Here, we will look at the remarks of Rama Yade, Former French Secretary of Human Rights.
Yade began by paying tribute to the MEK for the 40-year-long struggle for freedom, democracy, and equality, saying that their sacrifice would not just benefit Iran but the whole world and that the Iranian Resistance will be remembered among the great struggles for human rights in the world.
She said: “Do you know what upsets me the most: your victory will be ours. But your sacrifices are yours. Let us be clear: these are not sufferings that belong to the past. But there’s present suffering. First, it is today and every day that the members of the MEK face terror.”
Yade then cited several examples of this, from the December 2017 uprising over the rise in living costs to the November 2019 uprising over gas price hikes to the 2020 revolt over the regime’s downing of the Ukrainian plane that killed 176 people. She said that the MEK paid for these uprisings, some with their lives. And it’s not just these events; 120,000 MEK members and supporters have been killed since the mullahs took power, including 30,000 in the 1988 massacre.
She said: “What the regime fears are that in 50 years, the multigenerational and multi-ethnic aspect of an organization that has brought together the best of Iran! What the regime fears are that the MEK has been able to push the principle of gender equality very high. What the regime fears are the MEK’s ability to reconcile Muslim faith with the separation of Islam and the state while fiercely combating religious extremism. Your 40 years of fighting are 40 years of failures for the regime.”
Yade then spoke about the victories of the MEK, such as the “consecration of women”, as the MEK believes in total gender equality, the “awakening of youth”, and the construction of the shining city of Ashraf, which is the phoenix that grew out of the ashes of the MEK’s former camps in Iraq.
She said: “Above all, the hope, this light that I see in your eyes and that nothing can turn off, is, without doubt, your greatest victory.”
Yade explained that the MEK’s perseverance would pay off and the people that she has seen give their all to the movement will have their sacrifice validated. But she said that she knew the MEK would “fight until Iran has a better future”.
She said: “Commitment cannot remain individual: it is only fully realized in the collective. That is why the Iranian resistance needs us. To commit is to consent to society. There is nothing more civilized than commitment. It is an act of faith in the human will.”
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