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 Sir Alan Meale at the Ashraf 3 conference.
Sir Alan Meale:
Can I start, ladies and gentlemen, by first of all saying this is a very humbling experience to come into a hall like this and see so many people dedicated to the whole process of democracy in our world. It's a credit to you, and it's an example to all of us on this stage or those that would follow us of the kind of the way we should approach our politics.
Can I first to pay tribute to Madame [Maryam] Rajavi for the absolutely tireless work she does night and day in trying to promote freedom for your country. It's tireless, and it's a credit to the whole of the democratic process. Can I secondly also pay tribute, I was in the British Parliament for over 30 years. I was also a member of the European Council, and also the Court of Human Rights was under my jurisdiction for over 17 years. And their work, your staff of the PMOI really worked night and day to supply me with all the evidence, all the support that I needed in pushing your case across.
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re here today to once again to oppose the mullahs in what they’re doing to our world. And why not? So far, they're collectively responsible for killing and torturing hundreds of thousands of their own people. They slaughtered them. They’ve tortured them in the most abhorrent way, diabolical way. Public hangings, executions, torture night and day. And once they’re doing that, they restricted other human rights, the human rights of their citizens in every way possible. The whole other population of Iran living night and day under tyranny and dictatorship. Next, wherever they've had to, they've ignored the whole of the guidelines printed down in the Geneva Convention. And lastly, just recently they’ve put at risk the whole of the marine environment for the whole of the Middle East by attacking willingly open independent nations’ oil tankers in that area, which could have led to devastating effects on the environment.
The last thing that I want to raise is a thing which is one of the most serious things at all. The supporters Rudy Giuliani was stating, of state terrorism the world over. In Yemen, in Syria, in Lebanon, and of course in Afghanistan. To the effect that those nations have suffered the ongoing plight of their countries’ depths of despair. Yet we see, we see governments throughout the world, particularly from Europe, who stand idly by, idly by and say nothing but instead argue for appeasement, policies of appeasement. Policies that won’t work and haven’t worked. Is there any sense in doing that, in giving more and more power to the devastating role that these mullahs have played in the world of politics, particularly in this side of the world? Why have they done it? Are they insane? Perhaps. Are they acting in their own selfish interest on trade and defense? Definitely. There’s no doubt whatsoever about that. But the thing is, it’s very dangerous indeed for the forward nature of the future of the world. They’re also pushing quite clearly in support of them to develop their nuclear capacity. That is sheer madness, and we must do everything in our power to stop it in the way forward.
So, what’s to be done instead? The only way forward is Madame Rajavi’s 10-point plan. We’re representing here today nations that have all of them in our constitutions. It's imperative that we don't turn away or stand aside from the process of democracy in Iran. It's essential to the freedom of our world. Has appeasement worked before with all the countries in the world who have shown it towards Iran? You had Khomeini. You had Rafsanjani, he was described I remember as a pragmatist. You had Khatami, he was the (moderate). And then you had Rouhani, he was the negotiator and the mediator. And yet during that period of time, hundreds of thousands of citizens of Iran were tortured, butchered, burned and slaughtered. That is not the way forward. Madame Rajavi offers a real way, a democratic way. And it’s up to all of us to support her in her endeavors.