Page 596 – Nejat Society

U.S. drafts new plan for Iranian camp Ashraf in Iraq

The United States has drawn up a new plan for an Iranian dissident camp in Iraq, calling for its residents to be temporarily moved to a new location in Iraq pending eventual resettlement in third countries.

A senior State Department official said on Thursday the plan was aimed at preventing more violence at Camp Ashraf, where 34 people were killed last month after Iraqi security forces moved against it.

"We recognize that this is a humanitarian tragedy that is occurring and has great potential to be a humanitarian issue into the future," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"Given the history of provocation, we are deeply concerned about the possibility of future violence."

The official said the Iraqi government was studying the new U.S. plan, which would now be presented to the leaders of Camp Ashraf, the base of the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran which the United States, Iraq and Iran consider a terrorist organization. The European Union removed it from its terrorism blacklist in 2009.

The group, seeking the overthrow of Iran’s Islamic government, mounted attacks on Iran from Iraq before Saddam Hussein’s 2003 downfall. In the 1970s, it led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran, including attacks on U.S. targets.

The 3,400 people in Camp Ashraf lack any formal status in Iraq, where the government has vowed to close the camp by the end of 2011.

Reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Doina Chiacu

May 9, 2011 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Rights Group Cautions about Deteriorating Conditions of MKO Dissidents

A human rights group expressed deep concerns on Sunday about the deteriorating conditions of over 3,000 members of the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization who are under torture and harassment by the MKO leaders in Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq.

According to the Habilian association, a human rights group formed of the family members and relatives of the Iranian victims of terrorism, only 200 of the nearly 3,500 members of the MKO who are in the group’s main stronghold in Iraq are still loyal to the terrorist group’s leader, Massoud Rajavi, while conditions of the remaining 3300 members who are dissatisfied with their situation and have sought to escape the camp are unknown.

The report also said that the 200 members were those who attacked the Iraqi security forces in the April 8 conflict in the Camp Ashraf, while others refrained from entering the conflict to defend the terrorist haven.

Earlier, a defected member of the MKO had unveiled that the ringleaders of the group are using every means within their reach to control their dissident members, including life threats, to keep members in the group’s main stronghold in Northern Iraq.

"Massoud Rajavi has announced many times that if anybody wants to escape from (the camp) Ashraf (in Iraq), he/she will be killed or executed," Abdollatif Shadvari said.
He reiterated that the ringleaders of the MKO also prevent the members who are residing in Camp Ashraf from taking refuge in other countries, saying, "Ashraf is the only place you have."

Also in March, another defected member of the MKO revealed that the female members of the group have been living under captivity for more than 25 years and are not even allowed to appear in public places alone.

"It can be firmly said that 95% of the women in Ashraf Camp (the terrorist group’s resort in Iraq) have not even been allowed to step in Iraq’s public and recreational places alone all throughout the last 25 years," the defected member said.

The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s. The Baghdad government has assured Iranian officials and people that it is determined to expel the MKO from Iraq by the end of 2011.

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.
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).

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

May 9, 2011 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

After four weeks MKO terrorist cult refuses to let families bury the dead

One month after the coordinated attack by Mojahedin-e Khalq loyalists on the Iraqi security forces in charge of the security of Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf), the bodies of the individuals who were killed (some, according to Iraqi officials, while trying to run away from the garrison and After four weeks MKO terrorist cult refuses to let families bury the dead some forced to rush towards the Iraqi posts throwing petrol bombs and pre-fabricated missiles) are still lying inside the notorious camp and the leaders of the terrorist cult with the direct support of American agencies in Iraq refuse to give officials access to them. Mojahedin-e Khalq leaders also refuse to bury the dead inside the camp and insist in keeping the bodies without their families or any other agency having any access to the bodies.

The Iraqi government acted in April to enforce a ruling by the court of Baghdad such that land unlawfully confiscated by Saddam Hussein’s regime and given to Massoud Rajavi for his military headquarters, must be returned to the original landowners who live in the village next to the camp.

