++ Among the reactions to Zahra Merrikhi’s appointment as head of the MEK, some commentators remind us this is the fourth time a Secretary General has been announced. The first time was when Massoud Rajavi introduced Maryam as Secretary General of the MEK and everyone immediately asked, ‘then who are you’? He told everyone to shut up because it was never actually in question that he is in control of everything. In view of this, commentators say, this title means nothing. Nothing changes, just the names. The reality is that dead or alive the cult is based on him; there is no ‘election’ the whole group is based on his name. Some commentators scoffed ‘with this ridiculous appointment they dare to criticise elections in Iran and other places!’ Mehdi Khoshhal’s article, titled ‘The Albanian Zorba’, compares the scene from the film in which the village women gather outside the brothel of Madame Hortense as she is dying in order to take her belongings. Now that Massoud Rajavi is dead, the women of the MEK are queuing like vultures, waiting to get something from him for themselves.

++ In Albania, after the MEK said it would no longer pay UNHCR allowances to the former members, seventy people visited the UN office to demand their right to get their refugee allowances directly. Others have joined the protest to the point that Maryam Rajavi withdrew the threat and her lawyers have told the UN there had been a mistake and that the UN didn’t need to do anything as the MEK would pay the money in full to the formers.

Naturally the ex-members say they don’t trust the MEK and they continue their demand to be paid directly. The formers planned a demonstration outside the RAMSA office, but the Interior Ministry refused permission. The formers – through their lawyer – told the ministry and Albanian newspapers that they would ‘go ahead anyway and the police can arrest and imprison us’. On the day of the planned demonstration, the UN told the formers’ lawyer ‘don’t let them demonstrate, instead they should open bank accounts and we will pay them’. The lawyer – who is working pro bono – responded that ‘if the UNHCR does not do this, we will take them to court and they will have to pay the court fees and my fees on top of whatever allowances are owed to the former members.’

++ Meanwhile, since this situation developed, MEK henchmen have been stationed outside the UN office in Tirana supported by members of the Albanian security services. Their role is to intimidate any former MEK member who goes in and out of the building. However, in articles by ex-members, they say that the fear has spilled, they are no longer afraid. ‘Tactics like taking our pictures, filming us and threatening us have no effect. We will not stop until we get our rights.’

++ Every several months, Radio France Culture has a ridiculous interview with Maryam Rajavi about feminism or women’s rights etc, which everyone knows is paid advertising. After one such interview this week, some female ex-members wrote an open letter to the radio station asking them to respect the right to respond. They said, ‘for every ten interviews with Maryam Rajavi could you please broadcast at least one line from the ex-members in answer to three or four questions about how Rajavi treated women members inside the MEK. Zahra Mirbagheri, who suffered massively inside the MEK, has accused Radio France Culture of destroying the reputation of French human rights advocacy just for a few pennies. ‘You should not broadcast an advert without saying it is an advert’, says Mirbagheri. ‘And if you do, you still can’t, by law, tell lies in adverts, there has to be some truth in what is said.’

++ It has just emerged that Maryam Rajavi has written personally to the UNHCR in Geneva about the issue of refugee allowances. In her letter, she mentioned ‘a petition with 70 names’. The lawyer of several former MEK members and Sahar Family Foundation responded, saying ‘we must investigate how this petition, which was given directly to the UNHCR in Tirana, has been seen by Maryam Rajavi. This is a sign of corruption. The fact that immediately after the announcement of a demonstration by these formers, she did a 180 degree turn and now says there has been a mistake shows there are plots and collusion against the ex-members. The fact that the UN has now had to deal directly with the formers and couldn’t work to her agenda has exposed the corruption within this system.

In English:

++ Iran Interlink marked the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy by reminding us of the MEK’s reaction. Massoud Rajavi gathered his forces and celebrated the horrifying act of terrorism. He told his followers he believed they could do better!

