NCRI – In an online conference on Thursday, September 3, members of both Houses of Parliament from the United Kingdom, the Irish Parliament and women’s Rights activists and lawyers from the UK highlighted and condemned the ongoing human rights abuses in Iran, urging the international community to speak up against these atrocities and support the 10-point plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi for a future democratic Iran as an alternative to the current theocratic regime.
The conference moderated by Ms. Dowlat Nowrouzi, the UK Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), also discussed the appalling situation at Camp Liberty, Iraq, where several thousand members of Iran’s main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, PMOI (Mujahedin-e Khalq, MEK), are suffering due to inhumane restrictions imposed on them by the Iraqi government at the behest of the Iranian regime.
The participants emphasized that the U.S. government and the UN must act to fulfil their promises to these defenseless refugees and guarantee their security and well-being by recognizing Camp Liberty as a refugee camp while pressuring the Government of Iraq to lift all restrictions.
Sir David Amess, a Conservative MP from the House of Commons, expressed his disappointment over the Obama administration’s Iran policy. He warned that the nuclear deal under its current text will only embolden the regime in Tehran and promised to join colleagues to challenge the UK government’s current position on Iran in the Parliament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boKnt3B333c
He also condemned the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran pointing to the increased number of executions in the country and said, “It is only the regime’s rhetoric that has changed but the appalling atrocities are still going on.”
In his remarks, Steve McCabe, Labour MP from the House of Commons, highlighted the role of the Iranian Resistance and said, “The PMOI (MEK) and the NCRI expose the human rights abuses of the Iranian regime so we know what is really happening in Iran and we know about the executions.”
“The head of Iran’s so called Human Rights Council defends barbaric punishments, like stonings and hangings. We will not forget the oppressed people of Iran who are suffering under a despotic regime … We’ll sooner or later realize that Iran is cheating on the nuclear deal and then realize our mistake,” he added.
With regards to the appalling situation in Camp Liberty, Steve McCabe MP said, “We’ll not forget the residents of Camp Liberty and we’ll continue our efforts to secure their rights and their protection.”
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, a member of the House of Lords, said, “Our officials aren’t seeing through the lies coming from Tehran … We seem to deliberately and knowingly ignore the executions and human rights abuses in Iran … the British government must adopt a firmer policy on Iran acknowledging human rights abuses that occur.”
On Camp Liberty and the second anniversary of the September 1, 2013 Camp Ashraf massacre, Lord Maginnis, said, “We’re being lied to by the UN and UNAMI on Camp Liberty.” He asked “what does our government know about the seven people who were taken hostage during the massacre?”
Lady Corbett, a women’s rights activist and wife of the late Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, chairman of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran freedom, expressed her concerns about what is happening in Iran today with rising numbers of executions and continuous human rights abuses. “It seems that economic interests and money is being prioritized by the European governments instead of speaking up against these ongoing atrocities,” she added.
She saluted “the brave people in Camp Liberty on the 50th anniversary of Iran’s main opposition, the PMOI (MEK).”
Lady Corbett added, “The Iranian regime is putting pressure on the Iraqi government to impose restrictions on Camp Liberty. I really want to know what the Iranians are offering Iraq but I suspect it is money and weapons to militia groups.”
“We rallied and warned about the coming atrocities in Camp Ashraf but the world refused to listen,” she said on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Camp Ashraf massacre, where 52 defenseless refugees were killed in cold-blood by the forces under the command of the former Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki.
Malcolm Fowler, a lawyer and member of the Law Society’s Human Rights Committee, highlighted the support of the Law Society for the rights of PMOI (MEK) members in Camp Liberty and said, “We commemorate the second anniversary of the Camp Ashraf massacre but we must remember that the killings actually started in 2009 with attacks and an inhumane medical siege.”
With regards to Iran, Mr. Fowler emphasized that Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan includes main stream essentials and democratic values and should be supported by the European governments and the international community.
“We [the international community] should make it clear to the Iranian regime that no human rights means no trade,” he added concerning the recent surge of European trades and visits by European ministers to Tehran.
Peter Mathews TD, member of the Irish Parliament, urged the European governments, leaders of democratic nations and world leaders to show more courage and speak up against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses and executions.
Peter Mathews said that the NCRI President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, personifies all that is fair and good for Iran and her 10-point plan envisions democratic values that are fundamental for creating a free society in that country in the future. “I urge every one of my colleague and European leaders to make an effort to meet with her.”
He added, “Liberty in Camp Liberty misrepresents the reality and the naming is grotesque; the camp is a prison for the residents.”
For her part, Ms. Dowlat Nowrouzi, the UK Representative of the NCRI, thanked the participants for their long-standing support for the cause of human rights in Iran and democratic aspirations of Iranian people.
She also pointed out that Hassan Rouhani’s human rights record is actually worse than that of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with over 2000 executions during his first two years in office, including of 56 women, many of them hanged in public.
Ms. Nowrouzi also called on the participants to continue petitioning their governments and colleagues, urging any economic relations with Iran to be made conditional on an end to executions and human rights abuses in the country.
She also called on the international community, in particular the UN and the British government, to take urgent steps to guarantee the protection and well-being of PMOI (MEK) members in Camp Liberty by pressuring the Iraqi government to lift its repressive restrictions and end its perverse harassments of the residents.