Massoud Khodabandeh

Open Letter to President-elect Barak Obama

Obama’s opportunity to change America’s reputation by closing Terrorist Camp Ashraf in Iraq

Open Letter to President-elect Barak Obama

With your election, a new administration now has the opportunity to revisit US-Iran relations and come up with new ideas and policies. No doubt you have already been inundated with advice and lobbying on this issue.

We make no apology for adding our voice on the subject of the Iranian terrorist organisation Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) – a group which will no doubt be lobbying your administration on its own behalf. The members of this group, in particular its 3000+ uniformed militants in Iraq, are the victims of deception and human rights abuses and this issue, small as it is, needs urgent attention.

The MEK’s fundamental message to your administration will be that it is the largest, most popular, pro-democratic, opposition group and that only this group can effect change in Iran. To expose the falsity of this claim we only need refer you to the investigations of the last two US administrations, one Democratic under Bill Clinton and the other Republican under George W Bush, into this group, and the most recent Country Report into terrorism which describes the MKO as a terrorist cult.

Unfortunately, in spite of this, various sectors of the US political body have been willing to employ this group as a means of confrontation with Iran. This artificial support has promoted the group far beyond its real power and efficacy and has sadly stunted the growth of real and effective opposition to the current Iranian government. It has also given ‘permission’ to the group’s leaders to continue holding the members against their will and in conditions sustained by systematic human rights abuses.

America’s interests have not been served by uncritically succumbing to the mendacious influence of MEK propaganda. Western public and political opinion have been deceived for years as to the reality of Iranian society and politics by this group. The MEK does everything in its power to prevent contact and dialogue with Iranian civil society lest its lies and exaggerations be exposed.

In specific examples, the myth created by the MEK that it is useful in providing intelligence has exposed the American intelligence services to accusations of naïvety and/or ignorance. Such uncritical – perhaps gullible – reactions to the MEK’s revelations are exposed by the recent unwarranted arrest of Iranian civil contractor, Nader Qorbani, at Baghdad airport and making spurious accusations against him based on MEK ‘intelligence’. The knee-jerk reaction of US Homeland Security to false allegations against individuals is another example which evokes scorn among European observers.

In the wider sense, efforts to progress western interests in relation to Iran have been frustrated as the IAEA has been sidetracked into wasting time and effort investigating false information provided by the MEK for political purposes. That is, to serve the MEK’s self-survival interests.

However, the worst aspect of artificial, improper American support for this terrorist cult has been that the US army has preserved and protected its military headquarters, Camp Ashraf, in Iraq for five years. Iraqis consider Camp Ashraf to be a Saddamist stronghold and the MEK inside it as a danger to national security. Iraq’s government has repeatedly demanded that the US army help to remove all foreign terrorist groups from its territory as being directly against Iraq’s national interests.

In January 2008 SAHAR Family Foundation was established through the auspices of the Iraqi government, academics and human rights organisations and a plan was provided to the US army to deal with Camp Ashraf and help free its residents. The US army did not cooperate. This led Iraqi government officials relevant to this issue to the inescapable conclusion that the US army unit protecting Camp Ashraf has been taking its orders from MEK terrorist leaders rather than Washington.

Beyond security or political issues, behind the closed doors of Camp Ashraf a scandalous situation of systematic human rights abuses has been perpetuated under the auspices of American protection.

When the Camp Ashraf scandal is fully exposed, America herself will be spotlighted as responsible for ongoing, preventable human rights abuses conducted inside the camp by MEK officials against their own members. Allegations of forced hysterectomies for women members, mental and physical torture and even murder of inmates of the camp must be investigated.

The base is vital to the cult for the ongoing ideological indoctrination and manipulation of members. For this reason the MEK leaders are lobbying hard in America for continued US protection of Camp Ashraf and for the members to remain in Iraq. The MEK claim that Iraq will forcibly hand over its members to Iran. This has never been on the table and is in fact a ploy by the cult to divert attention away from what is happening inside the camp.

A humanitarian solution is available. How to resolve the situation is not a mystery, nor is it difficult or dangerous for the people in the camp.

The straightforward answer is to have the door of Camp Ashraf opened up to external agencies and individuals. Control of the camp should not be with MEK leaders but with the UNHCR, ICRC and the Iraqi Red Crescent.

As a priority the camp should be opened to families and relatives of those detained there. Doctors and human rights investigators need unfettered access to individuals. Those who choose to leave must be offered a safe refuge.

Under your leadership, America can make an immediate difference to US-Iraq relations by dismantling this terrorist base rather than continuing with double-standards by supporting those terrorist groups which are erroneously perceived by some to be ‘helpful’ to American interests.

While confident of the good intentions of your new administration to act on thorough investigation into the facts of this issue, we are ready to provide further information if needed.

Yours sincerely

Massoud Khodabandeh

Iran-Interlink

Leeds

cc:

Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri Maliki

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown

President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy

Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel

President of the People’s Republic of China, Hu Jintao

President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon

November 24, 2008 0 comment

European Union

MEP lines up with remains of Saddam against Iraqi government

Open Letter to Mr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras

Parlement européen

Bât. Altiero Spinelli

11E205

60, rue Wiertz / Wiertzstraat 60

B-1047 Bruxelles/Brussel

Dear Sir,

I read about your recent unofficial trip to the infamous Camp Ashraf garrison which houses the remains of the Mojahedin Khalq terrorist organisation.

Of course, as Vice-President of the European Parliament, I was surprised that I did not hear of your visit from Iraqi government officials. Perhaps you did not see the need to discuss your concerns about this foreign terrorist entity with the legitimate government of the country you were visiting. Unfortunately, the unofficial nature of your visit to this terrorist group aligns you with the remains of the Saddam regime in Iraq.

I also read the open letter sent to your good self from Sahar Foundation in Baghdad – I have the honour to have been involved in its creation in Iraq earlier this year to save the victims of this terrorist cult.

Dear Sir,

The letter sent to you by Sahar Foundation needs no further elaboration but it is worth reminding your good self that the government of Iraq (with which I am now in regular contact and consultation) regards the group in which you have such an interest as part and parcel of Saddam’s repressive army and therefore is adamant to expel them from their country. The Iraqi government sees no benefit or in fact obligation to assist a part of Saddam’s private army who are neither Iraqis nor civilians. You must surely agree that these people cannot remain in Iraq. The American army will soon hand over the security of Diyali province to the Iraqi government which has pledged to remove the group from the country.

