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Elections in Iran are not only illegitimate, they are a total farce |
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Tuesday, 24 May 2005 |
 EventsAndrew Mackinlay, MP - British Parliament:
There is a crisis in Iran, which is not being widely reported. The
so-called elections in Iran are not only illegitimate, they are a total
farce.
The great danger is that the British Foreign Office, the European Union
and the press in this country will be blind or seduced by this, and
there will be phrases that the new President will somehow be a man we
can do business with. All the vocabulary of appeasement of the 1930’s
will be used to justify a dialogue between the man who emerges from
these wholly bogus elections.
I make an appeal to the UK government and to the EU to vigorously
support the NCRI, and to remove the very cruel and heartless tag of
terrorism on the PMOI. It seems to me that the confused thinking being
applied by the British Foreign Office to the NCRI and the PMOI is the
same kind of response you had 60 years ago, when a brave man, General
de Gaulle, and other people fled from Europe. They came here and they
were not welcomed. They were treated with the utmost disrespect. There
were people in the establishment who traduced them. The United States
government of the day refused to recognise de Gaulle. What a total
misread of the realities of the situation, and that confused thinking
still prevails today here in London and Brussels.
This dialogue with the Iranian regime is not only unfair, but it is
foolish in terms of the long term interests of the UK and the European
governments, and in terms of our long term objective of bringing peace,
stability and democracy to the region.
I regret this very much that the much respected Human Rights Watch fell
into the abyss of traducing the NCRI and the PMOI in a report that our
friends were not given an opportunity to respond to.
In my view, they have diminished their credence and their influence,
certainly amongst many Parliamentarians here in the British Parliament,
by swallowing the lies and repeating the traducing of the NCRI in a
report last week. I hope that HRW will reflect that it has actually
done long term damage amongst legislators, Congressmen, members of
parliament, members of the House of Lords, members of the National
Assembly in Paris and European Parliament, who have respected that
organisation, when they see their approach to the NCRI and the parrot
manner in which they have repeated the lies that have been put around
about the PMOI by the Iran regime. Traducing people and organisations,
has always been unfortunately, a very effective weapon, when you have
very little in your armoury, to rubbish and to diminish brave men and
women who are fighting for freedom and democracy.
I say this with great certainty that freedom will arise in Iran and
President Mrs.Rajavi or the chosen head of the Iranian democracy will
no doubt be welcomed here in London in a state visit and you will find
all the politicians will be briefed by the British Foreign Office to
say they how they always worked for the day of deliverance. We will be
saying, “Where were you in 2005, when there was the great danger to
those campaigning for freedom, and when these British Parliamentarians
were proud to stand by those people fighting for freedom in Iran?”
Mr. Andrew MacKinlay's speech in a meeting at the House of Commons, May 24 2005 |
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