Page 682 – Nejat Society

Maliki: No place for the Mojahedin Khalq in Iraq

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he "no place for the MKO in Iraq."

According to a statement issued by Maliki’s office: "The Prime Minister today received the new President of the International Red Cross mission in Iraq McKenna Bart."

The statement quoted Maliki as saying:

"Our demand is fair, we do not force them to return to Iran and do not allow them to stay permanently in Camp Ashraf. There is no place for them in Iraq after the crimes they have committed against the Iraqi people by exercising their terrorism and because of their cooperation with the Baathists and their interference in Iraq’s domestic affairs."

On the issue of missing Kuwaitis, Maliki said: "The issue of missing Kuwaitis is humanitarian and not political, and we are fully prepared to cooperate with our brothers in Kuwait."

He continued: "We confirmed our commitment to cooperate on missing Kuwaiti property and money in letters previously to the United Nations and the Government of Kuwait, and seek to end this humanitarian issue, and seek to protect the integrity of the remains of any missing Kuwaitis."
He added: "Iraq has overcome many difficulties during the past two years, and [we see] the development and improvement on what the security situation was before."

For his part, according to the statement, the head of the Red Cross praised the developments witnessed by Iraq and Iraq’s commitment to resolving the issue of missing Kuwaitis, referring to the adoption of the International Committee of Red Cross’ joint efforts with the Iraqi government and its cooperation in this respect.

November 24, 2009 0 comments

Massoud Rajavi

Ashraf, Rajavi’s favored horse to ride

Rajavi’s message of November 4, seemingly addressed to Iranian mobs who instigated the recent sporadic domestic crises, is nothing more than desperate struggle to cease the already started measures to put an end to the issue of Mojahedin in Iraq and the Camp Ashraf residents in particular. The message contains points that explicitly indicate, in contrast to Rajavi’s But Rajavi never mentions who has paid for the construction of Ashraf instantaneous reaction to and analysis of the post-election social chaos, Rajavi has completely lost any hope of exploiting the opportunity to expend it for the accomplishment of organizational causes. Starting with lines of repetitious slogans and slanders that are typical of his messages, he suddenly changes to the main issue, that is Camp Ashraf, to express his concern about its future.

Of course, as usual his tone is threatening and warns the Iraqi Government of a possible human tragedy inside the camp and those acquainted with his words know well what he means by the stated “human tragedy”. Although he accepts the relocation of the camp to a third country, preferably to the United States or a country member of the European Union as he names, the move is subject to certain conditions that he knows will not be accomplished at least until the end of 2011. Of the interesting points to mention is his demand of over 200 million dollars as the price of Camp Ashraf from the Iraqi Government. He states:

Mojahedin in Ashraf welcome and respect the recent plan of the Iraqi Government to relocate them to a third country from among the member countries of the EU or the U.S. with the provision that the issue of their properties and belongings there, all the result of their travail for 23 years, that exceed 200 million dollars is dealt with under the judgment of the international lawyers and according to the articles 52 and 53 of the Hague Convention.

But he never mentions who has paid for the construction of Ashraf. A look at the documents disclosing huge amounts of dollars Saddam had allocated to Mojahedin indicates the real owners of the camp; for sure, if brought before the Hague Tribunal, Rajavi fails to be recognized the owner but the Iraqi poor people whose money was expended for the unwanted guests. No doubt, Mojahedin were empty handed when they arrived at Iraq in 1986 and in need of aid. Now, Rajavi has to explain how he managed to build a “city” with an empty pocket or where all the aids came from? But it is not only the question of the expenses and aids spent for Ashraf. As Rajavi points out:

The fighters of the National Liberation Army (NLA) surrendered 20 thousand pieces of arms and 20 thousand tones of ammunition to the American forces as a deal to give them protection until the ultimate solution.

Not speaking of all those granted sums of dollars by Saddam as well as paying for daily military, logistics, espionage and training expenses. However, nobody questions him why on the one hand he is trying to connect his organization to the periodically fomented crises in Iran that he believes will promise an imminent victory while on the other hand he does his utmost to stay in Iraq and to postpone the organization’s expulsion. We read:

First, the United Nation has prohibited any forceful relocation of Ashraf residents as protected persons. Second, we least expect the American forces to guarantee any violent assault against the residents and their relocation to another camp in Iraq until the end of 2011. Third, the Iraqi Government must respect the rights of Ashraf residents according to the European Parliament’s Resolution issued on 24 April 2009 until they are transferred to the U.S. member countries of the E.U.

