Page 513 – Nejat Society

MKO: Obama’s anti-Iran card in elections

"The US administration uses the MKO to create security challenges and problems in Iran, and this trend has continued since many years ago," says Dr. Foad Izadi, Professor at the University of Tehran and US affairs expert.

Iranian Diplomacy: The US has announced that it will take in a number of MKO members. What has this country’s position been toward this terrorist group from the inception of the group until today?

Foad Izadi: What we had seen was that the MKO had been in alliance with Saddam’s regime, and were financed by the regime in Iraq, and a base had even been created for them. Keeping this in mind, the US should have confronted them and, given that the MKO had also committed many crimes inside Iraq as well, put them to trial.

The MKO’s terrorist history inside and outside of Iran makes it totally clear that, according to the opinion of Americans and based on the US State Department’s terrorism list, it is definitely a terrorist group.

What happened after the invasion of Iraq was that unexpectedly the US not only did not confront the MKO, but it continued to financially support them just as Saddam had done, and thus smoothed the way for their terrorist acts.

Before the Iraq war, the Americans claimed that weapons of mass destruction could be found in Iraq and that this country supported terrorism. At that time, a reporter for NBC News asked Dick Cheney, George W. Bush’s Vice President, what terrorist groups Iraq supported. Cheney was reluctant to answer this question, but after the journalist insisted, which was in itself rather interesting, he finally said that the MKO was a terrorist group that Saddam supported. But after the invasion of Iraq, Dick Cheney was himself a sponsor of the MKO.

Therefore, the US government’s relations with the MKO continued and even during the period in which they were considered a terrorist group by the US, they had an office in Washington. They held conferences in Washington and many non-US citizens came to the US to attend these conferences, something that the US was completely aware of and supported because they issued visas for them. In reality, a terrorist group was easily able to get visas from the US and its members were able to enter the country. They also held meetings in Congress, and the MKO even held a ceremony for the Iranian New Year in the Capitol.

The issue of financial and arms support for the MKO did not stop with Iraq. As the American media reported, the US government trained members of the MKO in Nevada for anti-Iranian spying activities in the nuclear domain and in issues regarding the assassination of nuclear scientists, bugging and listening systems, and other ways to damage Iran. They used members of the MKO for spying and terrorist activities due to the fact that they spoke the Persian language and that they would not be recognized on the streets of Tehran because of their appearance.

This terrorist group is completely coordinated with a government that is the biggest supporter of terrorism. The recent news that the US will accept a number of MKO members is nothing new, because these individuals have been living in the US for many years now and have been active there, and this is a sign of the US’ double standard. Because, if the US claims that it combats terrorism, why does it support these people? This American policy confirms the US as a supporter of terrorism. In fact, from the US perspective, there are two types of terrorists; good terrorists who work in line with the interests of the US and its allies, and bad terrorists who work against US policies.

ID: Has the election atmosphere in the US influenced the decision to accept MKO members in the country?

FI: There is a presidential election this year and a competitive atmosphere between the Republicans and the Democrats inside the US, for both of which the issue of Iran is very important. The Obama administration intends to pursue more anti-Iran policies than its rivals. Usually, in election years, the two American parties compete with each other in support of the Zionists and Iran’s opponents. It should be said that, in the end, the issue of Iran is not the only issue of the election season, but an issue which has always been on the mind of politicians.

ID: Have relations between Iran and Iraq and Iran’s influence in this country been the cause for this US decision?

FI: If it was not for Iran’s influence in Iraq, the MKO would still have remained in this country. With all the US pressure on Iraq, they would not have been transferred. But, Iran’s influence in Iraq led to the upcoming deportation of the MKO from that country. Of course, crimes committed by this group might have helped in this cause, but it seems that this was not the only reason behind their deportation, for if this was the case, they should have left Iraq much earlier. Good relations between Iran and Iraq are the reason for this act. It should be noted that they have not completely left Camp Ashraf, and as long as American forces are present in Iraq, they will not permit all members of the MKO to be deported.

ID: Will accepting the MKO members create security problems for Iran?

FI: The US administration uses the MKO to create security challenges and problems in Iran, and this trend has continued since many years ago. It does not make any difference whether more numbers of MKO members are admitted to the US or not, for they have always enjoyed the support of the Americans. US support for the MKO has never weakened during previous years.

May 14, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

MKO terrorists receive funds from Saudi Arabia, Israel

A Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization defector says the terrorist group receives funding from Saudi Maryam Sanjabi,MKO defector Arabia and Israel, emphasizing MKO’s role in the suppression and massacre of Iraqis under the former Baath regime.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Ashraf News website in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, Maryam Sanjabi said there is evidence about the relations and cooperation between the MKO and the Saudi kingdom.

She added that the group has used the tactic of establishing relations with Jordanian lawmakers in order to expand their activities in Jordan with the help of Riyadh.

She also called on the remaining MKO members in camp Liberty in Iraq to think rationally and take advantage of the Iraqi government and UN decisions about their re-settlement in another country.

MKO members have now a better chance of escaping in the wake of their transfer from Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, to the Camp Liberty, the former MKO leadership council member said.

