Page 776 – Nejat Society

Terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Asked to Clarify

"Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Reported by MKO’s official website, in an official letter to Iraqi Parliament the group has asked “to attend the Iraqi Parliament’s open session in order to clarify before the honest Iraqi people by presenting evidences and documents”. It is not a bad thing to clarify existing ambiguities but trying to make justification for certain crimes and atrocities is another thing.

"Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:”>We are thinking what evidences MKO can present to gainsay its close collaboration with the ousted dictator who funded them and granted them the deserted military camp of Ashraf to rebuild it a ‘city’; its espionage and military activities, the operation Eternal Light as the group openly boasts, against Iranian people; its accomplice with Saddam’s notorious intelligence service and military units to suppress the insurgent Iraqi Kurds and riding over their bodies commanded by Maryam Rajavi; its free move into Iranian POWs camps to incite them join the group against all international conventions and aiding the security forces in their interrogations and tortures while the ICRC was under sever limitation for its supervision; its maintaining several cells within the horrible Abu-Ghoraib prison for the chastisement and harassment of its own insiders; its numerous meetings with Saddam and other high ranking Iraqi authorities to express loyalty and strengthening mutual brotherhood as well as demanding for logistic aids; its present intelligence collaboration with coalition and the US forces; its recurrent interfering in Iraq’s domestic affairs and organizing unapproved gatherings in Camp Ashraf; its close ties with pro-Saddam anarchists and other insurgent and terrorist groups that cultivate further national discordance and foster ethnic and regional conflicts; and much, much more instances.

"Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Does MKO think that the evidences for the mentioned atrocities are missing or the Iraqi people have forgotten about its deeds? Of course, as the world is aware, MKO leaders are masters of fabricating justifications and have the answers ready up their sleeves. A look at the presented evidences before POAC to justify a long history of perpetrating terrorism suffices. The Iraqi government’s decision to expel the group from the country and recognizing it a terrorist entity never changes under any justification and what the terrorists call ‘clarification’.

June 22, 2008 0 comments

Iran

‘UK knowingly ignored truth about MKO’

Although the UK has been provided evidence of the terrorist nature of the MKO, it tends to turn a blind eye, a senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi says.

“They have even met with some of the victims of the MKO’s terrorist acts, but now the London Appeals Court has permitted a dangerous terrorist group to run in Britain,” he said.

“During our discussions we have provided several delegations from the United Kingdom relevant documentation reveling the terrorist activities of the Munafiqin (Mujahedeen Khalq Organization),” Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said in a letter to his counterpart in the British parliament, Mike Gapes. “They have even met with some of the victims of the MKO’s terrorist acts, but now the London Appeals Court has permitted a dangerous terrorist group to run in Britain,” he said.

Last month the London Court of Appeals ruled that there were "no valid grounds" to assert that a British panel made legal errors when it ordered the Mojahedin Khalq Organization to be removed from the terrorist blacklist.

“It is very unfortunate that your colleagues at the British Parliament are aware of the group’s criminal record, yet fail to react to the decision. The Parliament has even declined to mention these facts in their new inquiry titled ‘Global Security: Iran’,” Boroujerdi said.

The notorious Mujahedin Khalq Organization has a long and bloody history of targeting Iranian civilians and government officials.

It also assisted the deposed Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in the massacre of thousands of innocent Iraqis and is responsible for several acts of terror in Iran including the 1994 bombing of Imam Reza’s Shrine in Mashhad.

June 22, 2008 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Post Bush US Foreign Policy

Participation of Anjomane Solh in seminar “Post Bush US Foreign Policy”

Oslo, June 20, 2008 (Friday) — Anjomane Solh Norway participated in the Seminar “Post Bush US Foreign Policy” addressed by US prominent politician, Bill Richardson. Richardson spoke about different countries including Iran

The Seminar was organized by NUPI, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs with collaboration of Ministry of Foreign Affair at Nobel Institute Oslo. A number of intellectuals, writers and academic personalities attended the seminar. Beside the participation, Anjomane Solh also briefly talked to Bill Richardson at the sideline of the seminar.