Rajavi himself knows better than anybody that the best thing to do at the present is to do and say nothing since at least the past thirty years has proved that his promised democratic revolution is nothing more that childish fancies and that he is living by fancies and slogans rather than reality. How can he chants the slogans of leading a revolution while he is hiding somewhere far behind the people he tries to push and instigate for violence as a move to fulfill democracy? Where are these so-called vanguards of revolution and what are their legal rights when, in his message, he says:

By respecting the Iraqi sovereignty and all countries wherein the members, supporters and sympathizers of Mojahedin Khalq Organization reside, we insist on our legal rights to our last breath.”

We have nothing to do with whom are harboring Rajavi and his close disciples but one thing is clear that his stressed legal rights are acceptance of him and his adherents in the referred countries; that is the essence of his message and what you can read between the lines of his blustering and fuss. This message, as were his last messages and will be the case with his future one, focuses on the preservation of Ashraf as his cult’s main abode rather than leaving for any far better host country. To depict it in a figurative way, Ashraf is Rajavi’s favored horse he loves to ride whenever he encounters an opportunity!

November 24, 2009 0 comments

Missions of Nejat Society

Nejat Society Khuzestan Branch meeting in Abadan

The dictatorship reining Ashraf has caused panic in hearts and minds of Captured members who are bearing the cult-like manipulative control system.
A number of families from Abadan and Khorramshahr attended a meeting held by Nejat Society Khuzestan Branch
The isolation of dissident members of Rajavi’s cult prevents them from enjoying the capacities and facilities they could use to release themselves from the suppressive atmosphere of the organization.

Regarding that Iraqi government is determined to expel Mujahedin Khalq from its soil and the recent act of Iraqi Police to establish a station at Camp Ashraf, the families of captured Ashraf residents challenge to help their children liberate.

A number of families from Abadan and Khorramshahr attended a meeting held by Nejat Society Khuzestan Branch to ask Nejat NGO to cooperate with them in their serious activities in order to release their beloved children.
Hamid Dehdar Hassani, the head of Nejat Office in Khuzestan presented a report on Nejat activities
On Oct.21st a group of Nejat members of Khuzestan office described the current situation of MKO in Iraq, for families .

Hamid Dehdar Hassani, the head of Nejat Office in Khuzestan presented a report on Nejat activities promising the families to help them with their serious determination to rescue their children.

Ali Ekrami, former member of MKO, also spoke on brainwashing and mind control system ruling the members of the cult.

Makki Rafiee was another defector who has recently left the group. He explained how the MKO leaders abused him mentally and how he succeeded to escape from the cult. He noted that Iraqi government considered MKO as a terrorist organization and if Ashraf residents individually asked that government for help, it would absolutely help them.

The final part of the meeting included reading a letter written by families who had presented the following request:

1. Getting information on the latest situation of their children in Camp Ashraf.
2. Providing possibilities for phone contact with their children without control and interference of Ashraf authorities.
3. Providing possibilities for visits with their children without any type of presence of MKO leaders.

November 23, 2009 0 comments

Iraqi Authorities' stance on the MEK

Maysan Council refuses to take PMOI base in the province

President of the Maysan province said on Thursday, the local government refuses to take the PMOI base in the province, that its presence on Iraqi territory is illegal.

Abdul Hussain Abdul Rida Saadi told a news conference, attended by an Aswat al-Iraq reporter, Mujahedin Khalq organization had a major role in suppressing the popular uprising that began in some areas of Iraq, including the province of Maysan that the local government in Maysan "rejects any presence of the PMOI on its territory due to the fact that its presence in Iraq is illegitimate," adding that the decision "taken by the Council, after receiving information that that the province of Maysan is a candidate among the three areas in Iraq to embrace the organization."