The group 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 organization is known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds. The group has also carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

May 14, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

MKO make efforts to turn TTL to a “Refugee Camp”

The development of Iraq after the move of the fifth group of MKO members to Temporary Transit location (Camp Liberty), show that the group hasn’t succeeded to reach its aims at Camp liberty. MKO make efforts to turn TTL to a “Refugee Camp”

It is obvious that the MKO’s demands from Iraqi government are just a cover to hide its tricks to maintain the organizational bars around the group at the new camp. Every time the UN mission moves a group of MKO members, the leaders write some boring, long letters to UN General Secretary and especial deputy of US State department on Camp Ashraf appealing against Iraqi government in order that they cause disorder in the transmission process of other Ashraf residents and that they would be able to achieve their goals at TTL.

But, despite all MKO efforts to impede the move to TTL, Iraqi government is determined not to fulfill MKO’s unrealistic demands which do not apply internationally recognized standards for a temporary transit camp and also the MKO’s intentions are no more covered for UN authorities and the State Department’s representative.

Day after day, the MKO’s deceitful tactics discredit them more and more in the international community.

Regarding that the MKO’s main topic in its propaganda about Camp Liberty is that” the camp does not meet standards” ,one should notice the comments by Special representative of the UN, Mr. Martin Kobler and special representative of the State Department Mr. Daniel Fried.

On Wednesday, March21, 2012, Mr. Kobler reported to the meeting of the Foreign Affairs committee on the work of UNAMI (United Nation’s Assistance Mission for Iraq) and UNHCR in Iraq and the situation of the MKO at Camp Ashraf and TTL. In response to Mr. Kobler’s report, the meeting director said:”regarding the descriptions you reported about Liberty, it is much better than refugee camps in Europe…”

Daniel Fried also confirmed Kobler’s report, saying that the information the united States has of the situation in Camp Ashraf and Liberty is consistent with Kobler’s description.” the conditions at Camp Liberty are not nearly as bad as described by the MEK,” Fried said,” the key to success is not discussions about the conditions at Camp Liberty but the progress of the work of UNHCR.”

Besides, on April29, Mr. Fried kept the same position to reply exhausting letters sent by the MKO before the resettlement of the fifth group in TTL. “All those who wish the residents of Ashraf a peaceful future outside of Iraq can help by encouraging the MEK to make the decision it needs to make,” Fried said. “The responsibility for the next decision rests with the MEK … a peaceful solution is at hand, but they’ve got to take it.”

It seems that the current situation doesn’t give a clear view of what the MKO leaders wanted to gain at TTL. They know well that sooner or later they have to admit the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Iraqi government and UN on December25, 2011.

Thus, what is now the main objective the MKO pursues at this stage is to make Camp Liberty recognized as a refugee camp by the UN.

In accordance with such an objective, on April 29,the MKO TV Channel ,Simaye Azadi broadcast a TV show titled “the document of added agendas – articles of the MOU agreed by Iraqi government and Mr. Martin Kobler” in which they brought up the ten days of letter writing between the MKO, the UN and the US representatives on Camp Ashraf. The ending paragraph of the letters was: ”…on the other hand lawyers and legal experts of Ashraf … asked the UN secretary and UNHCR to end the uncertain legal conditions of Liberty under the name of Temporary Transit Location .. .and to announce Liberty as a refugee camp under the identified laws for political refugees, according to the international laws and conventions and refugees rights.”

Besides, the MKO ends its statement issued on May1st against the ICRC like this: "…now the main question asked by Iranian society and families who have been picketing near central office of ICRC in Geneva for over a year; is that why ICRC keeps silent on the status and rights of their loved ones and why it doesn’t say a word to define juridical conditions of the Camp called “Temporary Transit Location?"

And ultimately the MKO TV channel declared in its news show on May 2nd: ”Attorneys of Ashraf and Liberty including professor Guy Goodwin –Gill, expert on refugee rights and international law, at the university of Oxford and the university of Guinness wrote a letter addressing Antonion Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Goodwin Gil called UNHCR to take two immediate actions: first: To guarantee international protection for refugees at Camp Liberty and second: to facilitate the process of reviewing their refugee status and their resettlement in third countries."

International protection can only be fulfilled by official announcement of camp Liberty as a refugee camp by UNHCR.

It should be noticed that according to the articles of the MOU signed by Iraqi government and UNAMI on the last Christmas day, Liberty was considered as a Temporary Transit location for temporary relocation but Rajavi aims to turn the TTL into an official refugee camp under the flag of the UN.

To prolong its organizational life, the MKO needs an isolated place maintaining its organizational bars until the day they can arrive third countries. That‘s why TTL with its current condition doesn’t solve the MKO leader’s problems unless the flag of the UN is raised there.

The MKO leaders’ call for “minimum assurances” –recently changed into “minimum humanitarian standards” – and the ownership of movable and immovable properties, in a new way, seeks to complicate the issue of the group’s expulsion from Iraq more and more.

By delaying the process of expulsion and by driving Iraqi government and the UN to extremities, the MKO leaders might achieve their ultimate goal which is to turn TTL into a permanent refugee camp under the UN flag. Thus, they might be able to build a new Ashraf in Camp Liberty.

In the MOU signed by UNAMI and Iraqi government, Camp Liberty is determined as a temporary transit site. This exactly means that TTL is not an asylum seeking camp and UNHCR doesn’t recognize it as a camp. The plan also states that Iraqi government is responsible for protection of this Transit Location under the supervision of UNHCR.

Therefore, the MKO’s demand doesn’t meet the agreement of December 25th, 2011 and Iraqi government will never yield to such a condition.

