On July 13, 2019, dignitaries from dozens of countries across the world attended the main event of the Free Iran 2019 international conference. The conference was part of the five-day Free Iran 2019 series of conferences at the main headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Ashraf 3, Albania. Several dignitaries, political and human rights activists delivered speeches, issuing remarks about the struggles of the Iranian people and their resistance movement for freedom in their country.
Following are key remarks by the member of the UK Parliament Matthew Offord the Ashraf 3 conference.
Matthew Offord:
Salam [hello] Ashraf, Salam Iran, Salam Maryam Rajavi, my honorable colleges. Ladies and gentlemen, my dear Ashrafis, it’s an honor to be with you here, and I’m very grateful for your invitation to our delegation to your home. I’m proud to be a part of a successful cross-party effort in the UK government to secure you safe and secure resettlement here in Albania [in Ashraf 3].
Today you Ashrafis and the resistance movement led by Maryam Rajavi are at the forefront of the struggle for a free and democratic Iran. And you are a beacon of hope for millions of oppressed people in Iran. And for that, we are thankful. Yesterday, many of my colleagues and I were given a tour of the museum, and we saw the evidence of the regime’s vicious persecution of so many of you, human rights violations and acts of terrorism across the world. And we heard firsthand testaments from any of those victims. These stories touched us. But we are already aware of who is responsible for this. We are aware of the IRGC, the Supreme Leader, the judiciary, and the Intelligence Ministry are all responsible for your persecution. But we need the world to be aware of that as well. Your story must be heard. And through initiatives like the museum, it will be. Your story will not be silenced. That is why my colleagues and myself in the UK Parliament have, in a cross-party effort, urged our government to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organization. That is why I support the American sanctions against the Supreme Leader’s office and urge our government to follow this step as well as to increase the number of people, the number of officials, on its sanction list over human rights violations in Iran.
I can assure you that the cause of human rights, freedom, and democracy in Iran has widespread support amongst all my colleagues here from the Houses of Parliament. And that support also includes support for Madame Rajavi’s 10-point plan. This is a plan that gives a future for Iran, which provides a clear and viable alternative to the current theocratic regime. But your plan also signs up Iran to the UN Charter and establishes an independent judiciary. These are all values that are close to our hearts, all of us here today. And that is why I call on our government in the United Kingdom to recognize Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan. We want the UK government to recognize the democratic platform of Madame Rajavi, and we want the Iranian people’s right to change the regime for a better future.
Now I could speak for the next hour about this issue. And indeed, each and every one of my colleagues could do the same. But there’s only one thing that we need to say. Hazer, hazer, hazer [we are ready]
