Mrs. Dominique Attias, President of the European Law Society Federation, addresses a conference at the French National Assembly in support of the Iran uprising and the Iranian Resistance
The Parliamentary Committee for a Democratic Iran (CPID) held a conference at the French National Assembly on o February 7, 2023, to discuss the situation in Iran. French MPs and renowned dignitaries attended and declared support for the Iranian people’s uprising and the Iranian Resistance.
The conference featured Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
MP Cécile Rilhac, from the Renaissance party and the chairwoman of the CPID, presided over the session. Mrs. Rilhac said, “We represent the French Republic’s democracy, and above all, we have the same desire to support the Iranian people in their search for democracy, and above all for freedom.”
Among the prominent dignitaries who addressed the conference was Mrs. Dominique Attias, President of the European Law Society Federation. Mrs. Dominique Attias is among the strong supporters of women in the Iranian Resistance. Following is the text of her remarks translated into English:
Dominique Attias: Thank you for this invitation. And thank you for all the strong words that you have said. I feel a little bit younger than you in this movement, but I believe deeply in it now: Woman, Resistance, Freedom; Woman, Revolution, Freedom; FREEDOM.
Mrs. Rajavi, in Article 2 of her Ten-Point Plan, has already talked about freedom. She speaks of freedom of expression, freedom of parties, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and guarantees for individual rights and freedoms and complete equality of women and men.
One day in my office, when I was head of the Paris Bar, I saw women arriving; women who, for some, are in this room. And these women invited me to the town hall of the First District, where you, Mr. Legaret, had organized a sinister exhibition on the 1988 massacre in Iran.
Thirty thousand women, children, and men were massacred, hanged, and pulled out of prison to hang them—30,000 people who were not recovered by their families and did not have official burials. And today, today is the continuation of all that.
And these women, like you, Ingrid (Betancourt), I have watched them throughout the years since they have continued to invite me, and I have come each time. At first, I came simply as a lawyer. To let 30,000 people be murdered, a real genocide, without the perpetrators being condemned is unthinkable, unimaginable, unacceptable.
And that’s why I followed this movement in the first place because I wanted these people to be brought to justice one day.
Yes, I watched them live. And I said to myself what I still say to myself today: Iran will be saved by women. Yes, gentlemen, by women. A woman like Mrs. Rajavi, a woman who must not be pushed aside. Because if she is pushed aside, we will also (rise up and) start a revolution.
And this woman that I saw living and fighting, and these women that I saw with their headscarves. Yes, because the headscarf is not a subject. There should be freedom to do what you want. Hence women should also be free to wear it when they want and not wear it if they don’t want.
Women in Iran have already paid the price during Shah’s time when Shah’s police tormented them. They paid the price in 1988; they paid the price in 2019, and they pay the price today.
And they continue: helping men. That’s what’s sensational: helping young people first before the older people mobilize—helping young people. Because beyond them, and we are here in the house of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, what matters is the freedom of all.
Dominique Attias: Women often do not seek power for power’s sake; it is the ideas they carry. We already have the supreme power to give birth.
Power is not for power’s sake, for ideas. Ideas for all. Women are an attractive force, not a repulsive one. And that is what is happening in Iran.
And these women, you were talking about, well, they are from all ethnic groups, from all places, from all backgrounds. Indeed, the men have joined them, and that’s it. I didn’t expect to see all this with the NCRI.
And I also saw throughout the various demonstrations to what extent there were even young people outside. They are the survivors of those who suffered and were not even officially buried. And these young people have lived among us, with our ideals, our fundamental values, and want to carry them to Iran.
As you also said, the NCRI is not about power for power’s sake; it is about fundamental values. That is why I am here today. That is why it is so vital that we are here. Thank you, Madam President, and gentlemen, for inviting us.
Because all of us support Iran. If we do not defend these values, we are also concerned it will also reach us one day. It’s never just about others, you know. So yes, we must support, and yes, we must do politics because politics is about making things happen. You have the chance to have been elected, and you are here to make things happen.
We are in the Colbert Room, so you have even more, I hope, possibilities to make things happen, convince, and make the ideals for which you were elected live, for which we all live every day. This is what is happening today in Iran. It is a people who are asking for freedom. And we cannot abandon them.
These are some of the words I wanted to say to you. Thank you.
Remarks by Dominique Attias, President of the European Law Society Federation, at a conference in the French National Assembly on February 7, 2023.
