Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras was invited on Friday 28 August as a guest of honor to a meeting with Iranian youths in Germany. He is a former Vice-President of the European Parliament and the President of the international committee In Search of Justice (ISJ). After being warmly received by the audience which comprised mainly of the young generation of the Iranian Resistance he pointed out that the active presence of the youth in the endeavor to liberate Iran from religious tyranny carries a very important message: “It shows that this opposition, despite the brutal repression by the mullahs, has the amazing capacity to rebuild itself after each attack and consequently has a bright future.”
He reminded the audience of the mass executions of over 30,000 political prisoners of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in the summer of 1988, explaining that the reason for their executions was no more than their refusal to denounce the PMOI (MEK) and its leadership. Their resistance and arrests led to their executions by the orders of Khomeini. Their bodies were buried in mass graves in a cemetery in Tehran and their families do not know where to go to mourn for their lost loved ones. He went on to point out that, “In a few days, the PMOI will be 50 years old. I am very delighted and honored to share with you the joy of celebrating this 50th anniversary of the foundation of ‘PMOI – The Golden Jubilee”’.
“As you know on the 5th September of 1965, three students in Tehran, Mohammad Hanif-Nejad with two of his friends, set up the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. The PMOI would grow to become by far the largest and most active political movement in Iranian history.”
He went on to say that the PMOI (MEK) is the backbone of the resistance against the ruling religious dictatorship and is a treasure of moral, cultural and political values in today’s world.
“The PMOI is the centre of a political coalition, the NCRI, which fights for democratic and pluralistic Iran and says religion and state should respect each other independence.”
He went on to mention Maryam Rajavi who is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-exile, saying, “The presence of a Muslim woman at the top of this movement, who calls for a secular and democratic Iran, is very significant and is really a revolution in the thinking and attitude in the Islamic world. As we all know one of the main characteristics of Islamic fundamentalism is their degrading and harsh stance towards women. So a woman, who is a real leader, and a very charismatic one, and not just a formality, represents indeed a revolution which can shake very positively the Islamic world.”
He went on to talk about the hardships that the PMOI (MEK) and his own organization had to endure in their efforts in making the world realize the importance of the PMOI and the harsh actions of the dictatorship ruling over Iran.
His final words were as follows, “Dear friends, whenever I go to the big gatherings of the NCRI in Paris, I see the enthusiasm of thousands of Iranians and hundreds of foreign guests to promote democracy in Iran and especially I confirm the support of the young people for this liberation movement. This is for me and for all veterans a source of energy and a great encouragement. But we have to do much more and I use this opportunity to invite the young generation inside and outside Iran to make no delay in supporting this Resistance, to clear any misunderstandings and to be relentlessly active until we put an end to the criminal regime that oppresses the Iranian people ant threatens the whole world. I am certain you will never give up and be sure that you have many friends in Europe and in many other places that will never fail to you.”