Bill Richard, the Governor of New Mexico is one of the important US Democratic Party Politicians.

First Jan Egeland, the director of NUPI as host of the seminar introduced Bill Richardson and then invited him to deliver his lecture.

In his detail speech, Bill Richardson spoke about the Bush’s foreign policies and post Bush challenges including issues Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korea and Russia and China. He said, government and President of USA would face challenges in the context of such countries but diplomacy is very important while dealing with the challenges.

He said, power is significant but power is a decline without diplomacy. About Iran and North Korea, the US’s Politician said, we should deal with Iran and North Korea as we dealt with Libya. We have to talk to these countries and use influence of Russia and China in the context.

About Iraq he said, it is issue of hundreds of American lives and hundred of thousands of Iraqi lives. We should realize that if US’s forces withdrew, Iraqis are able to run their country. Countries like Norway can play a role to bring the Shia and Sunni groups in Iraq to the dialogue.

Speech of Bill Richardson was continued for one hour and at the conclusion of the lecture, some of the participants including Anjomane Solh asked questions on the different issues related of US foreign Policy.

At the end of the seminar, Representative of Anjomane Solh, Ghasem Ghezi presenting a document to Bill Richardson informed him about 120 disaffected people of Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in Iraq

June 22, 2008 0 comments

Human Rights Abuse in the MEK

Human Abduction within Ashraf Base

June 21, 2008 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Mojahedin Khalq Leader on trial in USA

In a largely overlooked case that has outraged some, Iranian widow faces terror charges in US

NEW YORK (AP) – In March 2003, Zeinab Taleb-Jedi was a middle-aged widow who found herself trapped in a cold, dusty bunker in Iraq as invading U.S. forces began blowing up buildings and inflicting casualties all around her.

"The noise was overwhelming and frightening," the Iran-born U.S. citizen said in a statement recounting the air raids around Camp Ashraf, a stronghold for Iranian exiles about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Baghdad. "The attacks terrified me."

Taleb-Jedi, 52, escaped serious harm. But more than five years later, she remains stuck in legal limbo in New York, facing federal terrorism charges labeling her a leader of a militant group advocating the violent overthrow of the Iranian government.

Her largely overlooked arrest and protracted prosecution has outraged civil rights advocates, who accuse federal authorities of trampling free speech by overzealously enforcing laws against providing material support to terrorist groups.

Defense attorney Justine Harris has questioned why "the government would want to put this woman in jail for associating with a group whose goal is regime change in Iran, arguably a central tenant of our own foreign policy."

Taleb-Jedi has been linked to the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, a group designated a terrorist organization by the State Department in 1997. Prosecutors say she became an English teacher in 1999 at the organization’s Iraq headquarters, Camp Ashraf, and that two informants have since identified her as a member of a leadership council.

In a pending motion to dismiss the case, Harris claims the government has never specified how her client purportedly supported terrorism, "other than teaching English — itself an entirely innocuous act."

Prosecutors counter that "teaching English to other terrorists is not protected First Amendment activity."

A federal judge in Brooklyn has said he will soon decide whether to let the case go forward. If convicted, Taleb-Jedi faces up to 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Taleb-Jedi is free on $500,000 bond and living in a homeless shelter in Manhattan.

Originally a Marxist-Islamist group, the People’s Mujahedeen formed in the mid-1960s to oppose the U.S.-backed dictatorship of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. During the 1970s, it killed U.S. citizens working in Tehran, supported the 1979 takeover of the American Embassy there and participated in Iran’s Islamic Revolution, according to the State Department.

After a falling out with the ruling clerics, the group launched a campaign of assassinations and bombings in an attempt to topple them. The group moved to Iraq in the early 1980s to fight Iran’s rulers from there.