He pointed out that "the organization had a major role in suppressing the popular uprising that began in some areas of Iraq, including the province of Maysan," adding that "they had killed many people of the province during the popular uprising."

Moreover, a member of the security committee of the Board of Maysan, Maytham, told Aswat al-Iraq that "the presence of the MKO on the territory of Iraq is a violation of the constitution as a terrorist organization," indicating that the group "had a role in putting down the popular uprising in 1991 and killing of large number of rebels who were expressing their rejection of the policies of the former regime."

He pointed out that "There are documents and documentary tapes which stress that the organization carried out terrorist acts against people of the province and in coordination with the previous security which was aimed at the elimination of rebellion."

He stressed, "We as a local government, call for the expulsion of the organization from all Iraqi territory due to the fact that their presence is illegal and therefore contact with foreign countries should facilitate the deportation process."

The town of Amara, Maysan province, 390 kilometers south of Baghdad.

translated by Iran-Interlink

November 22, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq Pursuing Policy on Expulsion of MKO Members

TEHRAN (FNA) – Iran’s ambassador to Iraq on Saturday announced that the Baghdad government is seriously pursuing its policy on the expulsion of the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the country. Iran's ambassador to Iraq on Saturday announced that the Baghdad government is seriously pursuing its policy on the expulsion of MKO

"Based on our information, the government of Iraq is preparing preliminary measures for transferring the group’s members from Camp Ashraf to Samawah Province (Southeast of Baghdad)," Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazzemi Qomi told FNA.

"That is the Iraqi government’s decision and oppositions in this regard will not influence Baghdad’s decision," he reiterated.

The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s. The Iraqi government and parliament have announced that they would not tolerate the group anymore and that they are seeking to expel the group from the country in the near future.

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

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

The anti-Iran terror group has been blacklisted as a terrorist organization by many international entities and countries.

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 started assassination of the citizens and officials after the Islamic Revolution in Iran 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 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.

The MKO was put on the US terror list in 1997 by the then President, Bill Clinton, but since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group has been strongly backed by the Washington Neocons, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

November 22, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

Trita Parsi’s response to MKO’s allegations against NIAC

Trita Parsi’s Response to Eli Lake’s Story

Here’s the response from the National Iranian-American Council to Eli Lake’s article which suggests that the group lobbies for Iran:

Washington DC – NIAC is proud of its work to advance US national security through a smarter and more effective policy on Iran. NIAC rejects the insinuations made by Washington Times that its activities are in violation of tax laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act and lobbying disclosure laws.

NIAC has provided tens of thousands of documents and all its financial records in order to prosecute a defamation case against Hassan Dai. Those documents prove the allegations made against NIAC are completely false. The judge denied Dai’s motion to dismiss the case on 18 out of 19 counts. Realizing this, the defendants have decided to maliciously leak those documents to a reporter at the Washington Times, Eli Lake, in an attempt to litigate the case in the media rather than in a court of law.

NIAC is a 501 (c)3 educational organization representing Americans of Iranian descent. It engages in educational, advocacy and limited lobbying activities in accordance with US laws and regulations. NIAC does not lobby on behalf of the Islamic Republic. NIAC advocates on behalf of the Iranian-American community, who overwhelmingly oppose the policies of the government of Iran.

Mr. Lake’s article does not present any evidence for any of its claims and stops short of making any direct accusations. Instead, it makes insinuations and engages in conspiratorial speculation, presumably with the aim of sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of the public about NIAC and fabricating a controversy around the organization.

This follows by now a familiar pattern in which neo-conservative activists have sought to smear and defame NIAC by making accusations, innuendos and speculation, without providing any evidence to back their claims.

In fact, evidence is to the contrary. Why would Ambassador John Limbert, a former hostage imprisoned for 444 days by the government in Iran, join the advisory board of an organization that supposedly represents the interests of the very same government that imprisoned him? This claim is illogical at best and ludicrous at worst.

Mr. Lake has selectively focused on emails and documents that fit with his pre-determined verdict against NIAC. Though the basis of Lake’s article is misinformation about NIAC provided by Hassan Dai, Lake did not ask a single question about our lawsuit, why it was filed, our understanding of Dai’s political motivations and Dai’s connections to the Iranian terrorist organization, the Mujahedin-e Khalq. NIAC encouraged Lake to investigate the evidence of Dai’s role in the Mujahedin-e Khalq. However, Lake declined to investigate his own sources.

