It would be naive to think Rouhani is a ‘moderate’: Lord Clarke of Hampstead

It would be naive in the extreme to think that Hassan Rouhani, the president of the clerical regime in Iran is a moderate, Lord Tony Clarke, member of the UK House of Lords and former Leader of the British Labor Party said in a speech during a meeting of a delegation of British parliamentarians with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, in Paris on Friday.

Lord Clarke told the meeting: “Rouhani and his ministers who wish to shadow their smiles and mount statements and suggestions that somehow they've become moderates. Moderates? Two recent reports from Amnesty International and United Nations' Committee on the Rights of the Child clearly expose the truth of how the mullahs treat their citizens, especially young people.”

“Last month, on January 26 Amnesty International informed the world ‘Iran continues to execute juvenile offenders in plain violation of the absolute legal prohibition on the use of the death penalty against people under the age of 18 at the time of their crime.’

“The report went on to list the 73 executions of juvenile offenders and how at least 160 are still on death row.”

“What are the crimes? What are the crimes of these young people? Membership of an illegal organization. Participation in an illegal gathering. These measures, these threats, these sentences, are designed by a frightened and wicked government to prevent youngsters to enjoy the freedom of association and peaceful assembly.”

“They are frightened because when youngsters start talking about the lives that they're are leading, they will soon turn to find another alternative to the oppression they're suffering.”

“It would be naive in the extreme to think that Rouhani has become a moderate,” he said.

Lord Tony Clarke said that the nuclear agreement between the Iranian regime and the West “has nothing to do with the freedom of people or the respect of human rights. It was done for trade reasons, and for money. And those billions of dollars really ought to be going to help the welfare of the people.”

“If the West really believe they can bring about change they should demand an end to the executions and the barbaric amputations, bring an end to the tortures, and the release of political prisoners, as well as Tehran stopping his murderous move against the residents of Camp Liberty.”

Lord Clarke of Hampstead praised Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point for future of Iran saying the plan “provides a clear, articulated democratic platform that would not only serve the Iranian people, but also the entire region in the long run.”

He told Mrs. Rajavi: “I command your courage as a Muslim woman, to put forward such a modern vision for your country, which to the best of my knowledge is the only public platform from an Iranian opposition group about what their goals are for the future.”

“I will continue to support it and urge my government and colleagues to do the same. And I'd like to close by saying the words that the late Lord Robin Corbet who said in more than one occasion: ‘One day, Iran will be free’.”