The French Committee in Support of Human Rights in Iran (CSDHI) called for a major demonstration on Friday, February 8, 2019, against serious and massive human rights violations in Iran and the terrorist acts of the Iranian regime on European soil against its opposition. On February 8, thousands of Iranians rallied and marched in Paris to mark the 40th anniversary of the Iranian people's uprising against the Shah's dictatorship.
The rally was a reflection of anti-government protests that continued through 2018 in cities across Iran. The protesters condemned the continuing human rights violations in Iran, increasing terrorist plots of the regime, and the regime’s continuing missile and nuclear programs.
The Council of the European Union decided unanimously on January 8 to include a branch of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence on its terrorist groups’ list. The decision stemmed from the regime’s role in a foiled attack on the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI /MEK)’s annual gathering on June 30, 2018 in Villepinte.
Riding the wave of revolution against the monarchist dictatorship in Iran, the mullahs betrayed the cause of this great revolution for "independence, freedom and the republic" by instead establishing a religious dictatorship.
Iran stands on the brink of the 40th anniversary of the fall of the shah’s dictatorship (which took place in February 1979). Today, the Iranian regime, like the shah’s 40-years-ago, is more bogged down than ever. Incurable crises, protests and uprisings plague the regime. The Iranian public demands fundamental freedoms in every corner of the country. The demonstrators in Paris expressed their support for freedom and democracy in Iran and the democratic alternative embodied by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
This initiative was supported by several district mayors of Paris, numerous human rights associations and the French Committee in support of Human Rights in Iran (CSDHI)
Several thousand supporters of an exiled Iranian opposition group marched through Paris on Friday, calling for an end to Iran's clerical regime 40 years after the Islamic revolution toppled Iran's monarchy.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, widely referred to in the West as the MEK, were joined at the rally by an array of speakers before the march, from former and current French politicians to a one-time Algerian prime minister and a Syrian opposition figure.
Crowds waved posters of group leader Maryam Rajavi and founder Massoud Rajavi — not seen since 2003 in Iraq, where the MEK once had a camp and waged war against Iran before being disarmed by invading U.S. troops.