Addressing a conference in Paris, French Bishop Jacques Gaillot iterated that the search for justice for the victims of Iran’s 1988 massacre of political prisoners must continue.
Speaking in French, Bishop Gaillot made his remarks on 26 November 2016 in Paris’ Mutualité conference centre, titled, “Call for Justice: Ending Impunity for Perpetrators of Crimes Against Humanity in Iran and Syria”.
Translation of his remarks follow:
There is a word that has risen in me this afternoon, it is a word of the prophets of the Bible: ‘If we are silent, the stones [of the torrent] will cry out’.
It’s a wonderful saying. ‘If we are silent, the stones [of the torrent] will cry out’. But we will not be silent. Because we have the example of the martyrs, those of 1988, the martyrs of Camp Ashraf, Camp Liberty, today’s martyrs, and they preferred to be tortured and hanged, rather than abdicating and submitting to the religious dictatorship. They have gone through distress without being crushed by it. They were resistant to the end. And that is a strong word that cannot be silenced. Justice is in operation today; we cannot stop the course of justice. There is strength in truth. The truth is made to come to light. What is hidden must be discovered; what is concealed will come to light. That’s for sure. And so today we cannot be silent. And I will remember the words we have been given this afternoon, which may be yours: “We can and we must.” Thank you.