The MKO leaders know that the resettlement of TTL residents in third countries cannot be done immediately and requires a long-term process. So the only way to keep members behind the bars of the cult and to conceal cult-like practices of the organization is to go under the UN flag neutralizing the rule of Iraqi government in maintaining its sovereignty over TTL. For the time being this is the most favorable option for the MKO.

Regarding the conditions one can realize the reason for too much time killing and letter writing by the group. It is preparing the ground for further construction work in TTL.
The MKO shouldn’t be allowed to marginalize Iraqi government by lobbying and using tricks to neutralize the MOU of December 25th.
Conclusion:

1. It is clear that concerning current condition of TTL, defection of members is something natural. The MKO leaders make efforts to stop defections. So, today they try to have more severed control over the camp. It is worth mentioning that the abusive language the group leaders use against authorities of ICRC – according to the NCRI statement on May1st, 2012 – is the evidence of their difficult situation in TTL.
The culture of using verbally abusive words and personality destruction against opponents is not limited to the MKO former members and the Iranian government. This culture not only involves Mr. Kobler as UN representative but it also entangles the authorities of ICRC. Addressing them as the agents of Islamic Republic, the MKO leaders prevent ICRC from doing their legal duties. This culture is only shared by the cult of Rajavi. It is originated in the ideology of the cult.

2. As it is seen in the MKO demands, with announcing TTL as a refugee camp, the place would no more be under the control of Iraqi government. The fulfillment of such a demand is the MKO’s desire because it would be a serious step to maintain the organizational bars around the cult under the flags of the UN

By Seyed Hojat Seyed Esmaeeli, the MKO former member ,
Translated by Nejat Society

May 13, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

The US never conducted a comprehensive search of Camp Ashraf

Research by RAND confirms that not all spots in Camp Ashraf were fully inspected

The remarks by the attorney for the U.S. Department of State, Robert Loeb, have provoked backlashes from MKO. During a May 8 hearing before the US Court of Appeal for the District of Research by RAND confirms that not all spots in Camp Ashraf were fully inspected Columbia, Mr. Loeb stipulated that a decision on MKO’s status could be made within 60 days after the group’s main base, Camp Ashraf, is completely evacuated. He said that said the lack of total unfettered access to the MKO’s base inside Iraq demands more deliberation and time be given to the decision. Loeb argued questions still remain whether “hard core” elements of the group harbor weapons inside the base and thus retain the “capacity” to launch attacks.

Reported by the U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR), MKO-run active committees in the US, Mr. Loeb’s remarks are “absurd”: “Allegations by the State Department lawyer on lack of access to, and suspicion of existence of weapons and ammunition at Camp Ashraf, are absurd and insult the professionalism and integrity of U.S. troops who served at Camp Ashraf”.

Mr. Loeb in the court remarked that the U.S. military had “never been able to inspect it [Camp Ashraf].” He also stated that the residents of Camp Ashraf did not permit the U.S. military to inspect the camp. “The MEK did not permit it at that time, and the military was unable at the time” to inspect Camp Ashraf, and “the MEK did not permit an inspection. . . . They did not permit a sort of door-to-door inspection of looking for [caches] of weapons or to actually disarm them door-to-door.” He also claimed that the U.S. military had been unable to verify that the MEK had disarmed.

Quoting some US military commanders, MKO disputes the claims by the State Department lawyer by saying that “Having served at Ashraf during several tours of duty in Iraq, we repeatedly inspected the entire camp without any hindrance and found no sign of weapons or ammunition, nor any plans or intentions to acquire weapons or use violence. These inspections were undertaken impromptu and without prior notice. At all times and during every inspection, the leaders and residents of Ashraf cooperated fully with the U.S. commanders and forces”.

But the research already done by RAND Corporation is much more reliable to decide which party is on a right path of the facts. In a part of RAND’s A Policy Conundrum it is well confirmed that there are still spots and buildings in Camp Ashraf never fully inspected by the US forces in contrast to the group’s claims.

Lack of manpower has also meant that MNF-I has never conducted a comprehensive search of Camp Ashraf. The MeK would not allow it, and MNF-I was unwilling to divert manpower at FOB Grizzly from regular regional security missions to force a search upon the group. As a result, there are buildings at Camp Ashraf that no American has ever searched. Former JIATF staff believe that weapons, personnel files, and possibly even MeK members detained by the leadership would likely be discovered in some of these buildings. At the very least, on the basis of rumors that the MeK were storing WMD for Saddam, the Iraq Survey Group, an international team organized by the Pentagon and the CIA to hunt for Iraq’s alleged WMD stockpiles, should have secured access to every building.

May 13, 2012 0 comments

USA

U.S. not ready to remove MEK from terror list

An Iranian dissident group on the U.S. government’s list of terrorist organizations is showing signs of cooperation, but the United States has not decided whether to remove it from the list, a Department of Justice attorney told a federal appeals court panel Tuesday.

An attorney for Mujahedin-e Khalq urged a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to issue a writ of mandamus, essentially an order compelling the State Department to comply with a previous order, and to make a decision on delistment in a timely manner.

MEK is seeking the enforcement of a 2010 ruling by the same court ordering the State Department to review the group’s status on the Foreign Terrorist Organization list. In its ruling, the District Court gave the State Department 180 days to review the request from MEK to be removed from the terror list.

