Following the campaign launched by the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO /MEK) on the alleged 
“inhumane condition” of Camp Liberty, the group leaders and supporters propagate “the necessity of returning residents to Ashraf”. Alejo Vida Quadras, the top MKO supporter in European Parliament suggested the new propaganda under the pretext of "lack of progress in relocation to third countries".
To our surprise, the group leaders do not call on their western supporters to aid facilitate their members’ relocation in European countries instead of returning to Camp Ashraf although a large number of Liberty residents have citizenship in various western countries. Earlier this month, speaking in their so-called international conference in Paris, Maryam Rajavi, the self-assigned president of the National Council of Resistance required the US government to relocate Liberty residents in Camp Ashraf. “Now the US must actively intervene as that the residents can return to Ashraf. Otherwise it would be responsible for what may henceforth happen in Liberty Prison” Rajavi addressed the conference. Fed by the large scale disinformation campaign of the MKO its supporters in Western states label Liberty as "Prison". They resort to the old pretext which has been flooding of storm and sewage at the camp. However, UN Mission in charge of the Camp believes that it complies with normal humanitarian standards as well as necessary infrastructure for residence of the group members. (View our previous post on Camp Liberty: Camp Liberty resembles a prison?)
On January21, 2013, in a debate in UK parliament House of Lords, a few number of Lords expressed their concerns over the situation of Liberty residents. Baroness Warsi, a conservative member of UK House of Lords convinced her coulleagues that heavy rainfall that flooded parts of Camp Liberty as well as many parts of Baghdad "did not affect residents’ accommodation blocks".
To respond her misinformed colleagues about the claims of ex-UNAMI chief Taher Boumedra and the alleged inefficiency of Martin Kobler over Camp Liberty issues, she noted:”Our own officials visited in July last year and the international community does not, at this stage, find any credible evidence to support the matters that have been raised by Mr. Tahar Boumedra.” Boumedra’s claims are still used as evidence by the MKO propaganda.
Lord Avebury who is one of the most loyal supporters of the MKO in UK parliament he pointed to allegations of “ill-treatment such as denial of access to urgently needed medical treatment”. In response Baroness Warsi mentioned that the situation of Liberty residents is “in many ways much better than that of residents in Baghdad.” She referred to the 24-hour electricity available in the Camp while Iraqi nationals enjoy power only three hours a day in some areas of Baghdad. She also noticed that enough water and medical facilities are available in the camp.
Baroness Warsi warned her peers in UK parliament that they “must be incredibly careful” about the MKO regarding its history and record.
The new tactic, the MKO has used to maintain the hegemony over its cult-like group seems to be an alternative to the previous agenda which was running petitions and lobbying efforts to make the UN grant the status of a refugee camp to camp Liberty. The failed tactic led the group to run the new one: return to Ashraf where they claim to own its properties.
In their most recent misinformation event in Paris, the “speakers condemned forcible eviction of Ashraf residents and their transfer to Liberty prison…”, according to NCRI website . They called for “the return of Ashraf residents to the modern town they built in 26 years.” Lord Dholakia’s asked about refugee status of Liberty while he confessed that he WAS misinformed by the MKO saying,”the information the Minister has is not the information that we receive from residents of those camps". Ordinary residents of liberty have no access to the outside world let alone contacting a UK Parliamentarian.
During the debate the conservative Baroness assured her colleagues that Liberty” is not a refugee camp as such: it is a place where individuals are being assessed as to the countries to which they could be relocated.”(View the debate here)
According to reports, almost all former members of the MKO who fled the group camps in Iraq could manage to resettle whether in Iran or in European countries. It sounds that leaving Iraq is not so difficult that the Rajavis could not relocate their members yet. Probably it’s not the matter of ability it’s the matter of will.
By Mazda Parsi
Iraq: Camp Liberty — Question
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Non-affiliated)
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent information they have concerning flooding by sewage and storm water at Camp Liberty, and whether they have made representations to the United Nations and the United 
Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq about conditions at the camp.
Baroness Warsi (Conservative)
My Lords, we are aware that parts of Camp Liberty were flooded during a recent period of heavy rainfall, as were many parts of the Baghdad area. Fortunately, this did not affect residents’ accommodation blocks. We continue to monitor the situation at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty through the embassy in Baghdad and to raise issues with the Government of Iraq and the United Nations.
