Page 435 – Nejat Society

Last ‘non-MEK’ members of the NCRI resign

Mohammad Reza Rowhani and Karim Ghassim, two heads of the so-called Commissions of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) published a joint resignation statement. Last ‘non-MEK’ members of the NCRI resign

They say they do not want to go into detail; however they have listed a long list of human rights abuses and political mistakes – which are already well documented everywhere else.

Apparently they do not want to bring internal affairs into the open but felt compelled to mention a few things they simply couldn’t bear any more.

Commentators responded by pointing out that these two individuals represented the last remaining ‘non-MEK’ members of the NCRI and that now there is no way for the MEK’s Washington lobby office to pretend that it does not belong to the MEK.

Several articles welcomed the resignation of Rowhani and Ghassim from the NCRI but say they have not explained enough about what is going on inside the cult.

In particular Ghorban Ali Hossein Nejat (Rajavi’s former translator, now in France) has said they need to become more involved in rescuing others who they now acknowledge are hostages in Iraq.

June 8, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

The MKO leadership victim of the US!?

One of the most common myths about cult leaders is that” they are infallible”. Leaders, particularly cult leaders do make mistakes like all humans do. Actually they are at risk of making more mistakes than ordinary people and their followers because they take more decisions than others do. However what makes difference between a good leader and a cult leader is that good leaders honestly admit their mistakes and view them as experiences to be learned from. Contrarily, cult leaders never let others criticize them; they are divinely infallible people who should be followed blindly. Anyone who dares to criticize them will face excessive response and abusive attitude by the side of the cult.

Although the Mujahedin Khalq Organization denies its cult-like substance and claims that labeling it as a “cult” is “the parroting of the repeated propaganda” by the Islamic Republic, its overreaction regarding the US government critics demonstrates the group’s hypersensitivity about its leadership.

Once more, the Los Angeles Times piece on the MKO caused the group to burst out words in an angry rush. It was just a week earlier that , despite the risks to the members’ lives in Iraq.”[1]

The LA Times piece asserts that the group’s “leadership seems reluctant to move the group members from Iraq.” The author quotes from Beth Jones acting assistant secretary of State for Near East Affair –who addressed a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee –that ”although US officials have worked hard to persuade the group’ leadership to cooperate in the departures very few have been allowed to move."[2]

On May 15th, 2013, just fourteen individuals were allowed to officially leave the group after ten years since the collapse of Saddam’s regime in 2003. During the decade, the Iraqi government has always called on the MKO expulsion from Iraqi territory. This is while the MKO propaganda arm (the NCR) claims that its representatives have actively worked writing letters to authorities of UN and US for the relocation of all members to the US or Europe! The group propaganda proudly says that it is running the line of “return to Ashraf” in all its websites; it does say that it is collecting –paid– signatories to run petitions for return to their former equipped base near Iranian border, Camp Ashraf. The MKO exaggeratedly boasts of the resolution its lobby could pass in the US congress to get the “bipartisan support of nearly 100 members” –who are actually well paid by the group—for the return to Ashraf. So which one to believe? The leadership alleged efforts for the relocation of members in the West or the large scale propaganda for getting back to Ashraf? Of course, the second one is more likely because at least you could see the proof on the group’s websites.

The group claims that return to Ashraf is "for better protection of the residents". It sounds that the MKO leaders have forgotten that the attack on Camp Ashraf in July 2009 and April 2011 resulted in much more casualties than the attack on Camp Liberty in February 2013. Anyway Camp Ashraf is not a safer place than Liberty." American and UN officials believe the group needs to leave Iraq as soon as possible because of hostility from several Iraqi groups and the limited patience of the Iraqi government, which is protecting it,” reported LA Times. [3]

The LA article accurately condemned the “group’s leadership in Paris” who controlled subordinates to cooperate with the UN screening required before resettlement can be arranged”.[4]In response, the MKO propaganda – characteristically – blames the Iranian intelligence for recruiting people claiming to be former members of the MKO. They base their claim on the discredited report of the Library of Congress for the Pentagon that was dismissed a few days after its publication. However, there are a lot more reports and articles on the cult–like nature of the MKO and human rights abuses committed by its leaders based on the testimonies of dozens of its former members. It sounds ridiculous that in the view of the MKO propaganda so many human rights institutions and journalists and even governmental bodies like RAND have been fooled by the agents recruited by the Islamic Republic to play the role of former members!