You visited the camp without any human rights organisation representative accompanying your good self. You visited the camp without any official from the government of Iraq and you visited the camp without even investigating the allegations as to what is really going on behind its closed doors. Whatever your intention, yours was certainly not a visit to investigate allegations of widespread, unnecessary hysterectomies performed on women in the camp, otherwise you would have taken the trouble of asking a couple of physicians to accompany you. You even failed to take an independent translator with you (or did the cult leaders deny entry to independent people?)

Dear Sir,

The least you could have done was to take with you a couple of the many hundreds of parents who have not been allowed to see their children for the last 25 years. Or, you could have asked for telephone lines to be installed to contact the people inside the camp.

Dear Mr Vidal-Quadras,

Did you not notice that the camp has no children inside? Did you not think that this is because the cult leader has banned marriage and family relations? Did you not notice that the citizens of "Ashraf City" wear uniforms and do not see "Rejection of Violence" as contradictory with "military training"? Did you not notice that all the people who were allowed to get near you were saying the same thing and acting the same way? Dear Sir, you are a politician. Surely you know better than anyone that if you have 10 people who wear the same uniform, say the same thing, laugh at the same time and shout at the same time, there must be a dictating force behind them.

And did you not see that the "city" you visited had no nursery, no shops, no school, no cinema, no marriage registry office, no public phone box, no post office, no….

Dear Sir, I really think you should visit the camp again, and this time I offer my services to accompany your good self. After all, I don’t think that they have taken you to see the anti-nuclear Leadership compound which was built as a gift to Massoud Rajavi by Saddam Hussein, I am sure they have not let you visit the "Exit" section of the camp where over 300 people who refuse to take military orders are imprisoned by the cult.

Dear Sir,

Immediately after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Massoud Rajavi, guru of the Mojahedin Khalq cult, went into hiding. After three years incommunicado, a statement was issued in 2006 in his name. In it Rajavi announced his timescale for toppling the Iranian regime: "in the next two years". Little attention was given at the time. Rajavi has made this kind of claim frequently over the past 30 years without effect.

Information from inside the cult, however, indicates that the specific deadline of January 2009 is part of a more sinister plan by the cult leaders. Following the announcement of this date, every member was required to sign a piece of paper giving their oath that they will not leave the cult until January 2009 – by which time, according to Rajavi, the regime must be toppled.

Rajavi’s message states that when the deadline of January 2009 arrives: ‘anyone who wants to can leave, and I will myself throw out all the useless ones. I will keep the rest who are pure, and I will tell them then what they have to do for me’. Experts on the MKO’s cult jargon interpret this as Rajavi’s intention to have his followers ‘wreak havoc’; the most predictable scenarios being mass suicide in Camp Ashraf and/or attacks on external interests with suicidal intensity in other parts of the world where the MKO cult has bases. That is, the ‘pure’ MKO operatives will kill all Rajavi’s opponents in Europe and then kill themselves.

The 2006 US State Department Country Reports on Terrorism, which describes the Mojahedin as a terrorist entity with cult-like characteristics, warned: "Many MEK leaders and operatives, however, remain at large, and the number of at-large MEK operatives who received weapons and bomb-making instruction from Saddam Hussein’s regime remains a source of significant concern."

Our friends who have managed to escape for the camp during the last 5 years are deeply worried about yet another series of self-immolations or even suicide operations like the ones carried out by order of the cult leaders as recently as 2003.

We are deeply concerned that with the elapse of the deadline of January 2009 as Massoud Rajavi has promised, the remaining people will be forced into mass suicide and or mass murder of the ones who do not obey Rajavi anymore.

Sir, as someone who has access to the cult leaders, as someone who now has access to the inside of the camp, and as someone who has the ability and the power to make a difference, I urge you to help us to:

1- Open the gates of this camp ASAP to human rights organization representatives, in particular to independent physicians and psychologists.

2- Open the gates of this camp to the immediate families of people inside, some of whom have not seen their loved ones for over two decades.

3- Arrange a place of refuge (to replace the TIPF) for the ones who do not wish to continue serving the leaders of a terrorist cult so that they could run away from the hands of the Camp leaders.

4- Facilitate the transfer of all the people in the camp from Iraq to the safety of European countries where they can be rehabilitated and re integrated into normal societies.

Preliminary to a return visit, I would like to meet with you and bring to your attention some basic facts and information concerning Camp Ashraf and to discuss with you the Iraqi government’s position toward the group which you apparently failed to ascertain whilst visiting their country.

Attached documents:

Iran Interlink Special Report from Baghdad

http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=4095

Report of a meeting on the MKO in the European Parliament

http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=5097

Report "No Exit" by Human Rights Watch

http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=797

Report of the US State Department 2007

http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=818

Letter of SAHAR Foundation from Baghdad

http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=5350

Yours

Massoud Khdabandeh

Cc:

– Office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maleki

– Office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani

– Office of Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union

– Office of Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the UN

– Human Rights Watch (New York)

– Amnesty international (London)

– UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

– US State Department

– Embassies of France, Germany, Russia and China in London

– Relevant MEPs

November 10, 2008 0 comment

Open Letter to Prime Minister, Gordon Brown

Dear Prime Minister, Your government’s recent move to de-proscribe the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation, while the elected government of Palestine and half the members of Lebanon’s parliament are on it, is a clear reflection of the policies pursued by your government, the American administration and the Israeli lobby in London and Washington toward the Middle East. It is hoped that this latest reckless showing of the ‘terrorism card’ in the Middle East will not bring harm again to the doorsteps of people in the UK and US as support for Al Qaida once did. (Though it does strongly imply an ‘empty hand’ in confronting the Iranian regime.)

Dear Sir, As you are aware, Iran-Interlink exists in order to expose the Iranian Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation (aka MKO, MeK, PMOI, NCRI, NLA) as a violent, destructive cult which systematically abuses the human rights of its own members. The MKO’s use of psychological and physical coercion against its own members has been well documented and needs no further reiteration. Iran-Interlink also aims to provide humanitarian support for victims of this cult who wish to leave and by renouncing violence, return to normal society.

As the representative of Iran-Interlink, together with Sahar Family Foundation of Baghdad, I am currently working closely with the government of Iraq and with the Kurdish Regional Government to rescue tens of disaffected members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq who have escaped the MKO’s military HQ at Camp Ashraf in Diyali province of Iraq. We understand that the Mojahedin-e Khalq is making every effort to stop this work; which includes approaching the UK and US governments to ask you to prevent people from escaping from their infamous camp.

As long as your government had proscribed the MKO as a terrorist entity, efforts by the group’s supporters, in particular the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, led by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, to stop Iran Interlink from working had been somewhat limited. During this time, efforts were made by the editor of a major British newspaper with connections in parliament to put pressure on Iran Interlink in Leeds. Another individual was prevented by anti-terrorism police from carrying out further activities against us. The Home Secretary is informed how Lord Corbett and others have justified the assassination of myself and others involved in this work.

