Some 3,000 Iranians, including a large number of Iranian women, demonstrated on the streets of central London on Saturday, July 27, 2019, to express their support for the ongoing anti-regime protests and strikes in Iran and stress their demand for regime change.
They urged the UK Government to stop placating Iran’s regime and to adopt a firm policy that recognizes the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. They called for comprehensive sanctions against the mullahs’ regime, and expressed support for the Iranian Resistance and its president-elect, Maryam Rajavi, and her 10-point plan for the future of Iran.
Marching from London’s Trafalgar Square to the Parliament, the participants emphasized that while the clerical regime was at risk of being overthrown by the people and the Resistance, investing on this faltering regime is doomed to fail.
The Free Iran rally in London was the last and the peak of a series of rallies by the Iranian diaspora which started in Brussels, and continued in Washington, D.C., Berlin, and Stockholm for the past 1.5 months, extending the Iranian Resistance’s 5-day annual gatherings in mid-July at Asharf-3.
Prominent politicians such as Matthew Offord MP, chairman of the British Committee for Iran Freedom; Struan Stevenson, coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change; Senator Catherine Noone, Deputy Leader of the Irish Senate; Senator Gerry Horkan of Ireland; Roger Godsiff MP; Paulo Casaca, former MEP; Brian Binley, former MP; Roger Lyons, former President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the United Kingdom, Denise Lester from The Law Society of England and Wales, and Dowlat Nowrouzi, the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in the UK; were among the speakers at the rally.
In a video message to the Iranians’ rally in London, the NCRI’s President-elect Maryam Rajavi emphasized that the mullahs understand no language except the language of force and firmness. She said, “The result of the policy of appeasement, the clampdown on the PMOI, and overlooking the violations of human rights in Iran in the nuclear deal can be seen in the regime’s attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf, jeopardizing regional and international security and its terrorist and espionage operations in Europe and the United States.”
Mrs. Rajavi urged the U.K. and Europe to “stop giving concessions to the mullahs, to not help them decrease the sanctions, and to place the IRGC and the MOIS, Khamenei’s office and Hassan Rouhani on the terror list, and instead of shaking hands with the religious fascism, to stand on the side of the people of Iran for regime change…”
She specifically urged the new UK government “to support human rights and to take action to send an international fact-finding mission to Iran to visit the regime’s prisons and the political prisoners particularly, the women.”
Senator Catherine Noone, Deputy Leader of the Irish Senate and lawyer, pointed out the gross violations of human rights by the mullahs in her speech to the Free Iran rally. Among other issues, she said in her speech, “The misogyny of the regime is not hidden by any means and any of us female leaders throughout the world who support the Iranians are particularly disgusted and find this abhorrent. It deprives women of their very basic rights and humiliates them in public for crimes such as riding bicycles or mal-veiling or wearing colorful clothes…
“On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the NCRI and its 1,000 brave and selfless women, and progressive female leaders and Mrs. Rajavi who all devote their lives and made many sacrifices for a wonderful a bright future for all Iranians, and in particular for the women of Iran…
“I’m proud to be part of a group of cross-party Irish senators and parliamentarians who support Mrs. Rajavi and her 10-point plan for a free Iran in which gender equality and both political and social rights will be observed… I’ll conclude by saying there needs to be a regime change in Iran and it needs to happen soon.”
Denise Lester, member of the Law Society of England and Wales, also addressed the gathering. She said in her remarks, “We support you and we are here to elaborate on the role of the Law Society of England and Wales which is the voice of solicitors and safeguards the rule of law in this country… The rule of law is essential to preserve democratic values, fundamental freedoms and good governance, also human rights. The Law Society has written to the Head of the Judiciary in Iran, regarding the treatment of lawyers who have been sentenced, given lashes and imprisoned as a result of their work to progress human rights…
“The Society reminded Iranian government and judicial leaders of the United Nations basic principles on the role of lawyers which states that lawyers must be able to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference… Members of Parliament from U.K. and Europe and join with you in advancing the course of human rights, women’s rights and democracy in Iran.”
In another part of the rally, Ms. Dowlat Nowrouzi, the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in the UK, told the participants, “We are here to convey the four decades of suffering of the Iranian people. We are here to convey the main aspiration of the Iranian people, demanding justice, demanding freedom, demanding regime change and demanding support for Mrs. Rajavi…
“Decisiveness is the only solution to dealing with this regime. Our resistance movement has paid the highest price for the rights of the Iranian people…
“Enough is enough! The mullahs must go. They do not represent the Iranian people.
“The main message of protesters across Iran is ‘hardliners, reformists, the game is over.’ The people of Iran deserve the violators of human rights who are occupying the top to bottom of this regime to face justice…
“It is time for the UK government to realize that they must lead in Europe for a firm policy toward Iran… The recent terror attempts by the regime are all indications that the world community must be united with the NCRI for a policy of regime change in Iran.”
Anglo-Iranian supporters of the Iranian Resistance and the PMOI told the Free Iran rally, “We are a generation who have never seen our homes, whose parents were tortured and executed by the mullahs, whose aunts and uncles were massacred in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, whose brothers and sisters are being beaten on Tehran’s streets and attacked by the mullahs’ thugs. The Iranian regime has failed in suppressing us…
“The people are rising across Iran. They have one clear message: The mullahs’ regime must go. This regime has only brought pain and hardship for the Iranian people and their neighbors. We show our support for the youth in Iran. You are strong and steadfast and you are an inspiration to us all…
“We stand here to say in one united voice that we want regime change. The Iranian people have the right to decide their own future. Boris Johnson has a duty to stand with the Iranian people. Appeasement has only resulted in hostage-taking and terrorism by the regime. We demand the IRGC and the entirety of the mullahs’ regime to be put on the list of terrorist organizations…
“Victory is ours. The future is ours.”
