Communication

 Date: February 10, 2019

Four Decades of Crimes Against Humanity

February 2019 marks 40th anniversary of the theocratic takeover of the Iranian revolution. Upon his arrival from exile in Paris, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini chose a major cemetery in the south of Tehran as a symbolic venue for his first address to the public. In retrospect, however, the ominous setting and Khomeini’s irascible rhetoric were harbingers of darker days ahead, as the Islamic theocracy’s domestic and international campaign of terror and intransigence would cast a long shadow that bedevils us to this day. The crimes of the Islamic Republic are well documented and widely known today:

- Show trials and summary executions of dissidents and political scapegoats;

- Torture and maiming of political prisoners;

- Gender and sexual discrimination;

- Persecution of religious and ethnic minorities;

- Kidnapping, hostage-taking, and disappearance of foreign and dual nationals;

- Regional aggression through the export of militant Shi’a ideology;

- Incitement of sectarian, cultural, and ethno-religious hatreds;

- Funding, planning, and executing transnational terror campaigns;

- Establishing a covert nuclear program in conjunction with a long-range missile programs;

- Facilitating the illicit trade and distribution of narcotics; and

- Routinely violating diplomatic conventions and protocols to intimidate and blackmail regional and world communities.

In light of these long-established practices of the theocratic regime in Iran, we the undersigned commend and endorse the recent Motion presented to the Senate of Canada by the Honourable Linda Frum in December 2018. This Motion calls for the following:

- Condemnation of the Islamic Republic for its continuous violation of human rights and sponsorship of terrorism around the world, including its vocal and material support aimed at the destruction of Israel;

- Condemning recent statements of President Hassan Rouhani calling Israel a “Cancerous Tumor” in the region;

- Calling on the Canadian government to demand the immediate release of Maryam Mombeini (widow of Kavous Seyed Emami) and Saeed Malekpour (Canadian resident) imprisoned since 2008;

- Calling for the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization under Canadian Criminal Code and utilizing the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitski Act) to sanction Iranian regime entities and individuals involved in human rights abuses; and

- Standing with the people of Iran in recognition of their fundamental rights and freedoms in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Canada has long been a beacon of hope and trust for human rights in the community of nations. It is once again incumbent upon our leaders to discharge our example by declaring our solidarity with the plight of the Iranian people suffering under the Islamic Republic. Senator Frum’s Motion presents us with the opportunity to enjoin this 40-year moral struggle with prudent measures, and to urgently declare our solidarity with the Iranian people.

SOLIDARITY FOR A DEMOCRATIC IRAN

Toronto, CANADA