NCRI – On Thursday April 19th, Iranians residing in Canada and the supporters of the Iranian Resistance demonstrated in front of the Canadian Parliament. They demanded the removal of PMOI from the terrorist list. In solidarity with the Iranian Resistance, a number of Canadian members of Parliament, along with political and human rights figures participated in this protest.
NCRI – On Thursday April 19th, Iranians residing in Canada and the supporters of the Iranian Resistance demonstrated in front of the Canadian Parliament. They demanded the removal of PMOI from the terrorist list. In solidarity with the Iranian Resistance, a number of Canadian members of Parliament, along with political and human rights figures participated in this protest.
The protestors chanted slogans such as: Ahmadinejad is a terrorist, he must go—Mullahs are terrorists, they must go—We want justice, we want peace, we want Mojahedin off the list.
The demonstration started with Mr. Paul Forseth’s speech. He is the former conservative member of the Parliament. He admired the great number of protestors taking part in this demonstration and said: "with spreading of Islamic fundamentalism, dream of regional hegemony and acquiring of weapons of mass destruction the Iranian Mullahs have left no doubt on anyone’s mind about their true intentions. Especially that these actions are coupled with meddling in Iraq and sending weapons to all sides of the confrontation. We should not waste any time."
Mr. Foresth noted that two MPs, Mr. Alan Tonks and Mr. Bernard Patry were present among the protestors. He stated that they discussed the Iranian Resistance’s goals with some members of the Parliament this morning and they fully support the objective of this protest which is to remove PMOI off the list.
He reiterated that the mistake of adding the just opposition of the regime in the list has helped the Mullahs tremendously. Therefore I urge you to untie the hands of this movement. Be firm and support the democratic forces in Iran before it is too late. Mr. Forseth added: "we urge the Canadian government to lead this effort and coordinate with other countries so that the democratic forces of Iran are supported all over the world."
The next speaker of the event was Member of Canadian Parliament, Ms. Raymonde Folco. She is a leading women’s rights activist. She praised the Iranian women who took part in the demonstration to support PMOI. She stated that she had the honor of attending the international women’s conference in Paris organized by the Federation of Women against Fundamentalism where she met Mrs. Maryam Rajavi the President-elect of NCRI.
She said: "today, women in Iran, Iraq and other parts of the world are constantly terrorized by the Islamic fundamentalism which should not be the leading force behind the government power in Iran and Iraq. People in these societies should not live in constant fear of their ruling elite."
Ms. Raymonde Folco reaffirmed to the protestors: "you are here today not as a terrorist organization but as an organization that respects democratic values. The rights of all the people who stand up for democracy should be respected and Iranian people deserve to have a national and international voice."
The Canadian MP said: "the European Parliament has ruled that your organization is not a terrorist organization. I promise you to join other Canadian MPs and demand from honorable Steven Harper the Canadian Prime Minister and Mr. Stockwell Day, the Minister of Public Safety to take your organization off of the terrorist list."
Next, Mr. Shahram Golestaneh read the message from independent Canadian MP, Mr. David Kilgour who was not able to attend because of his overseas trip. In this message Mr. Kilgour stated: "we are dealing with a government that has so far ignored two United Nations Security Council resolutions. The government that meddles in Iraq in order to destabilized that country and spread violence."
He reminded everyone of the role the Iranian Resistance played in revealing the regime’s atomic project and said: the International community owes them because they stopped a catastrophe from happening.
The Canadian MP reiterated that it is wrong to tag an opposition movement that has the clear goal of a free, democratic and non-nuclear Iran as terrorist. Don’t the Europeans, more than anyone else realize what appeasement of dictators mean.
Mr. Kilgour said: Canada could lead this issue because removing PMOI’s terror tag opens the door for a flexible and peaceful Iran.
The next speaker, Dr. Bulka, a leading human rights activist referring to the large number of the Iranian demonstration in front of the Canadian Parliament, said: This is the kind of protest that one listens to its message. You have one goal and that is establishing democracy in Iran. This is the only option that will rid the world from the most dangerous regime without going to war. The regime that denies Holocaust could easily kill people and pretend nothing has happened.
Dr. Bulka continued: There is this illusion that if we tell this regime we will take care of you so you forget about your nuclear weapons, they will listen to us. One must be stupid to believe this. As soon as you look the other way, they will continue with the same program. A free and democratic Iran is not only desirable for the Iranian people but for the entire world.
After the speeches, the protestors marched to the tomb of the unknown soldier in Elgin square and then marched towards Queen Street. They were carrying pictures of the leaders of the resistance and a banner that urged to follow up Zahra Kazemi’s murder by the criminals ruling Iran.
After marching in central streets in Ottawa, the protestors came back in front of the Parliament and continued their demonstration.
This protest was extensively covered by the Canadian media. Different news organizations interviewed the MPs who attended the protest in solidarity with Mojahedin.
A-Channel and C-News TV stations covered this protest.
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Below is the text of the letter by independent Canadian MP, Mr. David Kilgour to the demonstration:
Dear Friends,
Let me first congratulate you all on your gathering today and express my solidarity with your goals. Unfortunately, I’m not able to be with you today due to previous commitments on another front to advance international human rights.
The Iranian regime has shown time and again that it does not respect the will of the Iranian people and the responsible international community. Now we face a government that has openly defied two consecutive resolutions by the UN Security Council and interferes heavily in Iraq to destabilize that country and spread violence in the region.
It is clear now to many how important the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) has been in revealing the secret nuclear activities of the regime. The international community owes its supporters a lot for their dedication to preventing a major humanitarian catastrophe.
It is wrong to list an opposition movement whose stated goal is a free, democratic and nuclear free Iran as a terrorist organization. As you know, the second highest European court annulled the decision to list the PMOI as a terrorist organization but the EU defied the court ruling. Should not Europeans know better than most peoples on earth what appeasement of tyrants usually brings?
Let Canada play a role in leading in that direction. De-proscription of PMOI will help pave the way for the creation of a peaceful, tolerant and democratic Iran.
Long live a democratic Iran
Doroud bar Maryam Rajavi
Zende Baad Azadi