++ Sahar Family Foundation published a petition which had been presented to RAMSA – the department responsible for the former MEK members at the UNHCR office in Tirana. The demands are:

1. Our refugee allowances be paid by RAMSA and we be supported by the United Nations in Albania
2. Work permits and jobs are granted to us in order that we are able to support ourselves.
3. Our Refugee Status is officially issued in order that we can receive our righteous benefits.

++ A Nejat Society article says the MEK is losing support as those who lobby for them – such as John Bolton – are themselves losing traction in the political scene in America.

++ Habilian Association has written an expose on the “Republicans’ favourite Democrat’, Joseph Lieberman. The article runs through his background, identifying him as a neocon associated with AIPAC and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Lieberman opposed the nuclear deal with Iran and has taken a staunchly anti-Iran stance on every issue including Syria and Iraq. The article points to Liberman’s advocacy of the MEK but says “While Lieberman, General Jones, and Colonel Martin all failed categorically to accurately describe the true nature of the MEK terrorists they seek to support in a proxy war with Iran, the US policy papers these three lobbyists are reading from have done so and in great detail.”

September 15, 2017

++ In Albania this week the MEK staged an event to mark the 52nd anniversary of the foundation of the organisation. Maryam Rajavi, of course, talked about her ten-point plan for women and appointed Zahra Merrikhi as head of the MEK. A lot of money was spent on make-up and clothes and crowds but the event attracted no media coverage except among interested former members’ websites. It did prompt reaction from some Farsi observers. These say that Rajavi’s presence in Albania is needed to save the organisation because it’s collapsing. They also point out that ‘there is no Central Committee or a governing body just a cult leader, how can you come up with this show of voting for a Secretary General?’ Some have reminded us that Zahra Merrikhi was an MEK torturer under the Mokhabarat at the time of Saddam. Similarly, Saddam had 100% votes when he held elections.

++ A glance at the statistics in Albania reveal that although Rajavi has travelled there to save the MEK, the rate of disaffection is accelerating. There are just over one persons per week now leaving the group. The MEK, openly backed by the CIA, is pushing desperately for the Albanian Interior Ministry to give the go ahead to relocate the members to a closed camp in a rural area in the north of the country. Until now the ministry has resisted, fearing the establishment of yet another non-accountable CIA base in the country.

++ After Manouchehr Abdi escaped the MEK last week and had an interview with Albania’s Gazeta Impakt, the MEK has been on overdrive to make others afraid of talking. The MEK told all separated members that the money they get from the UNHCR will be stopped immediately unless they prove their loyalty. But they don’t know how to do this because they are already not talking to anyone. The MEK is on overdrive to disseminate misinformation about Abdi saying he had been a member of the MOIS from the start and had infiltrated the MEK 13 years ago. Ironically, to prove these revelations, they published a ‘confession’ that he had signed accepting that he is an agent of the Iranian regime etc, etc, back-dated to a long time ago. Today, Abdi talked with Mardom TV in Washington for three hours, going into the details of what the MEK did to him and what they are doing now to him and his family.

++ Saber from Tabriz wrote an article for Iran Interlink about the MEK’s 52nd anniversary. “Whatever you say, none of you can claim to be the descendants of the MEK’s founders. You showily gift a book listing your anti-Imperialist martyrs to John McCain, but this doesn’t translate into Farsi does it.” In another piece, Saber gives examples critical of the MEK. “I knew ‘martyr’ Aram Goftari because he’s from our locality. You claim he is one of your martyrs. Don’t you remember when he wanted to leave and you kept him by force. Then his wife, Marzieh Ghorsi and their little baby managed, to escape from you. All she had as the blood money of her husband was $70 and two decades of you spending money on character assassination to prove she is a bad person. The people you bring to your events and present this book with his name in it, get $70,000 for half an hour’s chat. This is where you stand with the people of Iran.”

