Page 554 – Nejat Society

10 Ashraf residents escape and join Iraqi Police

Nejat Society reporting from Al-Sumariya News – a security source in Diyala Province declared on Friday Decemebr23 that ten residents of Camp Ashraf – the Mujahedin Khalq ‘s headquarter in 10 Ashraf residents escape and join Iraqi Police Iraq escaped the Camp and surrendered to Iraqi police North of Baquba.

As far as it is known, these people ran away the MKO because of cruelty and injustice exercised by the group leaders.

“10 members of Mujahedin Khalq Organization escaped Camp Ashraf or Camp of New Iraq in a region near Baquba and sought refuge in a police Station there”, said the Iraqi security source.

The source declined to be named. He also said that the ten escapees demanded to be transferred to a third country and declined to give further information.

December 24, 2011 0 comments

Human Rights Abuse in the MEK

Ex MKO members call on MSF to stop medical abuse in Camp Ashraf

Honorable director of the freelance doctors in Iraq, Mr. Antoin Foucher

Respectfully,

We are a group of former members of pmoi( People’s Mujahedin Organization ) who had been living for a long period of time in Iraq and in different pmoi garrisons . We intend to inform you about important and tangible subjects which we experienced them while we were in pmoi.

Unfortunately , during past years the leaders and operatives of this organization have tried their best to show different image of themselves by resorting to different associations , medical centers, humanitarian and charity organizations throughout European and American countries and in the name of the orphan women and children as well as the wounded and injured members of Ashraf garrison gathered a huge quantity of medical apparatus and equipments as well as money , medicine , food , and clothes or by grave money laundering( as a result of the money laundering they are under prosecution in Europe and United States), they were able to pay and compensate the costs of their political gatherings, demonstrations, and meetings.

We as the former members of this organization who had been present in that organization for a long time can assure you that unfortunately the most of those equipments and apparatuses which were received by the leaders of pmoi, did not reach to the hands of those needed and instead they were directly utilized by pmoi leadership and operatives for personal and other organizational purposes or they were sold in different Iraqi markets and the money had been utilized in Europe and United States for pmoi leadership’s political and propaganda purposes.

We know for sure that the huge amount of those clothes , medicine and food which were given to pmoi operatives and leadership by the US Army for the members did not reach to the hands of those members who needed them badly and instead those items mentioned above were sold in Iraqi markets and some cheaper items with bad quality were purchased by pmoi operatives to replace them , and there is no doubt that the medical equipments and apparatuses which were given by US Army also were utilized somewhere else.
We know for sure that during the past two bloody scuffle between pmoi members and Iraqi forces many of those members got injured and wounded but unfortunately those injured and wounded who some of them were bleeding badly were kept in inappropriate places without enough medical care just because the pmoi leadership wanted to take advantage of them for political and propaganda purposes, and as a result of that some of those injured and wounded members died . For this reason , we who are friends of those stranded members in Ashraf camp and we know them as our family and friends , urge you as the director of the freelance doctors in Iraq who are in humanitarian and medical mission in Iraq to do the following requests:

1. Whatever you can convey and send your rapid and emergency aides to our friends and families who are captives of pmoi ideology and thoughts in Ashraf as soon as possible and by cooperation with Iraqi government beget opportunities who those stranded members can refer to you personally and individually to use your humanitarian and medical aides utterly.

2. We are urging you to give your medical aides to each pmoi individual and needy members without the presence of pmoi operatives and leadership as intermediate and middleman.

3. The other requests which the pmoi medical center asks you for money , medicine, and medical equipments , as we mentioned above should be handled carefully because as we said according to 25 years of experience that we have in pmoi, those requests will be used in political and propaganda purposes and unfortunately the humane aspect in those requests by the pmoi leadership is very weak and worthless , for that reason you and your staff should be very careful and vigilant in dealing with the pmoi operatives.