However, since the time your government clearly allied itself with the MKO by removing it from the terrorism list, the MKO has already stepped up its efforts to stop us.

On my return from a recent trip to Baghdad (where my security was fulfilled thoroughly by the government of Mr. Noori Al Maleki) and passing though the Kurdish region (where I was protected to the best possible standards thanks to the Regional Government of Mr. Barzani), I was sadly informed of plans by the MKO through its UK agents to assassinate me and colleagues which include my British wife, Anne Singleton.

I have been informed that private investigators have been hired to undertake covert surveillance against myself and my colleagues and in addition, contacts have been formed with criminal gangs, whose use to the MKO can only be wondered about. As experts in this cult and its methodology, we have previously warned that MKO leader Massoud Rajavi has issued a ‘death sentence’ against the members of Iran Interlink. In an announcement made immediately after his organisation was removed from the UK terrorist list, in a TV satellite program broadcast from London, Rajavi gave the order for this assassination to be carried out. The well established code to the cult members for an assassination order is the allegation of “travelling to Iran” and the subsequent allegation of “working for the Iranian regime”.

Since your government has taken the responsibility for the future actions of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (Rajavi cult) by trusting its claims to have renounced violence and removing it from your list of proscribed organisations in the UK, I am sure that you agree that the security of myself and my family and my co-workers as well as the security needed to continue our humanitarian work in the UK rests now more than at any other time on the shoulders of your government.

Yours sincerely, Massoud Khodabandeh Leeds, U.K.

Massoud Khodabandeh, June 30, 2008

July 1, 2008 0 comment

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Questions over American policy toward MEK in Iraq

If, as seems likely, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO, MEK, PMOI) is de-proscribed in the UK, this ought to be good news for the group’s 3,300 members in Iraq. I reported on the situation there back in February and concluded that since the Iraqi Government is adamant that the MKO be expelled from the country as a foreign terrorist entity, the only practical solution was for a western government (most probably the UK) to de-proscribe the group so that the members currently trapped in Camp Ashraf could gain safe refuge there.

I am looking to see whether the MKO’s western backers will now push for this solution.

But I don’t hold much hope of that. If I am able to read the situation correctly, the MKO members in Camp Ashraf will be direct victims of the UK court ruling. By now they will have been ‘congratulated’ on their victory against the Iranian regime and told they will ‘soon be in Tehran’, although they will not be told how this is to be achieved.

It is clear that the group has deliberately been kept intact for five years and the obvious reason this would be done is so the group can be re-armed at Terrorists being rearmed - a threat to all some point and re-deployed against Iran – this time not by Saddam Hussein but by the US Administration. Last December American forces removed half the MKO dissidents from the TIPF adjacent to Camp Ashraf. (One of them drowned recently in a border incident in Turkey, others are still missing, some are in Iraqi Kurdistan and some clandestinely in Turkey. A few have gained safe refuge in Europe.)

Dahuk On Friday May 2, 2008 American forces completely closed TIPF and transferred the remaining people to Dahouk in Kurdistan. They have been housed for two months and have food rations, but have been told they will then be given over to the UN refugee agency. This leaves many, many questions, and to date no official American answer has been forthcoming.

I would like to know:

Now TIPF has been removed, where can MKO members go if they want to leave the organisation? Are they condemned to stay and serve as "good terrorists" whether on the terrorist lists or not?

Now TIPF has been removed, what are American forces protecting (after 5 years of blaming others for allegedly supporting terrorists)? A terrorist camp? (It must not be forgotten that even if the whole western world removes the MKO from the terrorist lists, they are still regarded – and with good reason – as foreign terrorists in Iraq.)

If, as I have been told, the uniformed militants in Camp Ashraf are free to leave anytime they want, why are MNF forces there ‘protecting’ them?

If, as has been rumoured, the Americans will hand over Camp Ashraf to the Iraqis by the end of the year, what will happen to the uniformed militants who are now protected there?

Will the likes of Lord Corbett and company, who have been supporting terrorism in Iran and Iraq under the banner of the MKO’s Klashinkov for the past thirty years, now at least sponsor a handful of those same people who have been abused by his cult and bring them to safety? Some of them surely are ready to retire on even a small pension!

Have efforts to have the MKO de-proscribed been so that the cult’s leaders, including cult guru Massoud Rajavi, can take up residence in London but the members stay to kill and be killed in Iraq and Iran?

At the invitation of Ms Batul Soltani (representative of Sahar NGO in Baghdad) I have visited Turkey to attend various meetings concerning the situation of former MKO people (from TIPF) who are trying to leave Iraq and Turkey. After talking with some of them, it is becoming clear they are facing obstacles and counter measures so that they fail (and even get killed in the way).

The repeated accusation – from a wide range of observers, not only the direct victims – is that the American approach to the MKO has been to deliberately stop people leaving this terrorist cult; that the MKO is maintained by interests who play the card of ‘taking them off the list’ with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ultimately, those who had the power but who have failed or been unable or refused to dismantle a tiny foreign terrorist camp and its military structure in Iraq – despite continued requests by the Iraqi government to do so – are responsible for whatever disaster befalls its victims there.

By Massoud Khodabandeh – Iran-Interlink – May 11, 2008

May 11, 2008 0 comment

The Ideology of the MEK

‘I rest my case m’lord… ‘ (No.2)

