The conference, entitled “Iran Perspectives 2019”, was attended many French members of Parliament, as well as the leader of the Iranian Resistance, Maryam Rajavi.
One major cause for concern among French MPs is the human rights situation in Iran, where over 3,600 people have been have been executed since the supposedly moderate Hassan Rouhani became President in 2013.
MP André Chassaigne said: “The human rights situation in Iran is catastrophic.”
He then pointed to the Iranian Regime’ crackdown on the ongoing demonstrations across Iran and called on the French government to condemn these human rights violations, something that MP Sonia Krimi agreed with, pointing out that France championed the rights of women as well as the individual freedoms of people as a whole.
MP Sylvie Auconie also addressed the lack of women’s rights under the “totalitarian” Iranian Regime and said that this was an “international problem”, which meant that the Parliamentary Committee and France should get more involved.
MP Hervé Saulignace praised the people of Iran for their nationwide protests over the past year that have struck fear into the hearts of the mullahs.
He said: “France’s strength will be in standing with the people of Iran in their quest for freedom.”
Rajavi also noted the importance of standing with the Iranian people, highlighting that regime change, which is the true wish of Iranians, is within reach. All it will take is the right pressure from the international community, alongside the Iranian Resistance units that are already directing the protests in Iran.
This international pressure is not only crucial for the safety of the people of Iran, but also for Europe. After all, the Iranian Regime has been behind at least two terror plots and several assassination attempts on European soil in the last year, which is why both Rajavi and Saulignace agreed for the need for a firmer EU policy on Iran.
Rajavi said: “The policy of appeasement of the mullahs must be terminated. Tying hopes to investments in and commercial deals with Iran is an illusion… Turning a blind eye to the Iranian Resistance is not only to the detriment of the people of Iran, but also to the detriment of the Middle East and the world who are in this way deprived of the key to the Iranian problem.”
Rajavi explained that regime change in Iran by and for the people would only hep foster peace and stability in the Middle East, as the Resistance operates a parliament-in-exile to stabilise the country through the transitional period.
The gathering was also attended by former Algerian Prime Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali, Tahar Boumedra, the former chief of the human rights office of the UN mission to Iraq, and former Colombian Presidential Candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