We are very grateful and thankful to you for helping our brothers and sisters directly in Ashraf garrison and we hope that our friends specially our sisters and the women captives in Ashraf garrison can get in touch with you and your staff directly and use your medical aides, and also you and your staff can see them and cure their physical and psychological problems and also you by knowing them will find out more about the facts and warnings which we mentioned to you in our letter .

We also got in touch with your colleagues in Paris and informed them about the facts which we mentioned them to you .

Respectfully

The former members of pmoi

Faryade Azadi, Paris

December 24, 2011 0 comments

Iraq

Al-Maliki: We agreed with UN that Half of the MKO leave Iraq now

Al-Maliki: We agreed with UN that Half of the Mojahedin Khalq leave Iraq now and the other half in the next 6 month time

(…) We agreed with UN that Half of the Mojahedin Khalq leave Iraq now and the other half in the next 6 month time

Camp Ashraf,

With regard to Camp Ashraf, Al-Maliki says "it is a breach of Iraq’s sovereignty. It is an organization accused of terrorism and it is classified by the United States, European countries, and Western states as a terrorist organization. Its presence is not in line with our constitution, which forbids the presence of any terrorist organization inside Iraq, or even an organization that is not a terrorist one but harms the security of another state."

Al-Maliki further adds: "Along with this organization, there is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK], and the Party of Free Life in Kurdistan [PJAK]. We reject the use of Iraq as a platform for harming the interests of others or for exploiting terrorist organizations."

Al-Maliki then says: "The Mojahedin e-Khalq Organization [MKO] is occupying a city in Iraq, not a camp as it is reported in the media. The Iraqi Government is not permitted to enter this city or to know what is happening inside it."

Al-Maliki goes on to say: "We ask some European states why they support them, and, if this falls under the context of a regional conflict, Iraq rejects being a part of any regional conflict." He adds: "That is why we have decided to order the departure of this organization, and we have given them the end of the year as a deadline."

With regard to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s request for a six-month extension of the deadline for the departure of MKO from Iraq, starting from November, Al-Maliki said: "We will consider that, but we demand that half of them leave within the deadline, and we will grant the other half the six-month deadline. The United Nations agreed."

Al-Maliki adds: "The United Nations thanked us, but, when they brought it up with the MKO, they barricaded themselves, poured fuel into ditches to light fires, and set up checkpoints as if they were an independent state."

Al-Maliki then says: "We left the matter for the United Nations. We do not want to hand those people over to Iran, or to kill, oppress, or starve them; but their illegal presence must end."

(…)

Al Iraqiyah TV, translated by BBC Monitoring

December 24, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Families representing Camp Ashraf residents want fast and peaceful resolution

The most unhelpful aspect of the negotiations to close Camp Ashraf and remove the residents from Iraq is that the Western agents continue to act on the myth that the people inside the camp Families representing Camp Ashraf residents want fast and peaceful resolution are somehow a single, discrete entity with no connection to the outside world and no say in their own treatment. Thus it is reported without context, analysis or explanation that the Mojahedin-e Khalq will need to be transferred to a separate facility – specifically the former U.S. military base Camp Liberty. Once there they will need to be interviewed by the UNHCR for decisions to be made on their refugee status, with UNAMI overseeing Iraqi conduct at the new camp. And out of this process their futures will be determined.

But even this, ‘the desired outcome’, is being promoted without the actual cooperation of the MEK leader.
This proposed mass movement of the camp’s residents can only give rise to a pseudo angst-ridden hand-wringing which at one time fears mass suicide, at another their mass deportation to Iran where they will be tortured and executed, it fears they are labelled as terrorists and will not be ‘allowed’ to come to the West, and then fears that they will come to the West and pose a security threat. Underpinning the whole Washington-led negotiation process is the basic principle ‘how do we conserve the MEK’.

Behind the naive and unhelpful scenario of convincing Massoud Rajavi to agree the mass relocation of his captives to an open camp over which he has no control lies a blatant violation of fundamental human rights which is taking place before everybody’s eyes but which nobody apparently wants to acknowledge. This is because focusing on this situation would remove any legitimacy from the negotiations. It would expose the reality behind the myth; Massoud Rajavi is nobody’s representative. It would mean acknowledging that Rajavi has falsely imprisoned over three thousand individuals and is daily violating their basic human rights and it would mean moving forward on that basis.

