Tehran Prepares to Rally Support for Intifada
The conference aims to rally support for the nearly seven-month-old Intifada. It is being sponsored by the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) with Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour as its secretary general.
The Tehran conference is the greatest conference ever held on the issue of Palestine, said Mohtashamipour yesterday. He added that the conference could change the balance of power in the region and the entire world and restore the trampled rights of the Palestinian nation.
Speaking in an interview Mohtashamipour said here on Sunday called on all Muslim nations to resist against aggression by big powers, particularly by their illegitimate representative, that is the Zionist regime, in the region.
Talking to IRNA, he stressed that the aggressive nature of the Zionist regime is not limited to the Palestinian nation today. The Lebanese territory and the Syrian bases are also attacked by the Israeli forces, he added.
The Zionist regime is the only regime in the world that officially confesses to its crimes and aggressions, through U.S. backing throughout the history, he said adding that it is why Israel believes that it has been created in the Middle East region as the representative of the big powers in order to serve their interests.
At this juncture, the Tehran conference and a conference by the domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will be held at the highest possible level, Mohtashamipour who is also a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) said.
Answering a question on whether the increase in recent Israeli attacks against the innocent Palestinians has anything to do with the Tehran conference, the MP from Tehran stressed that whenever a reformist move takes place anywhere in the world, the seditious powers make attempts to confront it.
Meanwhile, Rassoul Montajabnia, a member of the Central Council of Majma'-e Rouhaniyoun Mobarez (MRM) said Sunday that the Palestinian Intifada is a "strategic issue" for world Muslims as well as an "ideological task".
Speaking to IRNA, Montajabnia urged Muslim nations and heads of state not to forget the issue of Palestine and termed holding of the international conference for support of the Palestinian Intifada here on April 24-25 as a "positive and constructive" measure in this connection.
He said raising the issue of Palestine as an Islamic-universal concern is an important accomplishment, adding that organizing a conference with the participation of several Parliament speakers and a large number of parliamentarians from Islamic countries for exchange of views on Palestinian issues is highly significant as well.
He termed the international conference for support of the Palestinian Intifada as the "most important and major international gatherings in the world" and said organizing such a gathering is a source of proud for Iran's Sixth Majlis.
However, Montajabnia further remarked, raising the issue of the Palestinian Intifada will morally encourage the Intifada, Lebanese Resistance and combatants in the Islamic world.
Meanwhile, MRM said in a statement on the eve of the Tehran conference that though the conference has a very positive impact on Muslim solidarity and a strong support for the Palestinian people, the representatives of the Muslim nations are required to formulate decisive measures and coordinated stance to deal with Zionist regime's bullying and expansionism.
"The Palestinian Intifada is a popular and self-motivated movement which has emerged from within the Palestinian community suffering from decades of Israeli tyranny. The Palestinian Intifada is rooted in the disappointment with diplomatic efforts of the international organizations and a national resolve to determine their own fate," the MRM said.
Another MP talking to IRNA, Ms. Elaheh Koolaee on Sunday called for mobilization of world parliaments to defend the rights of the Palestinian nation.
She said that holding the international conference on Palestine is in fact materialization of the objectives stressed in Iran's Constitution and is a kind of support for world oppressed.
Referring to Iran's successful experiences in supporting the rights of South African people and attracting international supports in that regard, she said, based on that experience, the Islamic Republic may make use of world public opinion for confrontation with the racial policies of the Zionist regime.
Tehran conference can encourage world parliaments to take positive steps toward countering violation of human rights of the oppressed Palestinians in the occupied territories, Koolaee, who is a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission pointed out.