Michéle Alliot-Marie, former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Home Affairs
Speech to the FreeIran2020 Global Summit: Iran Rising Up for Freedom – July 17, 2020
Hello to everybody. It is a pleasure for me to be here with you.
I would like to thank Maryam Rajavi for this invitation today although the circumstances are a little different.
I would like to publicly express my admiration for and my confidence in you. I would like to express my admiration.
Dear Maryam Rajavi, we know each other for 10 years now and I have seen that you continued your fight with courage and determination despite all the threats and risks posed to your fight for freedom, for democracy, for separation of religion and state, and for women’s right and also for men’s rights. And this deserves our admiration.
You are an effective voice in the world and this is very important.
Let me also salute the men and women who are around you.
It is true that we do not have the same atmosphere as your grand gatherings, but they continue to be present.
Our gathering today was a major challenge, but you managed to do it and I think this is a great success. I would like also to salute my brothers, former colleagues, members of parliament, of the government, and all the personalities from around the world who have joined this international conference organized online.
We are here from different countries. We are from very different political opinions, but we are together. We are together because we have things in common. What we have in common is our will to defend and stand for human values, to defend the values of democracy, to defend the values of freedom, and to defend the values of seeking peace in the world. This is what we have in common and it is what we want for Iran.
We would like the citizens in Iran to enjoy conditions similar to our countries, to benefit from freedom of opinion, freedom of thinking, and that they have the freedom to be religious or secular. It is up to them. And for women to be able to have the capacity to serve their country. We have come to say that we support Iran, this wonderful, great nation with thousands of years of history which has greatly contributed to the world. Unfortunately, today, this country and its citizens cannot benefit from the same things we have in our countries, things like freedom, democracy, and the possibility to express themselves freely.
But we would also like to express our worries because we are living in an extremely dangerous world. And Iran must be facilitating peace but in light of its nuclear research and its activities in other countries, like Yemen, whose former Foreign Minister was just speaking, Iran does not play such a role.
Now, when we see that the Judiciary of Belgium suspects an Iranian diplomat for activities considered as terrorist activities, we have reason to be very worried. So, the time has come for us to condemn these activities, and call on Iranians to rise up to restore the values which are considered the wealth of every country and cause of its glory.
Of course, it is not up to us, from different countries, to decide the type of government. It is up to Iranians to do it.
What we can do is to express our feelings, to express our regrets. Because we would like Iran to restore the values we share despite our variety and we would like Iran to fully play her role. This is why we are here together.
But I also have another reason for coming. My personal motivation as a woman, is to see women in Iran able to follow their ambitions as a citizen and to serve their nation with their intelligence and their talents. I have the opportunity to live in a country like France where women have the possibility to have all political and economic responsibilities. And it was a rare opportunity for me, really, that I could lead the different missions I had.
It is very important to open the doors for women in government because they have a new outlook and new methods which are a little different with respect to all citizens, with respect to the the more vulnerable citizens like children and the elderly. They also seek peace and security because those most vulnerable people always pay the highest price.
And, so I think it is important for all young Iranian women to follow the example of Maryam Rajavi, to be able to fight for their freedom, to fight for respect for women and for human rights and respect for democracy. This is important.
Madame Rajavi, you are an example for these young women and I think it is really important to remind them that they have been right to choose your model of struggle.
Of course, we cannot say who must be elected, but we can certainly express our admiration for you.
In conclusion, I would like to wish that you and all Iranians, and especially Iranian women, will be able to realize their ambitions to serve their country, to serve their compatriots and to serve the cause of peace.
Thank you, so much.