UK MPs hold conference on Iran in the House of Commons

A delegation of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) joined a UK Parliament cross-party panel of MPs and Peers for a conference on Iran in the House of Commons on Thursday, October 17. The panelists discussed human rights violations and other concerns vis-à-vis Iran, including how Iranian officials enjoy immunity despite their horrendous crimes, the regime’s malign and destabilizing activities in the Middle East region and ongoing support for terrorism.

Tehran’s unacceptable behavior requires a global response based on a firm policy holding the mullahs’ leaders to account and supports the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. NCRI representatives and cross-party MPs and Peers discussed the basis of such a policy, announcing a new initiative and put forward recommendations to the UK Government in support of this policy.

Panelists Include: Dr Matthew Offord MP; Bob Blackman MP; Rt Hon David Jones MP; Sir David Amess MP; Steve Pound MP; Rt Hon John Spellar MP; Steve McCabe MP; Prof Lord Alton of Liverpool; Baroness Verma; Lord Clarke of Hampstead CBE; Dr David Drew MP, Toby Perkins MP, Steve Pound MP, Sir Roger Gale MP, Lord Singh of Wimbeldon, Baroness Masham of Ilton, Lord Judd and Lord McInnes of Kilwinning, Tahar Boumedra, former Director of the Human Rights Office in UNAMI; and NCRI representatives

The regime steps up its aggressions against the governments in France, Britain and Germany seem to be paralyzed. It’s about time we abandoned the appeasement policy. We must proscribe the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the Intelligence Ministry (MOIS) as terrorist entities.

We should be supporting the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people, especially the NCRI and the ten-point plan of Mme. Maryam Rajavi.

The UK’s only true ally in Iran is the people of Iran, not some moderate faction that the UK government believe exists in the regime.

The NCRI is a viable alternative to the Iranian regime.

Full text of Statement by Mrs. Rajavi
Our people and resistance have paid a heavy price in the resistance against theocracy in Iran. 120,000 political executions, hundreds of thousands of tortured dissidents, and constant suppression of and discrimination against women as well as ethnic and religious minorities.

Why are the mullahs so much in need of brutal crackdown? Because without it, their regime will fall in the face of widespread public discontent. Because, there is an ongoing protest movement against the mullahs across Iran.

The flagrant violations of human rights of the people of Iran, including continuing executions, are being justified by the policy of appeasement and silence pursued by western governments. About 4,000 people have been executed in Iran since 2013, when Rouhani became president..

This is just part of the appalling record of someone who has been portrayed as a “moderate” mullah by governments favoring appeasement, so that they could preserve the mullahs’ religious fascism and continue their commercial and political deals with them behind such a smoke screen.

Firmness vis-à-vis this regime is an imperative to global and regional peace and security. Any ties or trade with this regime must be predicated on ending executions and torture in Iran, and stopping the export of terrorism.

The human rights dossier of the Iranian regime, and the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran must be referred to the UN Security Council and international tribunals.

The international community must recognize the Iranian people’s right to resistance for a sovereign republic.

Our Resistance seeks to establish a republic based on freedom, democracy and the separation of religion and state, making human rights and gender equality the highest priority.

Human rights violations [in Iran] are so well-documented that no one can deny them. We’re aware of these facts, but we must keep pressure on our governments to take action on these actions on these crimes that take place on a daily basis.

The atrocity we refer to have been repeated time and time again. Rouhani tells the world he is a moderate. He is the same person who lied about the nuclear program and boasted about duping negotiators about nuclear proliferation. In six years of his presidency, he has executed more than 3,800 people.

Tragically, executions this year include 11 women and eight juvenile offenders, many of them under the obscene charge of “waging war against god.” Children have to wait until they’re 18 so they can be eligible for execution. 

What can we do? We’ve got to go beyond condemnation and urge our governments to take the lead to isolate these people. The Iranian people have the right to know that there’s solidarity outside their country with their desires for change.

We’ve got to name and shame these people. We might be able to help bring them to justice in the future. All of us are determined to make sure the people of Iran will get the freedom they deserve.