It is clear that some neo-conservative elements wish to divide the Iranian Diaspora at a time when unity is needed more than ever for the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people to be achieved. While some prominent figures in the Iranian Diaspora have misunderstood NIAC’s activities, we are reaching out to them and we refuse to walk into this trap of pitting members of the community against each other.

NIAC has given the Iranian-American community a powerful voice in Washington DC that has effectively pushed for greater focus on human rights in Iran, opposed war between the US and Iran, opposed broad-based sanctions that hurt the Iranian people while strengthening its hard-line government, and supported diplomacy between the two countries to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner.

November 21, 2009 0 comments

Members of the MEK

Who Is Hassan Daioleslam?

In my last post, I noted that Hassan Daioleslam — the man at the center of the ongoing NIAC controversy — has been “said by multiple sources to be affiliated with the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK, or MKO) — a terrorist group (classified as such by the State Department) with close ties to the Saddam Hussein regime.” Commentary’s Jennifer Rubin is skeptical, accusing me of participating in a “Leftist smear-fest”. While I find her general tone rather overwrought, I do think that her request to provide more details to back up the claim is reasonable, so I’ve compiled a few statements (including two by former MEK members) concerning Daioleslam’s role in the group. I believe these statements show that suspicions about Daioleslam’s MEK ties are well-founded.

Massoud Khodabandeh, former MEK member who is now a leading expert on and critic of the group: “I can say without doubt that Hassan Daioleslam is a member of what I call for accuracy ‘the Rajavi cult’ [referring to MEK leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi]. In this respect he is obedient to the Rajavi leadership and would not act in a way inconsistent with their requirements and certainly not without their knowledge or consent (if not to say actual order). The term ‘membership’ describes his relationship to the Rajavis. The MKO, just like Al Qaida, does not have ‘membership cards’. But I doubt very much the MKO would deny that he is a member, just as they never have denied that Alireza Jafarzadeh is a member. Daioleslam’s writing is on the MKO websites. They do not publish just anyone’s writing. Only those obeying organisational constraints.”

Mohammad Hussein Sobhani, former high-ranking MEK member who the group held in solitary confinement for over eight years and then turned over to Saddam Hussein’s security forces for his dissent from offical MEK policies: “Hassan Daioleslam, who is also considered as a member of the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (Rajavi Cult) had been under harsh criticism for a long time by the cult leader Massoud Rajavi because he would not leave the USA and join the cult under the rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

But now, in the new circumstances in which the remnants of the Rajavi cult after the fall of Saddam Hussein find themselves in western countries, Hassan’s social position and his ability to speak English has grabbed the attention of Rajavi. He seems to be next in line to be consumed [for the group’s interests].” (Taken from a 2007 article by Sobhani; read the whole thing for a fuller description of the Daioleslam family’s deep involvement with the MEK. Daioleslam’s brother Hossein and sister Fatemeh are both leading MEK members.)

Mehdi Noorbaksh, professor of international affairs at Harrisburg University: “I know Daioleslam very closely and personally. He is not a journalist but a perfume merchant. He was a former member of MKO who was critical of the organization for many years. He was living in Europe for several years until he moved to the United States in Phoenix, Arizona. He was re-bought by MKO one more time and he is now active in selling and defending the positions of this terrorist organization. Those who know him know well that his commitment to MKO is opportunistic.”

Other knowledgeable parties have also spoken privately to me about Daioleslam’s MEK ties; anyone with further information they would like to share publicly should feel free to contact me.

For more background on the MKO, see the State Department’s description of the group on its terrorism page. Human Rights Watch also released a report in 2005 detailing the group’s record of subjecting dissident members to torture and solitary confinement.

Founded as a militant group with an ideology combining aspects of Islam and Marxism, the group is frequently described today as “cult-like,” built around a personality cult centered on leader Maryam Rajavi. The State Department notes that members are “required to undertake a vow of ‘eternal divorce’ and participate in weekly ‘ideological cleansings,’” and that “children are reportedly separated from parents at a young age.” After Rajavi was arrested in France in 2003 on suspicions of plotting terrorism, MKO members throughout Europe protested by setting themselves on fire; two of them died.