The Mojahedin-e Khalq’s pre-meditated attack on the Iraqi forces was a show of power and was intended to demonstrate the ability of the leader of this Washington backed group to instigate mass murder and massacre of the captive hostages inside the camp. The notorious cult has repeatedly used this tactic in the past; the latest example took place in several European capitals in 2003 when MEK loyalists (some drugged) indulged in self-immolations in which two died and others were left with permanent disabilities and disfigurement.
The Mojahedin-e Khalq leader recently pronounced through his interlocutors that the MEK will only bury the dead if the Iraqi government abandons its investigation and if they give the land recently reclaimed back to the Washington backed terror group; a demand the Iraqi government finds impossible to consider as it is against the law of the land.

Mojahedin-e Khalq loyalists are also refusing to bury the dead unless the land where their cemetery is located is given back and that the Iraqis leave this land without conducting any further investigations. The Iraqis are apparently already investigating some unmarked graves and have discovered some hidden caches of arms and ammunitions in that part of the camp which they reclaimed from the group.

Iraqi officials responding to appeals by the families of the dead for humanitarian consideration have accepted that the bodies can be buried in the original MEK cemetery, but have again said that the land will not be given back as it is subject to a court ruling which the government cannot reverse.

In turn the MEK did not accept this concession because the Iraqi government had stipulated that fewer than 200 MEK members attend the burials. This is because both the government and the MEK and the American backers of terrorism in Iraq (and others) know that the MEK is only using this (having large numbers attend the funerals) as an excuse to occupy the land and then refuse to leave. Thus, creating yet another situation whereby they can shed more blood and divert attention from the real problem which is that they have been holding thousands of people hostage and do not let them have any contact with the outside world.

At the same time, the Americans claim they buried the body of Bin Laden at sea (with some so-called Islamic ceremonies) because “Islam dictated that the dead should be buried ASAP”! It is ironic that their beloved terrorist cult in Iraq is encouraged to keep the bodies of the victims and not allow their families to bury them.

Many families of the victims have already complained officially to the Iraqi Judiciary demanding the bodies of their loved ones be returned to them. Many more are now getting together to insist on a full investigation into the Mojahedin-e Khalq’s plots and the deaths of their loved ones. They want to see that the bodies are forcefully taken out of the hands of the American backed terrorists and ensure that they are buried after post mortem examinations establish the cause of their deaths.

MESConsultants

May 9, 2011 0 comments

Open Letter to Ms. Pillay on Camp Ashraf

To Ms. Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: About the situation in Ahsraf

First we would like to apologize that our English is not very good. We hope you can understand our letter. Massoud Djabani

We are ex-members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organisation (MKO, PMOI). We joined the MKO around the period of the Iranian Revolution (1979) when it started as a resistance-movement against the dictatorial regime in Iran. Later the group went on to armed resistance and finally it degenerated into a terroristic cult. We have gone through all these phases inside the organisation ourselves and have lived in the MKO camp ‘Ahsraf’ in Irak for many years. We decided to leave the group in the terroristic stage, when they get extremely violent.

Because we know the situation of camp Ahsraf from the inside, and know the leaders, the members and the surrounding of the camp, we would like to respond to your letter about the recent events in Ahsraf, where Iraqi soldiers invaded the camp, and a confrontation followed involving more than thirty deaths in the camp.

In recent years we repeatedly pointed to the explosive situation in and around the camp Ahsraf area. We have been several times to the European Parliament in Brussels, we have spoken to Dutch politicians in deparliament of The Hague and to the French Embassy (near Paris is one of the headquarters of the MKO leaders). We tried to focus the political attention on the situation in camp Ahsraf and wrote many letters to international help-organisations, but so far without any result and without response. These deaths could have been prevented if there would have been earlier intervention in this situation. But we are very glad that now finally the eyes of international political and human right-organizations are open and looking toward Ahsraf.

The reason why we pointed for years to the underlying tensions in the area of Ashraf, because we know the MKO from the inside, we lived ourselves for many years inside camp Ahsraf. It really stunned us that nobody would listen to our warnings about the full tense situation in this area, who could explode at any moment.