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Non-affiliated)
My Lords, is it not time that the Government made a judgment, based on first-hand evidence such as that produced by the ex-UNAMI chief Tahar Boumedra, and ignored the manipulation and dissembling by Martin Kobler on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations? If the United Kingdom is to maintain its integrity and influence in the Middle East, we should be pressing for the dismissal of Herr Kobler and, indeed, be asking ourselves, with our allies, whether the present Secretary-General of the United Nations has not outlived his usefulness.
Baroness Warsi (Conservative)
Before I answer the noble Lord’s very important question, I am sure the rest of the House will want to join me in wishing him a very happy birthday.
The noble Lord raises an important point. The Secretary-General, whom I met with last week at the United Nations, is doing a very important job, with the support of the international community, in some very difficult circumstances. The specific situation in relation to Camp Liberty is that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, as part of the United Nations Assistance Mission, regularly reports about the situation in Camp Liberty and Camp Ashraf. Our own officials visited in July last year and the international community does not, at this stage, find any credible evidence to support the matters that have been raised by Mr Tahar Boumedra.
Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat)
My Lords, considering that many of the complaints that are made by the residents of Camp Liberty and, indeed, Camp Ashraf, against the Iraqi authorities and UNAMI could be easily verified or refuted and that some have been confirmed not only by Mr Tahar Boumedra but by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, will the Government press for an inspector to be appointed by the UN Secretary-General to look into the serious allegations of ill treatment, such as denial of access to urgently needed medical treatment, which has lead to the deaths of two inmates of Camp Liberty? Since we have been aware for some time that 52 residents of Camp Liberty were formerly refugees in the United Kingdom, will my noble friend press for their immediate transfer to the UK?
Baroness Warsi (Conservative)
As my noble friend is aware, the situation in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty is in many ways much better than that of residents in Baghdad. For example, electricity is available for 24 hours a day, as opposed to the three hours for which it is available in some parts of Baghdad. About 200 litres of water are available to residents there, when about 90 litres are available in some parts of Baghdad. My noble friend raises the very important issue of the recent death of a resident there. We share those concerns about the death of Behrooz Rahimian and have made inquiries specifically in relation to the medical assistance that he received. We are aware that there is a doctor and medical facilities on site 24 hours a day; there is also the opportunity to receive medical assistance from doctors in Baghdad. We understand that Mr Rahimian was afforded medical assistance in relation to his illness.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour)
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the new Parliament in Baghdad will be built to a British design, that UK parliamentarians, including the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope, are out there helping to develop democracy and that the development of a democratic Government in Iraq to deal with the kind of issues raised by the noble Lord, Lord Maginnis, is the number one priority and will be supported fully by the British Government?
Baroness Warsi (Conservative)
I agree with much of what the noble Lord said. He will also be aware that this situation goes back many years. The group that lives in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty is an organisation that originally left Iran after the Iranian revolution. Mujaheddin e Khalq, the group that is predominantly part of Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, has its own history and record, and we must be incredibly careful about which members of that group we readmit to the United Kingdom.
Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat)
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that one of the problems we have is that the United Nations has not granted Camp Liberty the status of a refugee camp? It that were granted, would it not be possible to have adequate medical facilities and for water, sewerage et cetera to be resolved? At the same time, the status of Camp Ashraf could be looked at because the property of individuals is systematically being looted there, and the information the Minister has is not the information that we receive from residents of those camps.
Baroness Warsi (Conservative)
I can assure my noble friend that about 3,000 residents of Camp Ashraf have moved to Camp Liberty. It is not a refugee camp as such; it is a place where individuals are being assessed as to the countries to which they could be relocated. Four have already come to the United Kingdom, a fifth who was offered that has decided not to come and about 52 others are being considered for coming to the United Kingdom. In relation to property at Camp Ashraf, I can assure my noble friend that about 100 residents of this group remain in Camp Ashraf specifically to sell off their property.
Dear Mr. Per Westerberg, President of the Swedish Parliament
Members of the Swedish Parliament
Ladies and gentlemen, we are a few long serving ex-members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (aka; MKO, MEK, NCRI) who have been in Mojahedin Khalq prisons because of our disagreements with the ideology and the policies of the organisation. We have all been humiliated and undergone physical and psychological tortures while inside and even after being let out of the MEK prisons. We only managed to free ourselves from the claws of the Mojahedin Khalq after the fall of the infamous dictator regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 1991 we witnessed the biggest co-operation between the leaders of the Mojahedin Khalq, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, with the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein.
