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News Bulletin of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

14 January 2013

On visit to Spain at the invitation of Parliamentarians

Maryam Rajavi calls for recognition of Iranian Resistance

Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, addresses joint session of three Senate committees

Vice President of the European Parliament The most important thing for the Europe to do is to promote democratic change in Iran

Alejo Vidal-Quadras

Jos Maria Chiquillo

Foreign affairs spokesman of the Popular Party in the Senate I offer you my support, and my solidarity. Your cause, your just cause, is also my cause Distinguished international lawyer , legal advisor to the late Chilean President Salvador Allende I wish for Iranians to establish a democratic government

Jordi Xucla

Foreign affairs spokesman of Convergence and Union Party in the Parliament I express my admiration for the oppositions struggle and specially of Mrs. Rajavis leadership

Irene Lozano

The spokesperson for Union, Progress and Democracy in Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament We want to make our government commit to the cause of democracy in Iran

Dr. Juan Garces

Francisco Jose Alonso Rodriguez

Director of Spains Human Rights League We have supported the NCRI from the outset, in its work to achieve compliance with Human Rights in Iran
Madrid, 18 December 2012

Press Release by Spanish Senators

Three committees in the Spanish Senate held a joint hearing for the Iranian opposition leader, Maryam Rajavi. The Foreign Affairs, Equality, and International Cooperation committees of the Spanish Senate held a special meeting on Iran today. The key-note speaker was Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, Presidentelect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The meeting was held on the latest situation of human rights, particularly the women; and on the Iranian regimes nuclear arms program and its export of terrorism and fundamentalism. The senators welcomed the secular-democratic platform presented by Mrs. Rajavi and her 10-point plan for future of a free Iran. The three committees also listened to the Iranian opposition leader on the latest developments with regards to the Iranian opposition and members of Resistance residing in camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq. Mrs. Rajavi responded to questions raised by members of the Senate. The Senators stressed the following points: 1- Expressed concerns regarding increasing violation of human rights in Iran, and called for making further economic and political relations with Iran contingent upon improvement in human rights; 2- Shared concerns of the Iranian Resistance regarding residents of camps Ashraf and Liberty where thousands of members of the opposition, PMOI reside in Iraq. They called for guaranteed protection of the residents and observation of their basic rights, particularly their right to ownership, by the government of Iraq and also for designation of Camp Liberty as a refugee camp; 3- Supported the solution provided by Mrs. Rajavi to resolve the Iranian crisis, through democratic change by the Iranian people and Resistance; 4- Called for action by the Spanish government to realize the above, in both national and European Union levels.

At Spanish Senate and Parliament, Rajavi presented assessment of Iran crisis, prospects and solutions
In her first visit to Spain, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, arrived in Madrid on Monday, December 17 for a visit at the invitation of members of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Spain. On Tuesday, Mrs. Rajavi presented an assessment of Iran crisis as well as its prospects and solutions at the Human Rights intergroup of the Chamber of Deputies and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate. In her speech at the Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Spain, Mrs. Rajavi pointed out: In order to survive, the regime relies on absolute repression at home on one hand and export of terrorism and fundamentalism abroad on the other hand. The regimes rush toward nuclear weapons serves the same objective. This regime is unable to either reform or to abandon its policies. Reforms in this regime will lead to its downfall. The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance welcomed intensifying the international sanctions against mullahs regime and said: Despite its economic situation, Spain admirably stopped purchasing oil from the mullahs. Nevertheless, if the sanctions are not coupled with a political solution, they will not be efficient. President-elect of the Resistance rejected a foreign war as a response to Iran crisis and emphasized, The solution is to overthrow the mullahs by the Iranian people and Resistance.
Carmen Quintanilla Chairwoman of the Committee of Equality of Spanish Parliament
Spanish Senate

Spanish Parliament

Spanish Senators with Maryam Rajavi 2 IRAN LIBERATION - www.ncr-iran.org - 14 JANUARY 2013

20 December 2012

MARYAM RAJAVI, Leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran:

