Member British House of Commons and former Secretary of State for Wales David Jones joined the Online Free Iran Global Summit. In his remarks, Mr. Jones said, “Maryam Rajavi is the legitimate ambassador of the Iranian people, and she should be recognized as such by the British government.”
The Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) managed to hold this year’s annual gathering virtually on July 17. Given the novel coronavirus pandemic and its restriction, many dignitaries commended the NCRI’s ability and determination for connecting 30,000 locations to Ashraf-3, home to members of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Here is the speech of Mr. Jones:
It’s a huge pleasure and privilege to be here today at this great annual gathering which this year is taking place both physically and virtually. People in 30,000 locations, in over 100 countries, all joined together to support freedom in Iran and Madame Rajavi’s ten-point plan.
Last month, President Macron of France did travel to London to mark a special event—the 80th anniversary of the arrival of General Charles de Gaulle in Britain. President Macron said, “After arriving in London on June the 17th, De Gaulle was immediately received by Winston Churchill, and the royal family offered asylum to the man that they recognized almost by instinct as the legitimate ambassador of French values.”
And President Macron continued, “Winston Churchill personified the spirit of fighting on. He said he had nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. And yet he offered so much more—determination, faith in victory, honor, and pride.” Churchill was the man who stood firm against a monstrous tyranny, and thus, he made London the capital of the free world.
And now, in the great annual Free Iran gathering of 2020, where the international community gathers together to back the Iranian people’s legitimate struggle for democracy, human rights, peace, and security, we call on the British government, especially our prime minister, Boris Johnson, who is Churchill’s biographer, to stand firm, as Churchill did, against the regime that is ruling Iran.
We dearly wish our government to show the same determination, faith in victory, honor, and pride to the world as Winston Churchill did in 1940. Churchill did not stand aside. Rather, he offered his support of the people of France by recognizing Charles de Gaulle as their legitimate ambassador.
Today, Maryam Rajavi is the legitimate ambassador of the Iranian people, and I believe she should be recognized as such by the British government.
Last month, President Macron also said the BBC opened its airwaves to French speakers and conveyed the spirit of the French resistance. And today, we want the BBC to open its airwaves not to the mullahs, but to the Iranian speakers who convey the design of the Iranian people for freedom. That is what the British people and their representatives in the British Parliament want to see happen.
