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| Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei addresses Iranian Army members as part of National Army Day in Tehran on April 19, 2017. (Photo: Supreme Leader Press Office/ Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) |
In
democratic nations, groups and individuals can normally pursue their beliefs
and convictions as long as they do so peacefully. In recent years, such
practices have been threatened by terrorist attacks, causing fear, insecurity,
anxiety and distrust especially in the Middle East, Europe and North America.
The
need for peace in the world is today greater than ever. There are several
initiatives which can help re-establish sustainable peace in our own countries
and those around us, but the first and most important is to locate the sources
of violence. Some analysts believe that ISIS, or any group that adopts
terrorism as strategy and sheds innocents' blood to reach its goals, should be
fought. ISIS has now proved its inhuman nature to the world repeatedly.
The recent barbaric events in the Middle East -- especially in
Syria, Africa and even Europe -- highlight the reality that the world's primary state sponsor of terrorism, run by fundamentalists, is
Iran, with more ideological and potential threats than ISIS.
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| Gen. Joseph Votel, Commander of the US Central Command, testifying Wednesday to the House Armed Services Committee about the security challenges in the Greater Middle East. |
Iran has done more harm to world peace than any other terrorist group can imagine. For example, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has diverted an enormous part of Iran's wealth towards acquiring an atomic bomb. Iran has become the shelter for regional terrorist groups. The "Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," IRGC, is behind many terrorist activities not only in the Middle East but elsewhere.
Slavishly loyal to the Supreme
Leader, the IRGC is the armed force in charge of protection of Tehran's so
called religious regime. Suppression of the Iranian people is not its only
task; the IRGC has a long history of meddling in 14 neighbouring states. IRGC's
operations in support of the Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad, including the use
of chemical weapons on innocent citizens, alone has cost the Iranian people an
estimated $100 billion during recent decades.
The number of troops and advisers is so high that the
Assad regime could not survive without them.
Today,
Iran's regime commands tens of thousands of
armed forces in Syria, with its own military headquarters in
Syria. The number of troops and advisers is so high that the Assad regime could
not survive without them.
The
Senate of Canada private member's bill (Bill S-219) declares that "this enactment provides for
an ongoing analysis of the incidence of terrorist activity, support of
terrorism, incitement to hatred, and human rights violations, emanating from
Iran, the identification of Iranian officials who are responsible for such
activities and the strengthening of Canada's non-nuclear sanctions regime against
Iran..."
In Europe, families of those slain by terrorists honoured the
memory of their loved ones with bouquets of flowers. While Belgium was holding
a ceremony in memory of citizens who lost their lives in last year's terrorist
attack at Brussels airport, two Belgian human rights groups were publishing a report that
gave details of illicit activities in other countries and support for terrorist
groups carried out by the IRGC. According to the report, "Every month, hundreds of
forces from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Lebanon -- countries where the
Iranian regime is involved in frontline combat -- receive military training and
are subsequently dispatched to wage terrorism and war."
For
many residents of Middle East nations, the IRGC has become the source of much
misery, although Iranians remain its prime target. For IRGC, terrorism is only
one activity. It holds much of Iran's wealth and forces many Iranians out of
business. The European report also
revealed that IRGC operates 90 phony companies that control 90 Iranian ports,
which obtain about $12 billion in annual revenue. The IRGC uses the ports to
smuggle arms to its militias in neighbouring countries. Authorities in Arab
states frequently report the arrest of Iran-backed terrorists involved in
activities to destabilize the security of their respective states.
The Canadian Parliament should name Iran's IRGC as number
one on the list of the world's terrorist organizations.
Many regard Iran's regime as ISIS's
godfather. The single-minded focus on ISIS by the West facilitated the
expansion of Iran's destabilizing efforts in other countries and will continue
to do so. The appeasement of Iran's mullahs has paved the ground for terrorist
organizations such as ISIS and al Qaeda.
Measures
to promote a peaceful world in the Canadian Parliament should name Iran's IRGC
as number one on the list of the world's terrorist organizations. Requiring the Minister of Foreign Affairs to publish an annual report on
Iran-sponsored terrorism, incitement to hatred and human rights violations that
includes a description of measures taken by the Government of Canada to address
those activities would also help.
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