There is widespread support for the need to address the regime’s human rights abuses, regional aggression. There’s strong consensus that the regime must be held to account.

The regime has turned the violation of international law into its own perverse statecraft. The regime comes to the international conference table, boasting that it controls four Arab capitals.

It says that its missile program is for defensive purposes, but then attacks the oil installations of Saudi Arabia.

It gave assurances that the Grace One would not transfer oil to Syria and other sanctioned entities, but then delivered oil to the murderous regime.

We support a firm policy that holds the regime to account. 
Iran believes it is untouchable and can not be held to account. It is time that the world dealt properly with Iran.

Neglecting the regime’s systematic human rights abuses, many so-called Iran experts portray it as a quasi-democratic state. They argue that we should negotiate with the regime because it’s a regional superpower and lifting sanctions will benefit the Iranian people.

The regime is only interested in maintaining its power. The regime has been in constant war with its own people. The regime continues to assault the most fundamental rights of the Iranian people. The 1988 massacre was an attempt to destroy dissent against the regime.

The only viable policy must include support for the Iraian people in considering the human rights abuses of the regime, which is its Achilles heel. It is naive to believe this regime is capable of moderating its behavior. The people of Iran have an organized alternative, led by a muslim woman, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, who envisions a free and democratic society.

The fact that NCRI is led by a woman is an insurance for success. NCRI enjoys support by Iranians both inside and outside Iran. The popular solution is there. Our government needs to realize that today. 

The demonstration of Iranian expatriates in New York on September 14 showed the world that the mullahs do not speak for the people of Iran. The people of Iran are you, the NCRI. They don’t speak with a noose.

As long as we are here, showing that we care, there will be worry and concern among the mullahs in Tehran. The tensions are becoming stronger and stronger in Iran. There are young Iranians who have the courage and strength and determination to stand on the streets of their homeland and raise their voices. We want them to know that we are behind them, we support them and we will amplify their voices.

Recent actions in Hormuz and Malta, and the attack on Saudi Arabia show this regime has expansionism in its heart. The idea that we can let the mullahs commit their murderous genocidal shows that this is a lethal feral beast with blood dripping from its fangs and claws.

Can we really contemplate such a regime having the power to destroy all around it? When the regime is on its knees, that is the most dangerous time. We are facing a situation of supreme danger. We are witnessing the endgame in Iran. Famine exists in some of the parts of Iran. There is no hope. This is one of the youngest populations in the world. One of the most educated populations in the world. How much more they can do in a free Iran. We must free our fellow human beings. We must free them to breathe and grow.

The courage that the NCRI shows is in the finest tradition of the Iranian people.

Iran is the world’s leading executioner per capita. The execution of juveniles and women continues unabated. The tyrants are masquerading as muslims, insulting the teaching of Islam.

We know of the persecution of Sikhs, Bahais and other minorities. I believe the country will soon have a wonderful future, if we’re all prepare to stand up and speak for those who can’t speak.

Iran exports its bloodthirsty beliefs to the world and the Middle East. There’s not a place in the Middle East that bloodshed is taking place and the mullahs are not involved. That is the legacy of the Iranian regime.

The regime punishes women, can not tolerate women expressing their views. 

In 1988, the regime executed people who were arrested for trivial crimes. They decided they would executed as many of these people as possible. They wouldn’t tell the relatives and they would find out by themselves. The reason we can not ignore this is that this is a warning of how this regime behaves. It’s bloodthirsty. That is how it worked then. We have eyewitnesses, Amnesty International reports, and reports by NGOs. We know who the perpetrators are and they are still there. They should be held to account. They should not be allowed to get away with it. If they do get away with it, they are going to do it again.

In the past year, they threw 7,000 people in jail because they had protested. Some of them have disappeared. They will be executed. 

It is a tragedy that the hope of the Iranian revolution 40 years ago has turned so sour. It is a shame that regime officials are still meeting with western diplomats. Our role here and in any civilized country is to put maximum pressure on our governments and the UN and tell them that we want the criminals tried.

