NCRI – The following is a declaration from a conference of parliamentarians which was organized by The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom Chaired by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale. The conference was held on Tuesday, June 20, at the UK Parliament where a number of MPs and Peers from all three main political parties participated:

‘Iran: Time for Change as Millions Cry Freedom’

Some 20 pre-eminent Parliamentarians (from all three major political parties in both Houses of Parliament) addressed the conference held in the Moses Room of the House of Lords on 20 June 2006.

The conference was chaired by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale (Chair of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom).  Other speakers included Rt. Hon. Lord Renton, KBE, QC, TD, DL; Rt. Hon. the Lord Archer of Sandwell, QC; Lord Taverne, QC; Rt. Hon. the Lord Waddington, QC; Rt. Hon. the Lord Fraser of Carmyllie; Lord Alton of Liverpool; Lord Clarke of Hampstead; Professor Lord Turnberg; Lord King of West Bromwich; Andrew Mackinlay, MP; Jim Dobbin, MP; Dr Ian Gibson, MP; David Drew, MP; and Ms Dowlat Nowrouzi, UK Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

The conference was held on the 25th anniversary of the Iranian people’s uprising against the mullahs' religious fascism, when 500,000 in Tehran and hundreds of thousands of other Iranians across the country took to the streets to protest against theocratic repression and demand freedom. The response of the Iranian regime was to open fire on the demonstrators, killing and wounding hundreds. A video was shown depicting scenes of those protests and comparing them to the waves of anti-regime protests that have swept Iran in the first half of this year.

At the same time, the conference expressed the view that in an attempt to divert attention away from its internal crises, the mullahs have stepped up their export of fundamentalism and terrorism, in particular to Iraq, at the same time as doggedly pursuing their nuclear weapons programme. Reference was made to the recent IAEA finding of weapons grade uranium at the Lavizan site in Tehran, which was first revealed by the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Referring to what it described as the 'failed' policy adopted by the British government and the EU towards the Iranian regime, the conference stated Europe’s policy on Iran has been significantly weakened by the inclusion of the PMOI in the terrorism list. Instead of leading to moderation in Iran, it has empowered the most radical factions of the Iranian regime, because it has hamstrung the most serious threat to the regime. Moreover, there is a widely held view in Parliament that the PMOI's proscription was politically motivated.

In this regard, the conference drew attention to the significance of the decision by the Paris Appeals Court on Friday 17 June to revoke all restrictions placed on Mrs Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, and other NCRI officials in Paris. The lifting of these unjust restrictions was the conference said, evidence of the false nature of the allegations made against the NCRI.

It was also announced that in his report on the operation of the Terrorism Act 2000, Lord Carlisle of Berriew, QC, the government appointed independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, made reference to the PMOI as an example of concern that the British government occasionally is inflexible in its attitude to changing situations around the world, with reference to proscription. Referring to the PMOI's significant Parliamentary support across parties in Parliament, Lord Carlisle stated that he was sure that the government "will give serious examination to whether the PMOI really should remain proscribed".

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, referring to the spate of recent demonstrations in Iran said "repression and intensifying repression is a clear signal of the regimes weakness and not of its strength" whilst Rt. Hon. the Lord Waddington, QC, said "the time has come for a firm policy on Iran, beginning with the imposition of comprehensive sanctions against the regime and the deproscription of the PMOI".

Rt. Hon. the Lord Archer of Sandwell, QC, described the Iranian regime as the "spider in the web of international terrorism". Andrew Mackinlay, MP, emphasised the fact that 5.2 million Iraqi’s have signed a statement in support of the removal of the terror tag from the PMOI and their confirmation that the PMOI are the greatest barrier to the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in their country.

The conference declared that it is convinced that for the west to continue to placate and provide concessions to the regime in Tehran will significantly increase the risk of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and therefore a further military conflict in the region. As such, the conference called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions and other binding measures against the Iranian regime and its officials. Democratic change in Iran through the Iranian people and their Resistance represents the only means of ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East.