International

On 26th June tens of thousands of Iranians gathered in Paris to express their opposition to the Iranian regime. Also present were representatives of twenty-three national parliaments and of the European Parliament. The Netherlands was represented by SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, who presented international resistance movement president Maryam Rajavi with two books of signed declarations from the majority of members of both houses of the Dutch national parliament. The declarations called for protection of Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong presents the signed declarations

Similar declarations were signed by some 3500 parliamentarians from all over the world. The refugees in Ashraf are threatened by attacks from Iran, while the camp is becoming more and more isolated from the rest of Iraq, so that the refugees are increasingly deprived of basic necessities.

Presenting the books of signatures, De Jong expressed his appreciation of the fact that Maryam Rajavi and her movement emphasise their commitment to a non-violent solution. At the same time he stressed how almost all parties in the Netherlands and in the European Parliament had declared their solidarity with the oppressed people of Iran.

The gathering attracted around 90.000 Iranian refugees from throughout the world, many of them family members of the refugees in Camp Ashraf.

"It's unbelievable how people, many of whom have lost close family members as a result of repression in Iran, nevertheless maintain their courage," says De Jong.

It is now thirty years since the Shah was overthrown. There appeared then to be new prospects for all those who had struggled for a free and democratic Iran. Unfortunately, the Iranian clerics, once they had seized power, embarked on an increasingly intolerant path applying the death penalty to suppress any form of opposition.

The Iranian opposition has now been gathering annually in increasing numbers. With 90,000, an ordinary conference centre is out of the question, and the organisers had to hire a piece of land which was originally three football fields, transforming it into a single area with stands and seating areas as far as the eye could see, equipped with a mega-podium and the latest devices which would have been the envy of any rock festival.

"When I handed over the books," says De Jong, "they were received enthusiastically by Maryam Rajavi and the crowd, who shouted their thanks. I was presented with an example of one of the 'freedom towers' built in Ashraf, which I'll make sure goes straight to the Dutch parliament so that all the MPs and Senators will know that their signatures were properly delivered."