NCRI- The European Parliament Vice-president, Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, welcomed Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, to the European Parliament on May 28 as the head of a delegation of Euro MPs and parliamentarians in Europe and other dignitaries.
Addressing a meeting attended by Mrs. Rajavi and dozens of MEPs and British parliamentarians, Dr. Vidal-Quadras appreciated the efforts of Mrs. Rajavi to bring democracy and freedom to Iran and said, "We really admire you, because in spite of all this hard work, all this suffering, your smile never disappears. This is something extraordinary and it is something that will be very useful for you in the near future because when you run the first election in Iran which you will organize, this smile will be strictly helpful for you to get many votes."
The meeting at the European Parliament was organized following the definitive ruling of the British Court of Appeal ordering the government to remove the PMOI (MEK) from the list of proscribed organization in that country. The participants pressed the European Union to respect the rule of law and implement the judgment of the EU court as well as that of the British court and drop terror label against the main Iranian opposition. The following is the text of EP Vice-president's speech:
We are convinced Mrs. President that your struggle is as much important for us in Europe, in the western world, as it is important of course for Iranians, because the regime that presently is in power in your country is a threat for peace, stability and security not only in the Middle East, but for the whole world.
I also want to welcome very warmly colleagues from the UK. I also congratulate them for the great victory in the British courts. Dear colleagues you have done a great job, an extraordinary job. You stood for justice which is what we expect. You did not betray your principles and your values. Beyond that, I believe you also stood for the right policy.
This is not only a question of principles and values, which of course it is, but it is also a very significant and meaningful political question. Supporting democratic change in Iran is the only solution to the crisis the world is facing with regards to the Iranian regime’s quest for nuclear weapons and its meddling in neighbouring countries, in Iraq, in Lebanon and in Palestine.
My message today will be very simple and very short. Europe is built on the rule of law and now we are witnessing that the European Union, the most powerful common institution in Europe in the case of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI) is disregarding the rule of law. This in my view and in the view of many of our colleagues here in the European Parliament is something we cannot accept. Therefore, in our view, Europe is facing in relation to this problem an identity issue, because if there is no respect for the rule of law there will be no Europe and this is something we cannot accept and we will never accept.
Maintaining the PMOI in the European Union terror list is unlawful. We want action and we say to European Union leaders and decision makers that enough is enough. It was unlawful to maintain the PMOI in the terrorist list after the clear judgment of the European Court of Justice. It was further unlawful to keep the PMOI on the list, following the decision by the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC) in the UK, because the Court had clearly ruled that the organisation has no relation with terrorist activities and today after the definitive judgment of the Court of Appeal in UK any delay in removing the PMOI from the list is absolutely unlawful and it is an offence to the rule of law and the very essence of democracy.
I therefore call on the EU Presidency to act according to the courts judgments, to do it immediately and respect the rule of law. I urge the EU Presidency to be consistent with its responsibilities in upholding the rule of law in Europe. Europe must also take a lesson from what happened in UK, and removing PMOI from this blacklist. Every minute the PMOI is maintained in this list, it is an offence for morality, it is an offence for the rule of law, it is an offence for democracy.
Finally, if we consider this issue from a purely realpolitik perspective, in a purely pragmatic approach, European Union must change its policy with regards to Iran and the Iranian opposition democratic movement. The National Council of Resistance of Iran, chaired by Mrs. Rajavi is the only hope, is the only solution, is the most direct, clean and cost effective way to bring democracy and freedom to the Iranian people and to free the international community of the threat that the present tyrannical regime in Tehran represents.