The extreme anger by the MKO towards the US administration sounds to be kind of rejoinder to purify its leadership particularly in the eyes of the US Congressmen because it is one of rare occasions that an administration official tries to illuminate the US congressmen about the group danger. This move instigated the MKO lobbying campaign to take serious action for imposing more influence in the Congress. After opening their office in Washington DC, they officially registered to lobby the US government. The NCR has hired former New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli to represent it, the Hill reported on May24, 2013. “Speaking fees paid by MEK supporters to former government officials – including ex – Pennsylvanian Gov. Ed Rendell and Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – reportedly attracted the attention of federal investigators”, added the Hill.[5] Delisted from the State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organization the MKO is recharged to pay Torricelli to register as a foreign agent. Why not? Torricelli and his friends have long risked their reputation for financial benefits and this time he is officially receiving money for advocacy for a formerly designated terrorist group. Speeches by high-profile Washington figures like Torricelli played heavily in the campaign to delist the MEK, according to the Hill piece. [6] The delisting of the MKO was more or less the result of such a lobbying by individuals like Torricelli who had received large amounts of money from the group. Utter Corruption!

The MKO multimillion-dollar campaign that lavishly spends money to buy supporters doesn’t bear any US official question its leaders. The group’s propaganda machine is working awfully hard to whitewash its history and leaders, taking the gesture of a democratic peaceful alternative to the Islamic Republic.

The Goebbels–style propaganda of the NCRI for the Rajavis find them as “victims“and “innocents”. Practically the same as the MKO, the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels always predicted the victory of “Our Hitler”. This was what gave Hitler power for an era but his power in all media that tried to instill in the Germans the concept of their leader as a veritable god, ultimately ended in the collapse of Nazism. The MKO’s three-decade propaganda has definitely no better destiny.

By Mazda Parsi

References:

[1]Richter, Paul, US plans to move Iranian exile group out of Iraq hit snag, the Los Angeles Times, May24, 2013

[2]ibid

[3]ibid

[4]ibid

[5]Bogardus, Kevin, Wiped from terrorist list, Iranian group hires former senator as lobbyist, The hill’s Global Affairs, April12, 2012

[6]ibid

June 6, 2013 0 comments

Letter of Sahar Family Foundation to Martin Kobler

Following the remarks made by the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to Iraq, Mr Martin Kobler, that the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) is not cooperating with the international bodies responsible for relocating the residents of Camp Liberty to third countries, Sahar Family Foundation (SFF) wrote a letter to him and raised Letter of Sahar Family Foundation to Martin Kobler some issues and questions, along with some propositions and demands.

The text of the letter is as follows:

Mr Martin Kobler

UN Secretary General’s Special Representative to Iraq

UNAMI, Baghdad, June 1, 2013

Dear Mr Kobler,

Following your remarks that the MEK, which has 3400 members in Camp Liberty in Iraq, does not cooperate with the international bodies to solve the problem of relocating the residents to third countries, we decided to raise some issues and questions along with some propositions and demands.

What follows might have been raised before in your meetings with the families and the former members or in our letters previously, but we found it necessary to repeat these important matters again as reminders.

Background:

1. Following the relocation of the MEK from Ashraf Garrison to Camp Liberty, the situation dramatically changed as far as the MEK leaders were concerned. Since Liberty was much smaller than Ashraf, the cultic controlling conditions could not be fully imposed and therefore the runaways increased and became more frequent. This clearly shows that the controlling methods used by the leaders in an isolated atmosphere are the only obstacles in the way of the residents gaining their freedom.

