July 11, 2021 — Dear Madam Rajavi, distinguished guests,
Last week, Madam Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who like Madam Rajavi has become the symbol of opposition to the brutal dictatorship in Belarus, visited my country Iceland as a guest of our foreign minister. Her visit was much discussed in the media, who unanimously condemned Lukashenko’s oppressive rule and human rights abuses.
Bad as the situation in Belarus may be, it is nothing like that in Iran. The world at large recently saw an example of this when the mass murderer Ebrahim Raisi was elected President of Iran in sham elections. Raisi is one of the Gang of four, who were instrumental in having tens of thousands of political prisoners and dissidents in Iran executed for little or no offence in the late 1980s. He can rightfully be called the Butcher of Iran.
The people of Iran widely boycotted the election, and the turnout was the lowest in the Islamic Republic’s history. They have learnt over the past four decades that there is no point in voting in elections that are nothing but a Potemkin facade. All liberal and moderate candidates, needless to mention all women, are automatically removed from the ballot by the Guardian Council. Whoever the Supreme religious leader wants will always come out in front in every presidential election that are only held for show.
Unfortunately, the reaction of the Western media was very tepid and relaxed, saying another shady individual has been elected president of Iran, business as usual, go to next item on the news list. It is like the western countries have given up and are comfortable with accepting any human rights abuser as leader of this large country, often downplaying the crimes against humanity committed by the clerical regime.
The presidential election proved very clearly that any reform within the clerical government is a fiction, a reality that the Iranian Resistance has reiterated time and time again over the past four decades. For obscure reasons, Western political leaders have chosen to ignore this reality. Those who have claimed that they want to empower the so-called moderate elements within the government, are now faced with an unmasked regime whose president is a criminal with the blood of innocent people on his hands.
Such are the men who are running Iran today. Do we really expect that the western countries will reach any kind of understanding with them in nuclear talks or any other kind of negotiations? The clerical regime has utter contempt of the Western democracies. They are willing to sign any kind of agreement with them that they can benefit from, knowing that they can easily ignore the terms they do not like and get away with it.
Therefore, I say to all political leaders: Do you really think you are dealing with a democratic government in Iran? No, you are facing a bunch of criminals at the top of Iran’s state that should rather be brought to justice.
At last, I want to express my full support and respect for the NCRI and its leader Madam Rajavi for their remarkable persistence in their quest for democracy in Iran, often being unjustly misjudged by Western politicians. Rest assured that when freedom comes to Iran, your movement will be remembered and much respected by the whole world for its great sacrifices and steadfastness.
Thank you for your attention.