Iran rally in Paris gets going

By: Pejman Amiri

On a day off from the Euro 2016 football games a large crowd is rushing to Paris today, this time not to watch a sport event but to join the grand gathering of the Iranian resistance which is held every year around this time organizers expect there will be well over 100,000 supporters at the rally, where Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the charismatic leader of the resistance and the president elect of the Iranian opposition will speak to the crowd.

The rally is organized by the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an umbrella organization that includes more than 300 opposition groups scattered across 24 nations. The group enjoys massive support in the United States and among members of the European Union.

"As you are aware, international stakeholders assumed that the nuclear deal would bring tranquility to the region. But it rained down barrel bombs and 70,000 Revolutionary Guards on the people of Syria. It resulted in ethnic cleansing of Sunnis by the terrorist Quds Force in Iraq. And it led to the spread of extremism under the banner of Islam in the whole region. The Iranian Resistance stands by the brother nation of Syria and its brave combatants. It is honored to act as the voice of solidarity between the two nations," Rajavi said.

"On the other hand, the mullahs and Daesh are reading from the same script. Both espouse a similar reactionary ideology, which is diametrically opposed to the pristine teachings of Islam. They have a similar modus operandi when it comes to barbarity and savagery. They need to rely on one another to survive. For this reason, so long as the regime’s occupation of Syria, Iraq and Yemen continues, we cannot confront Daesh effectively," she added.

Hundreds of participants waive blue flags emblazoned with Mrs. Rajavi’s photo and chant her name while the event. She is the most active foe of the religious dictatorship government of Iran. The regime of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been condemned by different countries in the world for the mammoth number of executions and the blatant record of human rights violations.

Prominent European figures expressed their support for the democratic Iranian opposition.

"The NCRI is the only opposition force that Mullahs fear and this shows that the PMOI is not only the main enemy of the Mullahs, but they are the only alternative. I’ve been attending to this annual gathering every year and I am very glad to observe the influence it has inside Iran and even the political prisoners who are suffering from torture every day, has sent messages to support this gathering and our hear is with them" said former European Parliament Vice President Alejo Vidal-Quadras in the Paris gathering.

Pejman Amiri is a freelance writer on Iran & Middle East Pro-democracy & freedom for Iran follow Pejman on @pj_arad

Pejman Amiri is an Iranian human rights activist and writes for democracy and freedom in Iran. Pejman tweets at @pj_arad and also his Facebook.