The group’s hatred of the Islamic Republic led it to ally with Saddam Hussein, and it fought on the Iraqi side of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Following the Gulf War, “the group reportedly assisted in the Iraqi Republican Guard’s bloody crackdown on Iraqi Shia and Kurds who rose up against Saddam Hussein’s regime; press reports cite MEK leader Maryam Rajavi encouraging MEK members to ‘take the Kurds under your tanks,’” according to the State Department. The group’s alliance with Saddam made it widely despised among the Iranian community at large, as it remains to this day.

However, its militant anti-Iranian stance has made it a favorite of hawks in Washington. Several of them — most notably Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) — participated in a 2005 Washington conference in support of the group. The same year also saw the founding of the pro-MEK Iran Policy Committee, headed by Raymond Tanter of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). The MEK’s neoconservative supporters continue to push for it to be taken off the State Department terror list, which it has been on since 1997. One of the many ironies about the MEK is that, for all the groundless allegations that hawks made about Saddam Hussein’s connections to terrorist groups during the runup to the Iraq war, the terrorist group with perhaps the closest links to Saddam was one that the hawks themselves supported.

So it seems that the neoconservatives who have gotten in bed with Daioleslam may have some explaining to do. If he is indeed an MEK operative, as the evidence strongly suggests, then he is, to say the least, a rather unlikely standard-bearer for the cause of democracy and human rights in Iran.

By Daniel Luban – Cross-posted on The Faster Times

November 21, 2009 0 comments

Massoud Rajavi

Rajavi’s fallacious reasoning for MKO’ maintenance

The rise of false arguments to deceive public opinion is not something new but it is something common in mind control cults.

The leaders of such cults use fallacious arguments to make their isolated members believe Rajavi’s fallacious reasoning for MKO’ maintenance them although their reasoning might be extremely hard to believe or ridiculous. Like other destructive cults, MKO leaders are best known for their sophistries.

In his recent message on the occasion of Aban 13th (November 4th ,named the Student’s Day in Iran) the anniversary of the takeover of American Embassy in Tehran, Massoud Rajavi, the runaway ideological leader of MKO, sent his new message from his shelter; where he has been hidden since the American invasion to Iraq in 2003. The message is a perfect instance of the use of sophistry to obscure the truth for MKO’s mentally captivated members.

Once again Rajavi tries to state his silly theories to prove a relationship between completely unrelated issues. Then he concludes that the legal decision of Iraqi government to expel MKO from its territory is based on the call by Iranian government.

But he should answer the question: which democratic popular government is willing to shelter a terrorist designated organization with cult-like nature which might endanger the security of its civilians?

As it was published on Nejat Society website, the families of Ashraf residents has been gone to Camp Ashraf at least ten days prior to Mr. Ali Larijani’s trip to Baghdad. It is clear that Nejat NGO has already aided families to travel to Iraq, Camp Ashraf several times and this is not the first time. The claim of relating families’ trip to Ashraf with Larijani’s to Baghdad is not only fallacious but ridiculous.

Rajavi’s message contains a new and considerable point too and that’s the conditional acceptance of leaving Iraqi territory by Rajavi. Rajavi says that he welcomes the plan by Iraqi government to transfer MKO to a third country but “on condition that MKO’s properties and funds that have been produced by their own expenses and works for 23 years and mounts to 200 million dollars should be investigated according to lawyers’ opinions.”

There are various documents on how the MKO were funded by Saddam Hussein during the 20 years of being Saddam’s private army to provide him intelligence on Iranian interests during the Iran-Iraq war and cooperating with him in Kurds and Shiite suppression during the 1990’s. MKO was given a share of oil-for-food program outcomes by Iraqi former dictator. They became able to change the Iraqi desert in North of Baghdad to an oasis with various facilities by dollars granted to them by their ex-land lord.

