Letter to European leaders- EN .

Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt, President in Office of the European Union

Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament


Dear Sirs,

As representatives of a wide range of Iranian social, cultural, and political organisations in Europe, we would like to thank the European Union for the positions you have taken over the past few weeks in defence of human rights and democracy in Iran. Your statements have been valued by all of those within Iran who are struggling to bring this regime to abandon totalitarian control and to accept the will of the people.

The struggle is a difficult one. In addition to the scenes of violence you have been able to see on the television screens of Europe, you are aware that more than a thousand people have been arrested and many have been subjected to torture or other forms of cruel or degrading treatment. There have been dozens of deaths since the election. For every method of non-violent expression which the people have sought to use, the regime of Mr. Ahmadinejad, with the support of the Supreme Guide, has mobilised its militia (Bassij) and other paramilitary groups to respond with violence, including invading individual homes and apartment blocks to stop people communicating from their rooftops.

As you are aware, after some uncertainty, the Guardian Council of the Constitution has now declared the result of the Presidential election to be final. The hardliners of the régime have had their way for the time being.

The struggle is, however, far from over, and has many supporters even within the institutions of the Islamic Republic which is divided as never before.

Our position as Iranians living outside Iran is that the Presidential election of 12 June 2009 should be rerun in the presence of international observers. This is the only morally and politically tenable position to take for those who believe in democracy and the rule of law.

We understand that the European Union has been reluctant to make an outright call for the re-run of the election. The nuclear issue is one concern, as is the issue of geo-political balance in the Middle East. We are also painfully aware of the legacy of bitterness left in our country by past foreign interference and the ease with which the régime can exploit mistakes of history.

We believe, however, that the European Union can and must do more at this decisive point. In spite of what Mr. Ahmadinejad says, the Islamic Republic is susceptible to international opinion, especially as it has been faced with the confluence of international opinion and the demands of the Iranian people themselves. In particular, a position which is based on respect for universal human rights is more likely to be effective – and is more encouraging to the people of Iran in their current struggle – than one based only on geostrategic interests.

The European Union can increase the pressure on the régime of Mr. Ahmadinejad by a series of measures which do not compromise its own strategic goals in the region:

* firstly, by calling for action at the level of the United Nations, including an urgent special session of the United Nations Council on Human Rights. This should lead in turn to the nomination of a Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran and the sending to Iran of a joint mission of this Rapporteur together with the existing Special Rapporteurs on, respectively, Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; Freedom of Opinion and Expression; and the Situation of Human Rights Defenders;
* secondly, by summoning the Iranian Ambassador to the EU to meet with the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU to demand collectively the immediate release of all those detained since the Presidential election of 12 June; summon the Ambassadors of Iran in the 27 EU Member States to make the same demand;
* thirdly, by expanding the EU visa ban to target those most responsible for human rights violations in the regime of Mr. Ahmadinejad, i.e. the all national and regional commanders of the security forces (Pasdaran) and militia (Bassij) and not only those who are suspected of being connected to the nuclear programme; by calling on the UN Security Council to do the same at the UN level;
* fourthly, by calling on the UN Security Council to expand financial sanctions to include entities and individuals most responsible for human rights violations in the regime of Mr. Ahmadinejad;
* fifthly, by threatening to adopt, and to have adopted at international level, other forms of political sanction which can help to ostracise the régime and undermine its credibility without hurting the general population; this could include, for example, sports sanctions which would be particularly effective in a football-loving country such as Iran;
* sixthly, by proposing, through direct contact with the Iranian Majlis, to send a delegation of the European Parliament to Iran in the next few weeks to discuss the human rights situation and to maintain open lines of dialogue and communication with the Majlis.



We are aware that the struggle of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy will be longer than we would have hoped for. But it is irreversible, and the Iranian people will remember those who have supported the struggle. We hope that the European Union will understand which is the right path.

Yours sincerely,




Ali Samad ,

on behalf of the signatory organisations (see attached)

iranianbelgique@yahoo.fr

09/07/2009

1. Committee of Iranian Residents in Belgium
2. Association de la Défense du Front pour la République et la Démocratie en Iran-Belgique
3. Fédération Europerse
4. Centre Culturel Persepolis- Belgique
5. Organization of Iranian People’s Fadaian(Majority)- Belgium
6. Foyer des Réfugies iraniens en Belgique
7. Iraans Mulicultureel Centrum-Hamme- Belgium
8. Gastvrij Gent- Belgium
9. Iranian National (Popular) Front-Europe
10. European Cultural Network of Iranians
11. Platform of Iranian Refugee Organisations in The Netherlands
12. Association of Iranians in The Netherlands
13. Parti Constitutionnel Iran- section Danemark
14. Parti Social-Démocrate Iran- section Danemark
15. Iranian National Front –section Germany
16. La maison Culturelle Azerbaïjan-Essen- Germany
17. Foyer des Défenseurs des Droits de l’Homme en Iran- Belgique
18. Collectif francophone pour un Iran libre et démocratique