The meeting was held upon an invitation by the Iranian Women's Association (supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran). Fa'ezeh Rafsanjani is a deputy to a Majlis which lacks any legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian people and one of whose principal tasks has been to adopt suppressive and misogynous laws against women.
The protesters added that the clerical regime uses Rafsanjani's daughter as a means to cover up its crimes against women. The protesters stressed that inviting Fa'ezeh Rafsanjani to the Parliament of the Netherlands is an insult to the people of Iran and the Netherlands.
Iranians chanted: "Rafsanjani is a terrorist", "death to Rafsanjani", and "Rafsanjani's daughter out of the Netherlands". A big banner read: "Women, prime victims of the mullahs' crimes!" "Rafsanjani's daughter is as terrorist as her father!"
Mr. Herry van Bommel, member of the Dutch Parliament, addressed the gathering of Iranian protesters: "I am glad that you held your demonstration today and conveyed your message to the people of the Netherlands and the world. We believe that human rights continue to be violated in Iran. I regret that she has been invited to this building and I regret that a speech had been arranged for her yesterday."
Yesterday, angry Iranian protesters prevented a scheduled speech by Fa'ezeh Rafsanjani in the opening program of the Islamic Institute in the city of Leiden. As she entered the hall, several elderly women whose Mojahed children had been executed by the clerical regime approached her and prevented her from going to the podium. The majority of participants, both Iranian and Dutch who were aware of the record of Rafsanjani's daughter staged a protest and demanded that she immediately leave the Netherlands. Rafsanjani quickly left the scene under police protection.
Representative office of the National Council of Resistance - The Hague
October 21, 1998
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