Khamenei.
They shout angry slogans against Khamenei as their main target.
The regime’s officials come out, one after the other, and acknowledge that the people oppose the regime in its entirety.
Iranian women know very well that the freedom of choice –in all personal, social, and political fields— including freedom to choose their attire, and the right to political and social participation is possible only if the mullahs’ religious dictatorship is overthrown.
Therefore, their determination to fight the regime is to bring freedom to all the people of Iran.
Today, the Iranian people’s unity in their struggle to overthrow the religious dictatorship guaranties equality and justice in tomorrow’s Iran.
The Iranian Resistance ensures the establishment of a republic based on democratic values including people’s votes, free elections, separation of the religion and state, gender equality, social justice, and the elimination of all sexual, ethnic, and religious discriminations.
Recognition of the Iranian people’s right to self-defense
Dear friends,
Iran is on the verge of a major change.
It is time for Western governments to re-consider all their relations with the criminal regime.
Yesterday, the EU adopted some sanctions against the clerical regime. It was a positive step forward but not enough at all.
It is time for the world to recognize the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the mullahs’ religious fascism and their right to self-defense in the face of the regime’s brutal attacks.
The Iranian people want the closure of the regime’s embassies that are centers of espionage and terrorism and the expulsion of the regime’s operatives and spies from all countries.
I urge you, honorable representatives, and friends of the people of Iran, to take all the necessary measures to compel western governments to change their policy on the Iranian regime.
The Iranian people and Resistance always remember your long years of support. And most certainly, your effective measures at this time will have a decisive impact on backing the Iranian people’s democratic revolution.
Thank you all. I am ready to hear your views in this regard.