In a time that the Kurdish people had the chance of taking advantage of the weakness of the suppressive apparatus of Saddam. In that year when the military machine of Saddam Hussein had been severely weakened by the American forces in the first Persian Gulf war. The Kurdish forces had the best opportunity to move towards Baghdad and topple the regime of Saddam.
In March 1991 Massoud and Maryam Rajavi gave the order to massacre the Kurds with the heavy weapons given to them by Saddam and therefore stopped the Kurds from reaching Baghdad. This massacre of the Kurds is the most disgusting and shameful part of the history of this terrorist organisation during its entire existence.
The Swedish Parliament has accepted in the last few weeks to officially recognise the reality of the suffering of the Kurdish people of Iraq carried out by the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation in 1991. We believe that this just and humanitarian gesture should not be left unnoticed. We believe that other European countries should now pass similar resolutions and show their solidarity and respect for the people of Kurdistan.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are a few long serving ex-members of Mojahedin Khalq Organisation who have managed to survive after the fall of Saddam Hussein and now live in European countries. We are living witnesses of the crimes the Mojahedin Khalq have committed in 1991. We urge you to allow us to present ourselves to your parliament and let you know what we have seen with our own eyes. In doing so we are sure that many other aspects of this horrifying crime would be revealed.
Faryade Azadi Association
Community of Independent Bloggers
CC:
The office of the Swedish P.M.
The Swedish Embassy in France
The Iraqi Embassy in France
The comments made by Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei are crystal-clear: No bilateral talks with the United States as long as Washington’s words do not match its deeds. Ayatollah Khamenei made the comments just days after US Vice President Joe Biden said Washington was prepared to hold direct talks with Iran.
Some Iranians also say there’s still a standing offer for talks under the right conditions. But for the talks to succeed, they say Washington has to ditch its anti-Iran policy and lift its unilateral sanctions against Iran.
Relations between Iran and the United States were severed in 1979 after the victory of Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of Iran’s pro-Western regime. Other factors behind the stalemate include Washington’s backing of the former Iraqi regime in its 8-year war against Iran in the 1980s, support for anti-Iran terrorist groups such as the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, assassination of Iranian officials and nuclear scientists, imposition of economic sanctions and financial restrictions, as well as funding anti-government political currents within the country.
Ghanbar Naderi,
An Iraqi official says the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) had turned its Camp Ashraf into a base for training al-Qaeda operatives who carried out terrorist attacks against the Iraqi nation.
Head of the Security Committee of Diyala Province Meysam al-Tamimi noted that the MKO had transformed Camp Ashraf, situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, into a training camp for al-Qaeda members when they were in charge.
He said a large amount of money and weapons was also funneled through Camp Ashraf to al-Qaeda and Salafist extremist groups to help them target Iraqis in acts of terror.
The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.
The group is also known to have cooperated with Saddam Hussein in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.
The MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
The SFF has written a letter concerning the latest developments in the Interim Transit Camp Liberty to Mr 
Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Iraq, which was handed over in person during a meeting.
Mr Martin Kobler,
UNAMI, Baghdad, Iraq
Dear Mr Kobler,
With regards, we wish to share with you what we learned from some members of the MKO who very recently managed to escape from the camp and gain their freedom.
As you know, Camp Liberty has the area of one kilometer by one kilometer which is much smaller than Ashraf Garrison. The entrance contains check posts belonging to UNAMI and to the Government of Iraq separately. This place is now called ‘the triangle’ since the MKO has also established a post there.
All traffic in and out of the camp is controlled by the two posts of UNAMI and the GOI, and the third one, which belongs to the MKO, is merely keeping watch on these events and their job is to inform the various MKO units when the UN authorities are entering the camp. In this case residents in the unit that the officials are approaching are obliged to return to their dormitories and lock the doors and do not come out until they are told everything is clear. “Security reasons” is the excuse they give to the members for such a bizarre act.
When the UN officials enter the camp, the MKO post immediately warns leaders and they issue a state of alert to all units. In this situation, those residents who might try to contact the UN officials must be watched carefully and kept away. Everyone has been warned not to approach any visitor.
