PARIS, January 27—A high-level cross-party delegation of British parliamentarians from both Houses of Commons met today with the leader of the Iranian opposition to pursue a humanitarian issue that threatens the lives of thousands.
The meeting involved the British lawmakers and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in the council’s headquarters in Auvers-sur-Oise north of Paris.
At issue was the plight of more than 3,000 Iranian dissidents in Iraq, who have been moved from their pervious safe haven to a site outside Baghdad and who have been subjected to harassment, assaults, missile attacks and other forms of terror that have left scores dead, hundreds wounded, and six held hostage.
The NCRI says the attacks are being carried out by Iraqi forces, though Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki denies it. The NCRI stresses that the attacks on the People’s Mujahahed of Iran (PMOI/MEK) are being conducted at the behest of the mullahs in Iran to whom Maliki is beholden.
The meeting was arranged at the initiative of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom headed by Lord Carlile, which enjoys the support of a majority in the House of Commons and 200 peers. Former Commons Speaker Rt. Hon. Baroness Boothroyd also led the delegation.
Mrs. Rajavi commended the British Parliament’s support for the Iranian people and the resistance and noted that the Iranian regime is facing extensive internal crises, which have led to its retreat its nuclear weapons project. She told the parliamentarians that, to save its balance, “Iranian regime has intensified its violation of human rights by increasing the number of executions, and has stepped up its interference in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and other countries in the region at an unprecedented scale.”
Furthermore, she said, it is using its puppet government in Iraq “to do its utmost to massacre the residents of Ashraf and Camp Liberty while concurrently capitalizing on the feeble stance of the international community to continue its deceptive and clandestine activities concerning its nuclear weapons project.“
The British delegation strongly condemned the “horrific violation of human rights” in Iran, including more than 700 executions in 2013, two-third of which were carried out during the presidency of the “moderate” Hassan Rouhani.
The parliamentary delegation underscored that, despite the recent Geneva first-step accord, attempts by Tehran to attain nuclear weapons remains a serious concern, and asserted that any final agreement should encompass implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions and cessation of any kind of enrichment, as well as the acceptance of the additional protocol by Iran.
While declaring their solidarity with the PMOI members in Camp Liberty who have faced repeated massacres and deadly attacks in the past year, the UK delegation strongly criticised the UK government for its inaction towards their plight.