The case of State Department report on Mojahedin Khalq Organisation Open letter to the Judges of the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC)For the Attention Of the judges of the Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission (POAC) who have recently asked for the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO, MEK or PMOI) to be removed from the Government’s list of Proscribed Terrorist Organization, an order which the British government rejected and is appealing against. Dear Judges, The newly reviewed report from the State Department in 2007, upgrading the position of Mojahedin Khalq Organization from a "Terrorist Group" to a "Terrorist Cult" is hardly in line with its claim to have rejected violence since 2001". It claims that right now (year 2007), "…MEK leadership and members across the world maintain the capacity and will to commit terrorist acts in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, and beyond…" The report reads: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm "… The MEK advocates the violent overthrow of the Iranian regime and was responsible for the assassination of several U.S. military personnel and civilians in the 1970’s. MEK leadership and members across the world maintain the capacity and will to commit terrorist acts in Europe, the Middle East, the United State, Canada, and beyond…" "… In addition to its terrorist credentials, the MEK has also displayed cult-like characteristics. Upon entry into the group, new members are indoctrinated in MEK ideology and revisionist Iranian history. Members are also required to undertake a vow of "eternal divorce" and participate in weekly "ideological cleansings." Additionally, children are reportedly separated from parents at a young age. MEK leader Maryam Rajavi has established a "cult of personality." She claims to emulate the Prophet Muhammad and is viewed by members as the "Iranian President in exile…"." "…In 2003, French authorities arrested 160 MEK members at operational bases they believed the MEK was using to coordinate financing and planning for terrorist attacks. Upon the arrest of MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, MEK members took to Paris’ streets and engaged in self-immolation. French authorities eventually released Rajavi. Although currently in hiding, Rajavi has made appearances via video-satellite to"motivate" MEK-sponsored conferences across the globe. According to evidence which became available after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the MEK received millions of dollars in Oil-for-Food program subsidies from Saddam Hussein from 1999 through 2003, which supported planning and executing future terrorist attacks…" http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm The US State Department report (presumably more valid for you than the claims brought in by Mr. Mohammed Mohaddessin and/or Mrs. Maryam Rajavi cult leaders of MKO in the absence of fugitive cult leader Massoud Rajavi, who are currently under investigation for terrorism related charges in France) clearly indicates the use of millions of dollars of "Oil-for_Food" program subsidies by Mojahedin Khalq and Saddam Hussein to "plan and execute terrorist attacks" up to "year 2003" when they were disarmed and no longer capable of carrying out acts of terror. The report (last updated 2007) clearly emphasizes that" …MEK leadership and members across the world maintain the capacity and will to commit terrorist acts in Europe, the Middle East, the United State, Canada, and beyond…" In addition, the report of course continues describing "Mojahedin Khalq Organization" by pointing out: – The assassination of US military and civilian personnel in Iran during 1970s, – Stressing the ability and the will of MKO members and leadership to conduct terrorist operations across the world, – Introducing the MKO as one of the most violent political groups, established during 60s, – Emphasizing the fact that MKO was disliked by Iranians, following the Islamic Revolution, – Underlining the fact that for more than 3 decades, MKO used its bases in Iraq and Europe to conduct terror attacks against Iran, – Expansion of financial base, military skills and leaders’ activities in Europe. – Showing cult-like characteristics, in addition to terrorist ones, – Ideological pressure on members and offering them distorted history of Iran, – Stressing the existence of compulsory divorces, cleansing sessions and separation of kids from their parents, – Establishing cult-of-personality around Rajavi. The report continues talking about the "Activities" of Mojahedin Khalq: – Confessing that despite US efforts, MKO members and leaders have never been taken to court for their role in illegal activities, – MKO has been supported by reprehensible regimes, like that of Saddam Hussein. – Stressing that MKO conducted terrorist operations from its bases in France for 5 years, – Citing reports that showed Maryam Rajavi encouraged members to ‘’crush Kurds under the tanks", – That 7 Iranians had been arrested by FBI for transferring 400000 dollars to the MKO for buying weapons, – Voluntarily surrender to coalition, after the ouster of Saddam, and submitting heavy weaponries, – Arrest of 160 MKO members, including Maryam Rajavi, in France for using its bases in France for planning and financing terrorist operations, – Self-immolations by MKO members, following the detention of Maryam Rajavi, – Maryam Rajav’s going to hiding, and using video-satellite to motivate members, – Discovering documents that prove MKO received the money of oil-for-food program and used the money for terrorist attacks, – Citing documents that prove MKO-Saddam ties: lists, a film showing Saddam when he gives a suitcase of money to MKO’s known leaders, and a footage of MKO members being trained by Iraqi army. ———- Below you can consider the stand of US towards terrorist Organizations including MKO (Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization) and its front Organizations during the past ten years: http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1996Report/1996index.html http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1997Report/1997index.html http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1998Report/1998index.html http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/1999index.html http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/fto_1999.html http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2000

http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2002 http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/c14818.htm http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005 http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006

http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm

———- I will be sending other relevant materials on regular bases. Yours Massoud Khodabandeh Leeds, UK, December 16, 2007

Also see: I rest my case m lord… (No.1) – The case of the Mojahedin Khalq LOGO https://www.nejatngo.org/index_en.php?news_id=772

Massoud Khodabandeh, December 20, 2007 www.Khodabandeh.org

December 24, 2007 0 comment

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

MKO’s efforts for de-proscription the group as a terrorist entity

Leeds, (UK) 9 June —- In its 2007 review of terrorism list, The US State Department not only retains the Mojahedeen Khalq Organisation (MKO, MEK or PMOI) and its alias "National Council of Resistance" on the list, but this time upgrades its status from "terrorist entity" to a "terrorist cult".

The significance is not lost on the nominal head of the organization, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi who announced last week that she has no hope that the European Union will remove her organization as a result of its own upcoming review. This is in spite of millions of dollars spent by the MKO over the past seven years in courts, meetings, lobbying and demonstrations.

The fall of Saddam Hussein soon after Mrs. Rajavi’s hasty escape to Paris triggered perhaps the most intense period of propaganda activity in the group’s history. As a destructive cult, with its main terrorist forces disarmed and captive in Iraq, this burst of activity to keep its other members in western countries busy without time for questioning or reflection has in this sense been a boon to the cult.

In fact, the ambitious projects of the self-appointed, life-time leader Mas’oud Rajavi, and self-proclaimed, life-time “president of Iran”, Maryam Rajavi, designed to have the Mojaheedin removed from the lists of terrorist entities in the USA, EU, UK, Canada and other free countries across the globe, has taken them far beyond that aim.

The Rajavi’s have offered up the Mojaheedin to be used in a variety of ways by many different circles – from staging demonstrations against the Iranian regime in the World Cup headquarters and elsewhere, to being used as spokesmen for those who are against Iran’s nuclear program. Some who are happy to accept the use of the organization as a tool against the fundamentalist regime of Iran are now questioning what else Rajavi must do in order to be accepted and removed from the lists?

Unfortunately, for those who want to resurrect the group in spite of claiming it has “not carried out any terrorist operation after 2001", the Mojaheedin suffers from a very recent catalogue of violence and cult activities.

Maryam Rajavi, in her rejection of the ruling of the European Court of First instance, claimed only a couple of weeks ago that "most of the evidence relating them to terrorism belongs to the last century". Clearly she means that there are documents and evidence which link them to terrorism and that indeed some of these do stretch to the present time.

Mrs. Rajavi of course neglected to mention that her terrorist army is currently confined to Ashraf Camp waiting. (Some Iraqi government officials dispute that they are confined and claim that Mojaheedin forces are currently involved in the insurgency in Iraq.) Mrs. Rajavi also ignored the fact that the French Judiciary has just added fresh allegations to her case and is now alleging financial fraud in European and North American countries.