According to the information we have received, each unit of the Rajavi cult inside Camp Liberty has a legal and political liaison ‘representative’ who is the only person authorized to have contact with UN officials when they enter the camp. They are instructed to continuously complain about conditions in the camp. Everyone else must stay inside the dormitories until they are told to come out when the officials have left.
The MKO authorities say that they have been promised the same facilities they had in Ashraf and now they understand that this is because the UN wanted to separate off the discontented members. The MKO is following a policy of causing disruption in their present situation in an attempt to be allowed to return to Ashraf.
In this regard they have ordered the members to deliberately create terrible and unbearable conditions inside the camp and, according to them; if some die doing this it is worthwhile.
The Sahar Family Foundation which represents the ex-members and the families of trapped members of the MKO would like to urge you to deal with the above mentioned matters and make every effort so that:
1. The inhabitants of the camp have free access to the outside world, particularly to the UN officials who visit the camp;
2. The suffering families who have been waiting in Iraq for three years will be able to visit their loved ones.
Sahar Family Foundation
Baghdad, Feb 1, 2013
MEK lies silenced by U.K. Government
David Anderson (Blaydon, Labour
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the condition of residents of Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty; and what representations he has made to the Iraqi Government on that matter.
Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative):
The UN visit Camp Liberty, where the majority of former residents of Camp Ashraf now live, several times a week, and report that facilities at the camp meet international humanitarian standards. For example, residents have access to electricity 24 hours a day and over 200 litres of water per person per day. This compares well to the situation for many Iraqis. I raised the situation at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty with the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Human Rights in July 2012. We continue to monitor the situation at Camps Ashraf and Liberty through our embassy in Baghdad, and to raise issues with the UN and the Government of Iraq where appropriate.
The incontrovertible facts about MKO’s genocidal campaign against the Iraqi Kurds are so hard that even the organization itself prefers to keep silent over it and even abstains from getting into efforts to attribute it to Iranian regime as an anti-MKO campaign. The Swedish Parliament is just a few steps from making a decision to recognize MKO’s Operation Morvarid (Pearl), a post-Persian Gulf military campaign in collaboration with Saddam to suppress Iraqi Kurds uprising, as genocide and crimes against humanity as it has already recognized Saddam’s Anfal campaign. The following from David Gethin’s New Al-Qaeda in Europe: Iranian Terrorists-Good or Evil provides adequate evidence to dispel any doubt.
The Wall Street Journal reported that in March 1991, after the Persian Gulf War and the operation by American Forces called Desert Storm in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, the then President of Iraq ordered Masoud Rajavi, the President of NCRI, who was at the same time the Leader and the Commander in Chief of MKO and NLA, to help Iraq in suppressing the Kurds uprising in the northern part of the country. Those who were involved in this operation have testified to this fact.
The US Department of State in a comprehensive report to Congress at the end of 1994 also certified that NCRI/MKO forces were involved in the suppression of Iraqi Kurds by saying the followings:
“Following the Operation dubbed “Desert Storm”, Iraqi Kurds claimed that MOW helped the Iraqi army in the suppression of Kurds. Those who fled the operation zone and took refuge near Iranian borders corroborated this allegation.
In this connection, Jalal Talebeni the Leader of the “Patriotic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan”, (and the present Iraqi President) told reporters:
“In Karkouk Battle, five thousands MKO members joined Saddam’s forces.”
In a book entitled “For the Judgment of History”, the text of the negotiation between Masoud Rajavi, the President of NCRI, with Iraq’s intelligence officials at the time of Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq is published. Part of the book is about negotiations between Masoud Rajavi and General Saber Eldori, the then Head of Iraq’s Intelligence Service, right after the 1991 uprising in Iraq. From these negotiations the role of the Leader and members of NCRI in the suppression of the Iraqi people and the extent of their loyalty to Saddam Hussein’s Regime becomes clear.
“General Saber: The President (Saddam Hussein) thanked and appreciated Brother Masoud Rajavi and NLA for the valuable contribution of this army in the suppression of the recent agitations. I explained to him, in detail, the role played by the organisation in this suppressive opera-tion. In the course of operation, I was reporting minute after minute your activities and told him that organisation. Despite little facilities at your disposal and we are sorry that we cannot satisfy all your needs, you have done a great job, beyond our expectations. …I have asked the President to send a thank you letter to Masoud, but the President told me that sending a letter is not enough and he should meet Masoud in person and thank him himself.”