That these tensions would erupt is very clear when we realize the situation in and around Ahsraf. First: for years the MKO fought together with Saddam Hussein, the hated dictator of Iraq. Saddam Hussein was their protector and war partner. After the fall of Saddam, the dictator was gone but the MKO stayed in the territory of Iraq. So the new Iraqi government had to allow a group who collaborated with Saddam to stay in their territory. The Iraqis were not allowed to put a post inside the camp and had to endure the presence of the MKO on their own ground. And although the MKO doesn’t pay any contribute to the Iraqi government the MKO regarded this soil as their own property. It was very predictable that this would cause much tension. Second: the MKO is a cult, a terroristic cult, as we ourselves from our own long and terrible experience inside the MKO can confirm. The leaders manipulate and brainwash the members. And if members dare to be critical or want to leave the organisation, the leaders isolate and torture them and if this has no result they can get executed (see the Human Right Watch Report 2005). The members are under constant mental control. If you are a member of this sect, as we were, and you don’t agree with something, have doubts, or want to leave the organisation, you will undergo group manipulation, threats, longtime solitary prison and torture. Many members wanted to leave the sect for long time now, but it’s not possible for them, because the leaders are in constant control of the group, they block every contact with the outside world, scare the members so that they are afraid to leave ( ‘outside the gates are the spies and secret services of the Iranian regime waiting for you to take you’ etc.) and isolate members who are thinking about leaving the group. So also inside the camp is an enormous tension…

As both inside and outside such high voltages of tension exists, it is very predictable that this situation will run out of control. Already one time before there had been a confrontation between Iraqi soldiers and members of the MKO sect where also lots of people get injured and died.

Many times we referred to this dangerous situation and pointed on the necessity to send aid-agencies to this area, but so far without any reaction or response. Now, for the second time, there was a confrontation and fighting with many deaths. This could have been avoided as international human rights organizations had interfered the situation in and around Ashraf in an earlier stage.

But now finally there will come international intervention with the camp and we are very pleased by that, because this is really very necessary.
We, as ex-members of the MKO, know the leaders and members of this organisation very well and therefore we want to highlight some very important issues that should be paid attention to:

a. First of all: at this moment it’s very necessary to prevent that in this situation the leaders will persuade the members to a joint suicide (a well-known risk of a sect in trouble). In 2005 the MKO leaders also forced members to a suicide action inside Paris. The members got orders to burn themselves into the streets of Paris, to manipulate the French government to release Maryam Rajavi, the wife of their cult leader. Many members obeyed, they put themselves into fire and died in the streets of Paris or get horrible injured.

Once the leaders and commanders of the MKO will feel that they cannot keep the sect together and fear to lose their grip on the members there is a very high risk that they will force the members to a group-suicide. They are ruthless to their members, they only pursue their own purposes and if they get frustrated they will not hesitate to kill their own members.

b. Because the MKO is a sect, the leaders want to keep constant control over the group. The members have lived for many, many years under their brainwashing and manipulation. It is therefore very important to separate the members from the leaders as soon as possible and speak to each member individually in private interviews, because after all these years of continuously groups control they dare not speak open if there are any other members around.

c. Communication between leaders and members should be totally disconnected otherwise the members will not be able to function and communicate independently and they will remain under the influence of the sect, even if they are outside the cult, in another country.

d. The members have lived many years, sometimes more than twenty years, in isolation under everyday brainwashing in a separate enclave. All this time they had no contact with the outside world. Ashraf looks modern, with television and computers, but everything is censored by the leaders. They have their own radio and television stations which only show one side information and news which is allowed or set up by the MKO leaders. The members therefore know nothing about real life. If they come out of this sect they are like birds who were locked in a cage for many years: when the door opens, they do not dare to fly out. These people really need special help, otherwise they will never be able to return to a normal functioning life in the society

e. There should be guidance if the members come out the camp to help them to get into contact with their families. The MKO taught them that their family and friends outside the gates are ‘enemies’; ‘spies of the Iranian regime’ and forbid them to contact them. They don’t know anymore how they can get in normal contact with their family. And because they have been for decades in the camp they also don’t know where their relatives are. Also they are very afraid to contact their families because they think the family doesn’t want to see them again. They need help with that.

