Free Iran Grand Gathering in Paris: "Onward With the Iranian Resistance, Regime Change Within Reach"

 Tuesday, 11 July 2017 18:44

The grand gathering of Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance was held in Paris on Saturday, July 1st, in which hundreds of senior former officials, lawmakers, and prominent personalities from more than 50 countries in five continents participated.

• Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, was the keynote speaker. She emphasized that the only way to liberate the Iranian people from religious tyranny and to establish peace and tranquility in the region is to overthrow the velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule) . She underscored that the overthrow of this regime is indispensable, feasible, and within reach, and that a democratic alternative and an organized resistance exists to topple it. Mrs. Rajavi added that this democratic alternative is working to establish freedom and democracy in Iran; it will bring harmony to various ethnic groups; will end discord and divide between Shiites and Sunnis and eliminate tensions between Iran and its neighbors.

• Thousands of PMOI members residing in Albania joined the Grand Gathering via satellite.

• Dozens of political figures addressed the event:

• Gilbert Mitterrand, head of the France Libertés Foundation, welcomed the participants: "Your broad presence here is like a referendum against the clerical regime and it shows the ability of this resistance to a democratic change in Iran. I also have to convey to the organizers of this gathering, the message of gratitude of the French President Francois Hollande (2012-2017). He has said that he will continue to pay attention to the human rights situation in Iran, due to the invitation you have made to participate in this gathering."

• Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York: "Finally, I can say, and I can probably say this with a good deal of authority, that the government of the United States supports you, we are behind you, we agree with your values. … The regime is evil and it must go. Free Iran. … We have an alternative, and that alternative is you. It is a democratic alternative. It is a force for change. It is well organized. It has popular support. And it has a vast network of supporters."

• Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives: "Iran must be free. The dictatorship must be destroyed. Containment is appeasement, and appeasement is surrender. The only practical goal is to support a movement to free Iran. Any other goal will leave a dictatorship finding ways to get around any agreement and to lie about everything."

• Prince Turki Bin Faisal Al-Saud from Saudi Arabia: "This gathering is a place of assembly for all Iranians who left Iran due the oppression of the Velayat-e Faqih regime. Along with the representatives of many countries in the world who have suffered from the terrorism of this regime, the regime that is the biggest sponsor of terrorism. The Velayat-e Faqih regime needs to export crisis to survive, but the first victims of Khomeini and his followers are the Iranian people. Your efforts to confront this regime is legitimate and your struggle is for the liberation of the Iranian people with all its spectrum from Arabs, Kurds, Baluch, Azeri and Fars from the oppression of the Velayat-e Faqih."