We need to be brave to change policy towards Iran government – Edith Cresson, Former French PM

NCRI – “We undoubtedly need to be clear-sighted and brave to change policy vis-à-vis the present Iranian government which is obscurantist and undeniably opposed to human rights. We have to change our vision of the legitimate opposition to the regime, otherwise the only alternative would be something tragic and we have to avoid that”, Edith Cresson, former French Prime Minister, said during an international conference in Paris on February 5.

NCRI – “We undoubtedly need to be clear-sighted and brave to change policy vis-à-vis the present Iranian government which is obscurantist and undeniably opposed to human rights. We have to change our vision of the legitimate opposition to the regime, otherwise the only alternative would be something tragic and we have to avoid that”, Edith Cresson, former French Prime Minister, said during an international conference in Paris on February 5.

The conference dealt the verdict of the European Court of Justice which annulled the decision of the EU Council of Ministers to include the People’s Mojahedin of Iran – the main opposition to the regime – in the EU terrorism list. It also addressed the reaction by the EU in refusing to comply with the Court verdict.

Pre-eminent experts in Community law and human rights advocates from across Europe attended the conference to present their views on this issue. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, also spoke to the conference.
 
Here is the transcript of the address by Edith Cresson:

Thank you for inviting me. I happen to have taken part in several meetings with French officials from all tendencies and that my knowledge of this matter has improved. I am not a jurist. I won’t embark on a judicial presentation like the exceptionally brilliant one we have just heard. I would simply offer a few considerations about the present situation which is odd, to say the least. The verdict of the European Court annulling the blacklisting of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran as terrorist has removed all suspicions about the Iranian resistance movement. This is the acknowledgement of your action and of the fairness of your struggle. But for all those who worked with you and carefully watched your activities, as I have done for several years like many others, your statements and your actions were obviously never in doubt.

And it is much to the credit of the European Court of Justice to decide in the Iranian resistance’s favor in its conflict with the European Council. This demonstrates that democracy and European justice are well-established.

Then it may obviously seem odd that the Council of Finance Ministers, who should have something else to do, as it may appear considering the situation of the economy in Europe, looked into this case. As I know it  works a little bit, I can tell you that very often, decisions are taken by surprise because they are slipped into the agenda, that nobody of course knows anything about it, except the one who puts the question forward and who wants it to be settled the way he advocated it. The 27 members of the council, each of them having five minutes to speak have obviously not realized what was done. I would even say that they should be excused because they are not really responsible.

Yet, some knew better than others what they were doing. And they should question themselves, and we wonder about their motives.

“We undoubtedly need to be clear-sighted and brave to change policy vis-à-vis the present Iranian government which is obscurantist and undeniably opposed to human rights. We have to change our vision of the legitimate opposition to the regime, otherwise the only alternative would be something tragic and we have to avoid that.

We must make it clear to the rulers in Tehran that the world cannot accept their blatant violations of human rights, their aggressive threats towards other countries, particularly Israel, their nuclear arms race which has been largely in the news lately, under the cover of technology and the possibility to acquire technology, and their denial of the Holocaust.

The Council will have to find a correct position. Its presidency is now German and I think that Tehran’s recent commentaries about the Shoah would lead the presidency to think about this problem.

The decision of the European Court of Justice offered our officials the opportunity to correct the mistake to consider a movement as terrorist, which is not, and which is able, as we can see, to manage democratic change in Iran with moderation.

We in France have experienced resistance and we know how difficult it is to pursue this path despite all obstacles and the complexity to be recognized, even by one’s own friends. France lived this experience. Yet it finally triumphed. There is no reason to lose. The presence of so many eminent jurists and parliamentarians from all over Europe is a success for you and shows that political rulers have to take the public opinion into account against the mullahs’ regime and in favor of the great Iranian nation and its prestigious history, which expresses itself today in the courage of your resistance.

The history of France is also prestigious by virtue of its defence of human rights, and it is as such that we have stood by those who struggled for freedom. I welcomed myself some representatives of the anti-apartheid movement several years ago at the headquarters of the Socialist Party, at a time when nobody would receive them and some even considered them as terrorists. But history proved Mandela right. I think that France has to play a role by ensuring continuity and to stand with the Iranian Resistance.

Faced with those unbearable abuses in Iran, we have to engage a dialogue so as to encourage and to help the Iranian Resistance to establish a truly democratic regime. This is the meaning of my support to this movement and I really hope that this meeting will have an impact and contribute in making it clear to European officials that democratic change is needed in Iran, as well as a change of attitude towards your movement.