f. If these people come out of the camp they have major trauma, which will make them both mentally and physically not able to function normally. If they don’t get specialist help there is a big risk for suicidal tendencies and drug problems. Also the family should get specialist help; otherwise they will drown into these problems, because they are not prepared at such a situation. They must learn how to deal with ex-cult members and their traumas.

g. The leaders of this sect are dangerous and violent. They want to keep the group together and want to replace it in totally to another country, because that is the only possible way they can keep their power and they are aware of that. It is very important to prevent this. Their purposes are violent. Maybe you doubt our words, therefore it is very important that you can control these yourself. Please take care that the members and the leaders get separated and ask them about the real situation in the camp. They will need time and patience, because they are afraid.
Most of the members are very tired of violence and want to get out of this situation, but they need your help with this

h. Many ex-members have children inside the camp, which they haven’t been seeing over sometimes more then 20 years. The MKO took these children away from them (because children would distract the attention of the sect members from the goal) and brought them abroad. Later when they were nearly grown-ups the MKO brought them back to Ahsraf, to become warriors. The ex-members who left the sect, are not allowed to see their children and their children learn inside the camp to hate their parents outside the camp. Also Mr. Shams Haeri didn’t see his children for about 15 years. And also the parents whose children left them at a young age to join to MKO sect didn’t see their children ever back again, sometimes for more than 20 years. Now these parents are very old and the children are 40 or 50 years. Both the parents and the children need help from organisations to reunite them again!

As ex-members we are always willing to give more information about these issues and willing to come to your office,

Sincerely,
Massoud Djabani
Shams- Haeri
tel: 06 27229556
massoudjabani@gmail.com

May 8, 2011 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Americans last attempt to rescue their terror group

Washington tries to resolve standoff at Camp Ashraf in Iraq
Calling the situation "untenable," a senior State Department official gave details Thursday of a proposed "humanitarian" solution to the standoff over Iraq’s Camp Ashraf, a settlement of Iranian dissidents who say they will be killed if they are returned to Iran.

Under the U.S. plan, the approximately 3,400 residents of Ashraf would be temporarily relocated within Iraq, farther from the border with Iran, the official said.

The camp houses followers and members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK). The United States considers it to be a terrorist organization.

The MEK has opposed the Iranian government for decades, and the group was sheltered in that camp and other locations in Iraq during the era of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The group was used by Hussein as part of his security forces and has a tense relationship with many Iraqis, especially Shias and Kurds.

The relocation would be temporary, the official said, with final settlement of the inhabitants in other countries.

That would not include the United States, the official said, since U.S. law bars anyone associated with a terrorist organization from settling there.

The new location would be "chosen and maintained and operated" by Iraq and appropriate humanitarian conditions would have to be maintained in this camp, the official said.
"We will work with the government of Iraq, Ashraf residents and international partners to guarantee the safety of Ashraf residents if they agree to this move," the official said, "if all sides agree to this plan."

Iraq has ordered the camp be closed by the end of the year and wants the residents to leave the country. The residents are refusing to budge, and do not recognize Iraqi sovereignty over their camp.

The U.S. plan has been presented to the Iraqi government, the official said, and it is "reviewing its position."

"We hope the Ashraf leaders will react positively to this plan, as we hope the government of Iraq will react positively to this plan, largely because we see no other solution for a group that has no status," the State Department official said.

The United States has discussed its proposal with the international community, this official said.

In April, 34 people were killed and more than 300 others were wounded in a confrontation between Iraqi security forces and people in Camp Ashraf. The exiles said Iraqi security forces invaded their camp, but security forces said their members were attacked by the group.

The violence, the official said, highlights the vulnerability of the camp’s residents, who lack any legal status in Iraq but have refused to request refugee status.

"Given the history of mutual provocation we are deeply concerned about the possibility of future violence," the official said.

The U.S. would work to guarantee the safety of all sides, the official said, but this would not involve American troops.

