NCRI – Former French and Italian officials on Thursday condemned the mullahs’ regime in Iran for rampant and flagrant human rights violations, including more than 1800 executions since Hassan Rouhani took office as President.
Giulio Terzi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy; Yves Bonnet, former governor and head of the French domestic intelligence agency DST; François Colcombet, former French lawmaker and President of the Foundation for Middle Eastern Studies (FEMO); and Jean-Pierre Béquet, President of the French Committee for a Democratic Iran (CFID) and a former mayor, on Thursday took part in an online conference on the subject of human rights in Iran. The conference was streamed live on ncr-iran.org/fr .
Former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi opened with comments made by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini regarding the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. She said that we don’t and can’t forget what happened as it is a reminder of the atrocities that happen when we are at war. Mr. Terzi then questioned whether the history of Iran has been remembered and taken into account when the recent nuclear deal was negotiated. Mr. Terzi believes that there has been “selective” remembering as many highly critical elements have been ignored – the issue of human rights being one of them. He said that human rights should be a “central clause” in the nuclear deal.
Mr. Terzi said that the United Nations must act, and public opinion agrees with this. The violation of human right in Iran is a humanitarian issue that the UN should face up to. He also said that the press needs to be more informed about what is happening in Iran and in turn inform the public. Everyone needs to be more in tune with the reality of what is happening in Iran.
Yves Bonnet questioned a critical aspect stemming from the nuclear deal: “Should we accept another race for the nuclear bomb?” He said that the eight states that possess a nuclear arm are already too many, therefore a ninth would be unacceptable. He questioned whether anyone should trust a regime with such a serious history of cheating and he said that as Europeans, EU policy should enter the equation. Human rights are part of EU policy, so this should not be omitted in foreign policy.
Mr. Bonnet also expressed his shock and surprise that Ms. Mogherini, a national of a country where veiling is not compulsory and women have the right to dress as they please, wore a compulsory hijab during meetings in Tehran at the demand of Iranian officials.
François Colcombet highlighted the importance of public opinion, not just outside Iran, but also in Iran. He said that the people of Iran are clearly hopeful for regime change and reinstating human rights as this is evident during the protests that happen in Iran. He believes that human rights are a central issue that must be addressed immediately as we cannot tolerate medieval acts of eye gouging and summary executions in Iran. People should not be punished in an inhumane way. He said that the governments cannot work together unless they take public opinion into account.
He also stated that justice in Iran is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. He said that frequently the punishment does not fit the crime in Iran and the judiciary reviews do not correspond to democratic laws – judges should be independent and not under the direct control of the supreme leader. Executions are already barbaric, but to do them in public to terrorize the population is unacceptable. Mr. Colcombet said that the French government needs to demand explanations from the Iranian regime for such behavior.
Jean-Pierre Béquet said that, during the nuclear negotiations, France was firm and put the most conditions on the deal, especially during the final stages. He claimed that France will not blindly agree and negotiate a deal with Iran. He also agreed with Mr. Colcombet that a deal can’t be made without respecting public opinion, which is strongly opposed to human rights violations in Iran. One step towards change is the participation of all countries in speaking up, constantly, and being heard. He said that councilors in France have the power to be heard by the government in France.
Mr. Bonnet said that Iran’s regime has zero tolerance for human rights in the country, but emphasized the importance of the international community showing zero tolerance for violations of human rights. We need to push the regime to the extreme and show them that their abuses of human rights will not be accepted, he said.
Related news:
German lawmakers, human rights defenders seek new Iran policy
France ‘concerned’ about Iran death row juvenile offender
Iran regime sentences man to have eyes gouged out