Paris Le Bourget, 9 July 2016
“Free Iran” Rally The largest ever rally by Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance
Over 100.000 participants
Over 600 senior lawmakers, leading politicians from 80 countries and five continents took part
In addition to Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President‐elect of the Iranian Resistance, who was the keynote speaker to the annual gathering, a large number of prominent personalities and political dignitaries also delivered speeches to the rally that was held this year in Le Bourget, Paris. Following is a partial list:
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission (2004‐2014), former Prime Minister of Portugal;
From Germany, Günter Verhuegen, Vice President of the European Commission (2005‐2010) and Otto Bernhardt, member of the Board of Directors of the Konrad‐Adenauer, addressed the rally on behalf of a delegation which included: Ms. Rita Süssmuth, former President of German Bundestag (1988‐1998); Sabine Leutheusser‐ Schnarrenberger, former German Minister of Justice; Horst Teltschik, former head of the Munich Security Conference; Martin Patzelt, member of Federal Parliament;
From Italy, Giulio Maria Terzi, Foreign Minister of Italy (until 2013); Senator Lucio Malan Quaestor of senat; Pandeli Majko, former Prime Minister and former Defense Minister of Albania ; and Fatmir Mediu, former Defense Minister of Albania, leader of the Republican Party; Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian presidential candidate;
From the United States, Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives and 2012 Presidential hopeful; Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (2005‐2009); Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico (2003 – 2011), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations ; Mitchell Reiss, former director of policy planning at the U.S. Department of State; Tom Ridge, First Secretary of Homeland Security; Louis Freeh, Former Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (1993‐2001); Linda Chavez, former White House Director of Public Liaison; Frances Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to United States President; Michael Mukasey, the 81st US Attorney General (2007‐2009); Robert Joseph, United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation and the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; Lincoln Bloomfield, former assistant secretary of state; John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the United Nations; Patrick Kennedy, member of the US House of Representative (1995‐2011); Gen. George Casey, former US Army Chief of Staff and Commander of the Multi‐National Force‐Iraq (2004‐2007); Gen. James Conway, the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps; Robert Torricelli, member of
the US Senate (1997‐2003), legal representative of the residents of Camp Liberty; Gen. Charles Wald, former Deputy Commander of US European Command; Marc Ginsberg, US ambassador to Morocco (1994–1998) and former Deputy Senior Adviser to the President of the United States for Middle East Policy; Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights; Ambassador Philip Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State from (2009‐2011); Gen. David Phillips, Commander and Chief of Military Police in Iraq (2008‐2011), Col. Wesley Martin, former Anti‐terrorism force Protection Officer for all coalition forces in Iraq,
Iranian‐American Pastor Saeid Abedini who was imprisoned in Iran for preaching Christianity and was released following the nuclear deal;
On behalf of a large participating delegation from various Islamic countries such as Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, UAE, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Sudan, Mali, and Djibouti, the following made speeches: H.R.H. Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, former Saudi Ambassador to the US; Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria; Soliman Hamid Amarah, deputy speaker of the Parliament of Egypt; Mohammed Allahham, George Sabra, deputy chief of the Syrian negotiation delegation; and Dr. Nasser Al‐Hariri, member of the Coalition; and Saleh Alqallab, former government spokesman and former Minister of Culture and Publicity from Jordan;
From France, Dominique Lefebvre and Michel Terrot, members of the French National Assembly, chair and deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Group for a Democratic Iran; Senator Vincent Capo‐Canellas , mayor of Le Bourget; Senator Evelyne Yonnet‐Salvator; representing a large delegation of elected representatives of French cities; Gilbert Mitterrand, President of the France Liberty Foundation; and Rama Yade, former advisor to Foreign Minister for human rights and deputy leader of the Radical Party
From the UK, Sir David Amess MP, Steve McCabe MP, Dr. Paul Monaghan MP and Lord Clarke of Hampstead spoke to the gathering on behalf of a large delegation of Lords and MPs as well as elected party officials, deputy ministers, shadow ministers, former senior ministers and former speakers of the Houses of Parliament.
