WRITTEN QUESTION E-3729/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(19 December 2002)

Subject: Legal status in the EU of members of the Iranian opposition in exile who are campaigning for pluralist democracy and against theocratic dictatorship

1. Is the Council aware that a young generation in Iran is increasingly protesting against the fact that the elected parliament and the elected president have no real authority in the state and that power over the army, the police, the courts, censorship and citizens' freedoms is in the hands of a conservative, theocratic elite which cannot be voted out of office and which imprisons or kills opponents?

2. Given that Iran cannot be described as a democracy governed by the rule of law, does the Council regard it as right that organisations which are the most vocal in calling for change, and are therefore banned in Iran, are treated as terrorist organisations outside Iran?

3. Is the Council coming under pressure from the Iranian authorities to declare as a terrorist organisation the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an umbrella organisation set up in 1981 and now based in Paris, which, as a 560-member parliament in exile, brings together people of various faiths, ethnic origins and political convictions and campaigns for a democratic, secular and pluralist Iran, equality between women and men, self-determination for ethnic minorities and free elections under UN supervision?

4. Is the Council aware of how much backing there is for calls to support the Iranian democratic opposition in exile and for the legalisation of such organisations in the EU, such as the call made on 18 July 2002 by 453 Members of both Houses of the UK Parliament, the call made by the Danish Parliament on 14 November 2002 for dialogue with relevant opposition groups in Iran with a view to fostering the reform process, and the support which has now been given by the parliaments of Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg and by MPs in France, Germany and Sweden for the legalisation of the Mujahedin Khalq (PMOI), an opposition movement set up in 1965 and which is now the largest and most active within the NCRI?

5. Is the Council prepared to offer the Mujahedin Khalq immediate guarantees that it can operate as a fully legal organisation, that it will not be suspected of plotting terrorist acts on EU territory and that no restrictions will therefore be imposed on its peaceful activities and fundraising?

Reply

(13 May 2003)

The Council decided on 17 June 2002 to deepen relations between the EU and Iran. The Council stressed that it wished to support the reformist forces in Iran. When taking its decision, the Council emphasised that enhanced trade and co-operation with Iran would be linked to significant, positive developments in a number of areas of concern to the EU, such as human rights, counter-terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the Middle East Peace Process. The Council also said that it would evaluate progress in these areas. The EU's policy vis-à-vis Iran therefore has a political context within which the EU has certain expectations for the development of reforms in Iran.

Negotiations on both trade co-operation and political matters began in parallel on 12 December 2002. On that occasion, the EU explained the linkage between the commercial and the political aspects of EU-Iran relations, and it would seem that Iran agreed to regard the future contractual relations between the EU and Iran as a package.

In addition to the above, in December 2002 the EU and Iran set up a Human Rights Dialogue with the participation of experts, NGOs and government officials.

As to the specific question, the Council would remind the Honourable Member that the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MeK or MKO) is on the EU list of persons and groups involved in terrorist acts as referred to in Common Position 2001/931(1) as amended. The Community and the Member States are committed in this respect.

Regarding the NCRI, the Council takes note of the Honourable Member's position. At this point in time, the Council has no concrete plans regarding the NCRI.

(1) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001.