NCRI – A European-American Conference was convened on invitation of the Friends of Free Iran intergroup in the European Parliament on February 7, in relation to the current political situation in Iran and the region, and the necessity of protecting Ashraf residents, members of the Iranian opposition.
HIGGINS, member of the European Parliament’s Bureau:Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and can I welcome each and every one of you for coming along for what is a very important meeting at a very important time at a major crisis point in relation to the whole issue of Camp Ashraf. And I want to, in particular, welcome again Mrs. Rajavi who has done such excellent work. Her presence here today is symbolic of what she’s done on a global front for defending democracy and defending Ashraf through her competent leadership. We have a long list of very distinguished speakers and can I say to them, we are extremely grateful to them for coming along and for offering their support. They are people who have a huge amount of political experience and hopefully, a huge amount of power in terms of bringing this disastrous situation to a correct, satisfactory and humanitarian conclusion.
In particular, we are delighted to welcome Governor Howard Dean, who was Chairman of the U.S. Democratic Party in the period 2005 to 2009. He is extremely welcome. To Patrick Kennedy, United States Congressman from 1995 to 2011, as an Irish representative on the European Parliament can we say Patrick, you are extremely welcome. We know that he comes from a very long, noble and powerful [1:41] in the United States. His late uncle, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was President of the United States and we remember in particular his historic words in 1963 when overlooking the Berlin Wall when he said, “Ich bin ein Berliner. I am also a Berliner.” And that’s the kind of solidarity that the Kennedys have always been noted for, and that’s the reason that we welcome him in particular in relation to showing his solidarity for the people of Camp Ashraf. To Senator Robert Torricelli, Democratic United States Senator 1996 to 2003, again we extend a very hearty and warm welcome. And to the man on my right here, John Bruton, former Irish Taoiseach, our Prime Minister during the period 1994 to 1997, who had he been returned to power, would not have (dealt) the economic chaos that we have in Ireland at present where we have a (troika in) and the current Prime Minister coming in John’s wake and a good friend of his, Enda Kenny. And John’s brother is a senior minister and mainly responsible for the fact that Ireland is well and truly in recovery. So to each and every one of you I say a very hearty welcome indeed.
This meeting has been organized by the Friends of Free Iran, the inter-group which has the support of several hundreds of my colleagues here with different political tendencies. It was founded in 2004 jointly by Paulo Casaca, a socialist member and Struan Stevenson, a British conservative. I would like to sincerely thank Mrs. Rajavi for her presence because she and her movement, both she as leader of the movement has a particular symbolism. The first is that this is the 33rd anniversary of the Iranian revolution which overthrew the Shah’s regime in February 1979. And we are now facing a serious (threat) by the regime in Tehran which is prepared to use nuclear weapons if it manages to produce them. Let us not forget that it was the PMOI and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, NCRI, who first revealed the secret weapon program of the mullahs. It is astonishing that all the western governments are saying that they see no quick solution and no efficient solution to this problem. They seem to have closed their eyes to the reality that this evil regime has a democratic, popular and very well organized alternative, the PMOI and the NCRI led by Mrs. Rajavi.
This movement needs to be de-listed by the United States Government as well as we have done it in Europe. It needs to be done internationally and it needs to be recognized internationally as the only democratic alternative representing the Iranian people and capable of bringing freedom of democracy to Iran. The United States as well as the European Union, by having an appeasement policy with Iran in these years and putting the biggest enemies of the mullahs, which are the PMOI, in different black lists have lost several years. So we call today on the Obama administration to follow Europe and take PMOI, MEK, off the United States’ blacklist and recognize it. I see no other Iranian group so much committed to democracy and so well organized. This resistance, including those brave people in Ashraf, truly believe in a secular state and women’s rights. They are committed to a free Iran and have paid a very heavy price in these years.
My second point is that last Thursday, we had a meeting with the special representatives of the United Nations, the USA, and the EU. Today, Mr. Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary General, is in the forefront of the international community for resolving the Ashraf crisis. Without a doubt, during this period, he has done—and we have to give credit—he has done some good work and we have praised him for that. But at the same time, there are things that he shouldn’t have done and things that he has not done and we hope that Mr. Kobler will correct that. On January the 31st he announced that Camp Liberty is ready and while quoting UNHCR, he wrote that the Camp complies with the humanitarian standards. But the next day UNHCR presented another version by issuing a statement that, and I quote, “UNHCR has been advising on the technicalities of improving the Camp infrastructure while emphasizing the necessity for freedom of movement in this new location.” In the agreement signed by Mr. Kobler with the government of Iraq on December 25th, it was stipulated that humanitarian and human rights standards should be provided for at Camp Liberty. But Mr. Kobler forgets about human rights and human standards in his January 31st press release. Mr. Kobler has time and time again told representatives of Ashraf that there is no freedom of movement in Liberty and no access to lawyers.
Building the facilities are important, but far more important is the human dignity of these people in Ashraf and their freedom of movement in this new camp. And our question is, is this a voluntary relocation or is a forced relocation? Is Camp Liberty going to be a transitory refugee camp or will it be a prison as it seems to be designed at present? What is the role of the EU to find a peaceful and long term solution? What is the role of the United States of America and what should the Obama administration do? We have here, as I said, three prominent politicians from the Democrats who can give good advice, solid advice, sound advice to President Obama. But one thing is quite clear, that Ashraf residents and their representatives have come all the way and have entirely shown their goodwill and their good faith. From this point on, it is up to the United Nations; it is up to the European Union; it is up to the United States to live up to our common shared responsibility.
So again, I want to welcome each and every one of you. And one of the leaders of the Friends of Free Iran, is my good friend and colleague from the European People’s Party, Vice President of the Parliament, Alejo Vidal-Quadras. It gives me great pleasure to hand the floor to Alejo.
