Euro MPs called for removal of the PMOI from the EU list of terrorist organizations
Former President of Lithuania: Removal of the PMOI from the terror list would be a realistic and a right policy for Europe
EP deputy chair: The opposition informed us of the nuclear threat and we must thank them. We should recognize the PMOI and the Council of Ministers should remove this organization from the terror list immediately
A strongly worded resolution adopted by the European Parliament on October 13 condemned gross violations of human rights in Iran. The resolution was endorsed by 499 Euro MPs voting in favor, 43 against and 89 abstentions.
Iran’s state of human rights, specially “death sentences passed against and execution of juvenile offenders and minors,” was condemned in the resolution.
The European Parliament also expressed concern over “the arrests and imprisonment of cyberjournalists and webloggers and the parallel censorship of several online publications, weblogs and internet sites as well as the recent arbitrary arrests of journalists and severe restriction of the media in Iran”.
The document deplored “arrest and punishment of women for ‘improper veiling’” and condemned “the treatment of minorities such as the Kurds who are discriminated against and harassed due to their religious beliefs and ethnic background, and the inhabitants of the area around Ahwaz city, the provincial capital of the ethnic Arab-dominated Khuzestan province.”
The resolution stipulates that there is no sign of any move by the Iranian regime to improve respect to human rights and rule of law.
Over two days of debate prior to ratification of the resolution a large number of Euro MPs spoke on the situation of human rights in Iran, the clerical regime’s nuclear program and the role of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) and the NCRI in democratic change in Iran.
The resolution also called on the Council of Ministers to review the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations, with a number of Euro-MPs speaking out during the debate against the terror-tag on the PMOI.
“The European Parliament calls on the Council to examine the way in which Parliament may become involved in the regular updating of Council Common Position No 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, taking into account developments from 2001 onwards," the resolution stated.
The former president of the Lithuania, Prof. Vytautas Landsbergis, who is from the Group of the European People’s Party, the largest political grouping in the European Parliament, joined a debate before voting on the resolution and said that there was a serious threat, the terrorists and the fundamentalist regime are about to acquire nuclear weapons and they are doing this by deceiving the Europeans. He underlined the paradox that the only viable opposition to the terrorist regime is in the EU’s terror list and it is being suppressed. He called for immediate removal of the PMOI from the EU’s list of proscribed organizations as a realistic and right policy for Europe.
Erik Meijer, Dutch MEP from Confederal Group of the European United Left and long standing supporter of the NCRI emphasized that democratic Europe should take the Iranian Resistance seriously. The Resistance is our only hope for a better future in Iran, said Meijer and added that support to this resistance would lead to changes, therefore, the PMOI as part of this movement should not be in the terror list. He ended his remarks by making the choice for Europe clear that: “Solidarity with the democratic opposition inside and outside Iran, total rejection of the military intervention by foreign forces in that country.”
Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Polish MEP from Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, appreciated the information provided by the NCRI on the Iranian regime’s nuclear program and stressed that it was time to refer mullahs’ nuclear file to the UN Security Council. He stressed that Europe should recognize the PMOI and called on the Council of Ministers to make an immediate decision to remove the organization from EU’s list of terrorist organizations.
The Spanish MEP, Bernat Joan i Marí, deputy chair of the Group of the Greens referred to a call by parliamentary majorities in Britain, Belgium and Italy and hundreds more in other countries demanding removal of the terror tag from the PMOI. He pointed out that the only way to avoid a war with Iran would be to support the Iranian Resistance and removal of the PMOI from the list of terrorist organizations as the first step. He reiterated that it was time for the EU to deal with the regime decisively and reach an understanding with the democratic opposition in Iran within the framework of the NCRI.
Several other MEPs expressed their concerns over the state of human rights in Iran and the regime’s nuclear program and called on their colleagues to support the resolution.
