In a message to the seminar, Mrs. Rajavi said: "That 2,000 elected representatives of hundreds of millions of people in Europe and the United States have underscored the need to reject placating policies, to adopt a firm approach against the clerical regime and to support the Iranian Resistance, reflects the aware and enlightened conscience and the resolve of the people around the globe and their elected representatives to defend human rights and democracy." Mrs. Rajavi also lauded Lord Eric Avebury, deputy chairman of the British Parliamentary Human Rights Group, for his unrelenting campaign in defense of human rights and democracy in Iran.
Mr. Robin Corbett, a senior MP from the Labour Party, chaired the London seminar. He announced that 332 MPs -forming a majority of the House of Commons- and 119 members of the Lords had joined the international initiative. In an all-party declaration, the British parliamentarians urged their government to do "everything possible to bring about a secular and pluralistic democracy in Iran, with freedom of expression and religion, and gender equality, as advocated by the National Council of Resistance and its President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi." The British MPs also called for "imposition of trade and investment sanctions on Iran" and "an international arms embargo" against the mullahs' regime. They further urged members of the UN Security Council "to deal with Iran's state terrorism, as a threat to world peace."
In a coordinated initiative, majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives (224 members), and parliaments of Italy (326), Switzerland (116), Norway (84), Luxembourg (43), San Marino (32) and 250 members of the European Parliament, 120 deputies in the Swedish Parliament, 115 Italian senators, and a number of parliamentarians from Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine called for isolation of the mullahs' regime and support for the Iranian Resistance and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi "who as a symbol of national unity is backed by the majority of the Iranian people."
A group of deputies from various parliaments in Europe, the United States and Middle East who endorsed this international initiative, participated in the seminar in London and announced the need for the adoption of a new policy towards the Iranian regime.
In the final resolution to the seminar, the parliamentary deputies noted "five months after the presidential elections in Iran, the conduct and positions of the new government is no different from previous governments as it continues to promote the policy of repression at home and export of crisis and terrorism beyond Iran's borders." They also pointed out that the execution of at least 50 persons since Khatami took office and the air raids on September 29 on two basecamps of the Iranian Resistance in the Iran-Iraq border strip called for the cancellation of "trade and diplomatic ties with Iran's mullahs." They further called on the UN General Assembly to adopt "a strong resolution against the Tehran regime's violations of human rights and export of terrorism."
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran - Paris
October 29, 1997
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