29 Mar 2024
Monday 31 August 2015 - 22:53
Story Code : 178444

Larijani: Iranians stand against bullying in nuclear talks

New York, Aug 31, IRNA The visiting Speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Ali Larijani said the Iranian nation has proved in its nuclear talks with the world powers that bullying is no longer an effective way to negotiate.

He made the remarks in an address to the Fourth World Conference of Parliament Speakers which is underway at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from Monday 31 August to Wednesday, September 2, 2015.

The full text of Larijanis statement reads:

In the Name of God the most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I deem it necessary to express my gratitude to Mr. Chowdhury for his invaluable efforts over his chairmanship over the IPU. I am also delighted that the present conference is being held under the beautiful title of 'Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development'

The real question is, is democracy really at the service of sustainable peace and development in the world today? With only a little contemplation, one may arrive to the conclusion that many instances of savagery and warmongering have been perpetrated in the name and under the flag of democracy. The doleful pain of the oppressed people of Palestine and the military atrocities of the Zionist Regime in my region as well as the occupation and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war in Yemen and armed conflicts in Syria and many other cases have all occurred in the name of peace-seeking and democracy.

The main problem is that conferences like this one are based on a rational logic. Therefore, we may conclude that sustainable development comes with the three elements of political stability, democracy and balanced economic growth. However, the logic that prevails in practical politics on the ground is that of force not the one found in the theoretical debates of conferences. As long as this paradox persists, we will be witnessing violence, wars and displacement amongst the people of the world. Even worse, there are certain governments that want democracy only for their own people and hence support dictators and despotic regimes outside their borders. Another inappropriate policy on the international stage is to prescribe militancy for democracy. That is why some governments are trying to enforce democracy in other countries with bombs and machine guns. Regrettably, these are all the realities of the world of politics.

We faced similar double standards in the last 12 years when we were involved in a skirmish with the big powers over our peaceful nuclear program and had to stand against their bullying. They imposed sanctions but we persevered and eventually they were forced to resolve the issue over the negotiating table. Of course, we do support the outcome of the negotiations but this was not a victory for democracy being at the service of peace but rather a victory for Iranian nation standing against bullying. Therefore, we the parliamentarians need to try harder if we really want democracy to be placed at the disposal of peace and development. The governments really need to comply with this motto and not allow the democracy, peace and sustainable development which are the loftiest concepts of our time to be trampled upon in the name of national interests.

In conferences if this sort we need to place two important things high on our agendas: 1- diagnosing the harms 2- offering solutions.

The parliament needs to play a bigger role in reforming politics on the ground. The parliaments can become serious barriers erected before occupations. The parliaments can direct the budget spent on occupation and aggression towards development and progress of their own countries. If even one tenth of the budget spent on occupying Iraq and Afghanistan would have been dedicated to development and prosperity we would definitely have not had so much insecurity and terrorism in those countries. The people of the world and especially the youth are awake and more than ever are familiar with politics and their rights. They are left with no choice but to revolt against suppression and occupation. This is where they fall prey to terrorist groups. If the powerful countries want the flames of terrorism to subside they need to abandon their bullying, adventurous and occupying ways. In this conference, we consider democracy as the basis for peace and as such, shouldnt the oppressed people of Palestine reserve the right to choose their government through referendum?

I hope this conference with come out with concrete achievements in fulfilling the valuable theme it has chosen.

Thank you

By IRNA
https://theiranproject.com/vdchk6nzk23nqkd.01t2.html
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