From Farce to Free? The Need for Real Democracy in Iran’ by Andrew Brown SPEAKER: His Royal Highness Prince Reza Pahlavi, Spokesperson for the National Council of Iran for Free Elections TIME: 1 – 2pm, Monday 10th June 2013 VENUE: Committee Room 14, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA To attend please RSVP to: [email protected] On Friday 14th June, presidential elections will take place in Iran. This should be an opportunity for Iranians to choose a new leader to guide their country through the difficult economic problems it faces, such as high rates of inflation and unemployment. In reality, the country’s secretive and unaccountable Guardian Council have full control over who can stand for election and have banned several opposition leaders from doing so. It is therefore no surprise that United for Democracy in Iran, the opposition umbrella group, have denounced the forthcoming election as ‘an insult to Iranians’. The careful vetting of presidential candidates is only one example of the Iranian government’s suppression of the political rights of its citizens. Hundreds of journalists, human rights campaigners, and opposition figures are currently being detained in notoriously tough prisons. Moreover, the government tightly controls the country’s broadcasters and regularly blocks access to websites containing what it considers to be politically sensitive content. By kind invitation of Robert Buckland MP, The Henry Jackson Society is pleased to invite you to a discussion with His Royal Highness Prince Reza Pahlavi, Spokesperson for the National Council of Iran for Free Elections. Speaking at Parliament days before his country’s inevitably flawed presidential elections, the Iranian exile will discuss the current political climate in his native country and his desire for a secular, democratic, and human rights-respecting Iran. Biography His Royal Highness Prince Reza Pahlavi was born in Tehran, Iran on October 31, 1960 to the late Shah of Iran and Empress Farah Pahlavi. As Crown Prince of Iran and the oldest of four siblings, he left Iran at the age of 17 for air force training, during which time the establishment of the clerical regime in Iran prevented his return to his homeland. Despite being forced to live in exile, Reza Pahlavi’s commitment and patriotic duty to Iran endures. After leaving Iran, Reza Pahlavi completed his higher education with a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. An accomplished jet fighter pilot, Reza Pahlavi completed the United States Air Force Training Program at the Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. During the Iran-Iraq War, Reza Pahlavi volunteered to serve his country’s military as a fighter pilot, but was declined by the clerical regime. For over thirty years, Reza Pahlavi has been a leader and advocate of the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights for his countrymen. He maintains constant contact with his compatriots both inside and outside the country. Pahlavi travels the world meeting with heads of state, legislators, policy-makers, interest groups and student groups speaking about the plight of Iranians under the Islamic regime in Iran. He consistently speaks out against the widespread abuse and oppression of the Iranian people and calls for the establishment of a secular democracy in Iran. Since the fraudulent elections of 2009, Pahlavi’s singular message of solidarity and unity for a secular and democratic Iran has taken on a new air of urgency, which recently resulted in the formation of an elected National Council of Iran for Free Elections, in which he is now the Spokesperson. In addition to numerous articles, Reza Pahlavi has written three books, on the state of affairs in Iran: Gozashteh va Ayandeh [The Past and Future] (Kayhan Publishing, 2000); Winds of Change: The Future of Democracy in Iran (Regnery, 2002); and IRAN: L’Heure du Choix [IRAN: The Deciding Hour] (Denoël, 2009).
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:17:44 +0000
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