Foreign intervention is no solution for Iran

If the mullahs regime continues to defy the international community and repress the society, the society will erupt like in Syria
Maryam Rajavi (1953), an engineer, is the leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), one of the oldest opposition groups. Rajavi, who left her homeland in 1982 is in Spain to promote her cause among members of parliament. Surrounded by an entourage of her colleagues, she answered our questions. She said they have popular support from within Iran as a source of legitimacy although this is impossible to assess. Question. Do you still have family in Iran? Answer. Only distant relatives. One of my sisters was executed by the Shahs regime, and the other was executed by Khomeinis dictatorship. Q. You say that NCRI is the main opposition group. The experience of a government in exile failed miserably in Iraqs case. What makes you think you will be successful? A. The largest difference is that we are an organizsation with deep roots in Iran. The regime has killed 120,000 of our supporters: students, workers, shopkeepers, etc... I believe that surviving such brutal repression and expantion of our social support are proof of our backing. Q. How did you manage to remove your armed wing from the blacklists of the EU and the US? A. It was immensely difficult. We went to over 20 courts and won all the cases. At the same time there was a legal campaign and a political campaign by members of parliament and VIPs. Many of them had access to classified information in their countries and were able to tell the courts that based on their personal knowledge, there was no basis to label PMOI terrorist. Q. Tell us how you managed to list the support of such powerful friends (John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the UN, Aznar and a Kennedy), for a group that was created as a group against American interference and then took part in the revolution ? A. What inspires us is the quest for freedom and democracy in our country. We first went to the parliaments in Europe. Then we went to the Congress and Senate in US. Our cause appealed to those former senior officials, who had also witnessed the failure of the mullahs to pacify the people. They were looking for a solution to the Iranian conflict and when they realized there was such a broad movement with clear goals for a democratic society, they became interested. We have a program for the future of Iran. Q. It sounds tailor-made to appeal in the West: Church-State separation; no nuclear weapons; respect for Human Rights and no discrimination towards women? A. It was made to cover the needs of the people of Iran, particularly women, youth, and those who have suffered under the dictatorship. Iranians do not at all want clerics to have supremacy over the Law. They want freedom and democracy. Our society will never achieve these goals if women do not take part in political leadership at least at a rate of 50%. We want a non-nuclear Iran cooperating and coexisting with all countries in the region [that is, also Israel, although she does not mention it]. Q. Is it impossible to measure support within Iran? A. What I can indicate is the extensive network we have in Iran. It is very difficult to supply a number. These three people [she shows us some photographs] were executed for organizing demonstrations in 2009 and 2010. Our colleagues have managed to find the most secret nuclear facilities and they have disclosed information about those sites. Many of them have been arrested and executed. This shows we have support even from inside the system. Q. What do you think of Israels plans to attack Iranian nuclear facilities? A. We were the first to shed light on it [the nuclear programme, in 2002]. In our opinion, neither appeasement nor a foreign military intervention is a solution. There is a third option: that the Iranian people overthrow the regime with the help of Resistance. This regime must be changed and it can only change through the people of Iran and Resistance. This is the only solution to the nuclear problem. Q. Does that involve violence? A. If the regime of the mullahs regime continues to defy the international community and repress the society, society the society will erupt like in Syria. The mullahs are much more brutal than the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which the mullahs also support. If the international community had a firmer stance against the regime, the people and the resistance could employ a number of methods to bring about a change of regime.
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From Left: Jos Maria Chiquillo, Jordi Xucla, Juan Garcs, Maryam Rajavi, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Patrick Kennedy, Francisco Jos Alonso Rodriguez, and Paulo Casaca

December 19, 2012 - At the invitation of the international committee In Search of Justice which enjoys the support of over 4,000 parliamentarians on both sides of the Atlantic, an international conference, entitled Iran Crisis and Solutions and chaired by Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras Vice President of the European Parliament, was held in Madrid.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras

Vice President of the European Parliament The most important thing for Europe to do is to promote democratic change in Iran
This event we are holding is part of a series of activities that have been held for a number of years a decade or more in various parliaments of the EU, that are held to support the Iranian Resistance. Can you think of anything more important than peace and stability for the economy to prosper? Can you think of anything on a practical level which is more important than removing the worst threat to world peace and stability in the world and that is in Iran? This is a regime which is also fostering terrorism in all four corners of the Earth. Is there something more practical than neutralizing a dictatorship like this and preventing it from getting its hand on nuclear weapons? Therefore, from the viewpoint of ideals and morals this is our duty, and from the realistic and pragmatic viewpoint, it is in our interest. When morals and interests are both pointing in the same direction, you would have to be quite a fool not to realize! The European Parliament has an informal intergroup called Friends of Free Iran, with the participation of over 200 MEPs from different political groups: left, right, center There are MEPs from the Popular Party, Socialists, British Conservatives, nationalists from Spanish parties, etc... , this support is above party-level and it is a multiparty support, and it encompasses MEPs belonging to a range of ideologies and parties who support freedom and democracy in Iran.
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Maryam Rajavi

