Page 789 – Nejat Society

Ms Batul Soltani, former member of the Leadership Council of the MKO,interviewed by SFF in Iraq

SFF: Please describe your political and organisational life briefly. BS: My name is Batul Soltani daughter of Morteza. I was born in 1965 in Iran and at the moment I live in Baghdad. I married Mr Hosein Moradi in Iran in 1986 and then we moved to Pakistan the same year. There we were recruited into the MKO and the next year, which is 1987, we were ordered to go to Iraq. In 1991 we were separated by the order of the organisation and yet again by their order our children were taken away from us and sent to Europe. My husband and I initially resisted these orders and did not wish to either be separated from each other, nor to abandon our children, but we were put under enormous psychological pressure and we were forced to submit to their demands.

My daughter Hajar Moradi was born in Pakistan in 1987 and my son Mi’ad was born in Iraq in 1991. In the year 1991 while Hajar was 5 years old and Mi’ad was 6 months old, they were separated from us – after we were forcibly separated from each other – and they were sent to Europe. They did not allow us to have any contact with them at all. I still remember my daughter crying hard as she was leaving me. And the innocent face of my six months’ old son is always before my eyes. Many years later I found out that my daughter had been given to a family in the south of Sweden with the fake name of Setareh Khabbazan, and she is now studying in a university in the north of that country. My son was taken to Holland by a family and later moved to another family and eventually was left in an orphanage and now he lives in a care centre for youth in Holland. I do not have any further trace of them and do not even know if they know me at all. The MKO would not give me any addresses and I have no means to contact my children. While I was in the organisation in Iraq I had no permission to contact my family in Iran unless it was to ask for money or try to deceive them into joining the organisation. My father died four years ago whilst under severe mental pressure because of my mysterious absence and my mother is ill and lives with the bitterness of being away from me for such long time. I left the organisation last year, which is 2006, while I was a member of the Leadership Council of the MKO. I escaped from Camp Ashraf and moved into TIPF, which is run by the US forces in Iraq. Then on 14 January 2008 I left the TIPF and moved to Baghdad in order to go abroad. I managed to achieve that possibility but I preferred to stay in Iraq since I have complaints against the MKO and I wish for the Iraqi judicial system to deal with my case urgently. SFF: Why didn’t you go to abroad after you left the TIPF and had the possibility to do so? Why did you decide to stay in Iraq?

BS: I stayed in Iraq to save my husband who is the father of my children and also I wish to help other shattered families like that of my own. I will do anything in my capacity for the families and for the dissident members of the MKO. The truth is that the leader of the MKO has committed many atrocities against these families and he must be questioned for all his actions.

SFF: As a wife and as a mother what demands are you following?

BS: You’d better ask ‘as a human being’ what demands am I following. Of course a human being who has lost 20 years of her life and could not be with her father when he was dying and whose mother is badly missing her and who now wants to regain her husband and her children and her crushed life and rebuild everything from scratch. I will strive to attract the attention of all international political bodies as well as the media to the case of the families of MKO members in Iraq and I wish to help them by any means that I can.

SFF: You have obviously experienced the destruction of a family inside a cult. How do you reckon that one could help other families?

BS: I will do anything I can for these families. I would urge international and humanitarian organisations everywhere to help these suffering families – families who in some cases have not seen their beloved ones for nearly 20 years. The members of the MKO are in a sort of captivity which is worse than any ordinary prison.

SFF: Why is the MKO basically opposing the establishment of any family and what is their definition of a family?

BS: In my opinion the MKO is opposing families because the existence of any kind of feelings and emotions in the members and followers is considered as an obstacle in the way of brainwashing them. The essential state needed to control one’s mind is to suppress anything of that sort in that person. Therefore every trace of love and care most be demolished in the mind of the subject in order to make that person successfully obedient of the leader. No other tendency must exist in the heart of the follower than that towards the leader in order to make the person ready to accept any illogical demand of the leader and to fulfil any of his bizarre desires.

