++ This week Iranians joyfully celebrated Chahar Shanbe Suri with their families, with friends and in their communities. Nothing of much note happened apart from the usual needless, unfortunate firework injuries. Not a sign of the uprising that Maryam Rajavi’s ordered last week. Mohammad Karami exposed the MEK’s delusions on his weblog with an article titled ‘False Pictures, False News and False Identity’. He explains that the MEK have taken a single photograph from BBC Farsi showing that a police car was set ablaze outside a stadium in Ahwaz during a local clash. The MEK misleadingly claimed this is what happened “in Iran”. The MEK website also distorted an AP news article by adding bits to it themselves. Karami provided screenshots of the original AP article alongside the MEK version which clearly shows what they have added. Karami reminds us that they did the same thing last week with AP coverage of Maryam Rajavi’s Berlin Women’s Day show, in which the MEK edited out AP reporting that the audience was mostly made up of Polish and Czech students. He reminds us also of the ‘nuclear safe door’ debacle, pointing out that the MEK couldn’t even find a graphic obscure enough to avoid instant exposure. Karami reviews several years of photoshopped pictures of audiences, demonstrations and other events and concludes that the MEK has long ago become nothing more than image makers.

++ This week seven people moved out of Hotel Mohajer in Baghdad to resume normal life. The hotel is where ex members reside when they escape from Camp Liberty. This is good news because for many months conditions in Baghdad meant that there were not appropriate nor sufficient resources and facilities to allow them to move out. Now the situation in Iraq has eased the hotel has gone back to being a transit hotel.

++ Parviz Khazai, the MEK’s nefarious NCRI representative in Norway, has written a sixteen page report by order of Rajavi with title ‘Up to date report to the people of Iran’. Ebrahim Khodabandeh has unpicked it in an article, not, as he says because of the issues it contains but because this shows what the MEK’s problems are, where they are stuck and what they are trying to sort out with this report.

Khazai’s report has three subtitles: 1. About the Iranian regime. 2. About outside Iran and 3. About the people of Iran. Ironically, says Khodabandeh, Khazai explains that the MEK’s success are that it prevented Iran from taking over Iraq – during the eight year war [by siding with Iraq], during the 1991 Gulf war [by crushing the Kurdish uprising] and after the 2003 invasion [by siding with the Saddamists and insurgents] – and that it prevented Iran from building a bomb [as the source of nuclear exposures]. Although these are not things to be proud of says Khodabandeh, that is not the point; we didn’t think it was the MEK’s job to do these things. This is not opposition activity, in fact it is something quite different, and these are not questions of the Iranian people.

Khodabandeh says he is in contact with various people including current and former MEK members and they confirm that everybody’s questions are: 1. Where is Massoud Rajavi, the leader? 2. Why is it you are part and parcel of the Neocon/Zionist alliance and have nothing to do with Iran but everything to do with Israel? And 3. Where is all the money coming from to pay for all this? These are the questions of your own people let alone everyone else. Therefore this is not a report aimed at the people of Iran, nor is it aimed at the MEK’s own people. This report is for Israel because Rajavi is afraid of being dumped. It is an advertisement and justification of what the MEK has done for Israel in the hope of continued support.

In English:

++ TEHRAN (Tasnim) – ‘Mojahedin Khalq Has Strong Ties with ISIL: Former Member’

A former member of the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) revealed the group’s close relations with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group. Ghorban Ali Hosseinnejad said the leaders of MKO (also known as MEK) maintain strong ties with the ISIL Takfiri group in Iraq and Syria. “The MKO leaders had pinned hope in ISIL to seize control of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad after the northern city of Mosul fell to ISIL forces last summer”, Hosseinnejad was quoted by Iraqi Al-Masalah website as saying.

++ Michael Knights, Foreign Affairs, (The Council On Foreign Relations) ‘After Tikrit What to Do With Iraq’s Shia Popular Mobilization Units’

“Eastern Iraq has also been a literal and figurative battlefield between Iranian-backed Iraqi militants and the Iraqi state. Ravaged by the Iran-Iraq War, the borderlands soon after the cease-fire became sites of tit-for-tat border raids. Baghdad sent in the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MeK), Shiite opponents of the Iranian theocracy classified as a terrorist organization by the United States. Tehran sent in the Badr Corps, an Iraqi Shiite force recruited by Iran. In the 1990s, Iran also periodically sent its air force into Iraq to hit the MeK. It even fired salvos of Scud-like missiles into Diyala as late as 2001.”

++ Justin Raymondo, Antiwar.com ‘Bin Laden and Bibi, Together At Last, Israel’s alliance with al-Qaeda’: “Israel has never hesitated to ally with the worst elements on earth in order to advance what its leaders regard as the Jewish state’s interests. From South Africa’s apartheid regime to the death squads of Central and South America, to the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) – an Iranian exile group of Marxist terrorists – Israel has always given a helping hand to whoever merits it according to their amoral calculus. And as Israeli and American interests began to radically diverge – a process that has been ongoing since the demise of the Soviet Union – it makes perfect sense that they should align with our worst enemies.”

