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Lord Dholakia

Tribute to Lord Slynn of Hadley

25 April 2009

Lord Dholakia, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Party in the House of Lords of the UK:

Madame Maryam Rajavi, Lady Slynn, Slynn family, prominent members of the community and my brothers and friends from the Iranian Resistance movement from London who brought me into this particular moment.

Can I just say I am not here to mourn the death of Lord Slynn. I am here to celebrate his life. And that is how it should be. Because here is a man of principle, a man of value, and that value has stood him from the time from his early days of his career in law until he became one of the prominent members of the European Court of Justice; but more important than that the humanitarian work that he has done in relation to people who are less fortunate than some of us.

But you know, I come here not simply representing the interest of one particular political party in the United Kingdom; I am here also on behalf of many of my colleagues across the party structure in the British Parliament; the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Members of the House of Lords from all political parties who have asked me on their behalf to convey to you our gratitude that people who have recognised what he has done for your community, and to associate themselves with this particular occasion.

But I want to go slightly beyond that, because most of you met Lord Slynn when he attended your meetings, he attended and made representations on your behalf, he articulated the legal points on the basis of which we were able to give him the support that was necessary, but beyond that, he was a very ordinary person. Not many people realise that I knew him because every time he passed through the corridor – and my office was around at the end of the corridor – and every time he met me, he had two things he always mentioned to me. He said what is the latest that we know about Ashraf City. And I used to say to myself here is a man with so much considerable knowledge about law, and every time he passes he tells me, have I got something more that I know about Ashraf than he does. And the second thing he always kept telling me, that the struggles are not won by attending one particular meeting; the struggles are won by being part of a movement and giving support to those to make sure that ultimately victory will be theirs.

So I am very, very honoured, and indeed very grateful to the Slynn family, to have met such a remarkable person. And, when last Monday there was his funeral service in St. Margaret’s Church in London, I had just come back from holiday. I was actually addressing a meeting of my party in Parliament, and my wife passed me a message saying “did you know that it is Lord Slynn’s funeral at St. Margaret’s Church?” I stopped talking. My party said, “Where are you going?” I said “I am going to a very important occasion; more important than talking to you. It is to pay my respect to Lord Slynn.” And I rushed across the Parliament to attend that particular service, and I am indeed grateful for your invitation to invite me here to pay my tribute.

I also want to say this. We talk about Lord Slynn and celebrate his particular times, but let us not forget that behind him is also a very powerful woman: Lady Slynn. Can I just say this to you, that her values also reflect what is all that is decent in our lives? I have been associated with the charity that she supports about the street-children in India, about the number of visits she had paid there. And time and again, the sources she has raised to be able to make sure that people who are less fortunate, are able to get the education and welfare of the community in that part of the world.

And if I may say to Lady Slynn, we may not have Lord Slynn with us, but your remarks about what you could do for this particular movement are indeed most welcome and we expect you to take your rightful place which we lost because of Lord Slynn. And I hope that you continue with your particular family associating with this particular movement.

So here we have probably a unique family who have contributed so much. But they say that the battle is not won. We have simply been on the first step of the ladder. There is a long way to go, because at the end of the day, to remove the proscription of the PMOI was just a small part of the equation. The real equation is to find what Lord Slynn always believed – the rightful place of the people of Ashraf City in the country of Iran, which rightly belongs to them; to find the rightful place to the Resistance movement in this country and in various parts of Europe and other parts of the world; for them to go back to Iran so that democracy and values are preserved. That is what it is all about. And I am waiting for the day when that success will come our way.

And can I just say in closing – because I am sure that a number of people would want to pay tribute – two things. Occasionally the flower may fade away, but the sand always remains. That is what Lord Slynn taught us. That is what he has left with us. But there is another thing. So many people have shed their blood to be able to keep this movement alive. I have seen those pictures; the frightening pictures of people who struggled for freedom in Iran being hanged. I have seen what has happened to women and children in Iran. You know, when the victory is our, Madame Rajavi, I want to ensure that we honour those martyrs. But Iran is rich in history. Iran is rich in culture. Iran has some of the very positive values that we all appreciate. And I hope that somewhere along that history, there will be a portrait of Lord Slynn for what he has done for the people of Iran when freedom finally comes.

May I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this occasion, and to Lady Slynn for what she has said, for all the kindness she has shown not only to your movement but to the movement across the world in helping people.

Thank you very much indeed.

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