Robert Loeb, who argued the case on behalf of the administration, said the lack of total unfettered access to the MEK’s base inside Iraq demands more deliberation and time be given to the decision. Loeb argued questions still remain whether "hard core" elements of the group harbor weapons inside the base and thus retain the "capacity" to launch attacks.

Once the base is completely emptied, a decision on MEK’s status could be made within 60 days, the U.S. government has said. In court, Loeb stipulated that 60-day period could be subject to extension based on anything learned within that period.

The group has been on the terror list since 1997 because of the deaths of Americans during the 1970s. The group was granted refuge in Iraq by Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. The MEK supports the overthrow of the Iranian theocracy.

The Obama administration has argued it needs to assess the MEK’s move from its previous base of operations at Camp Ashraf in Iraq to a processing center at a former U.S. base in Iraq before making its decision. The move is being conducted under U.N. auspices after the Iraqi government ordered the camp closed at the end of 2011.

Mark Toner, deputy State Department spokesman, released a statement this past weekend praising the "continued cooperation" of Camp Ashraf residents. Over half of the approximately 3,000 residents of Camp Ashraf have been relocated to Camp Hurriya, Toner said, with the goal of eventually settling in countries outside Iraq.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Senate panel last year that the way the transfer was carried out would influence the eventual decision on removing the group from the terror list.

Loeb said the administration understands the "duty" to make a timely decision on MEK’s status, but said the administration also has a duty to the public to "get it right."

The group is also known as the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran.

Viet Dinh, a former Justice Department lawyer representing the MEK, said the group no longer poses a military threat because the U.S. Army peacefully disarmed the group after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The U.S. government treated MEK members as protected people under international law until the U.S. turned over responsibility to the Iraqi government.

Dinh told the court the State Department’s delay in making a decision is a violation of MEK’s due process rights, and liberties granted under the U.S. Constitution.

"The secretary has recognized (MEK’s) renunciation of violence and is legally bound to delist the organization," Dinh wrote in a filing in February." She cannot pocket veto (MEK’s) application for revocation of its terrorist status."

Col. Wes Martin, who served as base commander of Camp Ashraf in 2006 and was present for Tuesday’s proceedings, called Loeb’s argument "nonsense." Martin, who supports MEK’s removal from the terror list, told CNN he was certain Camp Ashraf has been completely disarmed.

The MEK enjoys the support of prominent high-ranking officials from past Democratic and Republican administrations who speak out against the group’s continued presence on the terror list.

By Jamie Crawford

May 13, 2012 0 comments

Imposture of MKO leadership for more bloodshed

Open letter of Mr. Homayoon Kahzadi to Mr. Ban Ki Moon Secretary General of United Nations

Honorable and distinguished Secretary General of United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki moon Open letter of Mr. Homayoon Kahzadi to Mr. Ban Ki Moon Secretary General of United Nations

Respectfully,

We are observing that the imposture and deceptions of the leadership of mujahedin’s cult( PMOI, MKO, MEK, Rajavi’s cult) for more bloodshed and killing of those captives in Ashraf has entered to the new phase and this time with new tricks they are trying their best to obstruct in the peaceful leaving process of those stranded captives from Iraq because according to Rajavi’s speech ¨ pmoi file should be terminated and closed in Iraq so if we are asked and inquired tomorrow , we respond proudly that we tried but we failed.¨ Yes this is exactly the mujahedin’s cult leaders tricks and tactics which this time with utilizing the nonsense and undermining of the Iraqi government and attributing Mr. Maliki to Iran , intend to prove and substantiate the Massoud Rajavi’s point and they pretend that the people are staying in Ashraf garrison and liberty camp with their own wishes and desires and they do not want to separate ,but the truth is except few people whose hands are smeared with blood of Iraqi people and the Iranian youth , no one wants to stay in the hellhole which is made by Rajavi even for a moment.

The leadership of this cult pretend that as if the captives want to stay in that hellhole , but I say no, the leaders and the operatives and killers in this cult want it .

Yours Excellency Mr. Ban Ki moon

I ,as a former member of this cult, who has experienced all the pains and hardships and tortures in this terrorist organization with my own flesh and blood and skin , would like to warn you about Rajavi’s danger which threaten the life and the destiny of those victims because the leadership of pmoi with flippancy and deception of the international organizations want to gain the following objectives:

Buying time for continuing the terrors

Killing of captives and the dissidents in both camps Ashraf and Liberty

Ruining the prestige of Iraq and its government

Ignoring of killing innocent people , because the leaders of pmoi after this relocation should respond to Iranian and Iraqi people as well as Kurds that why did they kill too many people?

Buying time because maybe they can postpone Rajavi’s trial even for few days and their intention is to rescue Rajavi from Justice.

I urge all international organizations and yours Excellency that do not pay attention to all those nonsense and absurd which are made and produced by the terrorist cult leaders and instead, bring them to Justice because the killers and cutthroats can not escape from Justice.

Honorable Mr. Ban Ki moon

Is not it an interference in a government affairs ? is not it a crime to attribute a prime minister of a country to another country ? should those killers and cutthroats interferer in the country affairs which they live in as guests ? so pay attention to all impostures and deceptions which this cult and its leaders utilize for keeping their dirty benefits and interests .