In English:

Habilian Association and Tasnim News say ‘MEK rightfully named father of ISIS’. Tracing the evolution of anti-Iran terrorist activity from the MEK to ISIS, the article says “Iran is a victim of terrorism. This is not just a claim or a political motto; It is a part of our country’s historical reality. Terrorism is a serious threat, not only to our country, but also to the whole world. It is a tool for anti-popular groups and a chance for some states to spread terror and disrupt peace and security of people.”

++ Sahar Family Foundation met with officials of the UN in Albania to talk about the situation of separated members. The UNHCR’s Refugee and Migrant Services are directly responsible for 230 MEK members who are kept in a location in the Port of Dorsa by the MEK. There are a further 240 formers who have completely left the group and their situation is particularly harrowing. The UNHCR pays their refugee allowances directly to the MEK which, of course, does not pass any money to them. In the context of this dissolution, Sahar concluded “Reports indicate that the recent meeting between Maryam Rajavi and the American senators in Tirana took place because of the recent unexpected deterioration of the organization’s situation in Albania. And that it was also due to pressure from the Albanian government which has complained that the promises made by America previously had not been fulfilled. It is reported that the Senators’ meeting was a kind of impeachment of Maryam Rajavi for not controlling the members and for allowing concerns to be raised throughout Albania.”

++ Sahar translated extracts from the interview of Manouchehr Abdi with Gazeta Impakt in Tirana. Abdi escaped the MEK last week and was keen to speak about his experience of the group.

“SFF: after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the disarmament of the organization by the US military, and finally the departure of the group from Iraq that resulted in losing the Iranian border, how do the group authorities maintain the hope of regime change in the minds of members?

“M.A.: the group authorities, particularly the leader told members: ‘the army of uprising is still alive in Iran and you are the officers of this army! Your soldiers are those youngsters of revolt who are awaiting a spark. The moment the uprising occurs we will get on the plane to reach Iran in order to organize the uprising.’”

September 08, 2017

++ This week saw the anniversary of the 1981 assassination of Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar and President Mohammad Ali Rajai by the MEK in Iran. Iran calls it ‘the day of fighting terrorism’. One of the events to mark this assassination was held in the old parliament building in Tehran. The event was titled ‘Terrorism – from Mojahedin to Daesh’. A statement from the Head of Parliament was read out as he could not attend. In his speech, the Deputy Head of Parliament said, “it is a sad joke that after sending the MEK and Daesh to commit acts of terrorism in Iran over three decades, ironically ‘they’ still accuse us of supporting terrorism”.

++ A gathering of Nejat Society members was held in Yazd this week. The invited speakers were Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Zahra Mir Bagheri and Abbas Mohammadpour. The explained in some detail to the families what is happening with the MEK and the ex-members in Tirana and how Nejat is talking with the government of Albania to arrange family meetings and help those who have separated from the MEK.

++ In Albania, Gazeta Impakt YouTube channel broadcast an hour and a half interview with Ehsan Bidi and Manuchehr Abdi. Both are ex-members there. They detailed how they were treated before coming to Albania and now by the MEK. Their main complaint concerns their current situation in Tirana. They are coming under pressure from the MEK and its backers in the Albanian government to stop them speaking out and exposing the realities of the MEK. This has reached the point that because of speaking out about the MEK, the UNHCR, the interior ministry of Albania and the refugee camps have thrown them out into the streets and cut their social benefits. When they went on hunger strike outside the UNHCR office they were threatened by staff there with ‘disappearance’ or prison. They complain that “the Pentagon and the CIA have brought their fight with Iran to Albania, but in this war, they are sacrificing people who don’t want to be terrorists”.

++ Other reports from Albania indicate that Maryam Rajavi has started a new round of oath taking, this time getting members to sign up to stay with the MEK until the end of the Trump administration. Rajavi tells them that ‘President Trump will go to war with Iran and we will go back to Iran’. Commentators ridicule this saying even Trump himself is not clear whether he’ll reach end of his term as President.