2. Massoud Rajavi has lately, in an internal hearing, said to the inhabitants of Camp Liberty that the atmosphere of Liberty is poisoned and must be detoxified. He then explained that the presence of the UN, ICRC, and Iraqi officials just outside the camp is a major threat to his cult. It is known that all cult leaders have double standards for inside and outside of their cults. Although Rajavi tries to keep in with international organizations and use their resources for his benefit, he actually considers their presence at Camp Liberty as deadly poison.

3. Rajavi has also said to his followers in Camp Liberty that the highest crime one can commit is to leave the organization and anyone attempting to do so is liable for capital punishment. This applies to the followers in western countries too. Rajavi has clearly exposed his criminal and murderous attitude. This idea is common with terrorist cults, that one who leaves the cult must be killed. Thus the security and safety of the residents of Camp Liberty is in danger and Massoud Rajavi should be considered as the highest threat.

4. Rajavi has striven for many years to keep his cult in Iraq and restore the conditions he used to enjoy under Saddam Hussein. The next option for him is that his cult be relocated as a group to a place similar to Ashraf in another county. This of course is against international laws and regulations and the UNHCR can by no means allow it. Everyone knows that Massoud Rajavi is creating obstacles in the way of the UN officials and he does not want to relocate the residents of Liberty to third countries. The reason is clear. Rajavi knows full well that when his followers leave the isolated and disciplined location of Camp Liberty they will leave his cult and will reveal the many atrocities practiced there.

5. You must be aware that it is about two and a half years that the families of those captured inside the cult are waiting in Iraq only demanding to visit their loved ones. But Rajavi, not only denying this, has made hateful accusations against them and subjected them to mal treatment such as physical and verbal harassment and throwing stones. Rajavi is well aware that once the suppressed emotions and feelings are triggered the effects of mind manipulation will fade away.

6. Rajavi has forbidden his followers to even think about moving to another country. He has resembled this to an epidemic of a deadly virus which can infect his cult. You are aware that he has ideologically banned his followers from talking with or interviews with UN monitors or with any outsider. He has announced that doing so is crossing the ideological picket line. Rajavi considers the relocation of his cult out of Iraq, managed by the UN, as dismantlement of his cult.

7. The last point that we have always repeated is that Rajavi will under no circumstances cooperate with UN officials unless he is forced to. You know that in the process of disarmament and in the process of relocating from Ashraf to Liberty and in the process of sending a small number of people to Albania, Rajavi has done his best to resist and create obstacles and finally, only when he had no other choice has he accepted the fact. No one can expect Rajavi to show logical sense and mutual collaboration.

Important and major questions:

1. Now that you have acknowledged Rajavi is not cooperating on the issue of being relocated from Iraq, and one must say that he has never cooperated on any issue with anyone at all and will never in future unless forced to do so, what is the UN’s plan to solve the problem and move the residents to third countries?

2. Is there any will at all to solve the problem and move Rajavi’s victims and hostages out of Iraq regardless of political maneuvers and agendas?

3. What can the families and the former members and human rights activists do to help in this issue, or does the UN find itself needless of any assistance?

Propositions and demands:

1. The experience of the recent past few years has shown clearly that Rajavi will not yield to international demands unless he is under enormous pressure. Therefore the political and international pressure on him must be increased and the help offered by families and former members must be brought into consideration.

2. The western and Iraqi lobby of the MEK that only seeks its own particular political interests must be pushed back; do not let the financial and political support of a destructive mind control cult claim more victims.

3. Camp Liberty residents’ contact with the outside world, in particular with their families, must be restored using every possible means, and the possibility of a life outside the cult must be shown to the followers who have no idea about what is going on around them in the outside world.

Sahar Family Foundation

June 6, 2013 0 comments

Albania

Thirty MEK Camp Hurriya Residents Depart Iraq for Relocation to Albania

Press Statement

Jen Psaki

Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 3, 2013

————————————-

On May 31, thirty residents of Camp Hurriya departed Iraq for permanent relocation in Albania. The United States commends the Government of Albania’s generous offer to accept up to 210 former Camp Hurriya residents. This marks the second in a series of planned moves to relocate Camp Hurriya residents to Albania. Albania continues to be a strong partner of the United States in contributing to peace and stability in Iraq.

