Italian lawmakers condemn Iranian oppression against ‘freedom and democracy’, call on EU to act
ROME: Italian legislators have strongly condemned the repression in Iran and called on the European Union to act “against a regime that denies freedom and democracy.”
Members of all political parties in the Chamber of Deputies, along with senators, gathered in the Senate for a conference, which was attended remotely by Mariam Rajavi, chair of the National Resistance Council of Iran.
Sen. Marco Scuria said: “It is the duty of the Italian Parliament to express support to Iranians who are courageously demonstrating against a regime that has already killed nearly 700 people, mostly young people.
“We do not ask Iran to become a Western country; We only demand the right of self-determination of the Iranian people.
“They have the right to enjoy their freedom and rights in the state on the basis of rule of law.”
Scuria said that Senate President Ignazio La Russa “expressed his support for this initiative.”
Sen. Giulio Maria Terzi di Sant’Agata, who chairs the parliamentary committee on European Union affairs in the Senate, said the EU and its member states “cannot turn a blind eye to the tragedy that has been going on in Iran for too long”.
He added: “The European Union must now act in a concerted way so that freedom and democracy are guaranteed in Iran.
“We fully support the work of the opposition National Resistance Council of Iran.
“No one should underestimate the regime’s capacity for violent repression.
“The regime responsible for the endless atrocities has executed 30,000 political prisoners. Its alliance with Moscow is even more nefarious.
“The uprising that followed the assassination of Mahsa Amini confirms how necessary the response of the people and the international community is against a regime that has activated a terrorist network in Europe supported by its embassies.”
MPs Elisabetta Guardini and Luana Zanella expressed their support for Iranian women “who are paying the highest toll in repression.”
Zanella said: “In Iran, women are excluded from human rights, and dozens of them are killed every year.
“As they are fighting a very tough battle out there, we have no other choice but to be by their side.”
Razavi said that poverty in Iran “has tripled and the unemployment rate has also increased” in the past five years.
She said: “Why does Europe appear unable to do anything to rid itself of this regime?
“Apart from the nice announcements, so far the EU has been condescending towards the regime. The EU must now take concrete action.”