Vidal-Quadras: Iranian Resistance is the only alternatives to the regime

Text of speech by Mr. Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament, in a speech in gathering of 50,000 Iranians in Paris in support of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI):

First of all, I wish to express my warmest greetings to our brothers and sisters in Ashraf City who are watching this meeting live through satellite TV. Due to their resistance against all the conspiracies of the mullahs and their agents in Iraq, the People’s Mojahedin in Ashraf have been a source of inspiration not only for millions of Iranians in Iran, but also for many of us in Europe who believe in democracy and basic human values and principles.

I also wish to express our solidarity with the thousands of Iranians who demonstrated earlier this week in Tehran and other cities against the start of a fuel rationing programme, and called for the downfall of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  

In the years that I have known the Iranian Mojahedin, I have reached a point whereby I feel I am a member of your family, the large family of the Iranian Resistance. That is why I have shared your moments of joy, like today in Paris, or the day we managed to overcome all obstacles and invited Mrs. Maryam Rajavi to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, despite facing tremendous pressure from the Iranian regime as well as numerous phone calls by several prime ministers and heads of state who thought that by inviting the leader of the Iranian democratic opposition to our parliament, the EU’s negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue would be disrupted. That was a very good experience for all of us because everyone saw that Mrs. Rajavi is the number one concern and worry for the mullahs.

We in the European Parliament have fought very hard to convince the EU leadership that the correct policy towards Iran is not engagement or such useless negotiations. If the West is fearful of another war in the region, appeasing this regime is not the solution. The Iranian regime is not part of the solution in Iraq and the Middle East; it is part of the problem and perhaps the only problem. By sitting down with the officials of this regime, the West is in reality humiliating itself. And, the end of this road of appeasement is war, since Ahmadinejad is using these never-ending negotiations to buy time in order to carry on the nuclear program.

The advocates of appeasement policy talk of the need to communicate with the so-called civil society in Iran instead of recognizing the NCRI and the PMOI. I must say that the suggestion that the West should reach out to nameless and faceless Iranians, members of civil society and NGOs, is implausible and does not represent a practical or concrete solution, because in a repressive environment, no such channels of communication could be established without being contaminated by the state security apparatus.

There is also the theory that if the EU was to respect the verdict of the European Court and remove the PMOI from its terrorist list, it would mean that the West is pursuing regime change [in Iran]. That is why the EU Council of Ministers is prepared to defy the Court. This is of course a very disgraceful policy, but it also shows that the People’s Mojahedin and the National Council of Resistance of Iran are the only alternatives to this regime. It is a clear demonstration of their strength.

I assure you that there are many politicians in Europe, and elected representatives of the people of Europe, who have principles, and who are standing by your side. We will not abandon you.

We have to keep fighting until we see democracy flourish in Iran. Our victory is inevitable. We can and we must win!