There are currently around 400 families at the gates of the camp. They have come determined to rescue their loved ones and protect them from harm. These are the true representatives of their captured relatives in the camp. Why do they still have no voice? Why do international agencies ignore them and pretend they have no stake in the negotiations and outcome.

Over the past eight years family after family has tried to assert their basic right – to meet with their closest relatives in a secure and private atmosphere outside the control of the MEK. The demand pre-dates the decision to close Camp Ashraf, and will certainly post-date any moves at the camp. Indeed, the biggest scandal is that this demand has nothing to do with the Iraqi determination to close the camp before the end of 2011, but it is still being ignored.

While nobody expected the MEK leaders to welcome the families with open arms, and nobody expected the MEK’s callous and cynical owners to care for the individual welfare of their gladiators and slaves, it is shocking that even internationally renowned human rights organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UNHRC have not uttered a word about this situation. These protectors of human rights may as well have been paid by the Rajavis for their spurious appeals to the Iraqis to ‘protect the human rights’ the camp’s residents. Not one single word of criticism has been said against the Rajavi’s blatant and cruel denials of these families’ just demands. Not one word of criticism has been levelled against the Rajavis’ daily abuse of human rights inside the camp in spite of the on-going testimonies of both past and recent escapees.

It is the urgent obligation of every humanitarian agency involved to prefix the mythical negotiations with the unequivocal demand that Rajavi immediately and peacefully open the gate of Camp Ashraf and allow the people inside to have contact with their families. There can be no legal or moral obstacle or objection to such a course of action.

Anne Singleton is the author of the books "Saddam’s Private Army" and "Camp Ashraf"

December 24, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

EU court upholds delisting Washington backed MKO terror group

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has upheld a decision to remove the notorious Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the EU’s list of terrorist organizations.

In 2008, the ECJ’s Court of First Instance ruled that the EU had been wrong in listing the MKO as a terrorist organization, since it had failed to provide the group with evidence that formed the basis of a decision to keep it on the terrorism list.

Following the court’s ruling, the European Union removed the MKO from its list of terrorist organizations in 2009.

France appealed against the decision, saying some of Paris’ closest allies still list the MKO as a terrorist organization. The ECJ, however, rejected the appeal.

MKO is designated as a terrorist organization under United States law, and has been described by State Department officials as a repressive cult.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up camp in Diyala Province, near the Iranian border.

MKO is known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

The group has also carried out numerous acts of terrorism against Iranian civilians and government officials.

December 24, 2011 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Fate of Ashraf Residents Hang in Balance

Isolated in a fenced area by barbed wire, in hot desert of Iraq, without having been determined as refugees, kept in their highly–guarded units, residents of Camp Ashraf are certainly stuck in the Fate of Ashraf Residents Hang in Balance most complex situation. Besides, the leaders of the camp have been manipulating the members for over thirty years now. The residents have no freedom of expression and no access to the outside world. It is too difficult for outsiders to get comprehensive information on what is really going on in the Camp. Regarding cult-like characteristics of the group, evacuation or relocation of MKO members is still a critical issue that the international community really panics.

"U.S. officials fear that unless MEK leader Maryam Rajavi gives her approval, there will be a bloodbath at Camp Ashraf", writes Barbara Slavin of IPS. "There are particular concerns that MEK members will clash with Iraqi security forces or commit mass suicide." [1]

The U.S. administration is supporting a plan led by Ambassador Martin Kobler, the U.N. special representative to Iraq that would allow for a peaceful transfer of the residents of Camp Ashraf to a new facility in Iraq. The plan would also work to repatriate MEK members to Iran who go "voluntarily," or resettle to third countries under the auspices of the U.N., CNN reports. [2]
"The good news here is that in the past two weeks, Ambassador Kobler and the Iraqi government have made significant progress on this plan," an official told CNN on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations between the U.N., the Iraqi government, and the MKO. [3]

