Dear European leaders,

We, Members of the European Parliament and signatories of this present letter, particularly concerned about reiterated statements by the Iranian President Ahmadinejad regarding martyrdom, the Holocaust and Israel, Iran's nuclear enrichment activity, Iran's human rights violations and financing of terrorism, and the distinct prospect of seeing President Ahmadinejad attending the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, wish to draw your attention to the following:

- considering the public statements of President Ahmadinejad, who has denied Israel's right to exist and the reality of the Holocaust; which do not inspire confidence in the Iranian Government's intentions to adopt a peaceful and constructive role in the Middle East;

- considering President Ahmadinejad promotion of martyrdom (Shehada), such as in his TV appearance on Iran's Channel 1 on 25 July 2005, where he praised "the art of martyrdom," which is contrary to European values, and represents a direct threat to the Western civilisation;

- considering the present attitude of the Iranian authorities to Iran's nuclear programme, notably its decision to resume enrichment-related activities;

- having regard to the IAEA's resolutions, which criticise Iran for non-compliance with the IAEA's recommendations and which underline the resulting absence of confidence in Iran's intention to use its nuclear programme exclusively for peaceful purposes;

- considering Iran's dismal human rights record, its involvement in financing terrorist organisations, such as Hezbollah;

- having regard to Articles 2, 6, 7 and 29 of the Treaty on European Union and   Article 13 of the EC Treaty, which commit the Member States to upholding the   highest standards of human rights and non-discrimination, and to the European   Charter of Fundamental Rights;

- considering the possibility that President Ahmadinejad may attend the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany;

- having regard to Article 3 of FIFA's statutes, which states that "Discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or groups of people on account of ethnic origin, gender, language, religion, politics or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion."

We call upon the 25 EU member states and FIFA to declare the Iranian President "Persona non grata ad personam" within EU territory as long as his positions on martyrdom, the Holocaust and the destruction of Israel and Iran's uranium enrichment activities remain unchanged;

We underline that President Ahmadinejad's possible visit to Europe will send the wrong signal to the European and international community, and particularly to those oppressed in Iran.

Yours sincerely,

CO-AUTHORS      
 
Jana Hybášková (EPP-ED)
Charles Tannock (EPP-ED)    
Paulo Casaca (PSE)     
Frédérique Ries (ALDE)    
Ryszard Czarnecki (NI)

SIGNATORIES