The United States also reiterates its call to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) to cooperate fully with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) process to relocate Camp Hurriya residents outside of Iraq as expeditiously as possible. The permanent relocation of residents is essential to ensure the safety and security of residents, especially following the February 9 terrorist attack that took eight lives.

The MEK leadership has the responsibility to facilitate the full and immediate participation of residents in interview and counseling processes required by the UNHCR. Residents of Camp Hurriya are entitled to unimpeded and private access to UN human rights monitors. The MEK leadership has an obligation to ensure residents are able to engage openly and freely with UN human rights monitors, UNHCR personnel and UNAMI representatives.

The United States reaffirms its strong support for the work of UNHCR, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), and especially the tireless work of UNAMI Special Representative of the Secretary General Martin Kobler, to assist and resettle Camp Hurriya residents.

The safety and security of Camp Hurriya residents remain an utmost concern. Security requirements to protect residents must be fulfilled in accordance with the December 25, 2011 Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Government of Iraq.

June 6, 2013 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

Nejat society Letter to Albanian ambassador in Tehran

Your Excellency,

It was a pleasure to hear of the relocation of 14 residents of Camp Liberty, Iraq to your country. These individuals were the first group of the 210 who are supposed to be received as refugees in your territory after they could manage to leave Camp Liberty.

Appreciating the generous humanitarian act of your state, we should be pleased to inform you that over a year after signing a memorandum of understanding between the UN, the US and the Mujahedin Khalq Organization, physical and mental condition of liberty residents is deteriorating every day. As an NGO that has been merely founded to help the families of the MKO members in order to contact their loved ones, we find it our duty to work for soothing the worries of these suffering families whose beloved children have been away from their mother land for years. We might be able to ease the pains they bore during these years of separation. Their demand is the minimum basic right of a human.

Mr. Ambassador

Members of the cult of Rajavi (the MKO) have been not only physically deprived from the standard living convenience and their lives have always been at risk of dangers, but also they have been mentally exposed to a guru-centered totalitarian leadership.

We earnestly ask you to provide a situation so that families of the fourteen refugees could be able to contact them by phone or letter. To facilitate such humanitarian contacts, Nejat society is ready for tight cooperation with you by every means.

Sincerely,

Nejat Society

June 3, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

MKO is falling apart: Habilian Association SG

In an interview with Javan daily, Persian language Iran-based newspaper, Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad reiterated that the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, also known as MKO and NCRI) has been limited and the US and the European countries are interacting with the terrorist group and providing them with unsparing supports.

What follows is a rough translation of the interview:

Javan: After MKO’s relocation to Camp Liberty and the way the group was treated during the transfer procedure, Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad it seems the United States government has somehow agreed with more limitation of the group. On the other side we see the MKO is delisted in the United States and practically, provided with a series of new services! So a contradictory behavior is witnessed here. Recently, countries like Albania have received a number of the MKO members and this is also in contrast with the initial signs of the terrorist group’s limitation. What’s your evaluation of the situation?

Hasheminejad: We should consider many facts here. The MKO was first listed in 1997, but we know that the group’s social activities were never limited by the US or the European countries. For example, while the MKO was still on the list of terrorist organizations, the leaders of the group used to gather some poor and helpless people who were desperate for some money, and organized meetings and gatherings in the Paris suburbs on the anniversary of their armed conflict with the Islamic republic by paying huge amounts of money. There were also some American and European figures who used to participate in those meetings and supported the very same group they had placed on the list of terrorist organizations! They also used to provide the MKO with a lot of financial resources.

This is a fact that has been confirmed by many American and European jurists. The MKO has faced no limits since 1997 whether during or after the Saddam era. I have personally witnessed their activities in some European countries. Their activities are well coordinated in the United States and Europe. Such a situation has been continued from the day they escaped the country, up to right no without any changes.

Javan: What was the reason of MKO’s listing?

