Anna Firth, the new Member of Parliament for Southend West, celebrated the Persian New Year, Nowruz, at an event this week in Parliament.
Anna joined with fellow parliamentarians at the event organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The NCRI is a broad coalition of democratic Iranian organisations, groups, and personalities that aim to establish a secular democratic republic in Iran, based on the separation of religion and state.
Anna was one of the key-note speakers at the event, and in her speech she paid tribute to her predecessor, Sir David Amess, who had been a long term supporter of a free Iran throughout his parliamentary career. Other speakers included Anna’s parliamentary colleague Sir Roger Gale and Iran’s democratic president-elect Maryam Rajavi.
Speaking after the event, Anna said:
“It was a real pleasure to speak at the NCRI’s Nowruz event. Over the past two weeks we have all seen Ukraine’s democratic government threatened. Sadly, Iran has spent the past forty years without its democratically elected government. Throughout his time in parliament, Sir David was a staunch champion for a democratic government in Iran.
“I am proud to continue Sir David’s work, and lend my support to those calling for democracy in Iran. I want to wish everyone, and especially our wonderful Iranian community in Southend, a very happy Nowruz.”
