Mr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, vice president of the European Parliament, Mr. Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and Mr. Jean-Pierre Spitzer, French attorney representing PMOI spoke in the conference.
Below is the text of speech by Mr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras:
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am here today on behalf of my colleagues in the European Parliament and in particular the Friends of a Free Iran Inter-Group which enjoys the active support of over one hundred MEPs, from right and left, including 5 Vice-Presidents.
Since the initial listing of the People’s Mojahedin in the EU terrorist list, we have carefully pursued the case of the PMOI. We have conducted comprehensive research on this topic.
We have provided the outcome of our investigation to the Council and requested to meet with them to further elaborate on our findings. Here is the report we sent to the Council in March.
In order to prepare this report, members of Friends of a Free Iran visited Ashraf City, Iraq, where members of the PMOI are based and prepared a detailed report based on one-on-one interviews with hundreds of people there. We have also conferred with others, including terrorism experts and conducted detailed research into the history of the PMOI.
We have come across no evidence whatsoever that would justify maintaining the PMOI on the list. The group has stopped all military activity in July 2001 and its leadership and rank and file formally renounced violence and terrorism in 2004.
Despite all our efforts, however, we have not heard from the Council. And I tell you from my experience, in such circumstances, there is only one reason for stonewalling. They don’t have any evidence and their decision is motivated by political or economic considerations.
Many of my parliamentary colleagues and I have written separately to the Council reminding it of its obligation under EC Treaty and urging the Council to provide us with the evidence they are relying on to justify their intention to include the PMOI in the list.
Nothing has been provided to us, simply because there is no such evidence.
The Council’s handling of this case is scandalous. To my knowledge all documents provided to the PMOI go back six to at least 20 years ago. This clearly shows that there are ulterior political motives that affect the decision-making process.
And I say that today is a sad day for Europe. Our most sacred principle, the rule of law, is being violated in order to appease the religious dictatorship ruling Iran, which all of us know is after nuclear weapons, meddles in Iraq, foments violence in Lebanon and brutalizes its own citizens, as reported in recent weeks.
In recent weeks we have been witnessing widespread protests across Iran and in particular in the capital, Tehran. The response by the regime has been an unprecedented crackdown. This is a clear sign of desperation by the regime which feels that it can survive by intensifying its suppression .
In these circumstances, the EU’s attitude towards PMOI is outrageous and has only one message to the regime: Go ahead with your brutal suppression .
Today, the prime victim of this injustice is PMOI and its supporters. But let me warn: including the PMOI in the list, in defiance of the Court ruling and without any evidence, and I repeat, with absolutely no evidence, would be a recipe for disaster. It is politically and ethically a disgrace.
Let me conclude:
The Court has annulled the Council decision to include the PMOI in the list and the Council must implement that.
The Council continues to breach its obligation by not removing the PMOI from the list.
The Council’s intention to "maintain" the PMOI in the list is illegal.
The Council must provide precise and credible information about the current activities of the PMOI to show that it is currently engaged in terrorism. No such evidence has yet been provided.
The Council must listen to all voices. The Council must take into consideration independent reports on this matter. The Council must listen to the voice of over 1,000 parliamentarians in March this year who have called on Council to remove the PMOI from the list.
And I tell the Council that we in the European Parliament shall vigilantly continue with our efforts until justice prevails. Thank you.