Hasheminejad: Listing of the MKO in a specific period of time, was mentioned as a good will gesture towards Iran by the U.S. politicians, which was practically useless. So the MKO was delisted in a similar procedure. Nothing especial took place neither when the group was listed nor when it was delisted. A review on the reports published by FBI, the U.S intelligence agencies and also the French Police, could prove the MKO’s record is filled with various violations of law in the European countries, while not even a single member of the MKO was arrested. I mean the European countries and the United States had provided the MKO exactly the same social freedom that Saddam had provided them to let them continue their criminal acts. The MKO members would easily go into the European Parliament and recruited people to lobby for them. As it was mentioned in the RAND report, I think the US government tried to keep the MKO in Iraq for specific situations and also for acts of sabotage in the country. Even the US Defense Department had released a report before the MKO was delisted, in which the group’s horrible crimes were listed. These documents reveal that MKO has been listed or delisted just to benefit the US interests. The US government doesn’t want to receive the MKO for two reasons: first one is to be able to use the MKO’s terrorist potential in Iraq and the second is that the Americans are well aware that the MKO members are dangerous.

Javan: What is the reason behind the fact that some western governments suddenly changed their minds and started to receive the MKO members in their countries?

Hasheminejad: The United States and the West had no other ways but to act legally following the Iraqi government’s legal pressures during a several year long procedure. So the United Nations was forced to sign an agreement with the Iraqi government and the Europeans let the MKO members in their countries. The informal relocation of MKO members to the European countries had started since their announcement of armed conflict and they have offices in most of those countries. FBI has even announced the MKO has 36 specific places for its activities in the United States. But for being formally relocated, the group needed a legal procedure to be delisted. From one point of view, this is a good thing but from other points of view it is a negative measure. If the plan is to disintegrate the MKO, it should not be delisted. The relocation has got a special legal process. The UN Commissioner for Refugees has defined the relocation process: the terrorist person or organization should be delisted with enough guarantees and the Red Crescent must also guarantee that they won’t return to their terrorist activities and after that, a third country is negotiated to receive them. It is not even necessary to completely delist the whole terrorist group. It is a positive measure since it leads to the MKO’s disintegration but we also condemn their illegal works.

Javan: Don’t you think the MKO was delisted in order to be spread all over the world and have more freedom to do their works?

Hasheminejad:The MKO is free to do anything even right now and this decision is not going to have much impact. Mrs. Clinton cleared this point out in her recent announcement and practically showed how much freedom the MKO has got. She said: From now on, the MKO can transfer their money freely! This show that the MKO was limited only regarding to its money transferring. Of course the MKO used to transfer its money before, too. But it was mainly under money laundering efforts.

Javan: At the moment, how unified do you think the MKO is?

Hasheminejad: It seems they are disintegrating. Some 100 persons have escaped the MKO since 2 or 3 years ago. These defections are moving from the body of the MKO to its leadership level. Out of the 70 women who were members of the MKO’s leadership council and Rajavi deeply trusted them, 3 have defected. Massoud Rajavi’s main translator has also escaped. All of these show that the MKO is on the verge of collapse and its disintegration has accelerated. It was clear from the beginning that this would be their end.

June 2, 2013 0 comments

Iran

US axis of evil, supporter of terrorism

An Iranian lawmaker has criticized the US policy of using terrorism as a tool, labeling Washington as the axis of evil and a supporter of terrorism across the globe.

In its annual "Country Reports on Terrorism” released on Thursday, the US State Department accused Iran of supporting terrorism.

“The US is the axis of evil and the supporter of terrorism in the world. Certainly, the US allegation is aimed at covering up its recent measures in supporting the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO),” said Baqer Hosseini, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

He added that the US’ violation of human rights indicates Washington’s disregard for the principle, emphasizing that such claims are only used as a tool to put pressure on the world countries as the issue of human rights is not consistent with the performance of Western countries.

The West’s open support for terrorists is known to everyone; therefore the US cannot alter the situation in the region by publishing “false reports”, he stressed, adding that any country that stands up to the US is labeled as terrorist.

In early April, the MKO opened an office near the White House in Washington for the first time in 11 years. The MKO’s office, located a block from the White House, officially opened on April 11 only months after the United States formally removed the anti-Iranian group from the US list of terrorist organizations in September 2012.

