Maryam Rajavi message to the conference of London
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
I would like to commend you all and to wish your conference success.
Your conference is a constant reminder of Lord Robin Corbett.
I salute this great man.
I would like to express my condolences to his honorable family, friends and colleagues, especially to his very dear wife Val who stood beside him in hard times.
His loss is difficult for all of us to bear.
He has left us, however, with unforgettable lessons in sincerity, courage and modesty.
His service to humanity will never be forgotten:
His struggle in defence of human rights and peace in Cyprus;
His dedication and efforts to prevent violence against women;
His service as the chairman of Home Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons and as the Chair of the Labour peers at House of Lords; Three decades of unrelenting struggle in defence of freedom and democracy in Iran;
His founding and strong leadership of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom;
His pivotal role in the petition by 36 British MPs and Lords for the lifting of the unjust proscription of the
PMOI;
And his victorious leadership of this outstanding campaign;
And finally, his generous love for Ashraf and his respect for its residents.
Please allow me to summarise;
Robin left a glorious legacy in the Western world: defence of freedom fighters who have been sacrificed by a policy of appeasement by the Western governments.
Indeed, Robin Corbett was the dignified conscience of the British people and their representatives.
I recall how he spoke of the certainty of the Iranian people’s freedom.
He believed that, Iran’s freedom is our freedom, because freedom is indivisible.
With a deep understanding of the nature of the mullahs’ dictatorship, he would say: What terrifies the mullahs is what the Iranian Resistance offers, and that is democracy.
He wrote in the Sun newspaper once:
The proscription of the PMOI is the price that the ayatollahs extracted from the EU troika; Britain, France and Germany, for continuing their dialogue.
This dialogue has been a dangerous waste of time as it has been proven.
The deceived troika wasted three years trying to convince the Iranian regime, while the leaders of the regime where taking permanent steps on the path to acquire nuclear weapons.
After the de-proscription of the PMOI in the United Kingdom, he said: This is not only our victory.
The true victors are the thousands of people who are living in exile in Ashraf, in the deserts of Iraq and want nothing but to return to their country – a free country.
Our victory is their victory, it is the victory of millions of Iranians who want democratic change in a country based on separation of religion and state.
We all recall Robin’s admiration for the uprisings of 2009 in Iran.
He said the protestors cried out
“Down with dictator” and “Down with religious dictatorship.”
And this links them to Ashraf because these are the slogans of the Iranian Resistance which has now gone through the deserts of Iraq, and repeated in the cities of Iran by those who seek freedom, democracy and rule of law.”
At the outset of the Arab spring, he told Western governments, if the call for regime change in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt is appropriate, then, don’t stop there.
Iran is also in the neighbourhood.
The wish for freedom and democracy in Iran is as strong as it is in the countries of North Africa.
And we recall he asked with anger: I have only one question from Mr. Cameron and Mr. Hague, why keep silence when it comes to Iran?
Ashraf was always in Robin’s thoughts and emotions.
He was always worried about Ashraf and it was the source of hope and sensation for him.
On 18th of June of last year, he spoke to the residents of Ashraf in front of a large gathering of Iranians in Paris, he said:
Salam Ashraf!
You are the bravest of the brave and with your powerful voice you show millions of Iranians who cry out for freedom that you are with them and they are not alone.”
Robin struggled for Ashraf until the last days of his life.
Please listen to part of the latest statement by the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom which was signed by him only last week:
British MPs and Peers express their serious concern at the transfer of 400 residents of Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty in the suburbs of Baghdad.
We demand that the UN Secretary General, the US and EU immediately:
Ensure Iraqi military and police leave Camp Liberty.
Remove any restrictions against residents, including the restriction on taking their moveable belongings and vehicles with them to Camp Liberty and the restriction preventing them from having free access to medical services.
Any further relocation of residents will depend on these demands being met.
Robin Corbett has in these words expressed the demands of all those who have stood up against religious fascism.
Yes, all of them and us, call on the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union to guarantee the minimum assurances requested by Ashraf residents at the new camp!
Remove Iraqi armed forces from the camp.
Remove the spying cameras and devices.
Let the residents have free access to medical services, to their lawyers and their families.
Potable water facilities as well as electricity and sewage system must be provided in the new camp.
The residents must be protected from forcible relocations to other locations inside Iraq.
And must enjoy freedom of movement.
We have frequently warned that this camp does not meet minimum security and health assurances.
Now all these warnings are proven.
And it is regrettable that the promises to the residents were not kept.
It is regrettable that the peaceful solution has reached to such a situation.
And now we warn that the restrictions and suppressive actions in the new camp are steps towards another humanitarian disaster.
Don’t allow the mullahs and the terrorist Qods Force to implement their plan in Camp Liberty.
Now, Robin is no longer with us.
But his life bears a powerful message for all of us to be steadfast a hundred times over against dictators and their allies.
I call on his colleagues and friends to follow his path.
There is no doubt that he is watching us today and as usual he is concerned about Ashraf and even more about Liberty and its residents.
He calls us to further our efforts to restore the humanitarian rights of the residents, particularly to guarantee their safety in Liberty.
Please allow me to conclude my remarks with his own words:
Dear friends, know that the mullahs will soon become no more than a dirty stain on the long and proud history of Iran;
A long nightmare, which will soon give way to the dawn of a free and democratic country.
Iran will be free.
I thank you all and God bless you.
