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Iran-UK: it is entirely illegal to have People's Mojahedin on terror list |
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Thursday, 01 December 2005 |
 NCRI – In a symposium of parliamentarians & jurists in the House of
Lords on November 29, where some 30 pre-eminent Parliamentarians and
jurists addressed the symposium, Baroness Harris of Richmond from the
Liberal Democratic Party of Great Britain made the following remarks:
Over recent decades, the Iranian people have fought for freedom,
democracy, social justice and equality, first against the Shah’s
dictatorship and more recently against the mullahs’ theocracy.
As we already heard, we must support these aims and ensure that
Iranians enjoy the same freedoms as those of us lucky to live in the
free world. Iran has been hijacked by fundamentalist clerics, who
appear to be filled with evil and hate.
Iranian women and children are the principal victims of this regime, as
are ethnic and religious minorities, homosexuals, political dissidents
or indeed anyone not subservient to the system of ‘velayat e fagih’ or
absolute rule of the clergy.
We have heard a great deal about the Iranian regime’s human rights
abuses and the horrendous crimes against humanity. Women in Iran suffer
discrimination from birth, solely because of their gender. Women are
considered second-class citizens and are treated as such, but have
always been an integral part of the freedom movement. This is why; I am
so impressed by Iran’s main opposition movement, the National Council
of Resistance of Iran. The NCRI is not only lead by a woman, but women
make up 50% of its membership.
The NCRI work tirelessly for a free Iran, one in which the brutal
practices of stoning, public executions, flogging, eye gouging and limb
amputations do not occur. An Iran where women are not discriminated
against solely because of their gender, and people are not hung in
public. This is why it is so impressive that Mrs Maryam Rajavi leads
the resistance movement where women take the lead in positions of
responsibility.
The Iranian Resistance has said time and time again that they want
nothing from the international community. The only thing they ask is
that we remain neutral in their struggle with the Iranian regime and
refrain from legitimising the Iranian regime and thereby prolonging its
rule. Our policy of constructive engagement has been counterproductive,
as there is nothing constructive about our engagement with the mullahs.
If there had been, we wouldn’t read reports of the shocking treatment
of minors by the Iranian regime. I refer to a recent Sunday Telegraph
article entitled ‘Under Iran's divinely ordained justice', girls as
young as nine are charged with 'moral crimes'. The best that they can
hope for is to die by hanging’. Dealing with a number of cases, it
stated.
Zhila Izadyar, a 13-year-old girl, has been sentenced to be stoned to
death after her parents reported that she had had an incestuous
relationship with her 15-year-old brother and had become pregnant by
him. Zhila has already received a ‘preliminary punishment’ of 53
lashes. A representative from Iran's Society for the Protection of
Children's Rights has managed to visit Zhila in prison. She found the
13-year-old in a desperate state, in solitary confinement and unable to
keep down food. She has not been allowed to see her child. “I am
scared. I want to go home,” said Zhila. “I want to go back to school
like the other children.” But if Iran's judges have their way, Zhila
will see neither her school nor her home again. She will be buried up
to her neck and the last thing she will see will be stones hurtling
towards her head. Indeed, those who are disgusted by judicial decisions
cannot even safely express their condemnation of a system that not only
hangs children, but beats them to death in public: Kaveh Habibi-Nejad,
a 14-year-old boy, suffered this fate on November 12 for eating on the
streets during Ramadan.”
I conclude by expressing my delight at the fact that over 1,000 British
lawyers have recognised the fact that it is entirely illegal to have
the People’s Mojahedin on the list of terrorist organisations, as they
represent the Iranian people’s hopes and aspirations for a free and
democratic Iran. It is about time that the government took notice.
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