The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and has committed numerous terrorist acts against Iranians and Iraqis.

Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, some 12,000 have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.

June 2, 2013 0 comments

Iran

US in no position to accuse other states of supporting terrorism

Spokesman for Iran’s UN mission in New York Ali-Reza Miryousefi says the US is in no position to accuse other countries of supporting terrorism. US in no position to accuse other states of supporting terrorism

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a victim of state terrorism which has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Iranians,” Miryousefi was quoted as saying on Friday.

Referring to Washington’s long term support for terrorist groups in the region, including Israeli-sponsored terrorism, Miryousefi said the US is in no position to accuse other countries of supporting terrorist activities.

The Iranian official cited the removal of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from the US list of terrorist organizations as an indication of the country’s double standard policy with regards to terrorism.

In September 2012, the MKO was taken off the US State Department’s blacklist, and opened an office near the White House in Washington for the first time in 11 years in April 2013.

The MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

Out of the 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, some 12,000 of them have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it received the support of Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up camp near the Iranian border.

June 2, 2013 0 comments

Camp Liberty

MKO Members Escaping Camp Liberty

Members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, PMOI and NCRI) are running away from the group’s transient settlement facility, Camp Liberty, before they are sent by their leaders to other countries, an informed source disclosed on Saturday.

According to a report by Ashraf News website, an informed source in the committee supervising the Camp Liberty affairs said that five MKO members had fled the Camp two days ago.

The informed source named the defectors as Arshad Shekarzehi and Hassan Sha’bani as well as three other members who were not named.

They surrendered to the Iraqi security forces and were transferred to the UN mission in Baghdad, the source added.

Many of the MKO members have abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the group are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

A recent Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly-established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who argued for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

The US formally removed the MKO from its list of terror organizations in early September 2012, one week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the US Congress a classified communication about the move. The decision made by Clinton enabled the group to have its assets under US jurisdiction unfrozen and do business with American entities, the State Department said in a statement at the time.

In September 2012, the last groups of the MKO terrorists left Camp Ashraf, their main training center in Iraq’s Diyala province. They have been transferred to Camp Liberty which lies Northeast of the Baghdad International Airport.

Camp Liberty is a transient settlement facility and a last station for the MKO in Iraq.

June 2, 2013 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 5

++ Nejat Association wrote an open letter to the Albanian embassy in Tehran thanking their government for taking the initiative to accept 14 refugees from Camp Liberty in Iraq. Nejat Association describes this move as the first step to connecting these individuals to their families and to greater society and asks the Albanian government to help further in this respect.

++ This week four people escaped from Camp Liberty in one day. The following day another individual named as Hassan Shaabani managed to run away and surrender to Iraqi police. The names of the other four will be made public if and when they choose.

++ A group of ex-MEK members met with representatives of the UNHCR in Paris to discuss the situation of the captives in Camp Liberty, and how to break the deadlock after the MEK leader has given the order to stop the UN interviews and to not meet with anyone from outside agencies. The report emphasises the legal aspect as there are 950 individuals who hold documents from western counties and who therefore do not need refugee status and should be immediately transferred. The report concludes that the real solution is to allow the families into the camp to visit their loved ones.

++ More has been written about the first 14 MEK who have gone to Albania and Rajavi’s reaction which is to try to stop this continuing. People have written about their hopes that this is a real breakthrough and signals breaking the taboo of leaving Iraq and marks the eventual freedom of all the hostages. Among these articles are reports that one of the people in Albania called Nastaran Rastegaarpour has gone there with a false name and documents. The claim is that this particular woman was moved from Ashraf to Liberty with this false Identity and then from Liberty to Albania. The real Nastaran Rastegaarpour is an MEK commander resident in London and in charge of the Nirooi (personnel) section. She frequently travels around Europe to organise the membership. The analysis is that her documents have been used to move a particular female from Iraq because the MEK do not want her real identity to be revealed. There are many precedents for this kind of action, including the covert transfer of the Rajavis’ son and daughter back to Europe.