The documentary film of the meeting between Masoud Rajavi, President of NCRI and the Head of the Intelligence Service of Iraq is attached.
Other members of NCRI who accompanied Masoud Rajavi, the President of NCRI, in this meeting and were involved directly in the genocide of 1991 were:
1Mehdi Abrishamchi, Head of NCRI’s Peace Committee 2Abass Davari, Head of NCRI’s Labour Committee 3Ebrahim Zakeri, Head of NCRI’s Security and Counter Terrorism Committee 4Mahdi Boraei, Member of NCRI
It is noteworthy to mention Masoud Rajavi, the President of NCRI was in charge of commanding this genocide operation dubbed “Pearl Operation” against the Kurds. Furthermore, according to the testimonies of the members of NCRI, Mrs. Fereshteh Yeganeh, Chair of Educations and Training Committee of NCRI was responsible for providing logistics and sup-port for the operation.
The crime of genocide against Iraqi Kurds was committed in March 1991 in two regions in the northern parts of Iraqi Kurdistan namely “Kafri” and “Kalar”. The Governor of Iraq’s Kurdistan province in a statement issued the names of persons killed, injured or captured by MKO forces.
The names of those who lost their lives as a result of this operation are as follows:
1. Samad Rahim Hassan Mohammad
2. Ali Mahmoud Khalil
3. Aboubakr Saddigh Hussein
4. Mostafa Mohammad Saddigh
5. Hussein Rahim Hassan
6. Sami Nasser Ismaeil
7. Servat Ahmad Rahim
8. Omar Ashraf Majid
9. Borham Ali Rostam
10. Ali Mahmoud Khalifeh Hamid
11. Aziz Ahmad Mohammad Ali
12. Mohammad Ahmad Mohammad Ali
13. Salah O Edin Mohammad Ahmad Rahim
14. Najib Hussein Hassan
15. Farhad Rahman Rahim
16. Ali Abdollah Sadigh
17. Samad Rahim Hassan
18. Jamileh Hassan Hamid
19. Salar Mohammad Amin
20. Adalat Jabbar Hussein
21. Ahamad Mohammad Ghader Mahmoud
22. Mohammad Hussein Hamid
23. Jalal Hussein Abodllah
24. Mohammad Ebrahim Abdollah Farah
25. Aziz Mohammad Hadar
26. Rafigh Farigh Rahim
27. Sareif Faeigh Maha El Din
28. Hakim Aziz Ahmad
29. Abdolkarim Abdolrahman Fattah
30. Omar Mohammad Amin
31. Hamid Fattah Mohmmad
32. Yadegar Halah
33. Glaviz Abdolgahder Abdolkarim
34. Akram Ali Rostam
35. Ali Hassan Abdolrahman
36. Adalat Jabar Hussein
37. Kaveh Dara Ahmad
38. Aref Baban
39. Adnan Mahmoud
40. Adnan Hassan Ahmad
41. Haji Mahmoud Mohammad Rashid
42. Omar Mahmoud Mohammad
43. Osman Mohammad Gharib
44. Shokr Rashid Najmeh
45. Shalan Rashid Najmeh
46. Salar Hamid Raouf
47. Omar Ahmad Hassan
48. Nomid Omar Saleh
49. Dara Rashid Abdolgader
50. Mohammad Rashid Ghanbar
51. Ali Hassan Lafteh
52. Jalil Khalil Ebrahim
53. Mohammad Shokr
54. Loghman Abdolrahim Fars
55. Tahssin Saeid Abdollah
56. Ehssan Vahab
57. Talaat Shokat Majid
58. Mohammad Namegh Tabib
59. RibovarAhmad Mohammad
60. Majid Aziz Abdollah
61. Omar Ahmad Solyman
62. Zojiya Fazel Marhoud Owdah
63. Lyla Fazel Marhoud Owdah
64. Bakir Ali Saleh
65. Borham Jabar Majal
66. Maheh Mohammad Rahim Karim
67. Youssef Hussein Ali Ghader
68. Mohmmad Sharief Mohammad Saeid
69. Nor Edin Ali Ahmad
70. Noshirvan Ahmad Rostam
71. Ali Ahmad Abdollah
72. Osman Ghader Sadoun
73. Abdorahman Ahmad Karim Khadr
74. Omran Krim Mohammad Saleh
75. Fatah Ahmad Ali
76. Hussein Abdolrahman Ahmad
77. Adel Mahmoud Saeid Sharief
78. Loghman Mohammad Saleh Madouf
79. Omar Mohah Saeid Ahmad
The death certificates of some of those killed in this massacre are attached.
