As the forerunners of armed struggle, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization has always been proud of its violent history. The group’s journals are filled with glorification of violent acts against Iranian authorities and civilians as well as the assassination of American citizens and military advisors before the Iranian revolution in the 1970s.To
ensure its violent strategy the group’s flag is symbolized with sickle and Kalashnikov.
During the history of the MKO, weapon has always been part of the identity of the group. Once the group was harbored by Iraqi former dictator, Saddam Hussein, it was donated large scale weaponry and military vehicles. Since then the group became “Saddam’s Private Army”. It launched several military and spying missions on behalf of the Baath regime.
The life in the MKO camps was disciplined with army regulations. The group members were involved in cleaning their weapons all day long. It can be said they were obsessed with them. All over the camps one could see men and women in army uniforms busy working with military equipments.
After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the MKO was disarmed by the US army following an agreement signed between the group and American military. Disarmament of an armed group which its entire strategy was based on arm was a turning point for the collapse of the group.
The MKO members who were left empty handed with no financial and military sponsor began doubting the group’s ideology and its long-life strategy of armed struggle. Process of defection got on the rise while cult-like control over members was also stepped up.
Listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department, in 1997, the MKO was not free enough to launch its propaganda campaign in the US government. It spent large amounts of money to get its name removed from the FTO list. A long list of American Congressmen and former high profiles were offered bribe by the MKO’s propaganda apparatus to pressure the State Department to delist the group. They based their argument to defend the group on the allegation that the MKO has been disarmed in 2003 and it has not carried out any violent act since then.
The MKO wants to be rearmed again
Finally in September 2012 the MKO multi-million dollar campaign succeeded to delist the group. Now, the next step for the MKO was to buy support of the American authorities to use it against Iranian government. The group’s paid supporters advocated for more sanctions against Islamic Republic and obstructed the nuclear negotiations going between the US and Iran. The new tactic was not so successful since President Obama promised to veto any new sanction bill passed by the Congress.
So, the MKO leaders cried a ludicrous proposal: Give our weapons back! The new demand of the MKO was first uttered by a unanimous spokesperson of the group in Norway and it then became a part of the group’s propaganda.
A few weeks ago, in the propaganda show held by the MKO to honor 36th anniversary of antimonarchy revolution in Iran“, the group’s leader Maryam Rajavi said, “The US must provide and guarantee the protection of Camp Liberty or at least, as 4000 parliamentarians have declared, return some of the Mujahedin’s personal weaponry, which they need for their protection against the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force and their affiliated militias.”
Besides, the MKO’s European friends like Alejo Vidal-Quadras, the president of a so-called Non-Governmental organization affiliated to the MKO told : ‘’The residents of Camp Liberty and Camp Ashraf have right to self-defense.”
Deep Contradiction between words and action
While Maryam Rajavi tells a German newspaper,” Our objective can be summed up in three words: freedom, democracy and equality”, how can she order the West to give their weapons back?
Such contradictory ideas can be only originated from a mixed hypocritical ideology that shifts from time to time. The analyst of the American Conservative, Daniel Larison may suggest the best description of the MKO Cult:
“The MEK is neither moderate nor democratic, and it seeks only the aggrandizement of its leaders. The group is understandably distrusted and loathed by most Iranians for its past record of hostilities against Iran, and it doesn’t speak for any of the legitimate opposition to Iran’s regime. Anyone advocating for Western support of this organization and its allies is not helping anyone inside Iran. All that MEK boosterim does is to try to whitewash a monstrous group that has killed both Americans and Iranians.”
By the way, is it rational to ask to rearm a recently disarmed group with a longtime background of violent acts? People should ponder and use their wisdom in facing this question.
Mazda Parsi,