++ Nejat Bloggers: ‘Mr Rahmani – former MKO member – joined his family after 27 years’

“Mr. Mahmoud Rahmani who was a POW of Iran-Iraq war in 1987, was deceived into joining the Cult of Mujahedin-e Khalq. Mr. Rahmani who was forced to stay with the group for 27 years, transferred to Albania from Temporary Transit Location, Iraq. In Tirana far from the Cult boundaries and strict manipulation practices, Mr. Rahmani managed to release himself from the cult. Now, he is with his family after about a quarter of a century. When he left his family, his son was a 3 year old child. Now he is a 30 year old married young man. Within the mind manipulating cult of MKO, having contact with the family members both within and outside the Cult Camps is forbidden.”

++ Fars News: ‘Senior Iraqi MP: ISIL Continuing Mojahedin Khalq’s Terrorist Ideology’.

“Iraqi MP Hunain Al-Qado said the importance of reminding MKO’s crimes stems from the fact that some people try to keep these crimes under wraps.

He said the terrorist groups all pursue a shared objective, and added, “There is no difference between the ISIL’s terrorist acts in Iraq and Syria and Mojahedin-e Khalq’s terrorist acts.” “These groups use the same methods and have similar purposes which is creating fear and terrorizing civilians. So, what is going on now in Iraq is the continuation of MKO’s ideology.”

Emphasizing the need for cooperation among the regional countries that have been targeted by terrorist groups, al-Qado said, “On account of the arrogant powers’ struggles against Iran as well as their efforts in sowing the seeds of chaos in the Axis of Resistance, which is made up of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and most probably Yemen in the future, it is vital to set up strategies in order to encourage integrated efforts in these countries and other countries which are a victim of terrorism.””

++ Iran Interlink, March 20 2015:… On the occasion of Norooz, Iran Interlink is posting this article titled ‘Uncertain Future for MKO’ which was first published by Knight Ridder in March 2005. Our thoughts and hopes are with the victims of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, and their families, who are still held in incommunicado captivity in Camp Liberty …

++ The death was announced yesterday of Hareth al Zaari, a backer of the MEK. Al Zaari escaped from Iraq in 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein to Jordan where he established the Association of Muslim scholars. This association was part of a cohort, which included Saddam’s daughter, fighting against the Iraqi government and trying to stop the progress of the country. Iraq had issued an arrest warrant against him. Al Zaari died in Turkey from cancer and his body will be taken to Jordan for burial. Although he was a fugitive he was very influential for the MEK; Massoud Rajavi was highly dependent on his patronage.

++ Widespread ridicule followed Maryam Rajavi’s annual invitation to the Iranian people to ‘rise up and overthrow their government’ on the occasion of the joyous Iranian celebration of Chahar Shanbe Suri, an ancient purification rite. The MEK treat it as though the Iranian people are doing it to support them. One Farsi comment was that “the next step will be for Maryam Rajavi to ask all the people of the world to take their socks off before going to bed at night and then the next morning claim that she made it happen saying ‘look, all the world supports me because they took their socks off!”

++ The Quarterly issue of Cheshmandaz Iran, whose editor is Meysami a well-known critic of Iran where he is resident, has published a two part article by Mohammad Karimi, also a known revolutionary at time of Shah who had been involved with the MEK at that time. In this final part titled ‘Mojahedin-e Avare’ (The Homeless Mojahedin), he goes into detail about the start of the MEK when he was with them and is a short but thorough history. In the same publication Maysami writes, “People ask me where do I think Massoud Rajavi is. My only answer is that after what he has done he is staying somewhere that he doesn’t have to answer to anyone for anything. I don’t know where but I know why.”

++ In reaction to Maryam Rajavi’s Berlin show to mark International Women’s Day, Mirbaghersaderi in Switzerland writes about this from the angle of Maryam Rajavi’s outstanding hypocrisy, her unique potential and ability in lying. The writer says she is far superior to anyone else in this skill.

++ Many people continue writing to their friends and family in Tirana. Hassanpiransar congratulates his friend Alireza Mirbagheri for moving out of Iraq but encourages him and his friends to take the next step and free themselves. He tells them not to be afraid. Hassanpiransar says “the MEK pay you $500 per month and this keeps their rope around your neck. The difference between that and the UN money is only $300 and I promise you, you will not collapse if you take that instead. The damage done by that extra $300 is much worse than struggling to make your own way. The MEK’s money is poison for you.”

In English:

++ This week, following Maryam Rajavi’s show in Berlin to mark International Women’s Day, several former MEK members have written open letters to political representatives of their countries of residence to protest and to inform.