What we are seeking to achieve is a world where every human being counts. That is not the world in which we live today.

No government, no administration should be supporting the Iran of today. As long as they do not take action, then they are complicit with what is happening in Iran today. The people the regime has executed in public should be alive today.

What we and the NCRI wants is the abolition of teh death penalty. What government ca not support that for the Iran of tomorrow.

In Iran, terrorism and human rights abuses is happening on a daily matter by the regime. No government should be supporting that. 

The NCRI is committed that in the future of Iran, human rights covenants will be followed.

As long as we do not take action, then we are complicit in the continuation with the rule of fascism in Iran.

In Iran, a warmongering regime is ruling. THe NCRI wants a pluralist system that wants no war, that wants positive relations with all countries. 

In Iran, there is oppression of women. This is the base of the society. There is no respect for women. What the NCRI wants is freedom, recognition of women as free human beings with independent capacities. 

Iran has no free electoral system. What the NCRI wants is a pluralist system, freedom of assembly and party, a proper democracy that is not control and where every human being has the right to vote.If we believe in freedom and democracy, then that is what we want.

Iran has no legal system that operates with the rule of law. Iran has biased judges that are not independent. There is no commitment to due process. The legal system that operates there is fundamentally flawed. The NCRI wants a legal system based on the presumption of innocence. 

What is happening in Iran today, no government should support. I sit here in support of the NCRI. 

We want less talk, we want more action. Some of us had the great privilege to be in Albania earlier this year. It was a joy to visit Ashraf 3, to be with people who have suffered abuse. We want action. With the rest of the world, we can achieve what every one of us wants to achieve, which is freedom for every Iranian with Mme. Rajavi. 

There is cross-party support for your cause. The Iranian people have suffered greatly under this regime. We must do all we can. As David said, we want more action and less words.

We should be saying, let us get some action on what we want to see happen in Iran. I opposed the nuclear deal with Iran. We are giving the mullahs the opportunity to create nuclear weapons, and they will use such an opportunity to destabilize the world.

We must call out the regime’s hate crimes. The duty of governments is to protect minority rights. The mullahs regime in Iran is not a civilized government. Iran has great tentacles spread across international organizations, particularly in the United Nations.

• The IRGC should be proscribed organization. 
• We should rip up the nuclear deal that is giving the regime the power to obtain nuclear weapons.
• Why is it that Mme. Rajvi cannot come here and address us? I urge this conference to send the signal to our government to send an invitation to Mrs. Rajavi and hear from her about the ten-point plan.

Let us resolve that the next time we meet, it will be in a free and democratic Iran.

Families of the victims of Iran’s 1988 massacre at UK MPs conference

I was in prison for seven years between 1981 and 1988. I was tortured severely during interrogations. Forty members of my relatives were executed. One of them was executed in 1988 without a court hearing or even being sentenced. Their bodies were buried in mass graves.

I was in prison for ten years for political reasons. I am a witness of the 1988 massacre. In a matter of two months, 30,000 prisoners, mainly members of Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), were executed. Two of my relatives were executed during this time. I hope the perpetrators are taken to justice. This is the biggest crime against humanity after World War II.

I am 25 years old and had to flee Iran to save my life. Twelve members of my family were executed because of their beliefs. We want democratic regime change in Iran, and freedom and democracy for the people of Iran and the Middle East.

Every one of you will continue to contribute and support Mme. Rajavi. We simply need a mullahs-exit. We will see a fine nation in Iran able to contribute to the Middle East and bring forth stability in the region. Much of the funds that were released in the nuclear deal were spent on the war in Syria.

One of the main issues is the so-called Iranian diplomat who was in charge of planting a bomb in the Free Iran rally last year and was arrested by German police. He is now awaiting trial in Belgium. The regime wanted to commit a heinous crime in Paris. If that plot was successful, it would have resulted in the massacre of many people. It is important that the Belgian government does not succumb to the pressures imposed by the Iranian regime.