Excerpts of speech at the conference

President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

The experience of Syria indicates that the price for absence of an organized and ready alternative and movement is bearing of great afflictions and shedding of blood. In Irans case, fortunately, such an alternative exists. The biggest error in western policy vis--vis Iran and the entire region has been ignoring human rights in Iran and attempting to sideline a movement that has always had the key for change in Iran. That is why I would like them to: 1. Make the continuation of your political relations with the regime contingent on its decision to stop execution and torture of prisoners; 2. Refer the dossier of human rights violations and particularly women rights violation in Iran to the UN Security Council; 3. Ensure the protection and safety of members of Mojahedin in camps Ashraf and Liberty and specifically demand from the UN to grant the status of a refugee camp to Liberty; 4. Ban regimes use of the missiles program and its use of the fighter jets; 5. Implement UNSC resolution with respect to prohibiting arms exports by the regime; 6. Recognize the Iranian Resistance and the struggle of the Iranian people to change the regime, and remove all obstacles on this path. It is expected that the Spanish government champion a new policy vis--vis Iran at the European Union; one which defends the human rights of the Iranian people and respects their will and desire to change the regime. Allow me to thank the Spanish parliamentarians and senators as well as generous people of Spain who help and support us in this great struggle. Next week, the world will celebrate the anniversary of the blessed birth of Jesus Christ. While saluting and remembering that great messenger of God and the Virgin Mary, we wish the Spanish people a Merry Christmas, and I ask them to pray for the Iranian people to be salvaged and become free.

IRAN LIBERATION - www.ncr-iran.org - 14 JANUARY 2013

Maryam Rajavi

Alejo Vidal-Quadras

Jos Maria Chiquillo

Jos Maria Chiquillo

Foreign affairs spokesman of the Popular Party in the Senate

I offer you my friendship, my support, and my solidarity, because your cause, your just cause, is also my cause
Mrs. Rajavi, it was a pleasure to meet you in person, and discover your commitment to your colleagues, your people, and the desire for democracy in your country. It has been one of the greatest personal satisfactions I have experienced in this challenging 2012, to discover the Iranian Resistance, their commitment to the people of Iran and the human quality of the people who, like yourself, want the best for Iran over the forthcoming months. I became a politician because of a passion for service. I am always concerned about issues affecting people, citizens, their rights, the dignity of people, those things that make the difference between living in freedom or living oppressed... Therefore, as I came into politics driven by this passion for service and as a result of commitment to people, your cause, the cause of Iranian Resistance, is now my cause from here on. Things that appear to be so simple and are so basic for all people: freedom, justice, progress, respect for human rights, respect for rights of women, all of these things are a huge contribution of mankind to enable the future of our people and, therefore, with the same enthusiasm, the same sacrifice, the same service commitment I have had in my work for Valencia and Spain, I shall also work for those capital principles so that, sooner than later, Iran gets what many people achieved long ago for Spain. I offer you my friendship, my support, and my solidarity, because your cause, your just cause, is also my cause, and it is worthwhile to carry on our work for the future of Spain and the future in freedom of the people of Iran.

Jordi Xucla

Foreign affairs spokesman of Convergence and Union Party in the Parliament

You are not only the government in exile, I am also convinced that very soon we will be able to visit Tehran I have been for many years following the progress and the struggle of the Iranian opposition in exile and I have also been following the struggle of Mrs. Rajavi for a long time and I cannot do anything other than express my admiration, my consideration of the oppositions struggle and specially of Mrs. Rajavis leadership. I also would like to note that your political agenda is clearly against the nuclear program in Iran which is a delirium. The delirium of a dying totalitarian regime, a delirium which only can provide instability, confrontation and threats to peace and global security. I also want to manifest our support, which I think that could be a consensus within Human Rights Intergroup of the Spanish Chamber of Deputies and also in the Senate in the chambers of the Parliament, a consensus in favor of your justified claims about the need to send the dossier of Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty to the UN Security Council. The Spanish Government, with the support of the Parliament but with determination, must implement sanctions against Iran and must clearly express to the Iranian Government that Spain only wants a democratic future for the Iranian people and a future in peace. I am convinced that you are not only the Government in exile, I am also convinced that very soon we will be able to visit Tehran and will be welcomed in a democratic parliament during a clear and sunny morning, and we will be able to say good morning Mrs. President in a democratic country.

