AN overture precedes the arrival of the leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on the stage of the Villepinte Hall, Paris. Children with drums beat out a bombastic rhythm over the fervent cheers of a crowd decked out in yellow hats, flags and banners. The air is filled with the clacking of plastic hand-clappers shaken vigorously. From the ceiling hang huge golden lions bearing sabers — the symbol erased from the Iranian national flag after the revolution of 1979. The front rows are filled with the dignitaries of 69 countries, journalists, and activists, but in the hangar at the back, a raucous crowd is packed into tiers.

Read the rest of this entry »