The alleged progress perhaps included the relocation of Ashraf residents in Camp Liberty, a single "temporary relocation" facility near the Baghdad International Airport. The location is "an accessible, not inaccessible part of the country," quoted CNN from the official. [4]

The MKO leaders’ reluctance to leave their ideological preserve, Camp Ashraf was not welcomed by either Americans or Iraqis. Barbara Slavin cites of a US official, "after much regrettable stalling, the MEK finally seems ready to engage seriously". "This is good, but the MEK must be realistic, and time is short", the official added. [5]

The official added that while MEK leaders have backed off from "maximalist positions" in the last 48 hours, "We’re still hearing talk about martyrdom and dying."[6]
If the residents are given the chance to choose their place of life, there are definitely a large number who are willing to leave the group and to get released of the extreme pressure imposed on them by the camp authorities. “Particular attention should be given to the approximately 70 percent of the Camp Ashraf population that joined the MeK after the group relocated to Iraq” according to RAND Corporation report. ”A substantial number of these MeK members were lured to Iraq under false pretenses or did not have a clear understanding of the group’s goals and methods of operation—particularly with respect to its cult behavior—and many have been forced to remain against their will. [7]

U.S. officials do not know for sure how many people are at Ashraf but believe they include minors and others who were tricked into going to the camp. There they were subjected to military training and mind control exercises that include cult-like devotion to Mrs. Rajavi and her husband Massoud, whose whereabouts are unknown, asserts Slavin.[8]

As a matter of fact, it is the absolute right of over 3000 Ashraf inhabitants to be got the opportunity and the place where they can think of and decide for a normal future. It is also the absolute right of the Iraqi government to assert sovereignty over its territory of which a large area has been occupied by the MKO for over 3 decades – the camp was handed over to the group by Saddam Hussein who gave them a military and financial support as well.
Iraqi people are in the same party with their government in their protest against the presence of the MKO in their soil. On December10, Hundreds of Iraqis took part in a “protest rally to demand the expulsion of members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization,” reported Press TV. [9]
A more recent protest also took place on Friday December 16 in Baghdad where thousands of Iraqi people held a demonstration in Tahrir square in central Baghdad calling for expulsion of the MKO. [10]

In an outstanding article, in the Washington Post, titled “Building a Stable Iraq”, Iraqi prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki notes his country’s determination to “put Iraq’s new democracy on the right path” but he notifies that “challenges remain”. He names Baathist “who seek to destroy Iraq’s democratic process”. He refers to Ashraf residents as source of a “great deal of controversy” in Iraq and in the United States. ”I would like to see this complex issue resolved peacefully and with the help of the United Nations.” he writes. ”The Camp’s residents are classified as a terrorist organization by many countries and thus have no legal basis to remain in Iraq.” [11]

Confirming Iraq’s right to have control over its entire territory, Maliki writes, ” country wouldn’t accept the presence of foreign insurgents on its soil, but we will work hard to find a peaceful solution that upholds the international values of human rights.”[12]

Predictions on the place where Ashraf residents will be relocated after its complete expulsion from Iraq, is another challenging issue. The Iraqi ambassador to Iran says Azarbayjan and a number of other countries have agreed to receive nearly 900 members of the terrorist group of Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), reported Press TV.[13]

Mohamamd Majid Al-Sheikh said, "Necessary measures are being taken through cooperation of the Red Cross and Iraqi officials to transfer these individuals.” [14]
On its turn the international Committee of Red Cross, "welcomes the Iraqi authorities’ commitment not to transfer Camp Ashraf residents to Iran against their will, and will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the Iraqi authorities fulfill this commitment" said Beat Schweizer, head of ICRC delegation in Iraq. [15]

