The policy towards Iran and its opposition
In Iran, The dictatorial regime cruelly oppresses its people and is becoming increasingly a threat to the world. The Iranian regime, by transgressing the Security Council resolutions, insisting on the production of nuclear weapons and export of fundamentalism and terrorism to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, is leading the region to a war of catastrophic dimensions.
The 5,000 demonstrations and protest acts in 2007 displays the will of Iranian people for change. The response of the Iranian regime has been suppression and public hangings: 29 in Tehran on 27 July 2008, mass arbitrary arrests, torture, amputation, public flogging and harsh discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities.
The policy towards Iran and its opposition
In Iran, The dictatorial regime cruelly oppresses its people and is becoming increasingly a threat to the world. The Iranian regime, by transgressing the Security Council resolutions, insisting on the production of nuclear weapons and export of fundamentalism and terrorism to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, is leading the region to a war of catastrophic dimensions.
The 5,000 demonstrations and protest acts in 2007 displays the will of Iranian people for change. The response of the Iranian regime has been suppression and public hangings: 29 in Tehran on 27 July 2008, mass arbitrary arrests, torture, amputation, public flogging and harsh discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities.
The Policy of offering incentives to the regime adopted by some Western countries in an effort to strengthen the moderates within the regime and to affect the whole regime, has prompted the mullahs to continue with impunity the social suppression, export of terrorism and the atomic project.
If the international community does not want to embrace a nuclear Iran or a disastrous war, it must abandon its policy of appeasement with Tehran and support democratic change by Iranian people and their organized resistance. This was proposed by Maryam Rajavi and approved by 70,000 Iranians gathered in Paris on 28 June.
Inclusion of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), the largest group in the democratic coalition of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the European list of terrorist organizations was made at the request of the mullahs’ regime, and constitutes the greatest obstacle to this change.
The European Court of Justice on 12 December 2006, the English court of POAC on November 30, 2007 and the Court of Appeal on May 7, 2008 stated that the inclusion was unfounded and annulled it.
In particular, the Court of Appeal in London, taking account of public and secrets material, said that PMOI is not at all concerned in terrorist-type activities.
Last June, both houses of the British Parliament approved the decree to de-proscribe the People's Mojahedin which was officially implemented by the government. The EU Council of Ministers on 15 June, decided to maintain the PMOI on the list. Most eminent European lawyers such as Professor Antonio Cassese, Italian, and Professor Henry Labale, French, considered the decision illegal and an abuse of power.
The Iranian regime uses the blacklisting of the PMOI to justify the elimination of its opponents. This listing is the only pretext to justify the plots against the People's Mojahedin in Ashraf City in Iraq.
Given the above, we, the signatories of this document:
1. Ask the Italian government to convey to the European Council of Ministers its firm opposition to the inclusion of the PMOI in the blacklist and request its annulment at the next session. We invite the chairman of the Italian Republic’s Senate to talk to the government on this subject;
2. We declare that Ashraf residents are political refugees under the Fourth Geneva Convention and therefore cannot be transferred elsewhere against their will. They are protected by the International Humanitarian Law and their judicial security must be guaranteed.
3. We urge that, given the situation in Iraq and in conformity with international standards, their protection must remain the responsibility of coalition forces, particularly the United States;
4. We support the National Council of Resistance of Iran, its President-elect, Maryam Rajavi and her third option for a democratic change in Iran.
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Editor's note: The above text is a direct translation from Italian of the statement by majority of Italian Senate.
