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100,000 French citizens announce support for the President-elect, Maryam Rajavi |
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Friday, 17 June 2005 |
 EventsOn the second anniversary of a raid by French police on the
offices of the National council of Resistance of Iran, a petition
signed by more than 100,000 French citizens, calling on their
government to cease pressures on the National Council of Resistance of
Iran and its President-elect, Maryam Rajavi, was unveiled at a press
conference in Paris organised by the Human Rights League.
Jean-Pierre Dubois, the new head of HRL said that the signatories were
primarily from France’s Val d’Oise province, north of Paris, and that
they condemned the events of 17 June 2003.
That day marked a massive raid by more than 1,300 French anti-terrorist
police on NCRI offices and homes of Iranian exiles in Val d’Oise, where
165 people including Mrs Rajavi were arrested on terrorism charges. All
were later released, after international pressure grew on the French
government for what many called a travesty of justice, though the NCRI
has alleged the French security service continues to harass its
activists and supporters.
The June 2003 raids were later reported to have been carried out in
conjunction with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security
(VEVAK), sparking a number of French human rights groups, including the
anti-racist movement MRAP, to hold a series of press conferences
denouncing what they termed “a dirty deal” with the Ayatollahs.
A number of French parliamentarians, human rights lawyers, and
activists addressed the conference, including Socialist Senator
Jean-Pierre Michel, who said, “The events of June 17 were completely
political in nature for the purposes of trade deals”.
“The French Foreign Ministry continuously warns Members of Parliament
to keep away from the People’s Mojahedin, yet whenever we question them
to give a reason, they have nothing to say.”
The People’s Mojahedin, Iran’s main opposition group is the largest member organisation in the NCRI.
“The time has come for the French government no embarrass us no more in terms of human rights”, the Senator added.
The petition stated that the French government continues to put
pressure on the Iranian Resistance to fulfill its side of the bargain
with Tehran.
As an example, they signatories stated that in February, the French
government barred a peaceful demonstration in Paris which was in
condemnation of Iran’s human rights violation.
The statement also noted, “At a time with the mullahs threaten regional
and global peace security, support for the Iranian Resistance is both
inline with French values and will result in democratic change in Iran”.
The 100,000 signatories announced their support for the “Third Option”
in dealing with Iran, introduced by Maryam Rajavi in a meeting in the
European Parliament in December, which called for neither appeasement
of the regime, nor foreign military intervention, but rather democratic
change brought about by the Iranian people and their Resistance.
Other speakers at yesterday’s conference included William Bourdon,
prominent human rights lawyer, Patrick Baudouin, honorary president of
International Human Rights Federation, Côme Jacqemini, head of France’s
Law Union, Mouloud Aounit, president of MRAP, Georges Flécheux, former
head of the Human Right Committee of the French Bar Association, and
Dr. Saleh Rajavi, the representative of the NCRI in France. |
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