The Mojaheedin Khalq’s publication “Iran Liberation” quotes some MEP’s reason for using the organization.

"Now Mrs. Rajavi and the PMOI offer the alternative to either appeasement, which is leading us towards a disaster, or military intervention in Iran, which will be a catastrophe", one MEP is reported to have said.

It may read as a joke, but sadly he isn’t joking. The average age of the men and women left in Camp Ashraf is around 50 years, with many well over retirement age. The Mojaheedin’s online media has of course clarified what it dubs as the Third Way in an article by Mr. Niabati. He interprets Mrs. Rajavi’s suggested Third Way as "American jet fighters supporting the National Liberation Army from the air".

It is doubtful that some Member of Parliament, however distanced from reality, are short of access to documents and are unaware of basic facts. However the concept of proscription of the Mojaheedin Khalq Organization by USA from 1997, UK from 2000, EU from 2002 and Canada from 2005 perhaps needs some serious explanation, for the whole grievance between western countries and Iran from the 1979 Islamic revolution to the present has been based on and revolves around this organization.

If that is the case, then the MPs are parroting something which the Mojaheedin has itself always claimed, a claim which is as ludicrous as the claim that 5 million Iraqis have signed a petition in their support (in the situation of Iraq and while the Mojaheedin claim themselves that they are not allowed to come out of the camp), or hundreds of MEPs have asked for the removal of the Mojaheedin from the terrorist list or "the majority of UK parliament" support them, etc…

In reality, if we push aside the obvious analysis – that this propaganda activity is being deployed mainly to delay the disintegration of the cult from within – we are left with what has been clear from the start.

There are a few simple steps which are all that is necessary for Mrs. Rajavi to undertake in order to have the MKO de-proscribed. One would imagine that, contrary to what Mr. Binley claims, such a move would perhaps be popular with some politicians in the west as it would create another middle to low range tool against Iran.

Mrs. Rajavi and her few remaining supporters among the London Neo-conservatives know full well that, at least in the case of the UK, it is the Home Ministry which has decided to keep them on the list since the year 2000. The Home Office does not claim to be a judicial body and does not have anything to do with the past crimes of the leaders of the organization (which is being pursued by both the French and Iraqi judiciaries irrelevant of the terrorist proscription of the organization). The whole purpose of proscription is the organization’s "security threat" to Western countries. Now that for the past four years the organization has been forcefully disarmed, the only way to prove that the Mojaheedin organization is no longer a terrorist organization is for Maryam Rajavi to:

-Publicly and unequivocally announce the rejection of the use of violence and terrorism as a means to achieve political and financial aims;

-Accept the immediate dismantlement of the military command structure of Camp Ashraf and give the residents free and unfettered access to their families and friends;

-Adopt civilian clothing and allow free access to radio, TV and media of choice;

Start a fresh round of internal democratic changes including acceptance of the inalienable rights to:

-Marriage and having children

-Remuneration for work, financial independence and paying taxes

-Choose a leader by election by secret ballot;

-Freedom of expression and the right to criticism;

-Leave the ranks of the Mojaheedin without condition or punishment;

Start a fresh round of external democratic changes including calling a halt to:

-Attacking opposition groups which do not believe in violence and terrorism;

-Threatening critics and issuing death sentences for critics and opposition;

-Compulsory daily sessions of "ideological purification meetings" and "ideological reports".

Naturally we would expect that the acceptance of the above articles (or any of them individually) would result in a change of nature which, irrelevant to the horrifying past history of MKO, would affect the relevance of its inclusion in the terrorist lists.

The prosecution of the perpetrators of acts of terror, war crimes and crimes against humanity is of course a matter for the courts and is not relevant to the issue of de-proscription. ENDS KHODABANDEH 8607

Explanatory Notes:

Over 3800 fighters were confined in the MKO Camp Ashraf (Diyali Province). Of these, about 800 have since rejected terrorism and have been allowed to leave the camp. The organization’s leader Mas’oud Rajavi has remained a fugitive ever since.

Mr. Rajavi, who worked for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, is accused by the Iraqi Shi’ites and Kurds to have helped the now hanged Iraqi dictator during their uprising against him and remains wanted by Interpol for his alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In May 2005, Human Rights Watch published a list of human rights violations against disaffected members, including the imprisonment, torture and murder of its own members.

The MKO is reportedly preparing a “huge” meeting-demonstration in Paris on 30 June, scheduled to coincide with the arrest of Mrs. Rajavi. Besides bussing to the French capital hundreds of its members, the group is also “hiring” Afghan, Turks and Pakistanis in France and other European nations to gather some 70.000 people, and also “invite” some intellectuals and artists from different European countries for the event.

Editor’s note: Mr. Khodabandeh is a former security-intelligence officer of the MKO. Based in England after having “defected” the group, he is in charge of the “interlink” website, offering latest developments about the group.

By Massoud Khodabandeh,Iran-Press-Services, June 09, 2007:

http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2007/june-2007/khodabandeh_9607.shtml

June 11, 2007 0 comment

Iran

Hardliners, hard options

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sanctioned the meeting set for May 28 between Iran and the United States in Baghdad over the security of Iraq "to relieve the pain of the Iraqi people, to support the government and to reinforce security in Iraq".

The administration of US President George W Bush also cites the reason for the meeting as exclusively about security in Iraq. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters, "The president authorized this channel because we must take every step possible to stabilize Iraq and reduce the risk to our troops even as our military continues to act against hostile Iranian-backed activity in Iraq."

The emphasis from both sides that Iraq and only Iraq will be discussed is evidence of their deep mutual mistrust and enmity. Keeping each other at arm’s length, each side is skirting carefully around the elephant in the room, that is, the deeply divisive issues that have poisoned Iran-US relations for nearly three decades. Clearly neither side would have agreed to meet unless forced by necessity. But has that necessity forced the beginning of a new phase in relations, or should we accept that the talks will start and end with Iraq?

So intractable are the divisions that many are already predicting devastating fallout just from the talks on Iraq. This is because President Mahmud Ahmadinejad flaunts Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas in the face of US fury; the United States is accused by Iran of providing support for seedy terrorist groups – Jondolah in the south of Iran, Pejak in Kurdistan and the Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO), which the US protects in the unlikely circumstances of Iraq.

"The talks may backfire if Iraq’s Sunnis and the region’s Arab states perceive that the US is conceding Iraq to Iran’s sphere of influence," said Mustafa al-Ani of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center. "It’s going to be civil war, and not just an Iraqi civil war – a regional civil war."

