On November 22, at a conference held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, delegates invited Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), to discuss the escalating oppression by the Iranian regime against its people domestically, along with its support for terrorism and regional warfare abroad.
During this significant assembly, MEP Petri Sarvamaa of Finland delivered a speech, illuminating the clerical dictatorship in Iran and its consistent opposition to peace in the Middle East. In stark contrast, he emphasized how the Iranian Resistance, personified by Mrs. Rajavi, has steadfastly advocated for human rights and freedom within Iran, while concurrently championing peace in the broader region.
MEP Petri Sarvamaa: For Iran’s Regime, Palestine Is A Business
The full text of MEP Petri Sarvamaa’s speech follows:
Dear colleagues, Madame Rajavi, welcome back. Let me first say this, though. Alejo really is here. I can hear his voice. I can see his fiery eyes and feel the mountainous presence he has over this course that I have been witnessing myself for over ten years now.
But my message today is to put a little bit wider what Madame Rajavi already touched upon, and this is the overall situation in the Middle East. It’s now been over a month and a half since a bloody and dangerous war engulfed, and every moment there is a possibility that it will escalate to even greater dimensions.
Innocent people are indeed victimized every single day. The question before us is this: What is the solution to this? Today, the Iran regime is the one that actually fears the greatest losses from peace in the region. For this regime, Palestine is a business. And if peace is achieved in the region and the people of Palestine have their own country, this business will be shut down. Therefore, it sabotages the path to peace.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran and Mrs. Rajavi rightly state that the Iran regime is not a friend of the people of Iran, but actually, we have to come to understand that they are also not friends of the people of other nations either. It is their enemy and the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East region in the past 30 years, particularly after the Oslo Accords.
This regime benefits as much from the killing of innocent Palestinians as it does from the killing of innocent people in Israel. The Iranian regime has consistently sought to weaken the Palestinian government. In contrast to the Iranian regime, the NCRI led by Mrs. Rajavi was the first to congratulate all three parties involved in the peace agreement in Oslo.
This movement has always supported the Palestinian government and Mahmoud Abbas, emphasizing that the Iranian regime is the enemy of peace and indeed the main warmonger in the region. I want to draw a conclusion that the crisis in the region actually would have a very clear solution. And this solution would stand on two pillars. The first is focusing on the Iranian regime as indeed the agent of war and insecurity and the main obstacle to peace.
And the second pillar is supporting the legal and legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people, namely the Palestinian government and Mahmoud Abbas. If the Iranian regime is not held accountable and not held back, we will continue to face further and even more grave crises every day.
But what are the tools of this regime to pursue its policy? It is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. Unfortunately, European governments made a grave mistake and sent a wrong message to the Iranian regime by refraining from designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
The message was that this regime would not be held accountable for its crimes. Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization is actually necessary for peace in the region and for fighting terrorism, as well as for putting an end to the killings and executions in Iran.
Dear friends, here in the European Parliament, I think we did our job. We sent a clear message for the designation of IRGC as a terrorist organization, and now it is up to the European Union to follow through.
By this, we are also listening to the brave people of Iran, who we do support and stand with always. We hear them and will continue to support them until Iran is free.
Mrs. Rajavi, I have greeted you in this Parliament for over 10 years, and I sincerely hope that one day, one day soon, I will be able to visit you in a free Iran. But let me conclude by saying something to everyone present in this room. Each and every one of you, every one of us, plays a unique and significant role in believing and in making a brighter future for Iran and her freedom-loving people. Thank you.