"There’s no easy solution to this matter," the official said. "We believe this is the best way forward … our bottom line is that both sides need to step back from violence and the violence that has characterized the relationship, and we want to avoid another tragedy at Ashraf."

Iraq under Saddam and Iran fought a bloody war in the 1980s.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, relations between Iran and Iraq have improved. A majority of Iraq’s new government is composed of Shiite Muslims, the majority religion in Iraq, and official attitudes toward the MEK changed.

The camp has been the subject of debate in Iraq since American forces relinquished control of it in 2009.

Iran has long urged Iraq to get rid of Camp Ashraf and the opposition group there, and Iraq’s failure to do so is a point of tension between the two countries.
Tehran considers the MEK to be a terrorist outfit. The European Union does not.

Another State Department official said the department is reviewing the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation of the MEK, with a final decision to be made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on whether to maintain or rescind it. The MEK is providing information for the review, the official told CNN.

CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

May 8, 2011 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraqi demonstrators call on government to expel MKO

People in Iraq’s Diyala province organized a protest outside Camp Ashraf where the terrorist organization, Mujahidin-Khalq, or MKO members reside.
People in Iraq's Diyala province organized a protest outside Camp Ashraf
Most Iraqis say they are against the existence of the MKO camp and are deeply worried about its secret and illegal activities.

Some important figures turned out for the protest including tribal leaders, clerics and local government officials. Protesters shouted: "leave our country", and carried placards with anti-MKO slogans to express their intolerance towards the presence of a terrorist group that they say has caused so much trouble in their country.

Tribal leaders also want the authorities to accept public demands and expel the MKO once and for all.

Some local officials accuse western nations of pressing the Iraqi government to let the MKO stay in Iraq.

The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s. It has been blacklisted as a terrorist group by many countries in the world.

The group is accused of killing Iraqi civilians during the 1991 uprisings and so helping Saddam Hussain prolong his grip on power.

The MKO is widely disdained in the region for having sided with Saddam Hussein during the dictator’s 1980-1988 war against Iran.

Wisam al-Bayati
Download Iraqi demonstrators call on government to expel MKO

May 8, 2011 0 comments

USA

ADVT’s message to September 11 families and US government

Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism sent a message to Families of September 11 and US government to congratulate them the death of Bin Laden, mastermind of September 11 attacks.

This message was sent on the occasion of Osama Bin Laden’s death and the celebration hold at the site of September 11 attacks.

Undoubtedly, the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death was very pleasing news for which all people of the world and especially the families of the victims of his and his group’s terrorist crimes have long been looking for. It is our pleasure to congratulate this success to Your Excellency and the families of September 11 event. We hope that Bin Laden’s death can mark a beginning for uprooting all terrorists and criminals who victimize innocent people for achieving their own ambitions.

We, the members of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism of the Middle East, expressing our pleasure and happiness from the recent achievement in killing a criminal like Bin Laden, are looking forward to see a day in which the murderers of our dearest ones also be punished. Mojahedin-e Khalq (a.k.a MKO/MEK/PMOI) is a terrorist group which has assassinated more than 12000 Iranians, 25000 Iraqis, thousands of Kuwaitis and even 7 American military counselors. This terrorist group is now in the FTO list of your Department of State and the documents of its leaders’ cooperation with Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden reveal their real nature.

We, the members of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism of the Middle East would like to ask you that whether the time has not arrived to administer justice against terrorists who have committed crimes several times more than Bin Laden and his terrorist group? Can we celebrate a day in which the killers of our dearest family members have been tried by justice? Indeed, how long can we live with a feeling of insecurity and threat by some terrorists who are not different from Al-Qaeda or Bin Laden?

The terrorist leaders of the MKO are trying to remove the name of their organization from the FTO list of your country and unfortunately some officials are helping them in achieving their illegal inhuman demand and making them released from the hands of justice.

