- Thursday, August 13, 2020

It’s a huge pleasure and privilege to be here today at this great annual gathering which this year is taking place both physically and virtually. People in 30,000 locations, in over 100 countries, all joined together to support freedom in Iran and Madame Rajavi’s 10-point plan.

Last month, President Macron of France traveled to London to mark a special event—the 80th anniversary of the arrival of General Charles de Gaulle in Britain. President Macron said, “After arriving in London on June the 17th, De Gaulle was immediately received by Winston Churchill, and the royal family offered asylum to the man whom they recognized almost by instinct as the legitimate ambassador of French values.” And President Macron continued, “Winston Churchill personified the spirit of fighting on. He said he had nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. And yet he offered so much more—determination, faith in victory, honor, and pride.” Churchill was the man who stood firm against a monstrous tyranny, and thus, he made London the capital of the free world.

And now, in the great annual Free Iran gathering of 2020, where the international community gathers together to back the Iranian people’s legitimate struggle for democracy, human rights, peace, and security, we call on the British government, especially our Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is Churchill’s biographer, to stand firm, as Churchill did, against the regime that is ruling Iran. We dearly wish our government to show the same determination, faith in victory, honor and pride to the world as Winston Churchill did in 1940. Churchill did not stand aside. Rather, he offered his support of the people of France by recognizing Charles de Gaulle as their legitimate ambassador.

Today, Maryam Rajavi is the legitimate ambassador of the Iranian people, and I believe she should be recognized as such by the British government.

Last month, President Macron also said the BBC opened its airwaves to French speakers and conveyed the spirit of French resistance. And today, we want the BBC to open its airwaves not to the mullahs, but to the Iranian speakers who convey the desire of the Iranian people for freedom. That is what the British people and their representatives in the British Parliament want to see happen.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.