Rajavi’s false reasoning for taking possession of a part of Iraqi territory or otherwise asking for 200 million dollars as blackmail seems so funny. Ashraf residents, who have been under psychological manipulation techniques of Rajavi’s cult, have never had a penny as their own personal property. How can Rajavi claim to have possessions in Iraq? The members have built some replicas of famous buildings and monuments of Iran and some other facilities for military training during the years of their slavery in Ashraf.

Another fallacious conclusion Rajavi makes in his so-called message is the unification of young Iranian protesters in Iran (following the presidential election) and Ashraf residents calling the young Iranians “Ashraf Marked”!

It is obvious that MKO is so unpopular among Iranians that hardly a small number of youth of Iran know about them and given that they have a little information on MKO, they absolutely hate them due to the treasons they committed against their own innocent compatriots during the three last decades.

Resorting to fallacy, connecting unrelated phenomena to each other and making unbelievable conclusions have always included the basis of Rajavis’ rhetoric. The co- leaders of MKO cult found a good way to entertain their members who are mentally and physically captured behind the bars of the cult.

By Mazda Parsi

November 19, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

France-Iran: the people’s Mujahedin in a vise

Alongside the nuclear issue, the presence of the MEK, Marxist-inspired movement opposed to the Iranian regime, in France, poisoned relations between Paris and Tehran.

Sheltered by France, opponents of the regime in Tehran are seeking to benefit from the strength of Nicolas Sarkozy against Iran on the nuclear issue to distract their terrorist past. Driven from their country shortly after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, three to four thousand members of the Organization of the People’s Mujahedeen (PMOI/MEK/MKO), a movement of Marxist and Islamic, took refuge in Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris. From there they continue to work for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. "How France Can pretend to fight against terrorism, while it hosts a movement that it considers terrorist, and who stands for nothing among the opposition to our government?" offended a diplomat at the Iranian Embassy in Paris.

Hard to believe that the Mujahideen can shake the Revolutionary Guards off from their humble headquarters in Auvers, with its two suburban houses and ten prefabricated buildings, hidden behind a green fence along the Oise. Protected and monitored by police, forty activists are employed full time. The morning of our visit, two women wearing khaki head scarves, made the day on the Internet. On the corner, a filmmaker was reporting propaganda from images broadcasted from London by their TV (Iran National TV) that the Iranians secretly watch on cable.

Since she had to renounce the armed attacks on Iranian soil in 2001, the MEK has decided on information war against Tehran. Before the visitor, old ladies tell tearful memories of their son, brothers or husbands, killed by the Iranian security services. At lunchtime, the small community is reflected in the canteen around a chello kebab (grilled lamb with rice), which recalls the homeland. " I have supported these terrorists For thirty years!" Smiles Jean-Pierre Guillou, a neighboring retired.

But let there be no mistake: behind the seeming modesty of its facilities, the MEK is a movement still rich. Especially well-organized. From their offices in London, Berlin or Washington, riding the wrong image of the Iranian regime, the Mujahideen seek to rebuild their virginity. And the results are significiant. Earlier this year, thanks to intense lobbying of MEPs, the MEK has got to be removed from the list of terrorist organizations of the European Union. In France, his support network is impressive: former head of the DST (Yves Bonnet), the widow of a former President of the Republic (Danielle Mitterrand), a former Prime Minister (Édith Cresson) and a host of deputies and senators, signed numerous petitions addressed the press.

While the street go up in flames in Tehran, the Mujahideen are dreaming to harvest a share of the firmness displayed by Nicolas Sarkozy against the Iranian government. He is the former Minister of Interior, which launched in 2003, the vast police operation against their headquarters in Auvers. "We welcome today Nicolas Sarkozy, there is no other option facing a dictatorship," says Mohammad Mohandessine, one of the leaders. "But if he was rational with himself, the president should release the pressure on us.

Unfortunately, the hostility of France towards us has not changed, "laments that also. Officially, the Mujahideen are a dangerous cult, able to use the sacrifices, as in 2003 near DST’s headquarters in Paris. The influence of their leader, Maryam Rajavi, its supporters said then frightened police, who were placed in custody. "She threatened us, claiming she was more a mother to them, it was enough to lift a finger for them to sacrifice themselves by fire, said a police officer. When, at our request, ordered her troops to stop their protests, she made them pass a coded message, which was immediately acted upon. It is not income."