Mr. Schwiezer mentioned previous experiences of ICRC in aiding former members of the group to return to their home country Iran.” we have been facilitating the repatriation of former residents of Camp Ashraf who wish to go back to Iran” he said. “Since 2003, the ICRC has arranged for repatriation of over 250 Camp Ashraf residents to their home country, in cooperation with its delegation in Tehran. The ICRC has helped repatriated seven former residents in 2011, with the most recent repatriation taking place in August.” He also declared that ICRC is prepared to continue helping residents return Iran. [16]

A more recent Iraqi stance against MKO presence in Iraq was published by Agence France Press on December 15th. In the interview with AFP Nouri Al-Maliki said that Baghdad’s decision to close Camp of New Iraq – the name that was given to Camp Ashraf After it was handed over to Iraq — by year end is “irreversible”. [17]
It seems that the way is approximately paved for the ultimate evacuation of Camp Ashraf and Iraqi government is determined to wipe its territory off occupiers but concerns over the fate of the residents do not simply come to an end. In response to Amnesty International that is allegedly concerned over "the serious risk of severe human rights violations if the Iraqi government goes ahead with its plans to force the closure of the camp by the end of this month", the senior U.S. administration official said Amnesty, instead, should urge the MEK to sign onto the plan "at hand and not encourage people to die". [18]

By Mazda Parsi

Sources:
[1]Slavin, Barbara, Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms, IPS, Dec 19th,2011
[2]Crawford, Jamie, U.S. supports plan to relocate terror group, CNN, Dec. 19th,2011
[3]ibid
[4]ibid
[5] Slavin, Barbara, Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms, IPS, Dec 19th,2011
[6]ibid
[7] Goulka, Jeremiah, Lydia Hansell, Elizabeth Wilke, and Judith Larson.
"Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum." *RAND National Defence
Research Institute* (2009): Web. 3 Nov 2010.
[8] Slavin, Barbara, Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms, IPS, Dec 19th, 2011
[9]Press TV, Iraqis want MKO terrorists expelled, December 10, 2011
[10]Tehran Times, Iraqis rally demanding MKO expulsion, December 16, 2011
[11]Al-Maliki, Nouri, Building a stable Iraq, WashingtonPost, December10, 2011.
[12]ibid
[13]PressTV, Azarbayjan to take in MKO members, Decemebr10, 2011
[14]ibid
[15]International Committee of Red Cross Official Website, Situation remains uncertain for residents of camp Ashraf, Decemebr13, 2011
[16]ibid
[17]Karim Ammad, Nuri al-Maliki: decision to close Camp ashraf is final, we cannot allow a criminal gang to remain in Iraq, AFP, Decemebr15, 2011
[18] Slavin, Barbara, Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms, IPS, Dec 19th,2011

December 22, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

MKO not welcome in Switzerland despite US pressure

Pointing to MKO’s expulsion from Iraq before December 31, 2011 the French-language Swiss newspaper 20 Minutes wrote, "Despite US pressures, Federal Office for Migration in Switzerlandrejected the resettlement of 11 members of the MKO organization."

"These individuals pose a great threat to our national security," Federal Office for Migration in Switzerland explained that why they did not accept MKO members, IRNA quoted the newspaper as reporting.

"According to experts, members of this organization are really acting like groups of mafia, and they have committed numerous terrorist attacks in the past," the newspaper added.

Secretary-General of Swiss relief organizations also considered MKO as an aggressive and violent organization.

The newspaper asked the Swiss Middle East analyst Erich Gysling that whether the members of this organization use Switzerland as a base for terrorism? He said, "Yes, and the Swiss Federal Government is considering all these threats."

December 22, 2011 0 comments

Iraq

Iraq extends deadline for closing MEK camp

Iraq on Wednesday extended a year-end deadline to close an Iranian dissident camp by six months, responding to a request by the U.N., which is mediating the resettlement of its more than 3,000 residents, to delay the closure. Iraq's Premier Nuri al-Maliki said he had agreed to extend the deadline

The 25-year-old Camp Ashraf, home to the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, or PMOI, an Iranian opposition group that the United States and Iran officially consider a terrorist group, is some 65 km (40 miles) from Baghdad.

