++ Mazda Parsi writing in English for Nejat Bloggers says “The MKO’s deep pocket is not enough”. Parsi starts his article by saying that in spite of “the well funded efforts by the Mujahedin Khalq Organization’s lobbyists in the US Congress, the pro Israel lobbying group, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) turned its back to the MKO. AIPAC gave up on pushing for a vote on an anti-Iran bill after top sponsor of new sanction bill — who is actually an MKO’s main advocate in the Congress– Senator Robert Menendez spoke against an immediate vote. The article concludes that “the MKO’s lavish parties for its high profile –corrupt– friends in the US Congress in order to run its hostile policies against the Iranian nation has not worked yet and it is unlikely to work in the future.”

++ Mojahedin Monitor website reports that families of the individuals killed in Camp Ashraf are negotiating with the Iraqi government for their bodies to be returned to Iran for proper burial. Around one hundred bodies are said to be left in the MEK graveyard and elsewhere. One family said, “We don’t know how our lovely brother was killed. We never received any official documents or truth about it. An MEK official called us and just told us that he was killed during the bombings of Iraq. Now we don’t want his remaining body to be in Iraq where before was camp Ashraf. We want the body to be returned to Iran and to be close to our family where we can visit him. I don’t think that he rests in peace in Iraq.”

++ In the Farsi websites many people are still responding to Maryam Rajavi’s convention for 300 associations which they say was completely irrelevant to anything that is happening in Iran. Mohammad Karami wrote that apparently for Rajavi what is happening in Syria is more important than even the lives of the people in Camp Liberty.

++ Also in Farsi, Massoud Rajavi’s Audio broadcast has continued to provoke scorn and ridicule. In the Audio Rajavi claims that all Iranian political refugees and opposition outside Iran owe their legitimacy to the MEK and their armed struggle. The widespread response has been that ‘refugee status was a right well before you were ever on the scene. You are a charlatan to claim it has anything to do with you.’

++ In Iran there was a gathering of families organised by Tabriz Nejat Association. Ebrahim Khodabandeh spoke at the event and a report talks of the need for the involvement of these families in order to rescue the people trapped in Iraq.

++ Massoud Khodabandeh had a lengthy interview with Maryam Sanjabi in Iran. The first part was published by Call of Truth website. The interview offers a personal view of Rajavi, his lifestyle and his cultish practices. In one part Khodabandeh answers a question about the extravagance and lifestyle of Rajavi. He says that Rajavi and his wife cannot be described as simply extravagant, it is like a sickness in them. Khodabandeh gives an example, “Suppose you consume too much food and drink, you can be said to be extravagant. But if you enjoy eating and drinking in front of hungry people, then that is sick.” Khodabandeh explained that when the French anti-terrorist police raided the MEK camp at Auvers sur Oise, they found hundreds of pairs of Maryam Rajavi’s shoes stuffed into her personal residence. That in itself was surprising for them. But then they discovered that with every other person in that place who underwent a body search, it was noticeable that their underwear was literally in tatters, and their clothing was old and worn.

++ Sa’ad al-Motallebi, an Iraqi political analyst and advisor to the country’s prime minister, denounced as dishonourable Western politicians who get paid by the Mojahedin Khalq. Referring to the delay in the MKO’s expulsion from Iraq, Sa’ad al-Motallebi told Habilian’s correspondent in Iraq that the reason for this delay is the lack of commitment of those countries who had previously expressed willingness to take them in their countries. He also made a reference to the politicians supporting the MKO and said, “Some politicians who have received money from the MKO not only support the group but they also act on their behalf.” The political expert said the reluctance of countries to accept these individuals in their countries may be due to the fact that these countries regard MKO members with suspicion…

++ Alsumaria News, Baghdad, reporting on a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said that “Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari today received Jane Holl Lute, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to resettle the residents of Camp Liberty outside Iraq, who was accompanied by Georgi Euston, Deputy Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations ( UNAMI ), in Baghdad. The statement noted that “during the meeting, the two sides reviewed the UN’s efforts through UNAMI to speed up the resettlement of the residents of Camp Liberty outside Iraq.” Zebari noted that “the government has fulfilled all its obligations towards the UN and recently made a financial contribution of half a million dollars to a trust fund proposed by the UN Secretary-General to cover costs relating to the transfer of the residents of the camp to third countries; a material declaration of the government’s position on the issue of removing all the camp residents from the country.”

21 February 2014