The group insists it no longer engages in armed struggle, and it won a court decision last year in Britain removing it from that government’s terror list. It also won the support of some U.S. lawmakers by providing intelligence on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles, who sought the indictment against Taleb-Jedi amid a broader investigation of the People’s Mujahedeen, had no comment.

A frail-looking Taleb-Jedi declined to talk about her case when she left a recent court hearing.

"Life has been very difficult for her," her lawyer said.

FBI reports about interviews with Taleb-Jedi in 2004 — questioning her lawyer claims was done under duress — and the widow’s own sworn statement tell a story more sorrowful than sinister.

Born in Tehran, Taleb-Jedi came to the United States on a student visa in 1978 and earned a master’s degree in political science. Around the same time, her first marriage fell apart because her husband was "very cruel" and "became a Khomeini supporter," FBI agents said she told them.

She said she was granted political asylum in the mid-1980s, the FBI said. She remarried and moved to New York City with her husband in 1983.

Her second husband left the U.S. a few years later to join the People’s Mujahedeen at Camp Ashraf. She stayed behind to work odd jobs and raise the couple’s son.

According to the FBI reports, Taleb-Jedi said she visited her husband at Camp Ashraf in 1987. Records show that year she also became a registered press officer for the group.

The FBI claims she told them that she knew that the group had been designated as a terrorist organization and considered the decision "unconstitutional and unfair."

In 1996, Taleb-Jedi became a U.S. citizen. A year later, she learned her husband had died in a bus bombing on a road between Camp Ashraf and Baghdad.

Taleb-Jedi "described herself as being extremely distraught about her husband’s assassination," the FBI reports said. "Because she wanted to be close to his grave, she decided to come to Camp Ashraf."

She told agents she taught English in the camp and believed in the group’s cause, but never became an official member.

U.S. officials say that at Camp Ashraf they seized tanks, anti-aircraft weapons, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and more than 420,000 pounds of plastic explosives. Despite the stockpile, no one there was expected to be charged, according to news accounts in 2004.

That changed for Taleb-Jedi in March 2006 when, after waiting for more than a year to receive a renewed U.S. passport, she flew from Jordan to New York to see her adult son and seek medical treatment for malnutrition and other ailments, her lawyer said.

FBI agents who were waiting at John F. Kennedy International Airport arrested her.

By TOM HAYS,

June 19, 2008 0 comments

Iraqi Authorities' stance on the MEK

Iraqis demand US hands over control of MKO terrorist base

Shaykh Jalal-al-Din al-Saghir, Iraqi MP for the IISC: "…we call upon the United States to send a message of assurance to the Iraqi people, telling them that it respects Iraqi sovereignty, and that it seeks to ensure respect for Iraqi sovereignty by handing over control of Camp Ashraf to the government troops, particularly since law has been enforced in all governorates."

Iraq’s IISC leaders discuss US agreement

Within its evening programming on 19 June, Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah Television in Arabic highlighted a news conference held by Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council [IISC] leaders following "an ordinary periodic meeting" of its General Commission, during which they expressed opposition to the presence of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization [MKO] on Iraqi territory and discussed the proposed US-Iraqi long-term agreement, as well as "the proceedings of a trial session of the defendants charged in connection with the case of suppressing the Sha’ban Uprising of 1991," which was carried live during the period 1321-1500 gmt on 19 June. Part of the IISC leaders’ news conference was also carried live by the TV channel.

Within its 1200 gmt newscast on 19 June, Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah Television in Arabic carries the following reports:

– "National Security Minister Shirwan al-Wa’ili has affirmed the solidity of the security situation in the city of Samarra. He made this statement when he toured the city streets. During this tour, he inspected the reconstruction of the mausoleums of the Two Al-Askari Imams there."

Then, Al-Wa’ili is shown saying: "As a matter of fact, the visit is meant to obtain assurances about the security situation, both in the city of Samarra and on the roads leading to Samarra. God be praised, our troops are deployed. Security prevails in the area and on the roads leading to this city."

