Sunday, March 01, 2009

The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom which enjoys support of majority of the House of Commons and more than 200 members of House of Lords held a parliamentary session in the Westminster Palace at British Parliament. In this session, the prominent members of both Houses from all three main parties participated, and while condemning the Iranian regime’s conspiracies, emphasized legal rights of Ashraf residents.

Lord Robin Corbett, chairman of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, declared that in the 16-month investigation by the US organs, all Ashraf residents were proved to be clear of all allegations, and all of them enjoy the status of “protected persons” and all the signatory countries are bound to observe it; neither the United States, nor Britain can hold back from this commitment, and in my view respecting this status is a criterion and indication for the Iraqi government’s commitment to its international obligations.
He said: “After removal of the PMOI from the EU terrorist list, justice must be implemented with regard to the Ashraf residents.”
Lord Waddington, the former British Interior Minister said in his speech: ” As we succeeded to remove the PMOI from the proscribed organizations’ list in Europe and Britain, we have to do the same in the United States.”

Other speakers in the session were:

Baroness Gibson, from Labor Party and one of the deputies of House of Lords
Roger Gale, British MP and former Vice Chairman of Conservative party.
Lord Tony Clark, the member of the House of Lords and former Leader of the British Labor Party
Lord Dalakia, one of the leaders of the Liberal Democrat party in the House of Lords
Baroness Turner, Labor Party and one of deputies of House of Lords
Baroness Harris, one of the leaders of the Liberal Democrat party in the House of Lords

In this session Mrs. Mehrangiz Paikarnegar, member of the Foreign Committee of the NCRI delivered her speech too. While appreciating representatives of both Houses, she emphasized the necessity of guarantee of Ashraf residents’ rights and legal safeguarding based on the international conventions and laws including non-refoulement principle, International Humanitarian Law and particularly the third common article in Geneva Conventions.