During the last day of her visit to Spain, Mrs. Rajavi met with Angel Garrido, Chairman of the Municipality Council of Madrid. After a visit to the Town Hall which was built in 1696 and is located in the historic heart of Madrid, Mr. Garrido unequivocally expressed his concern about the serious human rights violations in Iran. He also wished for the Iranian peoples success in establishing freedom and democracy in their country. After expressing her gratitude to Mr. Garrido for his solidarity, Mrs. Rajavi explained the crisis that the religious dictatorship is facing and the extensive repression and increasing executions committed by the Iranian regime. She also provided an overview of the conditions of Ashraf and Liberty residents and the efforts of the mullahs to eliminate their main opponents.
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Meeting in Madrids City Hall

Jordi Xucla

Francisco Jos Alonso Rodriguez

Irene Lozano

Irene Lozano

The spokesperson for Union, Progress and Democracy in Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament We want to transform these words into a firm action in the Spanish Parliament, and the Spanish Government, to make our government commit to the cause of democracy in Iran, freedom and equality of women
Thank you for bringing us the voice of the persecuted in Iran, who in some cases are relatives and friends of yours.For us it is very important to have you here today, and closely feel the difficulties and the persecution suffered in Iran by the defenders of Human Rights. This visit is an opportunity to express our firmest feelings of solidarity, and our fullest support, and also to offer you words of encouragement so you can take them to the Iranians from us and, above all, we offer you the support of the Spanish people. We want to transform these words into a firm action in the Spanish Parliament and the Spanish Government, to make our government commit to the cause of democracy in Iran, and freedom and equality of women. We sincerely share your suffering, and we do not give you this embrace and then renege, we are here and you can count on our support.
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Dr. Juan Garces

Distinguished international lawyer, legal advisor to the late Chilean President Salvador Allende I wish for Iranians to establish a democratic government

Patrick Kennedy

Member of the U.S. Congress (1995-2011) The true future of Iran is with the people of Iran not with negotiating with this theocratic brutal regime that currently rules Iran.
We have the process today to organize around the MEK for a change of direction in Iran through a political process of supporting democratic change in Iran, supported by international pressure, brought throughout international community, and expedited by internal economic dissolution in Iran because of the sanctions. Conducting negotiation must be for future of Iran, it means having democratic negotiation; it does not mean that we do a deal with the mullahs and leave the people of Iran behind because the true future of Iran is with the people of Iran not with negotiating with this theocratic brutal regime that currently rules Iran.

The situation which started in 2009 in Ashraf has continued to date, most of the inhabitants of a very beautiful city built by them have been forced into a sort of concentration camp, being enclosed in a very small perimeter, in conditions which can barely be described as humane, as was recognized recently by a committee of the United Nations mentioned by Mrs. Rajavi. And this situation is the result of various causes: one is the influence of the Iranian regime on the current Iraqi government, to keep the refugees in circumstances which are completely unacceptable from the viewpoints both of Iraqi internal law and international law, but this is also the result of wishing to attack a symbol of the resistance such as Ashraf. I wish for Iranians to find the way for facing this situation and to establish a democratic government, a plural government, and as Mrs. Rajavi said, establish freedom, equality and democracy based on popular sovereignty and separation of religion and State.

IRAN LIBERATION - www.ncr-iran.org - 14 JANUARY 2013

Patrick Kennedy Patrick Kennedy Paulo Casaca

Francisco Jose Alonso Rodriguez

Paulo Casaca

Director of Spains Human Rights League We have supported the NCRI from the outset, in its work to achieve compliance with Human Rights in Iran.
We have supported the NCRI from the outset, in its work to achieve compliance with Human Rights in Iran. We agree with the programme fostered by their President, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. All of us working for compliance with and respect of Human Rights in the world are hoping that Iran will have a government respecting such rights, which respects and fosters these rights. Where the death penalty is abolished, in addition to any discrimination against women, and the separation between Religion and State is established. The NCRI is the organization committed to attaining all of these goals, accepting the Universal Human Rights Declaration and the international treaties on Civil Rights, freedom of association, freedom of thought and speech, a commitment to foster the creation of political parties and trade unions and the freedom to practice religions. It is necessary that Iran ceases to be in the lead, together with China and Saudi Arabia, of the countries where a greater number of executions are ordered. Capital punishment is not a way of doing justice, it is the greatest failure of justice. The Spanish Human Rights League will always work side-by-side with anyone working for human rights and the abolition of capital punishment in the entire world.

Member of the European Parliament (1999-2009) The most important weapon that all of us have to confront what the totalitarian regime wants to do internally and externally is to support the Iranian Resistance.
We are facing a wave of totalitarian ideology that its landmark was the Islamic revolution in Iran. We have an ideology and theocracy that questions all social values of our society. They are everywhere in the world. They are for instance in Nigeria; since early 1990s there is a militia like Hezbollah completely controlled by the theocratic regime ready to make a walk in the whole western Africa. The regime wants the bomb, primarily to suppress its own citizens, it is their way to say listen, now there is nothing you can do to stop us. We have a regime that does not spare a single effort, that does not spare its own oil revenue into deceiving the whole world. They have been spreading lies all the times trying to demonize their real opposition. It is fundamental that we in the West stop engaging in this type of game. The reality is that there is a single national opposition movement in Iran. There are several on local basis but on the national basis that really covers the whole territory, it is only the Iranian Resistance. The most important weapon that all of us have to confront what the totalitarian regime wants to do internally and externally is to support the Iranian Resistance.

