Friday, 8 July 2016
Iranian dissidents gather in Paris, slam U.S.’ nukes deal
PARIS | In the biggest gathering of its kind, thousands of Iranian dissidents — and no shortage of former high-level American officials from both sides of the aisle — will converge here Saturday for a giant rally calling for the downfall of Iran’s theocratic government.....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/7/iranian-dissidents-gather-in-paris-for-massive-ral/
Islam Needs a Reformation
By Linda Chavez
Islamic terrorism has become the single biggest threat to stability in the world. Attacks killing many hundreds have occurred over the past 18 months in Bangladesh, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France, the United States and elsewhere.
https://www.creators.com/read/linda-chavez/07/16/islam-needs-a-reformation
Islamic terrorism has become the single biggest threat to stability in the world. Attacks killing many hundreds have occurred over the past 18 months in Bangladesh, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France, the United States and elsewhere.
https://www.creators.com/read/linda-chavez/07/16/islam-needs-a-reformation
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Essential to Counter to Iran’s Regional Misconduct
As we approach the first anniversary of the Iranian nuclear deal, tens of thousands of activists and Iranian dissidents are set to rally this Saturday in Paris, calling for Tehran’s nefarious conduct at home and in the region to be tackled. One of the primary messages at this rally will be to condemn Iran’s role in the massacre of the Syrian people and to demand an end to its assistance to the Assad government.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lord-maginnis/essential-to-counter-to-i_b_10853404.html
Amnesty International calls for prompt, independent investigation into Camp Liberty rocket attack
International issued a public statement on Wednesday demanding that members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in Camp Liberty, Iraq, be protected from attacks, following the rocket attack on the camp on Monday in which some 50 people were injured.
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/ashraf-liberty/20654-amnesty-international-calls-for-prompt-independent-investigation-into-camp-liberty-rocket-attack
Maryam Rajavi wins hearts and minds of Iranian diaspora By Elaheh Azimfar
In three days' time, the world will witness the largest annual gathering of Iranian exiles in Le Bourget, Paris, with Maryam Rajavi as the keynote speaker.
Iranians of all walks of life as well as hundreds of politicians and personalities from five continents will converge in Le Bourget to declare their support for Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance and their struggle to overthrow the regime ruling Iran and establish freedom and democracy in their country. But who is Maryam Rajavi?
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30605:maryam-rajavi-wins-hearts-and-minds-of-iranian-diaspora&catid=4:iran-general&Itemid=109
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
An Iranian Voice Republicans and Democrats Should Heed
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/07/an_iranian_voice_republicans_and_democrats_should_heed.html
A Message from Paris Both Republicans and Democrats Should Heed
Okay. Let’s face it. The two presidential nominees have effectively been chosen. The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are ahead of us, and the U.S. is on the precipice of a highly contentious several months of campaigning.
http://cnsnews.com/commentary/ken-blackwell/message-paris-both-republicans-and-democrats-should-heed
Monday, 4 July 2016
Grand Gathering"#FreeIran"-Our Pledge: Regime Change.Join us to be D voice of #Iran'ian ppl.
Grand Gathering"#FreeIran"-Our Pledge: Regime Change.Join us to be D voice of #Iran'ian ppl.
Political prisoner Ali Moezzi invites all to participate in “Free Iran” gathering
notorious Evin and Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) prisons have given their support for the annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance held in Paris this year on July 9. They have also called on all Iranians to participate in this major “Free Iran” gathering in order to make it as notable as possible....
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-resistance/20617-political-prisoner-ali-moezzi-invites-all-to-participate-in-free-iran-gathering
Interview with Struan Stevenson about the “Free Iran” rally
Stevenson has been a staunch supporter of freedom for the Iranian people for many years. Until his retirement in 2014, he chaired the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (Caucus) in the European Parliament for over 10 years. During that time and in subsequent years, he has participated in the annual “Free Iran” rallies organized by the Iranian Resistance each year in Paris.
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-resistance/20611-interview-with-struan-stevenson-about-the-free-iran-rally
Saturday, 2 July 2016
for having Freedom&Democracy Join us to our gathering on 9July in #Paris #maryamrajavi #FreeIran
for having Freedom&Democracy Join us to our gathering on 9July in #Paris #maryamrajavi #FreeIran
U.S. Identifies Nine Training Camps in Iran for Afghans
U.S. intelligence agencies recently identified nine training camps inside Iran where jihadists from Afghanistan are being schooled for fighting in Syria, according to U.S. defense officials.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-identifies-nine-training-camps-iran-afghans/
The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom hosted a conference in parliament on UK policy toward Iran attended by MPs and peers.
At a conference in the House of Commons on Thursday, June 30, UK policy toward Iran was discussed by a panel consisting of experts on Iranian affairs and parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament and each major political party.
https://www.politicshome.com/news/world/press-release/politicshome/76849/nearly-400-british-mps-and-peers-outline-new-iran-policy
Friday, 1 July 2016
Human rights deteriorate in Iran despite European optimism
No amount of trade and economic growth can make up for the suffering and loss of life caused by Iran’s brutal regime. The West must demand change before deepening relations with Tehran, writes Gérard Deprez.
Gérard Deprez is a veteran member of the European Parliament, is vice-president of the Belgian Liberal Mouvement Reformateur Party and chairs the Friends of a Free Iran group in the European Parliament.