Yes, all those nonsense and absurd which the cult is saying are all lies for their own personal benefits because this relocation does not have anything to do with Iran or no-one else because either Iraqi government or Iraqi people have been suffering from the presence of this cancer tumor (pmoi) in Iraq and they want the expulsion of this cult from their soil.

Respectfully
Homayoon Kahzadi ,Paris

May 12, 2012 0 comments

Iran

Official blasts west’s double-standard attitude towards terrorism

A senior Iranian foreign ministry official condemned the western countries for sheltering members of different terrorist groups, including the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), and deplored the West’s double-standard attitude towards terrorism.

"We believe that despite the claims that others (Western countries) make about fighting terrorism, they provide the most support for terrorist groups," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

"In Europe the MKO has already been removed from the list of terrorist organizations and they are completely safe to continue their activities," he added.

When asked about reports that the US State Department may remove the MKO from its list of foreign terrorist organizations, Mehman-Parast said such moves could reveal the nature of Western countries.

The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s.

Iraqi security forces took control of the training base of the MKO at Camp Ashraf – about 60km (37 miles) north of Baghdad – in 2009 and detained dozens of the members of the terrorist group.

The Iraqi authority also changed the name of the military center from Camp Ashraf to the Camp of New Iraq.

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp 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.

Numerous articles and letters posted on the Internet by family members of MKO recruits confirm reports of the horrific abuse that the group inflicts on its own members and the alluring recruitment methods it uses.

The most shocking of such stories includes accounts given by former British MKO member Ann Singleton and Mustafa Mohammadi — the father of an Iranian-Canadian girl who was drawn into the group during an MKO recruitment campaign in Canada.

Mohammadi recounts his desperate efforts to contact his daughter, who disappeared several years ago – a result of what the MKO called a ‘two-month tour’ of Camp Ashraf for teenagers.

He also explains how the group forces the families of its recruits to take part in pro-MKO demonstrations in Western countries by threatening to kill their loved ones.

Lacking a foothold in Iran, the terrorist group recruits ill-informed teens from Iranian immigrant communities in Western states and blocks their departure afterwards.

The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.

Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.

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).

May 12, 2012 0 comments

Massoud Rajavi

Rajavi’s Mansions – Part2

Rajavi’s houses in Baghdad

Rajavi had a lot of houses, mansions and gardens in Baghdad. Some of them were located Rajavi’s houses in Baghdad outside the organization‘s bases and members didn’t know about them and some of them were inside the group bases, they were used as Rajavi’s private place or his office. A number of Rajavi’s mansions in Baghdad included:

1. Ramsar recreational centre in Habania Region: there were a few luxurious villas by the side of Habania Lake. It was considered as one of Rajavi’s clandestine bases. A very few members knew about the place. Maryam and Massoud Rajavi used to go there for vacation sometimes. They didn’t take there all of their security guards. They used to go there by the company of a very small number of the most reliable cadres.

2. Safe base in Al-Musbah region: it was a two –story building, completely furnished, neighboring two safe houses of Iraqi Intelligence service. The base was granted to the group for Rajavi’s meetings with Iraqi Intelligence officials. Sometimes, Rajavi had a short stay in the base before the meeting with Iraqi authorities and then an Iraqi agent escorted him to the meeting.

3. Babaiee base in Abu Nowas region: it was a building in a beautiful region opening to Dijla river. This was also gifted to the MKO by Iraqi Intelligence, used for visits between Rajavi and Intelligence authorities or for short-term stays.

4. Anzali Base in Aras Hinda region: the complex was again granted to Massoud Rajavi by Iraqi Intelligence. It was by the side of safe houses of Iraqi Mukhaberat (intelligence service) and used for visits with Intelligence officials.

5. Andolos base: the MKO owned several hotels and a lot of large and small houses in two avenues near Andolos square in Baghdad. Some of the bases were Saadati Seifi,Jalalzadeh,Tabatabaiee,Bakaiee,Zabeti,Dadashzade,Talar Baharstan, Malek marzban and Akbarzadegn.. . After the Kuwait War ended, two four-meter-height walls were built at the beginning and ending of the two avenues and large iron gates were installed at the two ends. There were other houses owned by Iraqi citizens who had difficulty to live there under security restrictions so gradually they sold their houses to the MKO and left the region. Thus the place turned into a strong castle in the heart of Baghdad. (This is exactly what Maryam Rajavi has done in Ouver sur d’Oise, Paris. She is expanding the base. They may own a large dangerous stronghold in heart of Europe in near future. It is now an isolated place to bar members from the outside world). Some of the houses located in andolos base were as followings:
a. Base Seifi: the base was Rajavi’s home in Baghdad in 1986. The first meetings with Iraqi authorities took place in that building. The houses neighboring Seifi base were evacuated and the street were blocked at both ends. Iraqi Security guards and MKO guards were protecting the base all the time. The basement was consolidated as a trench.
b. Base Bokaiee
There was a gorgeous building on Second Street of Andolos base. It was reconstructed like a palace-which was used for Rajavi’s meetings and receptions.
c. Building B: Ultimately Rajavi’s main base was a large 4-story building called “Building B” in an alley on second street. It was exactly located behind another building called ‘’Building A”. It contained 5 story and 100 rooms. It was kept empty all the time in order to protect Rajavi. It was only used a few months of the year for a limited number of authorities and forces who came to Iraq from abroad.