Iran Zanan (Iranian Women’s Association) wrote to Otto Bernhardet in Germany after he met with Rajavi to ask him ‘Do you know who Maryam Rajavi is?’ The letter listed the human rights abuses specifically affecting women in the cult, including murders, forced hysterectomies, grooming for sex and ongoing incommunicado incarceration.

Mohammad Razaghi wrote to Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister of France warning of the danger posed by MEK members living in Auvers sur Oise who have been trained in the manufacture and use of explosives and chemical weapons; this training was provided by Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard says Razaghi who is an eye witness to many of the MEK’s criminal and terrorist activities. Such MEK members living in France use false identities to evade detection by security services, he says.

++ Using the framework of Maryam Rajavi’s claim to defend the rights of women, Mazda Parsi in Nejat Bloggers says she should be challenged to identify the economic, political and social achievements of the women in her own camps both in France and Iraq. Parsi points out that “no woman in the MKO earns money or runs her own business. Women in the MKO are completely separated from men. Even women are not allowed to associate with their same sex comrades as friends. Friendship is forbidden. Celibacy is obligatory and a lot of other facts that prove that female members of the MKO enjoy no social achievements. They are not given the slightest opportunity to learn social skills. Most of them have no idea how to use a cellphone. About the political achievements of the MKO female members, it is enough to mention that the group has no significant role in the political scene of Iran.” Parsi says former members of the MEK are highly motivated to help rescue their former comrades who Rajavi is holding hostage.

++ PressTV reported that Rudi Giuliani made his lucrative annual pilgrimage to Europe to advocate for the MEK in a speech in Berlin. As expected, Giuliani’s speech, delivered to a captive audience of Polish and Czech students taking time out from an MKO funded all-expenses paid tourist trip, followed the usual trend of ineffectual nobodies being paid to make unwarranted and unwanted criticisms of President Obama’s efforts in the nuclear negotiations as part of a greater attempt by Zionists and Neocons to stymie the process. He described Obama as “extremely reckless”. Giuliani also wants the residents of Camp Liberty to be given refugee status. Press TV did not report how Giuliani proposed this should be granted – the residents continue to be held in incommunicado captivity by the MEK leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi – we can assume he didn’t elaborate.

++ Another MEK-paid advocate was unable to attend the Berlin show because of problems at home. The New York Times reported that the US “Justice Department is preparing to file corruption charges against Senator Robert Menendez… after a two-year investigation into allegations that he accepted gifts and lavish vacations in exchange for political favors for a longtime friend and political benefactor. The article focuses on Menendez’ friendship with Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye surgeon and the corrupt practices which ensued. It was left to Paul Mulshine in nj.com to focus on the senator’s use of his powerful position as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for “courageous efforts to keep the cowardly and evil Obama administration from caving in to the crazed Iranian mullahs who want to rain nuclear destruction on the U.S. and Israel”.

“The senator’s recent behavior should be seen in light of his affinity for another Mideastern group he champions, Mojahedin-e Khalq. You’ve probably never heard of it. But Bob Baer has… “These guys killed Americans,” said Baer, a former CIA agent who spent much of the 1980′ and ’90s in the Mideast. “They tried to kill one of my colleagues, but they ended up shooting his driver.” MEK, as it’s known, is an Iranian dissident group of Marxist-Leninist origins that operates from a base in Iraq called Camp Liberty. Menendez has become its prime spokesman in Congress – and also the prime recipient of donations from MEK sympathizers, according to an article on the Intercept site.”

++ Marcin Banasik writing for Dzienni Poliski24 newspaper exposes the MEK’s activities in Poland. The MEK created a Facebook page to lure students into participating in an all-expenses paid trip to Berlin for Rajavi’s show. But, said the paper, the students weren’t informed that the trip was paid for by a terrorist organization and that they were expected to support the MEK as part of the conditions attached to the trip.

“When we called the number given on the web, we were told that the organizers are associations supporting the struggle for democracy. The person responsible for compiling the departure list would not, however, give us a Polish contact for the tour. Facebook is the only information we had and it says that “the subject is the same as every year in Paris”.

The point is that in 2008 the People’s Mojahedin held a rally at Charles de Gaulle airport. That was attended by around 3.5 thousand Polish students and was met with criticism from Iran. The Iranian ambassador in Warsaw said that this event, in which a terrorist organization could deceive students, was a humiliation for Polish society.

Until yesterday the authorities of Kracow University did not know about the Berlin trip. In the same way as the Paris Conference, Professor Anna Krasnowolska from the Department of Iranian Studies at Jagiellonian University learned about the Berlin Conference in March from us. Professor Krasnowolska said “I advised my students not to participate in this. The way in which it is organized shows that the concept of democracy is foreign to the People’s Mojahedin”.

When articles began to circulate on the Internet showing the true face of the Conference in Paris, some students began to sell their tickets for the trip to Berlin. “I preferred to withdraw from participation in the meeting altogether. I even heard that the Americans refuse to issue visas to those who were at a similar conference”, the student from Krakow told us.”