List of those who were injured as a result of this operation:
1. Hadim Hussein Ali (injured in the feet and abdomen)
2. Hassan Ahmad Rahim (injured in the toes and abdomen)
3. Khalil Ebrahim Abdolghader (injured in the neck)
4. Nori Sofi Mahmoud Khossrow (injured in eyes and hands)
5. Jamal Vahid Amin (injured in throat)
6. Hoywa Mohammad Ahmad
7. Mojhdeh Hussein Darvish
8. Khandeh Hussein Darvish (injured in the right hand)
9. Hussein Darvish Ahmad
10. Hatam Mahmoud Vahab Mohammad
11. Dara Ahmad Ali (injured in the abdomen, head and feet)
12. Nabard Assi Mohammad
13. Hmzeh Mohammad Darvish
14. Shilan Mohammad Darvish
15. Salmeh Mohammad Abdoljabar
The medical certificates and some photos of those injured in this operation are attached.
List of those who were captured and jailed in the prisons belonging to NCRI Group for almost five months are as follows:
1. Abdollah Mohammad Rashid
2. Ebrahim Mohammad Rashid
3. Adel Saleh Mohammad
4. Salar Mohammad Khan
5. Mohammad Javad Solyman
6. Shalan Hassan Fathollah
7. Mohammad Hassan Ali
8. Mohammad Ali Fars
9. Edris Ghader Shaker
10. Jalal Hassan Kaki
11. Omar Hassan Mohammad
12. Shir Ali Sharief
13. Mostafa Hassan Mohammad
Iraqi officials announced on Sunday that they have found the bodies of a large number of Iraqi citizens and officials slain by the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, PMOI and NCR) in a mass grave in MKO’s Camp Ashraf in the Northern Diyala province.
"As proofs and evidence show, the corpses of Iraq’s Shiite citizens, officials, officers, sheikhs and religious scholars have been buried in the mass grave," a high-ranking Iraqi political source said in an interview with al-Mustaqbal al-Iraq news agency.
He said that the corpses belong to the people who were killed by the MKO from 2006 to 2009.
An Iraqi official had informed in early January that several mass graves had been unearthed in Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, in the Diyala Province, which was the headquarters of the terrorist MKO before a majority of the group members were transferred to Camp Liberty around Baghdad a few months ago.
Sadeq al-Husseini, the deputy chairman of Diyala’s provincial council, added that the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights was in charge of determining the identities of the bodies and whether they were Kurds, the residents of southern provinces or from the town of Khalis in Diyala Province.
He said that the bodies were being examined in medical laboratories in Arbil Province, adding that human rights violations in the camp did not seem improbable.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988.)
Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the grouplet are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.
A May 2005 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, 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.
Manama: Bahrain’s foreign minister has denied online reports that Manama was ready to host members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) organisation, the Iranian dissident militant group.
“The report is baseless and lacks credibility and I am not at all aware of anything related to it,” Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa told local Arabic daily Al Watan.
Websites claimed a United Nations official in the Iraqi capital Baghdad said that Bahrain had informed the US administration it was willing to host elements of the Iranian exiled opposition group currently staying in Camp Liberty, a former US base outside Baghdad, Al Watan reported on Monday.
MEK was taken off the US terror list in September after the US State Department said it had not committed terror for more than a decade.
The militant group had also complied with a US requirement that more than 3,000 of its once-armed members leave their Camp Ashraf base in the eastern province of Diyala in Iraq near the Iranian border and move to Camp Liberty.
The Iranians condemned the US decision to delist the group, saying that it was an “irresponsible move that is against the international and legal commitments of the US.”
MEK, as a guerrilla movement, fight Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the 1970s, but could not agree with the new Iranian regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini when it came to power in 1979.
The group ended up teaming up with Iraq to battle Iran in the 1980s and won the protection of Iraqi former leader Saddam Husain.
However, the group was disarmed after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and had difficult relations with the new Iraqi leadership.
Habib Toumi