The Free Iran World Summit 2023 was held on July 1 at the headquarters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Auvers-sur-Oise, on the outskirts of Paris, and witnessed the inspiring words of Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian member of Parliament and leader of the Golos Party. Kira Rudik, who had travelled from a war zone to address the event, explained how a nation, deprived of freedom and justice, can still beat all odds and disbeliefs if it is iron-willed and determined to sacrifice and fight.
The text of Kira Rudik’s speech follows:
Free people of Iran, I salute you.
Today is day 493 since the full-scale invasion of Russia started. We know those days, they are written in our hearts, painfully written. But there are some lessons that we learned over this time and I want to share those lessons with you today. The first lesson is the lesson of unity.
We are living proof of the fact that you cannot fight if you are fighting alone. But if you have strong friends who are standing beside you, willing to fight for the right cause, you can fight and you can be winning.
When we watched the rally today, I have seen among Iranian flags, there were flags of Ukraine and it made my heart sing. Thank you so much for supporting us. Thank you.
And with that, I can tell you, free people of Iran, you are not alone as well. And all of us being here today is proof of that. We are fighting the same fight, the rightful fight, the fight for freedom. And we are all together here. We are all not alone.
The second lesson is that freedom is not free. That you have to fight for what you believe in. And sometimes you have to pay the price. And it’s easy to say, I believe in this and that, I value this and that, but the time comes when you have to step up and decide what is important for you. The freedom and ability to define your own future, democracy, all those values that we are fighting for and that you are fighting for.
You know, a year ago I visited Ashraf III and we had a fantastic talk with Mrs. Rajavi. And she told me one incredibly important thing. She said, your fight may be very long and you will have good days and bad days. And there is one thing I want you to remember when there would be bad days, hard days. When you will try to find the resolve inside yourself. This is the phrase that we are going with. This is the phrase that I’m sharing with all my colleagues, with all fellow fighters: we can and we must!
And there is a third lesson, that unpunished evil always returns. One would think that we would all learn it from history lessons, but apparently, we have not, because it repeats itself over and over and over. And this is why it is so critical to make sure not only that we win the war, but that we have justice for all who suffered from the totalitarian regimes.
Let me tell you something about how life in Ukraine is right now. In cities that are not at war, in peaceful cities like Kyiv, in the evening you go to bed not knowing if you are going to wake up in the morning. Sometimes around 2 am you hear air raid sirens. It’s a terrifying sound that tells you that there is an attack. And this attack is usually with Russian missiles and Iranian drones. We know the sound of Iranian drones. It sounds like a motorcycle that is passing very close to you and it is terrifying because it’s a huge piece of metal that is coming from the air to kill you or somebody whom you love.
And every single time when we’re hearing this, we are thinking, how is it possible? How is it possible that Iran and Russia are still able to produce those missiles, those weapons? How is it possible that the sanctions that are imposed on them are not enough to stop them from producing things that are able to kill innocent people over and over again? And this is why we are calling for punishment, for more sanctions for all authoritarian regimes, Russian, Belarusian, and Iranian, that are taking part in killing innocent people every single day.
And the fourth lesson is the lesson of peace. So many people are asking if their peace is possible. Is there a diplomatic solution?
So here is the personal story. I was born before the Soviet Union collapsed. And in my life, in my career, I have gone through all the struggles and challenges that my country has gone. The collapse of the Soviet Union, then the poverty after that, then revolutions and revolutions, and then the war started. And a reminder that it started nine years ago and not in 2022.
And I became a politician with one simple particular idea. I wanted us to build free democratic countries where the next generation, our kids, would be free in their choices, and would be able to pursue their dreams. They would be a generation that will be building a new, empowered, democratic Ukraine.
And you know, we are robbed of that now, because we have a generation of children that have seen dead bodies, that know how to act during air raid siren, that know how to study in a bomb shelter, that are asking their parents this painful question, Mommy, are we refugees now? And there is, one particular thing that we owe to those kids. They should not have to fight this war again. This is why we will win the war once and for all.
And there is the fifth lesson, that impossible is nothing.
Dear friends, the free people of Iran, you remember how when the full-scale invasion started, not too many people believed that we will stand for more than two or three days? Then, not too many people believed that we will get heavy weapons. Then, not too many people believed that we are capable of counter-offensive and regaining Kherson and Kharkiv region. Then, not too many people believed we will get a candidacy to European Union and then the Patriot missiles.
And then, not too many people believed in the tank coalition. And just a month ago, not too many people believed in the fighter jets coalition. But you know what is the most important? That we believed that. And we were ready to fight no matter how many no’s we heard, no matter how crazy our ideas and all the goals seem.
We knew that we can do that. And every time somebody tells us, you cannot get that, you cannot do that, you cannot win it, you know what I am answering? Watch us. Watch us.
We know one thing and we are again the living proof of it. That one is more capable than the world expects of him and most important, that you are more capable than you think of yourself. This is why the nations are fighting for their freedom. This is why the nations are prevailing. This is why we see things that are impossible happening.
Ukraine will prevail. Freedom will prevail. Democracy will prevail. And free Iran will prevail. Thank you and glory to Ukraine.