Anthea McIntyre, MEP from UK, and Struan Stevenson, former MEP from Scotland, President of European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA); The Rt. Rev. John Pritchard, former Bishop of Oxford; were among other speakers of the British delegation which also included a number of jurists, political personalities and human rights activists;
From Spain, Manuel Altava, president of the Senate Judiciary Committee, representing a delegation of senators and members of parliament; Dr. Alejo Vidal Quadras, former Vice President of the European Parliament (2004‐2014); From Ireland, Senator Brian O Domhnaill; From Iceland, former Foreign Minister Jon Baldin Hannibalsson; From Portugal, Maria Candida Almeida, deputy Attorney General; From the Netherlands, Adrianus Melkert, former leader of the Dutch Labour Party and Special Representative of UN Secretary‐General (2009‐ 2011); From Poland, Marcin Swiecicki, Member of Parliament, former Minister of Foreign Trade; and Malgorzata Zwiercan, Member of Parliament and chair of the Elderly Committee; From Lituvania, Egidijus Varikis, Member of Parliament; From Romania, Romeo Nicoara, MP, representing a parliamentary delegation; From Switzerland, Laurence Fehlmann Rielle, Member of the Swiss Assembly;
From Canada, John Baird, former Foreign Minister (2011‐2015); Judi Sgro and Candice Bergen, Members of Parliament; spoke on behalf of a large delegation of Canadian legislators, ministers and members of parliament, and women's rights activists;
From Nepal, Ms. Bandana Rana, UN woman of the year 2016, and chair of the Global Network of Women's Shelters; From Australia, Dr. Meredith Burgmann, a senior member of the Labour Party and former president of the New South Wales parliament; From East Turkmenistan, Rebiya Kadeer, leader of the Chinese opposition, President of the World Uyghur Congress and Noble Peace Prize candidate; From Zimbabwe, Sekai Masikana Holland, former minister and senator, leader of the democratic movement against Mugabe, women and children's rights activist, From India, Ms. Ranjana Kumari, women's rights activist and organizer of Beijing +20 meetings;
Iran: 100,000 gather to call for urgent end to ‘religious dictatorship’ JULY 10TH, 2016 - 06:54 PM GREG RUSSELL
THE crowd that gathered at Le Bourget, Paris, for the annual gathering of Iranian communities could have filled Murrayfield – twice over at an estimate of more than 100,000.
The message from the Free Iran gathering to the regime in their home country was simple – they want change and they want it sooner rather than later. This was the highlight of the year for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the country’s opposition in exile.
http://www.thenational.scot/world/iran‐100000‐gather‐to‐call‐for‐urgent‐end‐to‐religious‐ dictatorship.19824
Free Iran: The Largest Iranian Opposition of Its Kind 07/10/2016 04:15 It is the world’s largest gathering of those who advocate freedom and democracy in Iran. A mass “Free Iran” rally is being held in the French capital, Paris, on July 9. The event attracted more than 100,000 people who come together from around the world in order to make their voice heard, and in hopes of freeing and liberating their homeland. They rallied and demanded a regime change in Iran, advocated for a democratic, non-extremist, pluralistic, and non-fundamentalist government. More than twenty Nobel laureates have declared their support for the “Free Iran” gathering.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/majid-rafizadeh/free-iran-the-largest-ira_b_10912306.html
Iran Dissidents in France Call for Change of Regime By - The Washington Times - Sunday, July 10, 2016
LE BOURGET, France — Tens of thousands of supporters of a dissident Iranian opposition group filled a vast convention hall here over the weekend to call for the downfall of Iran’s theocratic government.
The massive and boisterous event, which occurs annually in this town just north of Paris, was led by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Francebased umbrella group for Iranian exiles that brought dozens of former U.S., European and Middle Eastern officials together to speak out on its behalf.
A bipartisan clutch of Americans, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, former FBI Director Louis Freeh and a host of others was on hand.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/10/iran-dissidents-in-france-call-for-change-of-regim/
100,000 Iranian Rally in Paris
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT 10 July
Hundred thousand Iranians rallied in Paris on Saturday to voice their demand for regime change in Iran during the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In the biggest gathering of its kind, thousands of Iranian dissidents called for the toppling of the Iranian government.
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi said during her opening speech that the only solution would be a change in regime to improve stability in the region. She said “regime change” is the “only solution” for Iran is to exit this “deteriorating” situation.
http://english.aawsat.com/2016/07/article55354152/100000‐iranian‐rally‐paris
THOUSANDS OF IRANIAN DISSIDENTS GATHER IN PARIS TO DENOUNCE REGIME Over 100,000 members of the Mujahideen e Khalq gathered in Paris to denounce the Iranian regime. Published on: 11 July 2016
BRIAN BRINKER
Over 100,000 Iranian dissidents, members of the Mujahideen e Khalq (MEK), gathered in Paris on Saturday to call for regime change in Iran and to denounce the clerics who currently rule the country. The dissidents hailed from across Europe, and the world. Besides the dissidents, numerous luminaries, including high-ranking American politicians and U.N. bureaucrats, attended and spoke at the rally.
http://us.blastingnews.com/world/2016/07/thousand s‐of‐iranian‐dissidents‐gather‐in‐paris‐to‐denounce‐regime‐001009345.html
Iran summons French envoy over exiles' rally The Tehran government has summoned the French ambassador to protest a Paris rally.
The Saturday rally was organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which serves as the political wing of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), who had waged an armed struggle against the mullah regime. The meeting organizers claim that some 100,000 dissidents and exiles attended the annual event near Paris. http://www.dw.com/en/iran-summons-
french-envoy-over-exiles-rally/a-19396460
http://www.arabnews.com/node/951391/world
http://www.arabnews.com/node/951796/middle-east