Later, they built a conference hall called “Talar Baharestan” to hold the group meetings there. In 1995 the hall was used for ideological sessions called “Hoze” where Rajavi threatened the forces that they would not be sent out any more. Anyone who was willing to leave the group, had to stay in “departure prison” for two years in order to remove his information, then he would be handed over to Iraqi Intelligence that would in its turn try them for illegal immigration to Iraq. There they would be imprisoned for eight years and later they would be exchanged with Iraqi war prisoners and sent to Iran. In the meeting, he spoke of “Iron fist”. He said that he would reply his opponents by “Iron Fist” and the help of Iraqi Intelligence.)

Note on Hotel Nofotil, Baghdad: Hotel Nofotil was located in front of Andolos complex which was like a huge castle. The hotel opened to the street where Rajavi’s house was located so it was considered a security problem so the organization rented two floors of the hotel at a very high fee. It was always empty to guarantee Rajavi’s security although Rajavi used to stay in Baghdad only three or four months of the year.

When I was a member of security unit in Baghdad, besides a large number of Iraqi forces about a hundred people used to protect Rajavi’s bases day and night.

Camp Ashraf
Various bases were built for Rajavi at camp Ashraf. Some of them were the followings:

1. Temporary houses next to Ashraf conference hall: exactly by the side of Ashraf conference hall, there were two temporary houses allocated to Rajavi. The first house had several rooms for reception and accommodation which was situated on the Southern side of the hall. The other house was on the South-Western side. It had a yard with planted parterre, bedrooms, living rooms and bathrooms. The house was built after some changes were made in the conference hall and Rajavi’s tribune was moved to another part. The houses were used only when Massoud Rajavi held public meetings in the hall. He was received there while he was taking a break between meetings.

2. Permanent base in commanding headquarters: this was a luxurious, large palace between St.400 and St.600. It had various buildings and large basements (shelters).it was never said to the MKO forces that the place was Massoud’s house but gradually members told each other.
The following picture shows protecting area around the palace. The blue arrow shows the underground shelter and the green arrow shows the small hall of the headquarters. On the north-Western part of the complex, there was a private shooting hall that was for Massoud Rajavi’s shooting practice.

3. Anti-bomb shelter and palace on St.100: on the Western side of water filtration plant of Camp Ashraf, on the corner of St.100 and St.400,a well-equipped ,luxurious and anti-bomb house was completely secretly built by Iraqi engineers and contractors. Members of the group were totally unaware of the existence of such a shelter. They were told that an underground water storage was established there!

The new base was built at millions of dollars cost and was named “Simorgh”. It contained a large green area around a central building with dozens of rooms and halls with a complicated plan. It took near three years to build the whole complex. The base was furnished with the most expensive and the most luxurious furniture that was purchased in Europe and brought to Iraq. It was said that the base was copied of a Saddam Hussein’s anti-nuclear bombs palace, for emergencies.

Massoud Rajavi lived in this base during his long-term clandestine life after 2003.

By Maryam Sanjabi ,MKO defector – Translated by Nejat Society

May 12, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq as an Opposition Group

Posed Challenges, a cause of MKO’s uncertain future in the West

MKO’s posed challenges in the Western countries makes its future uncertain

It was just on April 10 that Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, in his briefing to the Security Council concerning the transfer of MKO’s members residing at Camp Ashraf and the Temporary Transit Location (TTL) to other countries stated that “no country has committed to accept residents. A donor’s appeal meeting also took place the same day seeking to raise 39 million USD fund for the Ashraf project. Only one Member State made a concrete pledge and this falls far behind what we had hoped. Without international support, the process cannot succeed”.

No doubt, the residents stay in TTL is temporary and transitional and that other states are required to accept the resettlement of residents in their countries in line with their international commitments. One would better understand Mr. Kobler when addressing Member States had he specifically made reference to European countries that had already delisted MKO. At least he expects that these countries be the forerunners in accepting the residents if they really believe in removing it off the terror list. At this serious juncture, MKO desperately needs political and financial support of these countries more than any time. But as they have shown the least cooperation, a question raises that what is the reasons behind such procrastination to escape giving shelter to their favorite, de-proscribed group.

For sure, these countries have their own logic and reasons for indirectly expressing their disapproval. A review of the group’s past violent history and anti-social behaviors in Iraq and other European countries, regardless of the atrocities perpetrated against its own fellow Iranian, might well explain why they avoid risking acceptance of the group on their soil. What is just before European’s eyes is the group’s decade long persisting challenge with the Government of Iraq. Once forming close alliance with Saddam against Iranian regime, MKO acted also as his loyal mercenary in suppression of uprising Iraq dissidents. After the fall of the dictator, in a shift of position the group claimed to be standing beside the Iraqi people in a unified front to secure its stay in Iraq. As it is naturally a terrorist group whose strategy of struggle is founded on armed and violent warfare, soon it began to show its real, hostile attitude against the legally elected government and defied any reached legal decision; it preferred to make coalition with Iraqi insurgent groups. MKO in its struggle to survive not only claimed a position similar to that of Iraqi citizens with all granted rights but also postured as being in the vanguard of accomplishing democracy for Iraqi people and began interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.

