In a significant show of solidarity with the Iranian people’s fight for democracy, the majority of Northern Ireland’s parliament has officially endorsed a statement supporting Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for establishing a democratic republic in Iran.
The statement, titled “Supporting Freedom and Resistance in Iran for Global Peace and Security,” was backed by Edwin Poots, Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, along with 47 out of 90 parliamentarians. Among the signatories are two Deputy Speakers, two former Justice Ministers, a former Deputy Prime Minister, a former Health Minister, and six chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of various parliamentary committees.
The statement condemns the Iranian regime’s brutal repression of its people, including ethnic and religious minorities, and highlights the regime’s severe human rights violations, particularly against women. The parliamentarians expressed deep concern over the regime’s violent crackdown during the 2022 uprising, where security forces were documented deliberately shooting unarmed protesters.
Northern Ireland’s parliamentarians strongly condemned the recent sham trials held by the Iranian regime against the leadership of the Iranian resistance and over 100 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). They viewed these trials as a pretext for further terrorist actions against Iranian dissidents, particularly those in Ashraf-3, Albania.
The statement also calls for international accountability for the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre, where 30,000 political prisoners were executed, and demands justice for ongoing crimes against humanity committed by the regime.
The parliamentarians emphasized the necessity of recognizing the Iranian people’s right to resist and the role of MEK Resistance Units in confronting the IRGC, especially given the regime’s complete blockade of all political avenues for change. They urged all democratic governments to support Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, which advocates for a secular, democratic republic with gender equality.
The statement also denounces the Iranian regime’s destructive role in the Middle East and its aggressive policies, calling for the IRGC to be designated as a terrorist organization and for the implementation of stringent sanctions against the regime.
In conclusion, the parliamentarians reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Iranian people’s quest for freedom and democracy, urging the international community to stand in solidarity with the Iranian Resistance movement.
Statement on Iran
Supporting Freedom and Resistance in Iran for Global Peace and Security
We are deeply concerned by the Iranian regime’s ruthless suppression of the people of Iran, including ethnic and religious minorities. During the 2022 uprising, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, “verified videos show security forces deliberately shooting unarmed protesters from a short distance”.
Amnesty International’s December 2023 report exposes sexual violence against women in Iranian prisons. Women are the first victims of oppression by the ruling misogynist regime. On the other hand, in the Iranian resistance, women are in leadership positions.
Iran remains the world’s leading per capita executioner. In 1988 alone, 30,000 political prisoners were massacred within weeks following the decree by the regime’s Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini to execute affiliates of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) who persisted in supporting the organization.
The Iranian regime has initiated a farcical trial in absentia for the Iranian Resistance leadership and 100 members of the PMOI who have been in Europe for years, alleging crimes such as Moharebeh (waging war against God). This trial is evidently a pretext for laying the groundwork to commit terrorist acts against them, particularly in Europe, and to pressure European authorities to restrict dissidents, particularly those residing in Ashraf-3, Albania. The Iranian judiciary serves as Khamenei’s repressive tool for killing and terrorism.
Europe has become the roaming ground for Iran’s state terrorism. In February 2021, a court in Antwerp, Belgium, sentenced a serving Iranian diplomat to 20 years in prison for attempting to bomb the annual summit of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in a Paris suburb. However, in May 2023, the mullahs released him in exchange for a hostage who was taken for this purpose.
The ruling religious dictatorship is incapable of reform. During the 2022 uprising, the Iranian people rejected any form of dictatorship, whether monarchical or theocratic and called for regime change to establish a democratic republic.
The people of Iran are being denied all of their political and civil rights; whereas, the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights underscores the fundamental rights of all human beings, and states: “It is essential if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”.
We are deeply concerned about the outbreak of war in the Middle East and its overall consequences for world peace and security. It is now proven that the head of the snake is in Iran.
- We condemn the flagrant violations of human rights, particularly the suppression of women, and we call for the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre to be held accountable for ongoing crimes against humanity.
- We urge all governments to support NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-point Plan for a democratic republic based on the separation of religion and state and gender equality, the autonomy of Iran’s ethnic groups, and a non-nuclear country.
- We strongly condemn the Iranian regime’s actions against Iranian dissidents in Ashraf-3, Albania, and we reaffirm their rights under the 1951 Geneva Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
- As the Iranian regime has blocked all political avenues for change, the free world must recognize the right of the Iranian people to rise up and the right of the MEK Resistance Units to confront the IRGC.
- We strongly condemn the Iranian regime’s destructive role in the Middle East and its belligerent policies. We call for the terrorist designation of the IRGC and the implementation of oil sanctions on the regime.