++ A US State Department official told Congress that the MEK’s leadership was not cooperating in the departures from Camp Liberty despite risks to the members’ lives in Iraq. Beth Jones, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that although US officials have worked hard to persuade the group’s leadership to cooperate in the departures, “very few have been allowed to move.” She appealed for cooperation.

++ Martin Kobler has visited the European Parliament to brief MEPs. He deplored the lack of cooperation from the MEK leader and other MEK leaders with the UN. In response Stevenson and Quadras attacked Kobler as an ‘agent of the Iranian regime’ and said that he has come to say this to appease Iran and Iraq.

++ A prominent Iranian MP, Agha Mohammadi, told the Majlis news agency that the Americans’ use of the MEK by opening an MEK lobbying office in Washington shows clearly that America is putting Zionism before the interests of the American people. What this move shows is how desperate the US has become that they do not even try to hide their use of terrorism whether in Iran, Syria, Chechnya or other parts of the world.

++ This week marks the anniversary of the death of Hadi Shams Haeri who had been a prisoner under the Shah. Years later, after leaving the MEK, he continued to campaign indefatigably to free his children. Sadly neither his son, Amir, nor his daughter, Nosrat, saw him before he died as they are still being held captive in Iraq.

++ An article by Massoud Jaabani warns asylum seekers in Europe not to fall for the MEK’s propaganda in which every year they pay for a three day holiday in Paris in exchange for two hours’ attendance at the MEK’s 20th June celebration. Jaabani points out that for someone who has not yet been granted refugee status, crossing national borders is illegal and can result in a long delay in getting recognition. Every year at this time the MEK celebrate armed struggle. Ironically, even though the Americans claim they are not terrorists, they still celebrate their adherence to violence.

++ Esmaeil Vafa Yaghmai the poet, who left the MEK a long time ago but who still had reservations about public criticism, has published his first article in his weblog entitled ‘Is Akram Habib Khaani alive?’ He claims that he and his son Amir have received condolences from MEK sources over his ex- wife’s mysterious death in Camp Liberty – something the MEK refused to acknowledge when he contacted them. His long article describes how they got engaged and married and also how they were impacted by the forced divorces and separation of children. He says ‘it is time for me to come out and talk, and I don’t care anymore that the MEK will call me an “agent of the regime” or that the IRI will misuse what I have to say’.

++ After examining evidence, a court in Khales province of Iraq has fined the MEK around half a million (US) dollars for illegally taking over land belonging to local villagers. The MEK and its supporters (lobbyists) have vociferously rejected this finding and claim that the land was taken over by the Iraqi government after the Americans left and that any issue should be taken up with Iraq’s Ministry of Defence.

Behzad Ali Shahi published an article examining the original boundaries of Camp Ashraf and where the MEK added a munitions dump outside the camp followed by a huge area beyond that which reached civilian areas which the MEK themselves forcefully confiscated to use for military manoeuvres and training. In part one of its claim the MEK says that since the government of Iraq does not recognise the MEK as a whole entity the court should claim this money from the individuals (who do not have any money of their own). In another part the MEK claim that Iraq’s defence ministry is in charge and they should answer to the court. Alishahi says that with this kind of logic the MEK could have easily represented Saddam Hussein himself and have him freed with compensation. He says that using the same reasoning in the court of Saddam it could be said that now Saddam is not in charge, any punishment for Saddam should be the burden of the new Iraqi government. Alishahi says that clearly the MEK do not want to remember how much money they stole from Iraq and how much money they removed from Iraq.

++ This week it has been revealed that the MEK applied for and have been registered under the name of the NCRI as a lobby group in Washington. The MEK have not yet announced it. But everywhere else this news has been published Iranians from all sides have shown their disgust and have not been shy of saying that through this action the MEK has openly become a mercenary of the Israeli side of the US system against their motherland. In US media however there has been much criticism of the US administration for its open support and use of terrorism, and many have warned that the US has not learned from its past mistakes of using and supporting terrorism.

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – Friday May 31, 2013

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