Al-Iraqiyah TV correspondent Amjad Tali says: "Those in charge of the reconstruction effort have said that they are not facing any security or financial problems in the course of the shrine reconstruction effort, as the Prime Ministry allocated $50 million [for this purpose]. Meanwhile, it allocated $25 million to the Samarra District to rebuild its infrastructure, particularly schools and hospitals."

Tali adds: "The talk in Samarra is not confined to the reconstruction and security files. The residents of Samarra are gearing up for opening the political file through creating political entities to compete in the upcoming elections. Official and popular gatherings have seen talk of the Samarra residents’ intention to run in the elections given the stability the city has seen."

– "Brigadier General Ra’d Isma’il, commander of the Two Al-Askari Imams Brigade, has confirmed that Samarra and its environs are free of terrorist cliques now that they have been purged of these elements. He indicated that the city is witnessing a state of stability. Meanwhile, citizens have continued to join the ranks of security services there."

Then, Brig Gen Ra’d Isma’il is shown saying: "Normalcy has been fully and completely restored in Samarra. Two days ago, the city of Samarra saw an influx of volunteers who offered to join the ranks of security services, particularly the National Police. Crowds poured in from all Iraqi governorates, even from the cities of Basra, Karbala, Mosul, Al-Sharqat, and Bayji, and other Iraqi cities."

Afterward, an unidentified Iraqi citizen is shown saying: "God be praised, the security situation in Samarra is stable thanks to the presence of the awakening forces men, the commandos, and policemen."

– "Citizens in Dhi Qar today reiterated their support for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and also for security services in the governorate. They also renewed their willingness to thwart any attempt to create a divide in the national ranks there."

– "The Basra tribes today renewed their willingness to fight terrorist cliques in the governorate. At a meeting held there, they reiterated their support for law enforcement operations in Iraq."

Then, an unidentified bearded man is shown saying: "This gathering announced its support for the well-guided religious authority. Likewise, it declared its support for law, and its willingness to fight those who break the law, highway robbers, and those who rebel against government personnel and the government."

– "Al-Najaf Deputy Governor Abd-al-Husayn Abtan has announced the results of the [Al-Najaf] airport checks, which showed that the airport meets the relevant international standards. This came at a news conference held at the governorate premises during which he confirmed that the airport can receive giant planes."

– "The Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court has continued its sessions in Baghdad to look into the crime of suppressing the Sha’ban uprising of 1991. At yesterday’s session, the defendants, henchmen of the defunct regime, made their testimonies."

Within its 1700 gmt newscast on 19 June, Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah Television in Arabic carries the following reports:

– "The IISC has held an ordinary periodic meeting. During the meeting, the conferees discussed a host of Iraqi issues. His Eminence Sayyid Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim underlined that the presence of the MKO in Iraq violates both the Constitution and international law. He added that the presence of this organization was supported by the Multinational Force."

Then, Al-Hakim is shown saying: "As is known, during the days of the Governing Council in 2003, a decision was made to eject them [the MKO personnel] by early 2004. This decision was unanimously made by the Governing Council. But, then things were controlled by Mr Bremer, Ambassador Bremer, representative of the occupation force, who did not implement this decision under the pretext that these people enjoy protection. The issue remained unresolved and was mentioned in the Constitution, as the Iraqi Constitution stipulated the inadmissibility of the presence in Iraq of terrorist organizations that operate against other states. Nonetheless, the Multinational Force headed by the US troops continued to provide protection for this organization, which was given freedom of movement, which does not happen in any world state."

The TV report adds: "Regarding the Iraqi-US agreement, Vice President Dr Adil Abd-al-Mahdi said that the two sides disagree over some articles of the agreement."