Many international documents like Human Rights Watch report of May 2005 and US National Defense Institute report of 2009 have disclosed the dangers of this terrorist cult to the global security. High-jacking, armed robbery and attacks against military units or civilians are among the other crimes of MKO. MKO has acted as the private army of Saddam Hussein for many years and contributed in the suppression of Iraqis and Kuwaiti youths in 1991 and this has led to the hatred of people of the region from them. MKO is a terrorist group with cultic characteristics and relations. It turns its members into people who can commit any inhuman terrorist crimes like self- immolation, by mind manipulation and brain washing techniques.

Al-Qaida and Mojahedin-e Khalq have many common points in a way that based on international reports these two terrorist organizations are the only organizations which have cultic nature whose existence is an international threat.

Once more, congratulating this great achievement, we would like to ask you to help us to administer justice and try those who have made us to experience the bitter taste of terrorism.

May 8, 2011 0 comments

Iraq

Hundreds in Diala protest against Mojahedin Khalq

Hundreds of Diala residents staged on Friday a massive protest in front of Ashraf Camp demanding to deport members of the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO) out of the province, Khales mayor said.

“The protestors called for deporting the members of the organization for their involvement in supporting armed groups and destabilizing the security condition in Diala,” Uday al-Khadran told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Hundreds in Diala protest against Mojahedin Khalq
The members of the organization live in a fenced-off camp in Diala, north of Baghdad.

The MKO, which began as part of the Iranian resistance to Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s rule in the mid-1960s, was driven into exile after Iran’s 1979 revolution and re-formed in Iraq, where it was nurtured by Saddam Hussein.

After the American invasion, it was disarmed and its members recognized as refugees by the United Nations.

May 8, 2011 0 comments

USA

US wants MKO terrorists relocated

Despite Iraq’s decision to close Camp Ashraf, the US has proposed that the terrorists residing in the base be relocated before their final resettlement in third countries.

A senior US State Department official said on Thursday the plan was aimed at preventing more violence at Camp Ashraf, referring to a clash between Iraqi forces and members of terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) back in April.

The incident, in which 34 MKO terrorists were reportedly killed, occurred on April 8 when Iraqi armed forces clashed with residents at Camp Ashraf who had been hurling stones at soldiers for two days.

"Given the history of provocation, we are deeply concerned about the possibility of future violence," Reuters quoted the US official as saying on condition of anonymity.

The official said the Iraqi government was studying the new plan which would then be presented to the leaders of Camp Ashraf.

In April, Iraq’s government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Baghdad is determined to shut down Camp Ashraf, located north of the capital, and disband the terrorist group.

Members of the MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where they enjoyed the support of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, near the Iranian border.

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

The terror organization is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the north.

Tehran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has been blocking the expulsion by pressuring the Iraqi government.

May 8, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

EU to move Mojahedin Khalq to Canada

Al-Mu’tamar [Baghdad, comprehensive daily newspaper published by the Iraqi National Congress]: EU mediating bid to have Mojahedin-e Khalq organization transferred to Canada …

Sot al Iraq: Iraqis never forgive MEK/Saddamists for quelling the uprising

Sotaliraq [From column by Mahdi Qassim]: "Most, if not all, of the refugees residing in Ashraf City in the Iraqi province of Diyala are ‘Shi’i’ Iranian dissidents fiercely opposed to the regime in Tehran. Though Shi’i, these people are very popular with the Iraqi ‘Sunnis’, particularly with the Ba’thists, who abhor everything Iranian, except for the ‘Mojahedin-e Khalq’ organization, to whom the Ashraf City dwellers belong, owing to the close alliance this organization used to maintain with the former Iraqi regime. On the other hand, these Ashraf City dwellers are deeply hated by pro-Iranian Iraqi ‘Shi’is’, basically on account of their alleged role in quelling the 1991 Iraqi Shi’i uprising… a sin for which they have never been forgiven by the Shi’i political parties running the show in Iraq today despite the fact that the rank and file of these parties are now largely made up of repentant former Shi’i Ba’thists who are guilty of having done harm to the Iraqi citizenry in one way or another during the bloody reign of the defunct regime … One cannot but wonder at the ironies of dirty politics and profane interests!"

Translated by BBC Monitoring

May 5, 2011 0 comments

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