N-VA wins Chamber-wide Flemish support for condemnation of violence in Iran

With the exception of Groen, all Flemish parties in the Chamber signed a declaration condemning the violence against protesters in Iran. “We are calling on the Iranian government to bring an end to the violence perpetrated against the protesters and to respect freedom of expression,” the N-VA says. A striking fact: in addition to Groen, none of the French-language parties signed either.

Groen and French-language parties did not sign

Some 54 MPs from the N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld, sp.a and Vlaams Belang signed the declaration. “This is a strong signal to the Iranian population. We will do everything in our power to give people who fight for freedom a hearty boost,” the N-VA says. The declaration is in accordance with the points of view of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the German and French ministries of Foreign Affairs, the N-VA notes. “We regret that no single French-language party or Groen answered our call. This is something that should cross party boundaries.”

The declaration

The violent repression of Iranian protesters in the last few days has already resulted in hundreds of dead demonstrators and thousands of arrests, which has led to great indignation, concern and sadness. In view of this reality, the Iranian government decided to cut off the internet, with the result that no information about the events can be made known to the outside world. We are calling on the Iranian authorities to end such actions and to respect the freedom of expression of its own population. We are expressing our solidarity with the Iranian people in this regard.