Last week I, together with 270 of my colleagues in the the European Parliament from all political groups, including six vice-presidents of the Parliament, signed a joint statement decrying the human rights situation in Iran. We called on European governments to require improvements to that situation before further expanding relations with Tehran and expressed our concern for the rising number of executions in Iran since the so-called “moderate” president Hassan Rouhani took office three years ago.
In his latest reports to the UN Human Rights Commission, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, pointed out that nearly 1,000 people were put to death in Iranian jails during the year 2015 alone. He has clarified that this represents the worst period of executions in 27 years, in a nation that consistently executes more people per capita than any other.
The trend continues to this day, even in the wake of the implementation of the Iranian Nuclear Deal. It continues even as some European politicians insist on regarding the Rouhani administration as moderate, and as a potential source of internal reforms in the months and years to come.
Iranian opposition sources have added to Shaheed’s statistics by noting that President Rouhani has overseen a total of approximately 2,500 executions during his three years in office. Various Iran-focused human rights organisations have continued to report executions in recent weeks and have pointed out, for instance, that at least 73 people were hanged in May, some even in front of public crowds that included young children.
Such brutal spectacles are only one of the ways in which the Iranian regime maintains its commitment to plainly medieval values, regardless of whether Western observers keep up scrutiny and pressure on Tehran’s behavior, or praise it for its “moderation”. Repressive measures against women and religious minorities have continued to increase. The joint statement by the European lawmakers highlights not only the overall scope of executions, but also the fact that Iran leads the world in executions of juvenile offenders. Victims of Iranian hangings include political prisoners convicted of “crimes” like “enmity against God”, which may consist of nothing more than donating money to media outlets linked to the opposition PMOI, or otherwise speaking out against the regime’s abuses.
Even those who avoid the noose may be punished with either excessively long prison sentences or forms of legally mandated violence that would be shocking to any civilized person. According to the last report from Amnesty International, the country’s fundamentalist leadership continues to cling to the literal doctrine of “an eye for an eye”, and has very recently carried out punishments that involve blinding prisoners or removing their limbs.
Sentences of flogging are not only eagerly meted out by Iran’s revolutionary courts; they appear to be increasingly popular as ways of attempting to “correct” the behavior of a restive population, particularly women, who are thoroughly fed up with forced Islamic dress codes, comprehensive media censorship, and the criminalisation of anything resembling Western society. Near the end of May, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned “the outrageous flogging of up to 35 young men and women in Iran” who had been rounded up at a graduation party and almost immediately subjected to 99 lashes each for removing headscarves and dancing with the opposite gender.
For those who have been waiting for signs of reforms from inside the Iranian regime, surely that wait has gone on long enough. Former claims of moderation have been thoroughly contradicted in both word and deed by the regime in general, and by the Rouhani administration in particular. The laws leading to the above-mentioned executions and physical violence have all been eagerly embraced by the Iranian president, who has described them as “the law of God” and “the laws of the parliament, which belongs to the people”.
In reality, the Iranian parliament belongs to no one other than the ruling theocracy. The recent political victories for Rouhani’s faction were nothing other than victories of one hardline wing over another. All genuine reformists were ousted from the race long before the Iranian people had any opportunity to weigh in on the future of the country. And more than that, many of the staunch opponents of repressive theocracy and fundamentalism were ousted from the country altogether, years ago.
On 9 July, many lawmakers from Europe, the United States, and throughout the world will join in the international rally of the Iranian opposition in Paris under the leadership of Maryam Rajavi to emphasise our commitment to supporting the Iranian people’s aspiration for democratic change.
Our message is that the Iranian people cannot afford European and American policies that continue to avoid putting pressure on the regime over the human rights situation. No amount of economic growth or trade with Iran can make up for the pain and loss of life that will persist if the regime is allowed to commit its newfound wealth to the same old human rights abuses.
Iran’s empty condemnation of terrorism
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
About two days after an Orlando gunman carried out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, the Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement purporting to decry the incident. Speaking via the state-run IRNA, a spokesperson said the Iranian regime “condemns” the attack “based on its principled policy of condemning terrorism and its strong will to seriously confront this evil phenomenon.”
It’s hard to imagine an expression of sympathy more disingenuous. Tehran’s comments must be viewed against a backdrop of its status as the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism, its steady propaganda against the United States, and its own brand of homophobia that has its origins in Islamic extremism.
Iran is not all talk. The rhetoric about Western “arrogance” and “hostility” has been backed up by the arrests of numerous people who hold both Iranian and Western citizenships. The same goes for journalists, artists and professionals who have any meaningful connections with the West, and for activists the regime deems pro-Western.
More significant is the regime’s long and brutal history of institutionalized homophobia. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once famously declared during a visit to the United States that Iran “does not have any homosexuals.” His laughable bluster was typical of his macho regime.
By contrast, the Orlando condemnation was issued by the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, known to wear a much friendlier face in public than its predecessor. This was most obvious during the nuclear negotiations last July. But neither the nuclear deal nor any subsequent statements justify claims that Mr. Rouhani and his colleagues represent a trend toward moderation.
Indeed, just last week, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that traces of man-made uranium were found at the Parchin facility, southeast of Tehran, indicating that Tehran was pursuing a weapons program.
