In a strong show of support for the Iranian people’s uprising, the majority of the Irish Republic Senate (Seanad Éireann) has endorsed the establishment of a democratic republic in Iran. Thirty-six out of 60 senators signed a statement supporting the aspirations of the Iranian people and endorsing Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan. The senators emphasize rejecting all forms of dictatorship and call for designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
The President and Deputy of the Irish Senate, the leaders of the two main parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, who form the coalition government in the Senate, Senator David Norris, former presidential candidate, the President and Deputy of the Senate from 2011 to 2016, five former ministers, two former parliamentary ombudsmen, the President of the Republic of Ireland in the European Council, and 12 the senate’s spokespersons, including the spokespersons for foreign affairs and defense, are among the signatories of the statement.
The full statement signed by the majority of the Irish parliament follows:
Support the Iranian People in Their Struggle
for a Secular and Democratic Republic
February 2023
For the past six months, the world has witnessed a sweeping popular uprising in Iran, demanding freedom and democracy. Some 750 protesters have been killed and 30,000 arrested. While any change should come from the Iranian people and their own resistance, the international community has its own responsibility.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in their desire for a secular and democratic republic where no individual, regardless of religion or birthright, has any privilege over others. Through their slogans the Iranian people have made it clear that they reject all forms of dictatorship, be it the deposed Shah or the current theocratic regime and thus reject any association with either.
We believe it is for the Iranian people to decide their future. However, we recognize the fact that over the past four decades, the democratic coalition of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has constantly and tirelessly pursued democratic change. In this respect, we believe the Ten-point Plan articulated by the NCRI President, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, deserves our support. It stands for free elections, freedom of assembly and expression, abolition of the death penalty, gender equality, the separation of religion and state, autonomy for Iran’s ethnicities, and a non-nuclear Iran.
The Iranian people’s courageous uprising can be attributed, on the one hand, to the explosive state of Iranian society, a product of suppression, poverty, discrimination, and government corruption, and, on the other hand, four decades of nationwide organized resistance. Tragically, in the summer of 1988 alone, over 30,000 political prisoners – the vast majority of whom were members of the MEK – were brutally massacred.
We condemn the Iranian regime’s meddling in the Middle East region and Europe, including its terrorist attempts and cyber-attacks in Albania.
We urge the international community to stand with the Iranian people in their quest for change and to take decisive steps against the current regime. This includes blacklisting the IRGC and holding regime officials accountable for their crimes against humanity.
