In a meeting to commemorate the Late Danielle Mitterrand on Saturday 22 November, Dutch dignitaries and politicians paid tribute to former French First Lady and praised her relentless campaign for human rights and democracy and in defense of the victims of injustice throughout the world.
The meeting was held with the presence of her son, Gilbert Mitterrand, President of Danielle Mitterrand Foundation (France Libertés), an NGO with consultative UN status, who was the keynote speaker of the event was organized by Dutch Group of the Friends of Free Iran.
Gilbert Mitterrand spoke about the character of Danielle Mitterrand and elaborated on how she advocated human rights in Iran and the rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf (members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.)
Professor Henk De Haan, Chairman of the Dutch Group of the Friends of Free Iran, Senator Kees de Lange, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Dutch Senate, and Mr Geert Van der Meer, a human rights activist and a long-standing advocate of the Iranian Resistance, were among other speakers of the event. Also a message was sent to the event by Mr. Wim van de Camp, the Dutch MEP.
The speakers condemned the flagrant and systematic violation of human rights in Iran, and urged immediate action in light of alarming and unprecedented rise of executions in Iran during the Presidency of Hassan Rouhani. Referring to the 61st censure resolution by the UN on the Iranian regime’s abhorrent human rights abuses last week, they called for the referral of Iran’s appalling human rights record to the UN Security Council. There have been more than 1,000 executions during his tenure.
Gilbert Mitterrand spoke about the character of Danielle Mitterrand and elaborated on how she advocated human rights in Iran and the rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf
The speakers condemned the flagrant and systematic violation of human rights in Iran, and urged immediate action in light of alarming and unprecedented rise of executions in Iran during the Presidency of Hassan Rouhani.
Professor Henk De Haan, Chairman of the Dutch Group of the Friends of Free Iran, Senator Kees de Lange, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Dutch Senate, and Mr Geert Van der Meer, a human rights activist and a long-standing advocate of the Iranian Resistance, were among other speakers of the event.
Some pointed out that they were particularly incensed by the new wave of terror and attacks targeting Iranian women. They put the wave of state-organized acid attacks against Iranian women and the execution of Reyhanneh Jabbari, the young Iranian girl who was hanged on charged with defending herself against sever physical abuse of one of the regime’s agents on the spotlight.
According to the Dutch politicians and dignitaries at the event, the rise of executions and repression of religious and ethnic minorities, bloggers, reporters and activists vividly demonstrate Iranianregime’s fear of the growing public discontent. They emphasized that nuclear negotiations should not act as a pretext to turn a blind eye on the flagrant violation of human rights in Iran.
While paying tribute to Danielle Mitterrand, a number of representatives of the Iranian associations of youth and women in the Netherlands addressed the event and expressed their support for Iranian resistance, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian resistance and her 10 point plan for future Iran.