Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, held a press conference on Wednesday in the Parliament of Italy. Following is the full text of her presentation:
THE PRESENTATION BY MRS MARAYM RAJAVI
AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE PARLIAMENT OF ITALY
Ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. President,
It is indeed a great pleasure to be present at the home of the people of Italy, and the city of Rome, with its historic stature and its grandeur. On behalf of my fellow compatriots, I hail the people of Italy.
First of all, I would like to thank a majority in the Italian Parliament whose courageous declaration was made public today. They have put their pointed to the threat posed by the mullahs’ regime as the greatest problem the world has come to face now. They have also voiced support for the Iranian Resistance as the “solution” to this problem.
Today, I have come here to stress-upon several key issues concerning this matter:
FIRST, the Middle East-today, is in an explosive state, which threatens global peace and security. The source of this crisis is the mullahs’ dictatorship.
The policy of appeasing a regime, which is the epicenter of crisis as well as the export of terrorism and fundamentalism will-get nowhere. The failure of the July 19 nuclear talks in Geneva again confirmed this reality.
SECOND: Firmness in the correct policy in dealing with this regime. The choice of either appeasement or war is only a deception.
There is a third option: democratic change in Iran
by the Iranian people and their Resistance. This is the only way to avert a war.
THIRD: The Iranian people and their organized Resistance movement can bring-about change.
With its vast base of support inside the country, with offering 120,000 martyrs to the cause of freedom, with countless number of supporters who are prepared to pay the highest possible price to realize change in Iran, with an extensive network among Iranian exiles, with access to the hidden secrets of the Iranian regime, and with specific plans and programs for the future, the Resistance has the capabilities for change in Iran. Despite the wave of suppression and hangings, last year, there were more than 5,000 protest actions, which affirms that the Iranian people demand change. We have always called and continue to for free elections under the supervision of the United Nations secular, peaceful and nuclear-free Iran, in which religious and ethnic minorities enjoy equal rights. We support the market economy and the return of experts who have been forced into exile and we will work to remedy the capital flight.
FIFTH: Women will enjoy equal rights with men, including in political leadership. Women are free to choose what they wear. In our view, the mullahs’ Sharia laws are rejected. Civil rights that have been destroyed in Iran today must be revived and make it compatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Seventh: The terrorist label has blocked the Resistance’s abilities and prevented the realization of such prospects. This is while the Iranian Resistance has constantly condemned terrorism and has been the main victim of state-terrorism, which is has also exposed. As such, when a majority in the Parliament of Italy calls for the removal of the unjust-label, it has responded to a need for change in Iran, and prevent war and crisis.
EIGHTH; I urge the European Union to remove this label and no longer deprive the world from the most important lever for change in Iran and in the fight against fundamentalism.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
The Iranian Resistance welcomes the emphasis laid by the Italian leaders on the need to confront the danger of the mullahs obtaining nuclear weapons.
This position has given the Iranian people hope about the prospects of a new European initiative that rejects appeasing the mullahs. It also shows that Italy is in a position to play a unique role in confronting the mullahs’ blackmail.
Allow me here to express my sincere gratitude to the firm and unified response of the people, the Parliament, the government and the Prime Minister of Italy during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to this country as well as the symbolic move by Rome’s municipality in turning off the lights. I would also extend my gratitude and pay my respects to the Vatican and His Holiness, Pope, Benedict, the Sixtinth for not receiving the mullahs’ President.
Khamenei and Ahmadinejad represent neither the Iranian people nor Islam. I declare that the message of the Iranian people, as with real Islam, is one of peace, democracy, coexistence and tolerance.
I again thank the people and Parliament of Italy and all of you.
