British Lawmakers Support Iran Protests and Organized Opposition Led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi
Written by
Shamsi Saadati
The British Committee for Iran Freedom exchanged opinions on the nationwide uprising in Iran at a meeting in the House of Commons on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. This meeting also featured the online presence of the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.
Dozens of cross-party British lawmakers from the House of Commons and the House of Lords participated in this meeting, expressing strong support for the major Iran protest. They also praised the bravery of Iranian women, who act as trailblazers of the current uprising.
In a part of her speech, Mrs. Rajavi emphasized, “Iranian women know very well that the freedom of choice –in all personal, social, and political fields— including the freedom to choose their attire, and the right to political and social participation is possible only if the mullahs’ religious dictatorship is overthrown.”
“Therefore, their determination to fight the regime is to bring freedom to all the people of Iran. Today, the Iranian people’s unity in their struggle to overthrow the religious dictatorship guarantees equality and justice in tomorrow’s Iran,” she added.
Mrs. Rajavi underlined the need for the world community to “recognize the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the mullahs’ religious fascism and their right to self-defense in the face of the regime’s brutal attacks.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, British MPs and peers praised Mrs. Rajavi’s role and the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) “Resistance Units” in spearheading and setting the stage for the popular uprising.
1/3 British MPs & Peers met with president-elect of the Iranian Resistance, Mrs Maryam Rajavi, in the UK Parliament & discussed the uprising in #Iran. #IranRevoIution2022https://t.co/7u4fvl54dH pic.twitter.com/rzmV88TLY0
— Dowlat Nowrouzi (@DowlatNowrouzi) October 19, 2022
Baroness Sandip Verma, former minister of Energy, Climate Change, and International Development, who chaired the meeting, also highlighted the Iranian women’s role in the current uprising.
“Women’s role in protests did not emerge overnight or spontaneously but is rooted in the 40 years of struggle against the misogynous regime. The role of women in the democratic opposition, the NCRI and PMOI/MEK, has been a source of inspiration for Iranian women to follow. Mrs. Rajavi’s famous saying, ‘We can and We must.’”
“The fact that Mrs. Rajavi has been able to establish these units of resistance inside Iran despite the suffocating repression and suppression by the regime is truly remarkable and shows, on the one hand, the readiness of the Iranian society for another popular revolution and on the other hand her leadership qualifications and skills,” Baroness Verma added. “Thus, the UK government and other world leaders must reach out and talk to her and her organized resistance movement about future relationships.”
Baroness Verma was joined by other renowned British lawmakers who voiced their support of the Iranian people and the organized Resistance.
“We had the chance to raise these issues on the floor of the House of Commons in the mother of parliaments, and there was strong cross-party support for the protesters and their right to make their voice heard in that debate. I urge the ministers to start talking to Iranian opposition groups. I repeated my call for the IRGC to be proscribed, and I demanded a tough approach on sanctions,” the Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, former Secretary of State for Environment and Northern Ireland said during the conference.
The former Defense Secretary, the Rt Hon Dr. Liam Fox MP, said: “I have had friends imprisoned by the regime in Tehran, and I have one friend who has never been found who disappeared by the regime. So, I understand the sacrifices that people are making.
“We can offer moral support, and we can recognize the rule of the resistance movement of the young women, the young people involved. We must be ready at all times to support the efforts of the Iranian people to secure their own freedom and fair and democratic elections,” Steve McCabe MP, the co-president of the British Committee for Iran Freedom, joined his colleagues in supporting the Iranian people’s aspirations for a free country.
The Rt Hon Sir Roger Gale MP and Rt Hon the Lord Navnit Dholakia OBE DL, who have supported the Iranian Resistance for many years, also attended this conference.
Other MPs, Peers, and Human Rights experts attending the meeting included: Anna Firth MP; the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP; the Rt Hon Sammy Wilson MP; Jim Shannon MP; Ian Paisley MP; Martyn Day MP; Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE; Lord Bellingham; the Rt Rev the Lord Harries of Pentregarth DD; Baroness Meacher and Dr. Tahar Boundera, former senior UN Official.