Mr. Bernard Kouchner at annual MEK rally in Ashraf 3
Mr. Bernard Kouchner– Former French Foreign Minister, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontieres gave a speech on Saturday 13 july 2019,where a large crowd gathered in Ashraf 3, Albania, home to Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), to hold the annual Free Iran rally of the Iranian resistance. The event was the fourth installment in a series of events held at Ashraf 3.
Mr. Bernard Kouchner: Madame Rajavi, this is the only word am saying in French, Madame Rajavi. Tonight I turn to English because apparently the way you listened to Monsieur was not perfectly fair. You better learn French. Including in a free country coming right now, the new and fresh Iran. This is a fantastic masterpiece of art and friendship. This room built in some few weeks as glorious as it is, you deserve really my good friends who build up a real country, Iran. It is very well done.
Coming to your—not a village—but coming to Ashraf 3 was a really reward for the people supporting you and for you supporting your people. Now we are facing this new step, the new benchmark, the new era. The era of freedom in Iran. Because I was listening to the Prime Minister of Quebec—of Canada. This is a big mistake, I’m very sorry. Please don’t underline my mistake, please. So, he was just reminding us about the program, Maryam Rajavi’s program. Please, another time.
Mr. Bernard Kouchner mentioned: We should not mix up the regime in Iran and the people of Iran. The people of Iran certainly not only they believe in that program but they are completely ready to build up such a new country. And the rest of Europe, you were talking about Europe, you were talking about a different position facing this crisis, facing this tension. Okay.
But just listen to the program, very quickly. Election based on the principle of universal suffrage, who is against? Second, a pluralistic political system with free assembly, who is against? Third, the abolition of (desponality). Who is against? And give me the list of actually the people of freeing and executive that. Fourth, the separation of mosque and state. This is the key point. This is certainly this particular theocracy which the huge rest of the world is refusing. Seven, Iranian justice system.
Adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Then safeguard of private property. Nine, a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence. Ten, a rejection of nuclear development. Who is against inside the people of Iran? Who is against inside Europe and the rest of the world? I think that nobody’s against this list of evidence. Evidence-based politics.
But (I was) in agreement with Mr. Giuliani, the fact is that we believe that the people of Iran, and this is not true, are supporting the Ayatollah, the mullahs. They are not supporting and the list you offer us of murders, he calls (that people murdered), he was right. There are murders. They are putting under fire of Middle East. They are in the middle of all and at the origin of all the terrorist attack. So we don’t have any let’s say support of sort of peaceful area everywhere.
We know that this is at risk. We know that the tension between the United States of America and the Iranian people is at risk. All the delivering, all the fight for human rights are at risk. And we are ready, and the French people are ready to support that risk. It was the main thing I wanted to tell you, we are ready to deliver these people off this awful religious system.
We are not against religion but we are against using religion to kill the people. We are absolutely against that sort of false democracy in and to kill and to support and to torture and to all they did that in the name of religion. Religion is something completely different. Religion is certainly also the liberation of the people.
Mr. Bernard Kouchner ended his speech saying: So, to end, because I have to end, all these people have been so long that they ask me to speak at least six minutes. So I’m very sorry not to address my deep admiration enough to Madame Maryam Rajavi and this is the end of my non-talk. You are obstinate, you are persistent, you are a fantastic model for the women of the world. Please go up, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Talking about only to talk and to deliver, to talk and say that (there) inequality in the Iranian women and the Iranian men is a fantastic revolutionary word, so thank you very much and we are completely with you to support such a fantastic program. Thank you much.