The show of teeth and claws just before the start of serious dialogue may seem surprising but it is arguable that this is what has made the meeting possible at all.

Democracy – especially in the Middle East – does not come about through democrats lecturing the antagonistic heads of state and other parties. The histories of such countries as Sudan, Algeria and Turkey show that while democrats are the ones who advocate "dialogue, negotiation and treaties", it is only when the most extremely opposed forces sit down to talk that true negotiations toward disengagement can be achieved. India and Pakistan and Northern Ireland are examples of such political disengagement through – albeit protracted – dialogue.

In these cases, democracy is born painfully from desperation in which every other alternative has been tried by both sides and has failed. Such failure inevitably wakes up the warring parties to the conclusion that the slogan "winner takes all" can also be interpreted as "all or nothing", and that if they are not the winner they will get nothing. Even worse, both sides – in this case the hardliners in Iran and the neo-conservatives in the US – may conclude that because of external factors – in this case Iraq – both sides will lose everything and there will be no winner.

To avoid losing everything, both sides have no alternative but to reach out to the other from the precipice of looming disaster in a bid to find a compromise solution: a summit, an agreement, a deal, or even a preliminary ceasefire – anything to stop the collapse of both sides.

Neither Iran nor the United States can be considered to have had a change of heart. But having tried and failed for 30 years, every other possible scenario and theory except to recognize each other and engage in dialogue, both sides have been forced to give negotiation and dialogue a limited chance. Both sides want this to be as limited as possible and finish as soon as possible. Both sides perhaps see in it a short-term opportunity to save their rapidly sinking ships and buy time to prepare for a new game of "winner takes all".

Curiously, so open is the antagonism on both sides that many question whether there is a deliberate effort to gift the other side with political ammunition.

In Iran, a recent crackdown on journalists, female activists and students as well as the imposition of political hardliners into society under the pretext of a "dress code for women" are being openly legitimized by the fact that the US Congress has approved a further US$75 million for America’s "democracy fund". This is to be spent on "supporting civil society, democracy and human rights in Iran" with new offices in London, Frankfurt and Dubai.

Emadaldin Baghi, human-rights activist and winner of the Civil Courage Prize in 2004, wrote last week to human-rights organizations from inside Iran complaining about the US budget. He pointed out, "The allocation of yearly funds has led to the Iranian government’s widespread concern and suspicion towards civil-society organizations and human-rights activists, clearly exacerbating in a significant way pressures on them and the number of arrests."

Similarly, US constraints imposed on Iranian financial institutions and trade recently could not have been possible if the Iranian regime had not openly threatened the West, at least verbally, at every opportunity possible.

But for Iranian opposition groups, particularly those inside Iran, history has arrived at a crossroads. For 30 years the platform for "peace and dialogue" has been in the hands of reformists – or moderates – inside Iran and exiled opposition groups. In this they have been supported by Western liberals, human-rights organizations and anti-war campaigners, who have in turn vigorously argued against the use of confrontation, sanctions and military solutions.

However, certainly as far as Iran is concerned, the reformists of the Mohammad Khatami era faced stiff resistance from hardliners and would no doubt have reached total deadlock had they chosen to push any harder to begin direct dialogue between Iran and the US. Instead, it has been necessary for the most ideologically antagonistic elements of both the Iranian regime and the US administration to sit down at the table and negotiate. In this way, perhaps it is only under the "fanatic" leadership of Ahmadinejad that such talks could have come about. After all, what is the point of negotiation if the parties who agree with each other are present without the presence of the hostile parties?

Whether next week’s meeting will lead to future rapprochement remains to be seen but the steps that are being taken both by Iran and the US are certainly irreversible, and the impact on the variety of opposition groups and factions inside and outside Iran will be as profound as it is inevitable.

At such turning points it is most likely to be the advocates of democracy themselves who are absent from the negotiating table. And in many examples once a thaw in relations begins, an ensuing crackdown on the democrats creates the focus for a joint initiative by both the parties now accepting to give and take.

A wave of political change can easily sweep aside the very same people who have been struggling for years for democracy, freedom and peace. They can find themselves in denial. The phrase "a snake will never give birth to a dove" is too comforting and familiar for them. Losing their slogans to the antagonistic heads meeting around the negotiation table can push them to staunchly resist the change that is now unfolding before their eyes but without their participation.

The liberal press and moderate voices in both countries that predict failure simply because of the internecine nature of the enmity also read as an expression of alarm. Iranian website Roozonline reported on May 17, "Some students demonstrated against the meeting in various cities claiming that while the US has ratified a budget for interference in Iran, the two sides should not have meetings."

As the gap between Iran and the US closes, Iranian opposition groups will feel the pinch more than anyone else. While opposition groups that have support from among the Iranian people have nothing to fear from this rapprochement, those that have lost their contact with the people and have relied totally on exploiting the West’s grievances with Iran are clearly going to face a seriously uphill battle.

The MKO, which lost popular support by working under the Saddam Hussein regime during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, has tried to tuck itself under the protective umbrella of US neo-conservatives since the fall of Saddam, but is already facing the possibility of being "spent" as a bargaining chip over Iraq.

In the latest review of the list of terrorist organizations, the US State Department upgraded the MKO to a "terrorist cult". The MKO’s representative in Iraq, Abbass Darvari, condemned the talks.

In contrast, Iranian lawyer and human-rights activist Shirin Ebadi – winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 – has maintained links with the Iranian people under extreme conditions inside Iran. She told the Washington Post that she "personally welcomes the talks".

"These negotiations must not be limited to foreign ministers of the two countries or even the presidents," she said. "The key point is the need for exchange between civil society in Iran and the United States."

Ebadi is capable of playing the regime on its own field.

——–

Massoud Khodabandeh is a former member of the Mujahideen-e Khalq, and mainly served in the organization’s intelligence/security department. Khodabandeh left the Mujahideen in 1996 and currently lives in the north of England, where he works as a security consultant. He has been active in Iranian opposition politics for more than 25 years. He works closely with the Centre de Recherche sur la Terrorisme in Paris as an expert on Iran

By Massoud Khodabandeh, Asia Times, May 21, 2007

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IE22Ak02.html

May 24, 2007 0 comment

Mujahedin Khalq 's Function

More rent-a-crowd, yet another desperate attempt

Is Canada unleashing terrorists on its own soil and, if so, on whose order?

