Iran Convention in Belgium urges EU support for 'Third Option'
Laptop Battery Monday, 25th April 2005
Iran Focus
Brussels, Apr. 25 - Some 2,000 delegates from Iranian communities in the Benelux - Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg - today held their first-ever convention, in which they condemned the current policy of appeasement vis--vis Iran's clerical regime and rejected the notion of a foreign war.
They declared support for the "Third Option", introduced by Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which calls for democratic change through the Iranian people and their Resistance.
The Convention in Brussels also "strongly condemned the restrictions imposed on Iranian refugees and asylum-seekers and called for greater accommodations for them", by European countries.
Participants called for the immediate removal of the terror tag from the main Iranian opposition group, the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), describing the label as "the biggest obstacle to democratic change" in Iran.
Dozens of Members of the European Parliament and Belgian lawmakers from both the Parliament and Senate addressed the Convention.
Speakers included Herman Van Rompuy, a Member of the Belgian Parliament and former deputy Prime Minister of Belgium; Senator Pierre Galand, Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Belgian Senate; Jean-Pierre Malmendier; member of the Belgian Parliament; Belgian Senator Patrik Vankrunkelsven; Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament; Paulo Casaca, head of the European Parliamentary delegation to NATO; Erik Meijer, Dr Andre Brie, and Christofer Fjellner, Members of the European Parliament; His Excellency Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, Euro-MP and former President and Head of State of the Republic of Lithuania; Mahfoudh Romdhani, Member of the Brussels Regional Parliament; Ryszard Czarnecki, Euro-MP from Poland, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and former Minister of European Integration; Piia-Noora Kauppi, Euro-MP from Finland and member the Women's Committee of the European Parliament; Mohammed Boukourna, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Belgian Parliament; and Professor Eric David, Chair of the Centre of International law in ULB University (Brussels) and President of the Advisory Commission of humanitarian International law of the Belgium Red Cross, among others.
Speakers addressed "the dangerous prospects of the Iranian regime's drive to acquire nuclear weapons" and "the deteriorating situation of human rights in Iran", adding, "the time has come to adopt a decisive policy vis--vis the clerical regime. Democratic change through supporting the Iranian people and Resistance is at the heart of this policy. In this regard the inclusion of the Mojahedin in the terror list is a major impediment to change in Iran".
Rajavi addressed the Convention via live video link, saying, "Appeasing the mullahs and silence vis- -vis the violation of the most basic rights of the Iranian people and silence vis--vis the suppression of popular uprisings by the Iranian people are contrary to all principles of democracy. This silence must be broken".
"Democracy is our path, guide, aim and ideal. Without democracy in Iran, there will be no peace, stability and calm in the region. Democracy in Iran will pave the way for true prosperity for Iranians and advancement for the country. It will also serve as the key to peace and tranquillity in this region of the world", she added.
Rajavi denounced the upcoming presidential elections in Iran as "completely illegitimate" and predicted that it would be overwhelmingly boycotted by the Iranian people.
"This farce has no semblance of elections. It is neither free nor fair. I, therefore, expect that international bodies would declare the election sham as illegitimate and prevent the clerics to take advantage of this masquerade", she said.
One speaker at the event was former Iraqi Governor of Diyala Province, Sa'd Abdullah Al-Jabouri, who read the text of a declaration by 2.8 million Iraqis, which denounced the Iranian regime's meddling in Iraq and expressed support for the PMOI and their struggle.
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