Then, Abd-al-Mahdi is shown saying: "Several issues regarding the entry and exit of troops, immunities, arrests, and basic sovereignty-related issues were raised before the Political Council [for National Security]. Hence, we said that substantive authority should be returned to Iraq. These are the points. At any rate, we have not reached agreement on any specific issue. Proposals were submitted. The Iraqi side has expressed specific, clear, and frank views towards these issues."

Immediately afterward, Shaykh Jalal-al-Din al-Saghir, Iraqi MP for the IISC, is interviewed live by phone.

Asked on the presence of the MKO in Iraq, Al-Saghir says: "With regard to this organization, the Iraqi Government has not made any decision offering this organization political asylum, humanitarian refugee status, or anything that could render its presence on Iraqi territory acceptable from the purely legal point of view. Besides, during the previous period, the days of the criminal regime, this organization committed criminal actions. It was one of the repressive organizations that aided the criminal regime. It wreaked immense havoc within the ranks of the Iraqi people and Iraqi society, as is known to our brothers, the people of Kirkuk and the Diyala Governorate, not to mention the people of Basra and Baghdad. This organization did not make do with these actions, but also opposed the ongoing political process and interfered in Iraqi domestic affairs. This interference was manifested in aiding terrorism in terms of funding, training, and practice. Our brothers, the people of the Kirkuk and Al-Uzaym areas, vividly recall the checkpoints set up by these criminals, who undermined the security of average Iraqis."

Al-Saghir adds: Hence, the Council of Representatives had no choice but to stand firmly, as demonstrated at its previous session; and the Iraqi Government had no choice but to take this noble stand which it adopted. We call for the swift implementation of this stand. Likewise, we call upon the United States to send a message of assurance to the Iraqi people, telling them that it respects Iraqi sovereignty, and that it seeks to ensure respect for Iraqi sovereignty by handing over control of Camp Ashraf to the government troops, particularly since law has been enforced in all governorates."

When queried on the progress of the Iraqi-US negotiations on the long-term agreement, particularly since Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari announced that the agreement will be signed by the end of July, Al-Saghir says: "As far as we are concerned, we might not be bound by a specific deadline, because it is the substance of the agreement and its articles which will determine whether or not the agreement will be signed. However, I can say that the draft submitted recently by the US negotiators reflected US moves that are favourable to the Iraqi people’s interests. But, we do not think that this is enough to settle the process. The issue is still being negotiated by the Iraqi and US negotiators. I advise observers not to dwell on this or that draft, because negotiations, by their nature, entail swift changes, alterations, amendments, drops, and additions. This is the nature of negotiations."

– "Deputy Prime Minister Dr Barham Salih has chaired a meeting that brought together several ministers and government officials. During this meeting, the conferees affirmed that the next three months will see the completion of most projects in Al-Sadr City."

– "Maysan Police Chief Brigadier General Sa’d Ali has affirmed that life will stay normal in the governorate, noting that the relevant agencies will continue their effort to ensure the smooth flow of services, and that school students will continue to sit to their examinations without impediments despite the start of Operation Heralds of Peace there. The police chief in the governorate stressed that the operation is not targeted against any specific trend, party, or segment, but rather against outlaws. He underscored the government’s eagerness to safeguard citizens’ security and safety in Maysan."

– "The tribal chieftains of Maysan have affirmed their absolute support for Operation Heralds of Peace, which kicked off in the governorate today to consolidate security and stability there. This came at an expanded conference they held in the governorate to discuss the means and mechanisms of backing and supporting the security services that are implementing the said operation."

– "Major General Qasim Ata, spokesman for the Law Enforcement Plan, has said that the security services implemented a new plan in Baghdad. He noted that the plan aims to prevent wanted persons from moving from one area to another in the city."

June 19, 2008 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

U.K., U.S. and Israel have a duty to grant safe haven to Mojahedin-e Khalq

The Iraqi administration issued a statement on June 17, 2008 designating the Mojahedin-e Khalq as a terrorist organization and calling on the U.S. to stop supporting the militant group.