Notwithstanding the ongoing challenges with the Government of Iraq, MKO has been the subject of many serious challenges and disputes for its defiance of legal and social laws in European countries and particularly in France, where its second headquarters are stationed. Some references to Antoine Gessler’s Autopsy of an Ideological Drift suffices to demonstrate that MKO’s presence in Auvers-Sur-Oise, the main strategic base for Mojahedin, has long been the center of many disputes with the French government. During their long stay there, Mojahedin have attempted to abuse the facilities for the achievement of their cultic and terrorist objectives and according to French D.S.T report, they have established another cultic-terrorist haunt in France. There are some more headlines as concrete evidences of violating and breaching asylum regulations according to Gessler’s.

1. Blatant defiance of the rules

Paris had required that the Iranian refugee leaders sign a written statement, containing the routine text promising to avoid all political activity on French soil. This would be respected for exactly two weeks.

2. Abuse of popular personalities

By hiding behind a broader front, the Mojahedin could manipulate Western public opinion as they wished. They had found the legitimacy that had eluded them for so many years.

3. Abuse of democratic capacities

Dramatizing simple situations, while distorting the facts to meet their own needs, the Mojahedin express their demands, published in press releases designed to create pity among the good people who are media consumers. They warn local authorities by subtle threats against them. In brief, they act in Europe as if they are in a conquered country.

According to our information, the organization does not use illegally obtained funds. On the other hand, the PMOI and some of its members are under indictment or civil action for misallocation of funds. This is notably the case in Germany, where significant sums of German private donations and State subsidies were used, in fact, for the purchase of arms for PMOI terrorists and militants in Iraq.

4. Violent behaviors in West

Yann Richard, researcher at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), considered a major specialist on Islam and author of Shi’ism and Islam, states that: “This group could probably be compared to the IRA or the PKK in its methods. These are rabid people who, should they actually come to power, would be worse than the present regime. They are bloody and violent madmen”?

“Concerning democratic freedoms, the sect has not yet accepted any other current of thought or any other identity but its own. In its small world and its international relations, everything is in place to punish its opponents. Prison, torture, secret executions, and dozens of other violations are common and in regular use by them against their ideological opponents. At this end of the 2O” Century, this is a blot on all humanity”.

The DST chief underscored how dangerous the PMOI was. It was more like a sect, a cult of personality for Massoud Rajavi and his wife. In 2001, the PMOI had claimed responsibility for more than 195 terrorist attacks on Iran from its base in Anvers-sur-Oise.

5. Launching attacks against embassies

“The People’s Mojahedin planned to attack Iranian diplomatic missions in Europe, except in France”, stated the Director of French Counter-Terrorism during a press conference.

It was, among other reasons, through fear of serving as a sanctuary for the PMOI’s subversive activities that France decided to strike the group so strongly. As M. Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, Director of Territorial Surveillance (DST), made clear, his agents were not acting on ground they did not know. “Just for 2001, there were 195 attacks and terrorist actions against Iran claimed in statements from Auvers-sur-Oise,” he medicated. He added: “We have learned that they were planning actions outside Iran, aimed notably at Iranian diplomatic missions in Europe. This is a future danger, but a clear one”.

6. Abuse of children for fundraising activities

As stated in the US State Department’s released list of designated terrorist organizations concerning MKO, “In addition to its terrorist credentials, the MEK has also displayed cult-like characteristics”. It also asserted that MKO’s members are required to undertake a vow of “eternal divorce” and that children are reportedly separated from parents at a young age. After separating children from their parents, these innocent children were sent to Western countries to take part in the street fund-raising activities under false pretences of being homeless Iranian children whose parents were executed by Iranian regime.

Reported by the LA Times quoting the FBI, “MKO members in the name of a Charity Committee for the Defense of Human Rights collected money from passengers, mostly Asians, under the false pretenses of helping refugees. They showed the photos of children suffering from hunger and apparently victims of mistreatment and torture in Iran. In this way, they gained the sympathy of passengers by telling them that they want the money to help the refugees.” (Nimrouz, No. 628, March 10, 2000, page 1 and 49.)

7. Establishing an international HQ in West

According to the French intelligence services, the Mojahedin’s aim was to move their “world operational centre” — previously based in Baghdad — to the Val d’Oise. If the searches of about 20 sites in the Val d’Oise did not turn up arms or explosives, the Rajavi’s villa was, nonetheless, ‘a real Fort Apache’. “We were surprised by the security systems,” stated Pierre de Bousquet de Florian. “We found between 8 and 9 million US dollars in cash, as well as systems for coded communications”.

According to an Interior Ministry source, Auvers-sur-Oise had been turned into the Mojahedin’s “International HQ”. Up until March-April [2003], their command structure was in Iraq and only moved with the outbreak of war.

8. Security threat

No European country denies the espionage potentiality of MKO that well threatens the state and social security of any country. The accumulation of sophisticated apparatus in a base where came under the raid of French police needs no further explanation: “Almost 200 parabolic antennas and a hundred computers were seized. Their examination should allow the investigators to sharpen their knowledge of the financial circuits financing the PMOI, which run through several countries and many bank accounts. During their searches, investigators also found radio scanners tuned to police frequencies”.

9. Wounding public emotions

The day after the police operation against the People’s Mojahedin in the Paris suburbs, European and world public opinion were shocked to discover individuals voluntarily turning themselves into human torches.

What level of fanaticism could push seemingly sane and healthy people to such extremes? Moreover, some of the “spectators” tried to block the access of rescue services which could have saved the victims’ lives. The French judicial system could only note the facts and prevent any repetition.