IRAN LIBERATION - www.ncr-iran.org - 14 JANUARY 2013

El Mundo - By Rosa Meneses 12/01/2013 OTHER VOICES

Maryam Rajavi: The only way to stop Iran's nuclear program is a regime change
Question: USA just removed your organization from the list of terrorist groups. As a movement opposed to the Islamic regime, what role do you hope to have? Answer: We do not want money or weapons from the West. We just want to be recognized as a legitimate alternative [to the Iranian regime], as the international community did in 2011 in Libya and now in Syria. Q. - Is it feasible right now a change of the political system in Iran? A. - 90% of the Iranian people do not want this regime. The Iranian society is on the point of explosion. Q. - If the majority is against the Islamic Republic, why do the mullahs then remain in power since 1979? A. - The mullahs' regime is not strong, they only maintain power through repression and fear. Iran totally lacks freedoms at all levels, from cultural to economic. There is a total suppression of all opposing voices. Massive public executions continue; entire families have been wiped out for opposing the regime. For example, 120.000 people in our organization have been executed during the last 30 years. That's how they managed to suppress all forms of opposition Q. Why do you defend the idea that the regime is weaker now than in the past? A. - The situation in Syria and the economic difficulties are weakening the Islamic regime. It has entered a stage where it can be overthrown. The society is about to erupt. Eighty percent of the population lives below the poverty line in a country that is the second largest exporter of oil and gas. In Iran, the wealth has never been used for prosperity of the people. Inflation has reached 50 percent. The middle class has been destroyed to the point that people do not even have money to buy meat once a month. They will rise up against this regime. Maybe we will get into a situation similar to Syria. Q. - The sanctions imposed by the West, are they helping to undermine the authorities? A. - The sanctions are effective and must continue. But they are not enough to topple the regime, because we are facing a dictatorship. We need to organize a resistance from within Iran to bring it down. Q. - What impact is the conflict in Syria having inside the Iranian system? A. - If the Assad regime falls, that would have a huge impact on Iran. And you can understand it from the position of the Iranian authorities, who are supporting Assad one hundred percent. They believe that if they do not fight in Syria today, tomorrow they will face their own people in Iran. Q. - This year there are presidential elections in Iran. What do you expect to happen? A. The infighting within the system have already begun. In fact, there have never been democratic elections in Iran, because there are filters which restrict those who want to be a candidate. Q. - Assuming that we meet on the day after the fall of the ayatollahs, how should the transition be? A. - The most important thing is to organize free elections and let the people choose their own representatives and what kind of state they want. Our platform opts for a republic and the principle of separation of religion and state. We would give priority to gender equality at all levels, but I think that the most important would be equality in political leadership. You need a generational culture change regarding gender equality. Even men in our organization have to go through this change of mentality. But I believe that we cannot improve anything if we dont go through equality between men and women, because I think that the level of democracy in any society or organization is measured by the level of the participation of women. We will also implement the principle of non-discrimination against religious minorities and the abolition of the death penalty. Sharia would not be recognized as law. We also believe in a free market economy and a non-nuclear Iran. Rajavi says that negotiation are pointless for stopping a regime that has intensified its repression against its citizens and terrorizes the world with its nuclear policies and support for terrorist organizations. The opposition leader is also against a foreign military intervention in the country and she reiterated her defense of change by the citizens themselves and added that they are ready to move forward with democratization of the country using peaceful means. Over 120,000 supporters of our movement have been executed by the Iranian regime over the years, including thousands of youths, doctors, professors, students and bloggers, she noted. NCRI seeks to install a democratic political system based on votes of the people, a system which would be plural, with freedom of political parties and freedom of assembly, says the platform submitted to several parliaments and the Council of Europe.

Interview with Maryam Rajavi A crucial time has arrived for security of Iran and the world which requires a regime change in Iran
18 December 2012 - Excerpts

In an interview with EFE in Madrid, Rajavi, the leader of the main Iranian opposition movement, said that the only feasible alternative to put an end to the dictatorial regime presided by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requires is the NCRI, a broad movement, organized both inside the country and abroad. The opposition leader believes that a crucial time has arrived for security of Iran and the world, which requires a regime change in Iran; a regime surviving only on the basis of terror, torture and executions, largely against NCRI supporters.
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