++ Other reports from Albania say that MEK members are trying to sneak into internet cafés and talk with their families. In response, the MEK has increased its surveillance tactics. On top of the previous system of only being allowed to go out in groups and compulsory reporting on each other, the MEK has now created a dedicated group of people just to follow those who have to go out for any reason. For example, for medical reasons. This group must clandestinely follow, take photos and report the activities of any MEK member outside the base.

++ Today it was reported that the MEK leaders have gathered all the disaffected members who still receive their weekly UN refugee allowance from them on condition of compliance with various restrictions – do not contact your family, do not contact other ex-members, do not talk about the MEK with anyone. These people have been told that after this month they will no longer receive their UNHCR financial allowance from the MEK. When they complained, insisting that they had abided by the rules, the MEK told them ‘the UNHCR informed us that the lease for the building we are using has ended and it must be evacuated’. The disaffected members objected ‘what’s that to do with us, we don’t live in that building’. The MEK answer was that ‘if we suffer you must too’. The UNHCR ironically still pays its money to the MEK organisation not individual refugees. Farsi commentary says, ‘this is what Saddam would do – pay per head of members as a lump sum to Massoud Rajavi’.

++ A government source in Albania has informed Iran-Interlink that the MEK is pushing hard for permission to move the members to a camp in an isolated town at the edge of Albania, 300 miles from the capital.  This is to avoid any interference from any external body but mostly to make it extremely difficult for the MEK families to go there. The government has refused this saying it is not acceptable.

++ Sahar site was down for three days last week. Sahar explained why this happened. It appears that some MEK lobbyists in America had approached the service provider in the US claiming that the Sahar website belongs to the intelligence ministry of Iran and that hosting it is against the sanctions regime and threatening that legal action will be taken. In addition, several lawyers have written to the service provider saying the same thing. According to Sahar’s investigations, a considerable amount of money has been spent on this. Sahar has contacted the service provider with documents to show who is behind Sahar. The provider thereby discovered that they had been set up and have apologised to Sahar and reinstated the site. Khodabandeh posted on Facebook – if you can’t deal with a few ex members and some families even outside the country, what is that ‘we will overthrow the regime’ slogan all about?

In English:

++ Sahar Family Foundation met with some officials in the Albanian ministry of internal affairs whose department is responsible for monitoring and looking after around 240 separated MEK members. One official gave a wide-ranging account of what is happening, in particular mentioning the MEK’s “hostile attitude towards the families trying to visit their loved ones inside the group” and said the government is aware that the MEK leaders are “trying to establish a government like system similar to what they practiced in Iraq, which is not acceptable”.

++ Habilian Association which represents victims of MEK terrorism inside Iran reported on a speech by former MEK member Ebrahim Khodabandeh to scholars of Astan Qods Razavi Endowment in Mashhad. Khodabandeh said the main focus of MEK international activity was to stoke ‘Iranophobia’. He talked about the criminal record of the group. He concluded by describing Iran’s attitude toward the MEK and its members. “…Do a research in a country like the U.S. and see what the sentence of high treason is. The Islamic Republic has shown the maximum mercy to an enemy group. I know more than 700 MEK members like myself who are freely living their lives. Many journalists who encountered us were surprised and wondered if it is possible.”

++ Mazda Parsi in Nejat Society calls the MEK ‘Masters of Propaganda’. He says, “There is a big mistake often made by certain American politicians: They allegedly are concerned about freedom of Iranian people but fail to understand the nature of a group which, in public, says good things about freedom and democracy but, actually it is committed to violence, human rights abuse and cult-like practices… The MEK are ‘masters of propaganda’. Many of its supporters are unaware of its dark history and also what is going on inside the group now.”

++ Tehran Times and Mehr News, Tehran, both ran pieces about the MEK assassination of President Mohammad Ali Rajaei and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar in 1981.

++ Nejat Society published an open letter written by families of MEK members trapped in Albania to the UNHCR and the Albanian interior ministry. The families again raise the issue of family visits not being a crime and asking for help to allow MEK members to benefit from their international and financial rights so that they can make informed decisions about their futures.

 September 01, 2017