June 19, Al Alam television aired a discussion on the issue on its ‘Iraq Today’ programme. The programme titled ‘Mojahedin-e Khalq terrorists and American support’ was presented by Ali Al Sadi.

The participants were:

Sheikh Mazen Al Saedi, Managing director of the Sadr office in Baghdad.

Mr. Ali Al Alagh, Member of Parliament.

Mr. Ebrahim Khodabandeh, Terrorism and Cult expert from Tehran, Iran.

Excerpts:

Ebrahim Khodabandeh said, “It is important to recognise that these people have been working against the Iranian and Iraqi people for the last three decades in line with the interests of the U.K., U.S. and Israel – during Saddam’s war against Iran and against his own people. Although the organisation is a terrorist entity by nature, many retired individuals need to be rescued by those who have used them. It is not the duty of Iran or Iraq to help these people but the U.K., U.S. and Israel should grant safe haven and retirement opportunities for their cohorts.”

Sheikh Mazen Al Saedi condemned the support of America, Israel and Britain for MKO terrorists and said, “this is a clear indication of enmity against the people of Iran and Iraq”.

Mr. Ali Al Alagh, MP was asked “now that parliament has asked the government to deport these people, is it going to be a legal requirement for the government to do so?” He responded, “it did not need parliament to pass a new law as the presence of terrorists has been banned by our constitution and it is a normal government responsibility to make sure they don’t stay in Iraq.”

Full discussion can be viewed in Arabic at the following link:

http://www.alalam.ir/site/mokhtarat/iraqalyom0.htm

June 19, 2008 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq set to expel Mojahedin Khalq Orgainsation

TEHRAN, June 18 (MNA) – Iraq is seeking to expel the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization, the largest armed Iranian dissident group for interfering in Iraq’s domestic affairs and inciting terror acts against the Iraqi nation.

“Baghdad regards the MKO as Saddam’s accomplice” and is opposed to its presence in Iraq, an informed official who requested anonymity told the ISNA news agency.

The MKO was set up in the mid-1960s to oppose the U.S.-backed dictatorship of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It participated in the country’s revolution but soon launched a campaign of assassinations and bombings in Iran.

The group, supported by Saddam Hussein’s regime, moved to Iraq in the early 1980s where it fought Iran’s new ruling system until the U.S.-led invasion against Iraq in 2003.

“The Iranian government has repeatedly called on Iraq to prevent the activities of Iranian dissident groups and the MKO is among them,” said the official.

“The MKO has also got tired of the so-called U.S. supports and is seeking to leave Iraq… its case is now being pursued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees,” he added.

The Iraqi administration on Tuesday issued a statement designating the MKO as a terrorist organization and calling on the U.S. to stop supporting the militant group, London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh as saying.

“The cabinet decided to ban any dealings with this organization by any Iraqi or foreign individual, organization or party,” the statement said on Tuesday.

It also warned that those who violate the order will face charges under the anti-terror law.

Baghdad is determined to fully monitor the MKO’s activities until its full expulsion from the country, al-Dabbagh added.

Mehr News, June 18, 2008

http://mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=702005

June 19, 2008 0 comments

Iraq

Iraq bans any deal with the members of Mujahedin

Iraq bans any deal with the members of the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO), calling on the US to stop supporting the terrorist group.

"The Cabinet decided to ban any dealings with this organization by any Iraqi or foreign individual, organization or party,” a statement said on Tuesday.

In the statement, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization is meddling in the country’s internal affairs and supporting anti-government activities.

The statement warned that those who violate the order will face charges under the anti-terror law.

Earlier today, Iraq’s main political blocs in the parliament demanded the expulsion of the MKO members from the country.

Before the US-led invasion in 2003, the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization had enjoyed Saddam Hussein’s support.

After the US-led invasion of the country the US put the group’s members under protection in a northern part of Iraq amid reports that they had been used for by Washington for espionage and violence-related activities.

June 19, 2008 0 comments

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