Iraq’s Premier Nuri al-Maliki said he had agreed to extend the deadline on condition the U.N. transfer about 400-800 residents to other countries before the end of this year.

"He (U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon) asked us to give them a chance and we gave them a chance. The case is now in the hands of the U.N. We hope they will close this file, we don’t want to hand them to Iran," Maliki said at a press conference.

"We don’t want to kill them, we don’t want to abuse them and we don’t want to make them starve. But their presence is illegal, so under any title, this has to end."

Camp Ashraf’s future became uncertain after Washington turned it over to the Iraqi government in 2009. Baghdad has repeatedly said it does not want the guerrilla group on Iraqi soil.

The United Nations, along with the European Union, has been trying to resolve the issue, one of the main outstanding problems left after the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq on Sunday, almost nine years after the 2003 invasion.

Rights group Amnesty International says the residents are subject to harassment by the Iraqi government and are denied access to basic medicine. More than 30 residents were killed in a clash with Iraqi security forces in April.

A leader of the PMOI said on Tuesday it would agree to a U.N. plan to move residents of the camp to a new location on condition that the U.N., U.S. and EU support and endorse the proposal and that the Iraqi government guarantee the residents’ security and well-being.

In the 1970s the group, which is also known as the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK), led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran, including attacks on U.S. targets.

(Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Matthew Jones)
By Suadad al-Salhy

December 22, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

Report: MKO secretly trafficking top terrorists out of Iraq

Large groups of the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization are escaping Iraq stealthily and the number of residents in Camp Ashraf – the MKO’s main training center in Iraq – has Report: MKO secretly trafficking top terrorists out of Iraq dropped from 3,400 to 3,200 as the deadline for the expulsion of the terrorist group from Iraq is nearing.

According to a report by the Habilian website, the official website of Iran’s Habilian Association – a human rights group formed by the families of 17,000 terror victims in Iran – MKO ringleaders and their supporters are taking their top members out of Iraq.

The report said these terrorists have stealthily left Iraq for unknown destinations, but some of them have been sited in various countries, including the US, Canada and a number of the European states.

The report said that the planned escape of selected MKO members from Camp Ashraf (now known as The Camp of New Iraq) for destinations in the US, Canada and Europe has been carried out under the CIA support and is just the initial part of a broader plan by the terrorist group and its supporters as they see Iraq is resolved to close the camp by next week.

The report said that stealthy move of the MKO and its supporters has increased concerns about possible attacks on Iran’s and Iraq’s embassies in European countries.

The report added that the MKO ringleaders see attacks on Iran’s embassies abroad as the last way to cloud the political scene.

Since the beginning of this year, the Baghdad government has repeatedly assured Iranian officials and people that it is determined to expel the MKO from Iraq by the end of 2011.

MKO’s members have few days to leave Iraq.

Last Sunday, Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Majid al-Sheikh underscored Baghdad’s serious decision for expelling the MKO from Iraq, and said the decision is irreversible.

"Based on the Iraqi government’s decision, the MKO members should leave our country by the end of 2011," al-Sheikh told FNA, and reiterated, "The decision is irreversible and definite."

Meantime, a report earlier this week disclosed that the main leader of the MKO, Massoud Rajavi, in remarks interpreted as informally declaring war on Iraq cautioned that he would not allow Baghdad to expel the group from Iraq, and stressed that he will keep the MKO in the country even if it costs the lives of all the group members.

According to a report published by the Habilian website, Rajavi has ordered the commanders of Camp Ashraf (the MKO’s main training center located in Iraq’s Northern Diyala province) to be ready to resist against the Iraqi forces, saying that it would not matter if all Camp residents are killed for obtaining his desired goals.

He also ordered his commanders to strengthen the military positions at the camp and in the surrounding areas by erecting numerous bulwarks and hurdles around the Camp and be ready for a war with the Iraqi government.

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

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

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).

