Iranians call on the international community to support democratic change in Iran
Declaration of support by 3500 parliamentarians from Iranian resistance and rights of Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI – Iranians and their international supporters called on the world community to support democratic change in Iran by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance. They welcomed the imposition of more international sanctions against the clerical regime but stressed that the Western policy towards the regime in Tehran will not be effective unless it underlines the imperative for democratic change by the Iranian people and their Resistance.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, was the keynote speaker at the event. Hundreds of international personalities, including Amb. John Bolton, former US Undersecretary of State and former Permanent US Representative to the United Nations, two former prime ministers, José Maria Aznar of Spain, and Sid Ahmed Ghozali of Algeria, joined more than 100 lawmakers from across Europe, the Middle East and Canada in partaking in the event.
Iranians at the gathering also voiced support for Camp Ashraf residents, where some 3,400 members of the opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), reside in Iraq. As the US forces prepare to withdraw from Iraq, the participants warned the US government about the safety of the residents and the serious threats they would face in the event that the US government fails to uphold its obligations and to guarantee their protection.
Mrs. Rajavi’s Keynote Address
In her speech, Mrs. Rajavi reiterated her solution to the Iran crisis. While reminding that the regime has lost the potential for conciliation by virtue of the Iranian people’s uprising and resistance, she said the fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions does not leave much room for the policy of appeasement.
Mrs. Rajavi added, “For years, you engaged in futile negotiations with this regime. You bought time for it to complete its nuclear installations. You helped those affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards to assume power in Iraq. You included the PMOI on the list of terrorist organizations and betrayed the Iranian people’s resistance. You provided the regime with the windfall gains of such a policy. Ultimately, however, you reached a dead end.”
“We say that now this road has come to its end. You saw for yourselves that this decadent regime lacks the slightest flexibility or openness. So, it is incumbent upon you to reverse the wrong course you had taken.”
Mrs. Rajavi, added, “From our point of view, the new Security Council resolution and complementary sanctions by the US and Europe are necessary, but insufficient. Nevertheless, we insist that you do not hesitate in implementing these provisions.”
“The Iranian people, of course, demand far more than this; they demand that this regime must go,” Mrs. Rajavi said.
The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance also said, “We call on all governments to urge the United Nations to mandate its forces to directly assume the responsibility for the protection of Ashraf. We warn that as far as the Iranian people and Resistance are concerned, in addition to the Iraqi government, the US government and the United Nations would be responsible for any attack and bloodshed in Ashraf.”
Outlining the demands of the Iranian people and Resistance, Mrs. Rajavi said, “We demand that you stop the purchase of oil and gas from this regime right now,” adding, “We demand that [the mullahs’ Supreme Leader, Ali] Khamenei, [the mullahs’ President, Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad and other regime leaders be tried by an international tribunal for genocide, namely the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.”
“We also demand that all restrictions that have been imposed on the Iranian Resistance in Europe and the United States be lifted.”
“The time has now come for the US State Department to remove the terrorist label against the PMOI.”
“It is incumbent upon you to acknowledge the right of the Iranian people and Resistance in demanding regime change, recognize the National Council of Resistance of Iran and shun this regime, its representatives, spokesmen, advocates and operatives.”
Iranians’ Demand
Iranians attending the gathering voiced full support for the uprising in Iran for democratic change. They stressed that while the imposition of sanctions against the clerical regime is a necessary step, in view of the intensification of suppression by the mullahs inside Iran and their attempts to obtain a nuclear weapon, it is no way sufficient.
Iranians reiterated that the West’s policy must mature to support regime change by the Iranian people and Resistance and so long as the Iranian factor has not been included in the international community’s political equation, the clerical regime will not take seriously the world’s will to confront its attempts to generate crises and obtain nuclear weapons.”
International Support
The support of more than 3,500 members of parliament from Europe and North America for the Iranian Resistance and its proposed solution was also unveiled at the event.
Signatories of the declarations included the majorities of 23 parliaments, including 18 in Europe, such as France, Britain, and Italy. Majorities of the Canadian Parliament and the US Congress were also among the signatories. Hundreds of parliaments from various Arab nations, including the majority of members in the Jordanian parliament, 100 Egyptian and dozens of Palestinian lawmakers, joined 3,500 of their western colleagues in supporting Ashraf and the Iranian Resistance.
Features of the Gathering
A demographically diverse group of Iranians from all over Europe, the US, Canada and Australia took part in the gathering, holding large purple-colored flags and wearing T-shirts and hats of the same color.
The location of the event spanned about three soccer fields in size and was turned into a stadium specifically for the gathering. A section was dedicated to a memorial site honoring hundreds of Resistance activists and protestors in Iran who have lost their lives.
On both sides of the large podium, the original texts of declarations of majority support from various parliaments backing the Iranian Resistance’s solution were hung, featuring the respective countries’ flags.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
June 26, 2010
