Declaration of Convention of Iranian Communities for Democracy in Europe, U.S., Canada and Australia

On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the anti-monarchial revolution, the first universal convention of Iranians abroad was held in Paris, France on February 8, 2014. Over 300 Iranian associations from all over the world participated. These associations were represented by a wide range of intellectuals, political and human rights activists, women’s rights activists, entrepreneurs, experts of many professions, and students. Many of these representatives were ethnic and religious minorities.

The convention began its work in the presence of Mrs Maryam rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, by paying respect to Ashraf Rajavi and Mousa Khiabani, two leading members of the PMOI who martyred 32 years ago on February 8, 1982.

We must draw attention to 35 years of human rights violations under Velayat-e faqih’s rule, including:

• 120,000 political prisoners executed and hundreds of thousands more tortured;
• The suppression of women and deprivation of their fundamental rights;
• Suppression and discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities;
• Imposition of anti-human laws religion, justified with religion;
• The escalation of political crackdown, including more than 500 executions in just six months under Mullah Rouhani;
• Motivating the flight of intellectuals from the country with suppressive policies and the destruction of Iran’s middle class;
• Being irresponsible with Iran’s vast wealth, including plundering the country’s resources in order to attain nuclear weapons;
• The widespread corruption of the regime, including the 87 billion euro scandal and the unlawful transfer of currency to Turkey;
• The consequences of Mullah Rouhani’s assumption of office, resulting in a schism inside the ruling clique;
• The inevitable retreat of the regime in its nuclear weapons program, more proof of the ineffectiveness of the regime;
• War mongering and the meddling in Syria and Iraq and financing terrorist groups, contrary to the interests of the Iranian people and to the detriment of the peace and security of innocent civilians around the world;
• The mass execution of more than 50 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Ashraf on September 1, 2013, and the missile attacks on Camp Liberty with the assistance of the Regime’s subordinate government in Iraq;
• The extensive political conspiracies of the intelligence ministry against the Iranian Resistance, taken to violent new heights in recent months;

The convention stated:

1. The overthrow of the clerical regime is necessary, as is the establishment of a democratic republic based on the separation of mosque and state that would respect all individual and political freedoms. The only way to establish democracy and freedom, along with economic growth, is to overthrow the mullahs’ regime and all its internal factions.
2. The clerical regime, contrary to official propaganda that attempt to portray it as powerful, is extremely vulnerable and a change of the regime is at hand. Iranian society is in an explosive state and the clerical regime is at a position to be overthrown.
3. Rouhani, the new President, is a continuation of the regime of Velayat-e faqih and has been involved in every crime by this regime since day one. Speaking to the torturers of the Ministry of Intelligence on February 3, he said that in Iran “there is only one flag and only one man who holds the flag” and that is Khamenei, and “everyone should move under that flag and to think that there is another flag in the country is neither sensible nor Sharia-bound”. Cooperation of foreign states with this regime under the false pretext of strengthening the moderates while ignoring the will of the Iranian people for regime change is only legitimizing a regime that has executed hundreds and tortured thousands.
4. The mullahs' regime, engulfed by internal and economic crises, the international sanctions, and fearful of a popular uprising, accepted the Geneva accord and retreated one step from their nuclear projects. We warn against offering any concessions to this regime and underline that in the next stage of negotiations only a firm policy that includes ratcheting up sanctions, implementing Security Council resolutions, additional protocol, and the closure of all nuclear sites can prevent the terrorists ruling Iran from attaining the nuclear bomb.
5. We strongly condemn the active support from the Iranian regime for the bloodthirsty dictator in Syria and the slaughter of Syrian people. This Regime has also meddled in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and other countries in the region, and there has been documented cases of the Regime funding terrorist organizations.
6. We disapprove the silence of the international community, particularly the United States, Europe and the United Nations, in face of the barbaric and systematic violations of human rights in Iran. We further emphasize that the problem of the Iranian people with this regime is not just about the nuclear issue. Turning a blind eye to the violation of human rights and exportation of terrorism is to welcome catastrophe and is hence unacceptable. This regime is not just against the Iranian people, but it is a threat to peace and security in the region and around the world. The international community should side with the Iranian people and their legitimate desire to overthrow this regime.
7. We consider the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as the only democratic alternative to the clerical regime and the espousing of the 10-point platform of Mrs. Rajavi, the President-elect of NCRI, as imperatives for the overthrow of the mullahs’ and the establishment of a democratic regime in Iran. The NCRI is the most enduring political coalition in Iran’s history and encompasses various political, ethnic and religious inclinations. Only the NCRI and the PMOI are capable of a smooth transition of power to the people in the aftermath of mullahs’ overthrow.
8. We pay our respects to the 51 PMOI member killed September 1, 2013 in Ashraf and further declare that the PMOI members in Camp Liberty are the Iranian people’s most precious asset in the struggle against religious fascism. This is why the mullahs are doing their outmost to annihilate PMOI members. Therefore, defending them is a patriotic duty for all freedom-loving Iranians. We condemn the violation of commitments from the United Nations and the U.S. government to protect Camp Liberty residents. We call on the UN, the U.S. and the European countries to promptly secure the release of the seven Ashraf hostages, to temporarily transfer Camp Liberty residents to U.S. and Europe as political refugees, to provide imperative security requirements against missile attacks, to station UN observers and to deploy a Blue Helmet unit on a round-the-clock basis inside Camp Liberty, to refer the inquiry on the Ashraf massacre to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council, and to sell the property in Ashraf through the residents’ lawful representative.
9. Despite the tortures and executions inside Iran and the carrying out of bloodbaths in Ashraf and Camp Liberty, the mullahs’ regime has failed to slow the resistance of Iran. Hence, since April 2013, the Regime has employed known and unknown agents, made use of politically-dead figures, incurred huge costs, and received the assistance of some foreign services to conspire against and demonize the PMOI and the NCRI and especially to target the leader of the resistance, Mr. Massoud Rajavi. This campaign resulted in the mass execution of PMOI members while also ironically claiming that there is no democracy inside the PMOI and the NCRI. The Regime’s effort to demonize the PMOI and NCRI has upset the Iranian community abroad and led to drawing deeper lines in the sand against the clerical regime and its agents.
10. We call on Iranians to remain strong. Do not be intimidated by the Regime’s strong-arm tactics. Meeting face to face and confronting agents of religious fascism ruling Iran who have targeted the Iranian Resistance and its leadership is a nationalistic and patriotic duty for any freedom-loving Iranian.

Iranian societies abroad, whose representatives were present in the convention and include thousands of prominent specialist, scientists, physicians, professors, scholars and directors are the foundation for building a better Iran. We need to work together to rebuild our homeland after 35 disastrous years of mullahs’ rule; we consider this task as our patriotic duty.

Convention of Iranian Communities for Democracy
Paris - February 8, 2014