“Two Iranians suspected of preventing the intervention of rescuers while a woman was immolating herself in front of DST headquarters in Paris 011 Wednesday will be brought before an instructional magistrate for their criminal investigation.

French Government spokesperson, Jean-Francois Cope, considered these self-immolations as “obviously, extremely dramatic”. He added, “Alas! It also tells us a great deal about the mindset of their leadership”.

10. Money laundering and financing

One of the big unknowns remains the PMOI’s financing. Must we believe Maryam Rajavi when she flatly claims that the money all comes from fundraising among the Mojahedin and their supporters? This was notably the case in explaining the millions of dollars uncovered during “Operation Theo”. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The PMOI has a lot more at its disposal:

“… Maryam Rajavi rejoiced Thursday when she was freed thanks to the payment of 80,000 euros fixed by the Paris Court of Appeals. The bail was paid as of Thursday morning at the Paris Appeals Court’s administrative offices. Maryam Rajavi has been jailed since 21 June…

As to the 8 million dollars (7 million euros) found in the different homes of Iranian opposition members in Auvers-sur-Oise, Mrs Rajavi insisted that these funds belonged to the Iranian resistance: ‘Not a euro, not a dollar comes from any government or any country,’ she guaranteed, ‘Even if I am not informed of the details, I am sure that the movement can account to the judicial system for each cent’.

This statement is in serious contradiction with the police investigators who all note that large amounts of PMOI money circulate around the world through “dirty” networks.

11. Defying refugees’ rights

MKO has been recognized responsible for a variety of antisocial behaviors against its own defectors living in countries where they have been granted asylum. There are many cases of attacking their meetings and rallies in European countries and injuring them as well as direct and indirect threats. Many of former members have accused MKO of physical and psychological threats after their separation and starting a new life as European citizens.

12. Illegal cross-border travels

Members of the organization used false passports to travel to European countries and raise funds to buy arms and pay for their propaganda.

13. Escalation of costs and surveillance measures

Acceptance of refugees like members of MKO imposes extra costs on any country as has already imposed on France. The boss of France’s Direction for the Surveillance of the Territory (DST), Prefect Pierre de Bousquet confirms the danger posed by MKO:

“But it was the indirect consequences of the American intervention in Iraq that pushed us to accelerate our actions. The concomitant factors of the retreat to Auvers-sur-Oise of its leaders, veteran soldiers and intelligence officers coming to us from many sources were convincing. We could see that the PMOI aimed to establish its new world HQ in France, now that it had lost its Iraqi bases. For reasons of principle, as well as the presence of risks to our fellow citizens, we could not accept these developments”.

14. Operating under aliases

The main problem arises when a group, mostly a proscribed one, comes to operate under a variety of aliases or forms affiliated groups and associations that actually serve to fulfill the objectives of the mother group. MKO is one of the best examples. As described by the US State Department Report on the group: “The MKO’s penchant for aliases has created some confusion. The group’s original Persian name, the Sazeman-e Mojahedin-e Khalq-e Iran, has been shortened and translated into several commonly-used monikers: the Mojahedin-e Khalq, the Mojahedin, the MKO, the Mek, the people’s Mojahedin of Iran, and the PMOI. Currently, the group favors the “PMOI” appellation. The Mojahedin’s deliberate use of the name of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR) also is misleading”.

MKO’s umbrella associations active only in England outnumbers 20, not speaking of a lot more active in other countries. The fact will reveal the extent of the jeopardy of offshoots of a terrorist organization. None of these organizations and unions was known to be the aliases of MKO when they were permitted to be established.

15. Provoking crises

According to French police, the raid on 17 June 2003 was “one of the biggest undertaken by the DST (French Counter-intelligence) in the last 30 years”. International press agencies reported that it was the result of more than three years of investigation. The post-raid incidents set of one of the serious, unprecedented crisis in France and other European countries. A number of the group’s insiders immolated themselves in public to protest Maryam Rajavi’s arrest. According to reports issued by Mojahedin, “16 people attempted to set themselves alight in three days in Paris, Berne, Rome, London, Ottawa, Athens and Nicosia”. The human tragedy ended with two deaths; two women, Sediqeh Mojaveri, 44-year-old, and Neda Hassani, 19-year-old, died because of the self-immolation injuries.

And there are many more to mention. The European countries as well as other the UN state members have witnessed MKO’s violent reactions to the Iraqi government’s decision to evacuate Ashraf and it agreed to relocate after inflicting many deaths and injuries on the both sides. It might be a scenario repeated in any country where they will be resettled. Besides, Rajavi in his recent message to his disciples has compared them to “ready to launch missiles”. As a result, is it logical in any way to jeopardize the internal security and political relations of a country just for receiving these residents?

The past experiences, at least for the France, has proved that you let some ranking members or leaders of MKO in a country and others will follow and open their way through the abuse of existing gaps in democratic rules and political leverages. While a country that houses them is expected to fully adhere to the principles and regulations and behave them according to international commitments, the group abides by no promise to respect any code of social and political behavior. However, there might be some countries that out of humanitarian concerns and under some external pressures or for political concerns yield and let some to settle on their soil. But they are well aware that they have to bear serious consequences, the first of which will be an angry and strong reaction from the side of Iran that pushes it even to reconsider its diplomatic relations, if it has any. How the public opinion and the opponent parties react is another question.

May 10, 2012 0 comments

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