Human Torches

Between France and the Mujahideen, the dispute remains heavy. From Auvers, the MEK sent its fighters with GPS to infiltrate into Iran from their home base at Ashraf in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein was protecting them, while using them as his tools. Opponents also claim for France since the anti-Iranian operations in the United States that still regards the group as a terrorist organization. Worse, during the police operation in 2003, DST put his finger on their war treasury: communication equipments, encrypted documents, but also a part of their archives, with descriptions of their equipments, and – icing on the cake – the details of their participation in anti-Kurdish repression conducted by the regime of Saddam Hussein in spring 1991. Documents placed on file with the judge on terrorism crimes Marc Trévidic was welcomed at the highest point by the Iranian authorities, whose discrete offers of cooperation have been rebuffed by the French courts. Lastly found: nine million dollars in cash, some freshly cut out of the Central Bank of Iraq, their main sponsor at the time.

And today? Tehran accuses the Mujahideen have created fictitious computer companies for money laundering and engaged in a real racket through NGOs. But it is only in France that their funds are blocked. Some Gulf Arab countries hostile to Iran, could still finance them. The movement’s leaders deny these "accusations of terrorism and terrorist financing." A cult? "We must defend ourselves properly. Iranian agents are trying to infiltrate." The money? "It comes from the Iranians themselves, and it is quite legitimate for an opposition movement in exile." The sacrifices by fire? "They were the work of individuals, who responded to the disproportionate use of force by the French police."

Iran and its enemies are at least agree on one point: why six years after the police operation in Auvers, and the indictment of 17 leaders of the Mujahideen, the French Justice Has not yet delivered his trial? "If the French do not want trial, they speak at least one non-place," insists Afshin Alavi, another of their leaders, for whom the investigation file is empty. "Unfortunately, the shadow of politics hangs over this matter," says, for his part, the Iranian diplomat cited.

For twenty years, the Mujahideen are a card in the hands of French authorities. In 1987, to curry favor with Iran pulling the strings of the hostage situation in Lebanon, the government of Jacques Chirac expelled their leader, Massoud Rajavi, to Ashraf. Fifteen years later, in 2003 exactly, again to appease Tehran, before a major tour devoted to nuclear power, the Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin called for "shutdown" of Auvers. Now that France is engaged in a standoff with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, not about to discard, without consideration of this map. But in case of abandonment, it is due to fear of seeing human torches in the streets of Paris again. In the immediate future, citing reasons of security, France has said no to U.S. demands to host Mujahideen, which Iraq does not want to stay in Ashraf. Galvanized by the Iranian revolt, the MEK swear that the "big night" is near. "Our men are on the march to protest against the rigged election of Ahmadinejad as President of the Republic," says Afshin Alavi.

Network of supporters

If the Mujahideen have no operational capability within Iran, they have preserved, however, a network of supporters, whose recruitment has been facilitated through the opening under the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005). "unhappy people are easier to enlist," says Mohammad Mohandessine. The MEK had its heyday August 14, 2002, when it revealed the existence of the plant to enrich uranium at Natanz, 200 km south of Tehran.

A scoop relayed by Ali Reza Jafarzadeh, an analyst assigned to the American channel Fox News, and member of the Mujahideen. A real scoop or information delivered by a Western service to enhance the credibility of opponents of the mullahs? Doubt persists. One thing is certain: Iran sees red at the mere declaration on the Mujahideen. "Why such a fixation on us if we do not represent any threat?" Wondered Afshin Alavi.

In the wake of the U.S. war in Iraq, the Iranian regime proposed the U.S. an exchange: "We deliver the members of al-Qaida that we recovered while fleeing Afghanistan after September 11, 2001; in exchange, you submit the 3 000 Mujahideen Ashraf."Washington turned a deaf ear, preferring to keep the MEK card for all practical purposes.

