Ten thousand Iranians gathered in Paris on Sunday to voice their support for the ongoing revolution in Iran. The rally, organized by the supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), featured speeches from opposition figures, Iranian communities, and western politicians.
The rally took place as Iran has seen five months of relentless protests despite repression, arrests, executions, and the murder of more than 750 protesters in the streets. At the same time, the remnants of the overthrown Shah regime and proponents of the mullahs’ regime have been trying to promote solutions such as a return to monarchy and a compromise with the current regime and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
The Persian-language TV and radio channels located outside of Iran that promote the narrative of the monarchy enjoy financial support from governments known for their policy of appeasement towards the regime. However, this promotion does not align with the true aspirations of the Iranian people, who are striving for a democratic and free country. The fixation on the Shah’s son and the monarchy serves only to distract and obstruct the Iranian people’s efforts to achieve a more democratic and free society, hindering progress towards their collective vision for the future of their country.
Live – Paris Grand Rally – Place Denfert-Rochereau
Sunday, February 12 – 11:30 AM
Solidarity with the Iran protests & honoring the legacy of the 1979 anti-monarchic revolution. #IranRevolution #IranRevolution2023 #Iran #Iranprotests #IRGC #BlacklistIRGChttps://t.co/ZJa2pnExV8— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 11, 2023
The Paris rally was a clear echo of a slogan that has become very popular in the past five months of protests in Iran and has been widely censored by these so-called Persian media: “Death to the oppressor, whether it be the Shah or the mullahs!”
“Dictatorship, whether draped in a turban or a crown, remains dictatorship,” said Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), who spoke at the event.
Mrs. Rajavi stressed that the international community has a duty to recognize the Iranian people’s right to resist against the fascist regime and to defend themselves “against the IRGC, covert agents, and the barrage of bullets that pierce their eyes, heads, and hearts.”
She also called on world leaders to back the protests in Iran by designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity. “This is what people of Iran demand and indispensable to promoting regional and global peace,” she said.
John Bercow, the former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, emphasized that the Shah was “a corrupt killer” who did not believe in “democracy, freedom, the rights of media, the rights of women, or the rights of minorities.”
Bercow said that the mullahs hijacked “what should have been a revolution by and for the people of Iran” and are “dictators every bit as much as the Shah was a dictatorship.”
“We don’t want dictatorship for the people of Iran,” Bercow said. “We want democracy. We want freedom, the rule of law, respect for the media, equality for women, and the protection of the equal rights of minorities.”
Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt stressed that 44 years ago, Khomeini stole the democratic revolution of the Iranian people. “He took advantage of the Shah’s repression of the opposition to seize power,” she said. “Today, the opposition is back in the streets. Protesters are chanting, ‘Death to the dictator, whether it be the Shah or the mullahs!’”
The rally for several hours and included speeches from Iranian communities, including youth, lawyers, and experts.
“In the past five months of uprisings, the people of Iran have made it clear that they will settle for nothing short of regime change,” said physicist Farhang Pouya. “The end of the regime is near. This is why the regime, and its intelligence services are trying to put different hurdles in place. But with the Resistance Units, the people of Iran are guaranteed to be victorious.”