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 also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

FNA – 2011-12-21

December 22, 2011 0 comments

Iraq

Iraq to relocate Camp Ashraf residents to Baghdad

Under international pressure, the Iraqi government on Wednesday backed off its threat to close a refugee camp holding 3,400 Iranian exiles by the end of the month.

Iraq extends deadline for Iranian exiles to leave

Instead, Iraq said it will shut Camp Ashraf sometime in January and insisted that all its residents must leave the country by April. It promised not to deport anyone to Iran.

A spokeswoman for the exiles responded positively to elements of the plan and insisted that the U.S. and U.N. guarantee their safety. The extension of the deadline raises the likelihood of a peaceful resolution to the standoff, heading off a possible bloodbath that many international observers have feared.

The future of Camp Ashraf, home to exiles dedicated to the overthrow of the Iranian regime, has been a sticking point for Iraq’s Shiite-led government, which counts Iran as an ally.

The armed People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran first moved to the camp during the regime of Saddam Hussein, who saw the group as a convenient ally against Tehran. U.S. soldiers disarmed them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been determined to close down the camp, located in barren terrain northeast of Baghdad about 50 miles from the Iranian border. His government considers the camp, which the exiles vigorously defend with a sophisticated public relations operation in the West, as an affront to Iraq’s sovereignty.

"We don’t want to hand them over to Iran. We don’t want to kill them. We don’t want to oppress them and we don’t want to starve them. But their presence in Iraq is illegal and illegitimate," al-Maliki said during a press conference Wednesday, three days after the last U.S. soldiers left the country.

The Iraqi government had vowed to shut the camp completely by the end of December and move the residents to another location. That raised concerns that forcibly removing them would result in violence, and the United Nations has been trying to broker a deal.

The U.N. has said that at least 34 people were killed in a raid on the camp by Iraqi security forces last April.

On Wednesday, Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the government had worked out a plan to move up to 800 of the residents to a new facility in Baghdad by the end of December. That facility is a former American military base called Camp Liberty.

Al-Dabbagh said the rest of the residents would be relocated as soon as possible in January. Once they have all moved, Camp Ashraf would be closed. He said all the camp’s residents would then be relocated outside of Iraq by no later than April.

In a statement Wednesday, the head of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, Maryam Rajavi, welcomed a peaceful solution for Camp Ashraf. She said she has asked the Ashraf residents to relocate to Camp Liberty provided certain conditions are observed including U.S. and U.N. monitoring.

Al-Dabbagh said the plan calls for camp residents who are citizens of non-Iranian countries to move there eventually. But most of the residents have only Iranian citizenship, so homes in other countries would have to be found for them as well. He said no one will be forcibly sent back to Iran and that they would be treated well at Camp Liberty.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said Wednesday that the process of moving the residents to a new location and eventually resettling them would take time.

"We’re gratified to see that the Iraqi government is going to give it a little bit more time and that they’re particularly cooperating well with the U.N. process," she said.

For all the discussion over Camp Ashraf, little is known about the inside of the camp or its residents’ day-to-day lives. The Iraqi government generally does not allow journalists to visit.

The road to Camp Ashraf is heavily guarded with signs warning people against taking photographs. The Iraqi Army keeps people from getting too close, and all that’s visible of the camp are towers from which troops monitor the inhabitants.

The residents complain that they don’t get proper medical treatment or enough fuel in the winter. And they accuse the Iraqi government of harassing them through hundreds of loudspeakers stationed around the camp, blaring insults and threats around the clock.

Iraqi guards outside Camp Ashraf say it’s the residents, not the security officials, who hurl insults with loudspeakers. They also contend that the residents regularly attack the soldiers with stones. The guards say the residents have regular access to medical care, and that the only items withheld are possible poisons and explosives.

The guards did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. State Department has said it does not know of any limits on food or water but that there were concerns over making sure the residents had enough fuel.

Juhi reported from Sheik Shnaif Village near the camp. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

BUSHRA JUHI

December 22, 2011 0 comments

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