Nowruz celebration in the House of Commons   1 Apr 2015

Nowruz celebration in the House of Commons

While the nuclear talks with Iran resume in Lausanne, members of both Houses of Parliament urge the UK government to adopt a firm stance against the Iranian regime as stated in the EDM342 Iran and Nuclear Weapons, a parliamentary motion supported by over 110 MPs.

On Wednesday, March 25, cross party MPs from both Houses of Parliaments, prominent jurists and solicitors as well as Human and Women's Rights activists joined the Anglo-Iranian community to celebrate the Persian New Year Nowruz in the House of Commons.

Participants at this New Year celebration included: the Rt Hon. David Jones MP, former Secretary of State for Wales; Sir David Amess MP, Co-chair of the the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF); Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, Co-Chair of British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom; Dr Matthew Offord MP; Steve McCabe MP; Sir Alan Meale MP; David Crausby MP; Sir Roger Gale MP; Sir Bob Russell; Rt. Hon. John Spellar MP, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass; Lord Clarke of Hampstead CBE; Lord Cotter; Lady Val Corbett, Prominent Human and Women's rights activists; Kirsty Brimelow QC, President of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC); Professor Bill Bowring, Prominent member of the Human Rights Committee of Bar Council; David Vaughan QC; representatives of the NCRI in UK as well as representatives of different Anglo-Iranian Associations in London.

In their remarks, speakers expressed their best wishes and greetings to Mrs Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Anglo-Iranian community as well as the people of Iran and Iranian refugees at Camp Liberty. They also expressed hope that this year would see an end to the repression in Iran and bring with it freedom and democracy for the Iranian people.

In his opening remarks, the Rt Hon. David Jones MP, raised the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran due to resume today in Lausanne, Switzerland, and welcomed the position of the government that “no deal is better than a bad deal”.

In regards to the ongoing nuclear talks in Lausanne, he reiterated the provisions in the EDM342 Iran and Nuclear Weapons, a parliamentary motion supported by over 110 MPs, and said “while supporting Mrs Maryam Rajavi's movement for the revelations of the regime's secret nuclear weapons programme since for the past two decades, any nuclear agreement that does not include implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and a halt to enrichment of uranium in addition to the IAEA inspectors having unhindered access to all suspected sites will leave the path open for the regime to continue its ambition to create a nuclear arsenal.”

While expressing support for the remarks by David Jones MP, Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, said “I do not accept for one moment that it is right to decouple human rights from the nuclear negotiations. In my view to have the nuclear negotiations based on a trust of an untrustworthy regime on the assumption that we later can have a meaningful discussion about the appalling breaches of human rights in Iran is just silly … I believe that the regime in Iran is in a process of fooling the West by its fake promises about human rights. Furthermore, I find it very difficult to believe that they will not continue with their nuclear programme whatever is decided in these negotiations.”

Noting that the Prime Minister David Cameron told the Reuters news agency earlier this week that “Alternatives to Iran nuclear deal are 'not attractive'”, Sir David Amess MP, co-chair of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, said, “there is an attractive alternative and that is to help the Iranian people to end the religious dictatorship in their country.”

“We propose this road map to a more attractive alternative that exist and that not only ends the Mullahs quest for a nuclear weapons but also halt its export for terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, in one political decision, support the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance to bring about democratic change in Iran. Back the 10-point plan for future Iran, presented by the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Maryam Rajavi, that advocates, a free, democratic and nuclear-free Iran based on rule of law, fair elections, gender equality, freedom of press, assembly and expression as well as peaceful coexistence with its neighbours”, he added.

Addressing the alarming situation at Camp Liberty, Sir David Amess said, “If for whatever reason the International Community, the UN or the US are unwilling to step in to provide protection for the defenceless Iranian refugees in Camp Liberty, then the only moral and honest thing to do is to at least provide them with their arms so that they can protect themselves and their home against aggressions by the Quds-force and Iranian-backed militias, that are gaining grounds in Iraq.”

Kirsty Brimelow QC, President of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC), criticised the current situation for Iranian refugees at Camp Liberty as unacceptable. She also promised to follow up on an open letter by the BHRC of February 10 to the UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon that urges an end to the medical and fuel siege on the camp as well as Camp Liberty to be recognised as refugee camp under the supervision of UNHCR.

ENDS

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