Georges Malbrunot

November 18, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

The UN monitors the situation in Ashraf

Despite of attempts to demonize the Iraqi government to show a strong objection to the decisive decision of its expulsion from Iraq, Mojahedin-Khalq Organization (MKO, MEK, PMOI) seems not to be intelligent enough to realize that it fails to dupe all the world as it has done with its own insiders. There are those who may be misled by its propaganda blitz that the Iraqi government has packed a number of innocent people inside an isolated camp just in the middle of a scorched desert and imposing all kinds of rough and inhuman pressures on them. And there are also those who may come to believe that it has won a great victory against the Iraqi government to press it return back 36 arrested members on many charges that need to be brought a legal court of justice.

And that is what has to be done concerning these terrorist culprits whose file is open to be dealt with. But are the world’s responsible organizations and bodies unaware of what is truly passing and happening in Ashraf? It is not at all as some may think. All the humanitarian organizations have the camp under their monitor in spite of MKO’s strong objection to any interference in its internal affair as it harshly reacted when the Iraqi forces tried enter the camp and to establish a police station within its walls just to monitor its suspicious activities and stop further exploitation of its members. And the United Nation knows all about Ashraf.

In paragraph 6 of resolution 1883 (2009), adopted on 7 August 2009, the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council on a quarterly basis on the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). On 11 November 2009, the first report pursuant to that resolution was released. Here is the part dealing with MKO’s Camp Ashraf:

With regard to the situation in Camp Ashraf, tensions escalated on 28 and 29 July between Iraqi security forces and the camp’s residents who belong to the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran. When Iraqi security forces entered the Camp to establish a police station within its boundaries, the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran strongly objected and the ensuing confrontation resulted in 11 residents killed and approximately 200 wounded. Iraqi security forces further arrested and detained 36 residents, who then staged a hunger strike in conjunction with another 136 residents. On 7 October, the detainees were released and returned to the Camp, after agreeing to appear before an Iraqi court if summoned and to leave Iraq for third-country resettlement if the opportunity were made available. Subsequently, Iraqi Government officials have called for the closure of the Camp, but have repeatedly given assurances to UNAMI of their commitment to treat the residents in accordance with international humanitarian law and the principle of non-refoulement. In response to numerous requests UNAMI, supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has undertaken monitoring of the humanitarian situation in the Camp as part of an effort to find possible solutions involving various interested parties.

Blacklisted a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) whose activities are banned in the US, the terrorist group was amongst the firsts to come under the US protection rather than the Iraqi people. Emboldened by the given protection, the terrorist MKO is combating versus the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s earlier announced decision to expel it from Iraq according to the Iraqi Constitution and in an attempt to uproot terrorism there.

Evidently, the group’s harsh reactions have even jeopardized Iraq’s internal and national security to some extents. Its own threatening tone and some of its advocates inside and outside of Iraq against the taken decision is just a repetition of MKO’s hostile attitude shown at the inception of its armed phase immediately after it fell out with Iran’s Islamic regim. Regardless of MKO’s potentialities to onset yet another military phase in spite of trying to be taken off the terrorist lists, MKO is doing its manipulating all ploys to force the Iraqi government to consent to its stay in Iraq.
Mojahedin’s presence in Iraq has no rational justification after Saddam’s fall. Getting advantage of the chaotic situation in the region, MKO’s leadership in 1986 moved the organization’s headquarters to Iraq which was considered an opportunistic decision at the time for some reasons and to achieve desired objectives. The main strategic goal for both MKO and Saddam on which the two were making the alliance was overthrowing the newly formed Islamic regime in Iran. The Iraqi soil offered MKO the opportunity to form the Liberation Army so it could stage cross-border attacks at the right time.

Saddam’s fall frustrated their political arithmetic all. The possible regional transformation and Mojahedin’s disarmament on the one hand and Iraq’s internal, political transition as well as the new government’s policy to establish friendly, cooperative ties with the neighbors on the other hand led Mojahedin to isolation to desperately wait an unknown future. But the protected status granted to Mojahedin by the coalition forces offered them a prolonged opportunity to stay in Iraq until a final decision was made or they would be transferred to a third country.

No country has yet accepted to receive Ashraf residents although the group is delisted from the UK and the EU terrorist lists. It is only a matter of legal enforcement and the very same countries are well aware of the group’s terrorist nature and thus, they will actually avoid letting it roam in the streets of their countries to jeopardize their social-political security.

November 18, 2009 0 comments

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