The grievances between the US and Iran is not new for any of us. Whether we think dialogue should prevail over hostilities or visa-versa, surely no-one can believe that using a destructive cult (which is globally listed as a terrorist entity) to force Iran to give up enrichment of uranium is a particularly clever idea. This is especially so considering that the group has gradually been dismantled since the fall of Saddam Hussein. In any case, the average age of its fighters – about 3000 remain in its isolated Iraqi camp – is between 45 and 50 (some ‘fighters’ are over 65 years old and in any other society would be collecting their pension). Iran has openly and repeatedly rejected any payment in exchange for the group. Only a couple of months ago, the Iranian Foreign Minister explained that the problem presented by the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation is nothing to do with Iran, rather the group is a problem for western countries – but Iran would be willing to help these countries if they ask for it!

But who are those who still think the dead horse has a value? They are certainly not far from Washington and certainly not far from the neo conservatives HQ. But that the terrorist Mojahedin’s backers are not as strong as a couple of years ago is clear from the shift from Washington to Canada as the platform for this support.

CNEWS reported today (April 20, 2007) about yet another seemingly desperate attempt by the neo conservatives to rescue the remains of the Rajavi cult (aka Mojahedin Khalq).

Read the time line of Mojahedin Khalq Organisation – Rajavi cult

http://www.iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=816

Focus on line reported last month that a paid ‘rent-a-crowd’ had been transferred from Cologne to Brussels for a similar protest to remove the Rajavi cult (aka, Mojahedin Khalq Organisation, MKO, MEK, PMOI, National Council of Resistance …) from the terrorism lists. The news agency said:

Around 60 Iranian actors and actresses, who were not informed beforehand about the action, were paid the usual 50 euros per day fee to take part in the recent demonstration in Brussels where the MKO was protesting its continued blacklisting as a terror group by the European Union.

http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/gekaufter-protest_aid_51864.html

The Rajavi cult which was responsible for the assassination of Americans in Iran during the reign of the Shah, has openly admitted to killing innocent civilians by the use of mortars and bombs in crowded places in Iranian cities. The number is believed to be in excess of 16,000. The armed terrorist cult had also been engaged in the massacre of the Iraqi Kurds and Shiites in collaboration with the intelligence services and army of Saddam Hussein inside Iraq. And if these were not enough, the cult has tortured and killed its own disaffected members according to the records of many humanitarian organizations, including Human Rights Watch.

In 1997, the US put the group in its list of terrorist entities and a new report was given out. We can read in the report:

The Mojahedin collaborated with Ayatollah Khomeini to overthrow the former Shah of Iran. As part of that struggle, they assassinated at least six American citizens, supported the takeover of the U.S. embassy, and opposed the release of American hostages. In the post-revolutionary political chaos, however, the Mojahedin lost political power to Iran’s Islamic clergy. They then applied their dedication to armed struggle and the use of propaganda against the new Iranian government, launching a violent and polemical cycle of attack and reprisal. In 1981, the Mojahedin leadership fled to France and with other Iranian opposition movements formed the National Council of Resistance (NCR).

Yet within a few years the NCR became a mere shell as individuals and groups abandoned the organization because of Mojahedin domination. In 1986, France expelled the leader of the Mojahedin, Massoud Rajavi. Rajavi was a member of the Mojahedin original "Central Committee" and "Ideological Team." Imprisoned by the Shah’s government from 1972-1979, he nonetheless remained influential within the group. He rose to command in 1975 after the Mojahedin experienced an internal schism. From his release from prison until today, he has maintained absolute control of the Mojahedin, the NCR, and its associated groups. In 1993, his wife Maryam Rajavi replaced him as the NCR’s "future president" of Iran. Previously, she had held the appointed position of NCR secretary-general. After his expulsion form France, Rajavi relocated to Baghdad, Iraq, adopting Saddam Hussein as his patron, in 1987.

The report continues:

Despite Mojahedin assertions that the group has abandoned its revolutionary ideology and now favours a liberal democracy, there is no written or public record of discussion or debate about the dramatic reversals in the Mojahedin stated positions. Moreover, the Mojahedin 29-year record of behaviour does not substantiate its capability or intention to be democratic. Internally, the Mojahedin run their organization autocratically, suppressing dissent and eschewing tolerance of differing viewpoints. Rajavi, who heads the Mojahedin political and military wings, has fostered a cult of personality around himself. These characteristics have alienated most Iranian expatriates, who assert they do not want to replace one objectionable regime for another. Given these attributes, it is no coincidence that the only government in the world that supports the Mojahedin politically and financially is the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein…

Mojahedin violence re-emerging

Open letter to Cologne Police chief

Mr. Klaus Steffenhagen

Polizeipräsidium Köln

Walter-Pauli-Ring 2-4

51103 Köln

Dear Mr. Steffenhagen,

We have been informed that the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (MKO) under the name of National Council of Resistance (NCR), has once again expanded its violent threats against Mr. Ali Akbar Rastgoo (a German citizen who is resident in Cologne ) and some of his colleagues. Mr. Rastgoo and his family are well known internationally for their outspoken criticism against terrorism and violations of human rights.

The proscribed terrorist cult, Mojahedin Khalq, has once again accused all those people and organisations which criticize its behaviour of ‘working for the Iranian government’; an accusation which is punishable by death according to their public announcements over the past 25 years. And this is the worrying part which has prompted me to write this letter.

The representative heads of the Mojahedin cult in different countries are placed there as the "Representative of the National Council of Resistance", which in the case of the UK where I reside is Ms. Dolat Noroozi and in your country Ms. Massoumeh Boloorchi. Both these individuals are well known cult members with a dreadful history. Both women are known to be experts in "information laundry" and recruiters of agents and members to carry out their illegal work. They are both connected directly to Maryam Rajavi (who is, of course, a known character to your security agencies) and are both potentially hard-core suicide terrorists if they receive the order at any time. One of their old tactics (which I believe you are familiar with) is gathering information from Iranian newspapers and perhaps telephone conversation and adding their desired misinformation between the lines to feed to the intelligence services of various countries in return for a more open hand to operate outside the framework of the law. This tactic is nothing other than what Saddam’s Mokhaberat (secret services) has trained them in during their long history of working for him.

According to an article in today’s Guardian newspaper, the MKO is now accused of kidnapping a retired member of the Iranian Government in Turkey. The article also mentions the possibility that the Iranian officials arrested in Arbil (Iraq) were interrogated by Mojahedin operatives. We have also just received unconfirmed news of several arrests in Frankfurt airport linked to the alleged discovery of bombs aboard a Lufthansa flight to Tehran. The unconfirmed news indicates the motive as turning Arab countries and Iran against each other. This motive is a well know tactic employed by ex-Saddam operatives, in particular the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation. But to bring this motive to Frankfurt airport is more than a simple escalation and can be considered as deliberately exporting the most violent parts of the Iraqi conflict to the heart of Europe.

