On February 17, 2023, a grand rally of freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance (NCRI and MEK) was held at Max-Jozef-Platz, in front of the security conference in Munich.

At the Iranian German community rally in Munich on February 17, members of the German Bundestag (Parliament) and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament addressed to the demonstrators. They also supported the Iranian people’s demands for freedom and democracy.

Scripts of the speeches of the parliamentarians in the grand rally in Munich is as follows:

Christoph de Vries, MP from Hamburg: 

Dear Iranians, dear friends, 

I send my greetings from Hamburg to the Munich Security Conference. I think it’s great that you are commonly protesting because our goals are the same. We want to bring down this regime, we desire a free and democratic Iran where people can decide for themselves about their own political leadership in the future. We are longing for a country where human rights are respected, where women enjoy equality, and where the state sponsor of terrorism is ended. I wish you success with this protest and for our common cause. 

Video message from Aniko Meerten, MP from Niedersachsen: 

Dear members of the Iranian society in exile, dear friends, 

I’m Anikó Glogowski-Merten and I represent the Frei Demokraten Party in the parliament. The people of Iran have made clear through their revolutionary movement that they reject any kind of solitary rulership, be it the rule of the religious leadership or the monarchy.

After two subsequent dictatorships of the Shah and the mullahs, the brave women and men in Iran now deserve a republic based on parliamentary democracy where the voice of every single citizen counts. That reflects the desire of the protesters in Iran.

The young and brave Iranians’ call for freedom and democracy is now being heard by the entire world and has awakened international solidarity and support.

The appeasement policy toward the clerical regime has failed and has no prospect of success. That has been made clear by the mullahs’ behavior. Over 700 protesters were killed, 30,000 were arrested, and several executions have once again exposed the inhuman dictatorship in Iran. It is high time that the international community consecutively and firmly stands against this unjust regime with one voice. I will commit myself here in Braunschweig and in Berlin.

We stand together against the violence of the mullah regime. Women, life, freedom. 

MEP Christian Doleschal:

Dear Iranian German fellow citizens,  

You have gathered here in Munich at Max Josef Platz to echo the voice of the people inside Iran. It is to support the utilization of democracy and freedom in Iran. For several months, the Iranian nation is protesting for peace, freedom, and democracy. We receive shocking images daily from Iran that show us how protesters are being beaten and tortured.

We cannot just stand by. In the month of January alone, 70 people have been executed. While 4 young protesters were hanged, the massive protests have led to the stop or postponement of the executions of 5 other protesters. This shows that pressure from outside works. 

Therefore, it is more important that the European Parliament in its resolution of January 19, 2023, proscribes the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on its terrorist list. This would be a very important step, and we will commit ourselves to that cause. I wish you and the people of Iran a lot of strength and courage to bring about freedom and democracy in Iran. Thank you. 

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko:  

The Ukrainian people are with you. The Ukrainian people are not only fighting against Putin. We fight today for the entire world. We want to see all nations free. We want freedom for Iran.” 

We cannot tolerate this evil anymore. Because many people were telling us, “there are things happening in Iran. But maybe it’s not a big problem, and we can continue to do business with them. We can keep buying and selling things”… Even here in Germany, people were saying, “let us have business with Putin. Let us buy their gas.” And what has been the result? They became strong and attacked, and they started to kill.  

All these tyrants are like maniacs. They cannot stop themselves. They can only be stopped by the people and by strength, by force. The free world is stronger than them. But we must be united. 

Several months ago, I woke up in Odesa, together with my family, because the Iranian drones hit a building just 500 meters away from my house. That shows us we cannot tolerate evil anywhere. We cannot contain evil inside some borders.

We need to fight against evil everywhere we see it. Because all people of the world deserve freedom. Iran deserves freedom, and Ukraine deserves freedom. No more negotiations with regimes. No more deals with regimes. No business as usual with these regimes. Be it the Iranian regime or the Russian regime or the Belarusian regime. All of these are terroristic regimes, and the only way to deal with them is how you deal with terrorists. They should be destroyed. There should be a tribunal for these dictators, no matter where they are. 

The Ukrainian people as well as the Iranian people know what the price of freedom has been. We need to be strong and united. I believe that we will win.