Dr. Alejo Vidal Quadras, former vice-president of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014, addressed a webinar by European lawmakers on October 7, 2020, on the human rights situation in Iran.
Online Conference held under title, “Iran’s Ongoing Crimes Against Humanity, EU’s political and moral obligations”. The online event was on October 7, 2020. Dozens of members of the European Parliament attended and spoke at the conference.
MEPs made their remarks in order to condemn the horrific human rights violations witnessed on a daily basis across Iran. In addition, MEPs called on the European Union to fulfill its moral and political obligations in the face of human rights violations in Iran. They called for a firm policy by the European Union against the mullah regime in Iran. Also, they pointed out, It is high time to stand alongside the Iranian people and support their justified aspirations for a free, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI), was the keynote speaker at this conference. Her message welcomed as a democratic solution to Iran’s future. Mrs. Rajavi’s ten-point plan has widespread support from the majority of MEPs for a long time.
Dr. Alejo Vidal Quadras, former vice-president of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014
It has been indeed an honor for me to speak today, at a time when the Iranian people are so bravely and so dangerously seeking justice and fundamental changes in their country.
This conference, once again, reminds me of conferences in the past, those happy times where COVID was not with us, and we could host and welcome Mrs. Rajavi in the parliament, and listen to her personally, to her very inspiring speeches. But in spite of a pandemic, here we are all together today.
I would like to thank all the MEPs that have participated in this conference, how they expressed their concerns, and their interest in the pains and plight of the Iranian people. I am grateful to all of them and also to former members like myself.
I am also glad that all colleagues have brought attention to our focal point, which is human rights abuse in Iran, the dangerous situations of the political prisoners under torture, and how they face not only torture, but execution.
They were very right to highlight these very harsh reports by Amnesty International about the tortures and about the epidemic. If all these things are true, and of course, indeed they are, we all have a very serious concern about the inaction of the European Union and the High Representative.
Let’s look at two recent cases. I refer to two political prisoners, Navid Afkari and Mostafa Salehi, both arrested during the regime protest. Amnesty International urged actions on them calling for a campaign to stop these barbaric executions. What did the European Union do in this regard? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
They waited to get Borrell, external action service, the national governments, they waited until they were executed. And then, they posted a tweet of condemnation. Navid and Mostafa could have been alive today if the European Union, the leaders, and the member states acted promptly and took concrete and strong action to stop these murders. They could have done many things to put pressure on the regime, but they didn’t. And Navid and Mostafa are dead.
Many members today spoke about their appalling situation of human rights in Iran. I know for sure that there are many more members in the European Parliament, which are very concerned about it. They could not join us today, but I know they think exactly as we do. It was a similar situation when I was Vice President of the European Parliament, many of us asked the high representatives of those days, Lady Ashton and Mogherini.
They asked them not to ignore the brutalities of the regime and act firmly. Unfortunately, they did not listen to us and their reaction was the same as it is today, doing absolutely nothing.
Today, the European Union and United Nations are following, they do very right with their situation in Belarus. They protest and they call for punitive action. This is very good, and we wish them success. But the question is, why in Belarus they act, and the atrocities of the Iranian regime do not deserve the same attention, why? Because in Belarus, the protesters are suffocated or beaten? Yes, but they are not executed, not taken to torture, genders being tortured to death.
They are not harmed. Why Belarus deserves the attention of Mr. Borrell and Iran does not? Can somebody could explain to us this mystery? The United Nations sent a fact-finding mission to Venezuela. Very good. Congratulations. Why did they not send a fact-finding mission to Iran when things are so bad or even worse, much worse than in Venezuela? How can the European Union and the United Nations remain silent in face of all these savage killings in Iran just to save the nuclear deal? The nuclear deal must be paid with a price, which is the life of so many innocent Iranians. Nuclear really deserves a bloodshed in Iran.
Nothing serious is done to stop the brutal killing of all these innocent demonstrators. They are entitled to protest according to the United Nations Charter and according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Where are our European principles? Where? Why they are silent when all these terrible things are happening in Iran? How can the European Union leaders look to the eyes of the Iranian people who are suffering under the most brutal tyranny of many years and just do nothing? How can they look to the eyes, to the two little children, the two little kids of Mostafa Salehi? Can they look up to the eyes, to these two children and tell them they did nothing while his father was being murdered by this regime?
This must end and this must end now. Enough is enough. The role of the European Parliament to stop this criminal theocracy of the mullahs is crucial. There are many members that reject this pusillanimous policy of the European Union and want to change it to a more committed and firmer stance.
The European Parliament must keep and redoubled the pressure of the Council on the High Representative on the European external action service until they take real action to protect the Iranian people from the brutal oppression of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei and his staffs. The International Committee, in search of justice, will always be on your side for this pressing and morally necessary task. Thank you very much.
