Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member and the members of the foreign affairs subcommittee for bringing the issue of the Baha'i persecution in Iran to the forefront of their report so that we are discussing this in concurrence.
I would like to go along the same line my colleagues did about the great Iranian people, but what I would like to dwell upon is that Iran, through its long history, has been one of the beacons in the Middle East.
Iranians, or Persians as they are properly known, have, over history, stood up for great culture, for great civilization, and that has had tremendous impact on the regions around that country, in South Asia and elsewhere.
However, in terms of what has happened there, I think my hon. colleague will agree that it was only after the arrival of the Islamic Republic of Iran under Khomeini that we started seeing this persecution. These regimes have actually forgotten the great Persian and Iranian traditions that have existed there for so many years.
So perhaps the member would clarify that this is the work of the new regime over there right now in Iran.