In the last few weeks, the Mojahedin has openly supported the mass murder of school children by drug traffickers in the province of Baloochestan of Iran, supported the insurgency in Iraq, and vowed to take revenge against their critics in Iraq, European countries and North America. (Of course, it is a fact that for a long time the MKO has had no influence or presence inside Iran).

Now, Mr. Rastgou and others have been accused by the MKO of ‘working for Iran ‘, which, according to the MKO’s beliefs, is punishable by death; that is, if the cult leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi give permission for such extrajudicial murders to be performed in the West. The extent of these threats has become so widespread that even people in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and prominent journalists and political analysts like Dr. Noorizadeh have, in the last few weeks received open threats from the cult. The literature distributed by the cult leaders on their websites has not even spared the governments and foreign ministers of European countries from these threats.

Dear Sir,

The shocking memory of self-immolations by MKO members following the brief detention of the cult leader by French police is still fresh in our minds, while a catalogue of self confessions about the killing of thousands of Iranians, Iraqis as well as citizens of European countries, Canada and United States of America has been gathered by law enforcement agencies across the globe.

I am now writing to you to inform your good self about yet another change of direction by the leaders of the Rajavi cult after their deep disappointment in failing to clear their name from the list of terrorist organisations in the European Union without having to actually reject violence and their cult culture. The avenue to be removed from the list without a clear denouncement of violence to achieve political power is now at its end, and the Rajavi cult leaders have decided (as they have always maintained internally to the cult members) to go back to the only way they know and that is to return to the violent ways and tactics, for which the cult received training from Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards during their joint operations in Iraq for over 20 years.

It is clear that the path they have chosen is to use physical force to stop anyone and everyone who they believe is responsible for their failure to sell themselves as a mercenary force in Iraq and beyond. This, of course, includes the ex members, critics and human right activists.

It is no secret that after the French authorities curtailed their activities in 2003 (to where Maryam Rajavi escaped from Iraq just before the fall of Saddam Hussein), Cologne has, for the last 3 years, been the main base and the unofficial HQ of the cult (as far as their directing terrorist activities are concerned). It is also no secret that the group is now flexing its muscles against its critics as well as European countries (which have refused to take them off the list) in an attempt to put pressure on the west (they have continuously announced the self-immolations as something that worked well against western countries, and have since vowed that those who can set fire to themselves at a hint from the cult leader can also kill anyone, anywhere and at any time if ordered to do so).

Sir,

At this critical point I beg you to take every precaution to ensure the safety of your citizens (as well as others) in Cologne and elsewhere in Germany .

While I am fully confident about the quality and quantity of information you and your law enforcement agencies have at your disposal, please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to access our archives and/or recent documents about this proscribed group.

Yours sincerely,

Massoud Khodabandeh,

Iran Interlink

March 08, 2007 Massoud Khodabandeh, March 09, 2007

March 19, 2007 0 comment

Mujahedin Khalq 's Function

Iran Policy Committee’s latest tragi-comedy script

Iran Policy Committee (IPC), the infamous lobbying group comprising retired CIA and Arms trade employees, has been assigned to act as the mouthpiece of the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (MEK, currently on the terrorist lists of the USA, UK, European Union and Canada). Employment of the ICP came about after the Mojahedin’s alias National Council of Resistance of Iran was added to the terrorist list and its activates halted by the police.

Last week the Supreme Court of the US refused to hear the appeal by Mojahedin Lawyers against prosecution of its fundraisers since it did not consider their case even fit to be heard.

The American army bombarded the Mojahedin’s Iraqi bases and disarmed them 3 years ago. Since then about 800 of them have been helped to return home to their families. The US army is tasked with dismantling the MEK camp (Camp Ashraf) and is handing this responsibility to a small Bulgarian army unit in Iraq.

The Iraqi Government has demanded the removal of MEK terrorists from Iraqi territory as soon as is practicable. Dismantlement of the MEK’s Camp Ashraf (where about 3000 ageing men and women have been held captive from the time of fall of their benefactor Saddam Hussein) is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

The Iranian Government has made it clear on several occasions that not a penny would be paid for this dead horse.

It is widely believed that the final phase of dismantlement will take place within weeks with a new screening process which will allow the rank and file members to be freed and repatriated, leaving about 200 hard core members to be detained for further investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The group’s (aka Saddam’s Private Army) few desperate lobbyists in the Israeli lobby in Washington have long lived on the reaction of different officials announcing the group should not be approached because of its long history of violence, participation in the massacre of Iraqi Kurds on behalf of Saddam Hussein and the assassination of many civilians including American citizens in Iran. In the wake of the group’s gradual disappearance, such reactions have been muted, particularly over the last few months. The MEK is increasingly irrelevant to the political scene in Iran or in Iraq.

In this situation, Raymond Tanter is trying his best to get either the US army, or the Iraqi Government or the Iranian Government to react to his claim that there are still some people who think they could use the group. This is the only way the group can claim any credence as a viable entity – simply by reflection of any acknowledgement that it exists.

It must be said simply that this approach is ‘too little, too late’. No one expects any reaction to his ridiculous claims neither from the US, Iraq nor Iran.

The Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (Rajavi cult) died a long time ago. These tragi-comedy scripts cannot revive them, much as some wish they could.

…

SOURCE Iran Policy Committee

"…Drawing on the conclusion of the White Paper, Professor Tanter said, "Because the Iranian regime is the primary power broker in Iraq, it is necessary for the United States to devise methods of restraining Tehran’s influence. Countering the Iranian regime in Iraq requires reaching out to its main opposition-the Mujahedeen-e Khalq. But such a move is not to assist the MEK; rather, reaching out to the MEK serves as a political counterweight to the Iranian regime’s influence in Iraq, helps the United States end the sectarian violence and the insurgency, and balances the U.S. Government offer to join the international community in holding direct talks with the Iranian regime."

"Professor Tanter also said, "As the Iranian regime increases sectarian strife in Iraq, new analysis by the Iran Policy Committee suggests a role for the Iranian opposition in Iraq to help build a national compact among Iraqi factions." Professor Tanter concluded, "One way to overcome the acrimony between the U.S. Government and Sunni politicians is to utilize an interlocutor trusted by both groups. The Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) in Iraq can function in just this capacity; indeed, the MEK already engages in quiet negotiations with Iraqi factions and has excellent relations with the U.S. military.""

Massoud Khodabandeh, January 13, 2007

January 15, 2007 0 comment

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