SFF: How are the dissidents of the MKO in Iraq living now and what sort of help they can receive?

BS: At the moment the dissidents of the MKO in Iraq need urgent help. On the one hand they face threats from the Rajavi cult since this the rule of cults, that they cannot tolerate their dissidents and they harass them all the time, and on the other hand these people need legal and financial aid to be able to rebuild their destroyed lives where they wish. In this regard the SFF which is a humanitarian foundation and has been established by Iraqi personalities and international bodies as well as some families of the MKO members in Camp Ashraf is aiming to rescue these people as much as possible and help their families.

SFF: What is the demand of the families who come to Iraq and approach the gates of Camp Ashraf?

BS: They have a righteous and just demand. They want to see their beloved ones without any control and observation imposed by the MKO. For many years these people have been indoctrinated within the isolated boundaries of Camp Ashraf, and they have been denied their basic rights, above all of which is the right to choose freely and to enjoy family relationships. They have always been forced to choose what the leaders want them to. The members of a cult are the prime victims of that cult who need urgent help.

SFF: How could the families help their beloved ones and what can they achieve?

BS: In my opinion some important things could be done. Initially they can neutralize the belief imposed on them under the guise of ‘the path to emancipation’ that family relationships are a sin. This is vital in order to bring their beloved ones back to normal ideas and ordinary life so they can choose for themselves. The truth is that family values and relationships are contrary to cult relationships and would surely deactivate it.

SFF: In your opinion why is the MKO so strongly opposed to its members’ free and direct meeting with their families in Baghdad?

BS: Because as soon as some sort of family tie is established, the lost human feeling of love and affection would come to life in them again, something which Rajavi’s cult is so afraid of. The MKO insists that all members’ feelings and emotions be directed towards Maryam Rajavi and through her to Mas’ud Rajavi.

SFF: What are your plans for the future?

BS: From now on I want to live freely and I wish to decide for myself what to do. I do not wish to be a captive in the boundaries of a destructive cult and will not let them decide for me. I am experiencing the outside world again after 20 years and now I have a better understanding of the realities of the misery inside a cult. I wish to help all those still bound within Camp Ashraf and also their awaiting families as much as I can.

In this respect I wish to refer to the touching will of the father of one of those mental captives in Camp Ashraf who wrote: "I do not know for what reason I should not hold the warm hand of my beloved one while my hand is turning cold?’" He passed away without being able to see his child one more time after so many years.

SFF: We do thank you Ms Soltani for the time you provided us and the good work that you are doing and we wish you every success.

BS: I thank you too and I appreciate the efforts of all Iraqi and Iranian associates of the SFF in Iraq. I believe that you do very good work.

March 9, 2008 0 comments

Raymond Tanter

Raymond Tanter’s Quest to Free Iran

Irving Kristol, a founder of neoconservatism, once said that a neoconservative is a liberal who’s been mugged by reality. At Georgetown, we have Raymond Tanter, a conservative who’s had his bike stolen. After the theft, he got a new chain intended for motorcycles, which looks more appropriate in the hand of a wrathful Hell’s Angel than a dapper Georgetown professor.

“That’s a heavy bike. The lock is over here, you’re not even reaching the lock, he said before leaving campus to bike to Capitol Hill to talk with members of Congress (he wouldn’t reveal their names) about his plan for solving America’s problems in Iran and Iraq: relying on a group the State Department calls terrorists.

As the president of the Iran Policy Committee, a non-profit organization that promotes using Iranian oppositionists against Iran, Tanter is a tireless booster for the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an armed group of Iranian exiles that seeks to overthrow the Iranian government. Its efforts are hampered by its placement on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations, a classification Tanter says should be reversed so the MEK can counter Iran. Still, dressed in a matching plaid blazer, pants and bow tie, Tanter doesn’t look like a Washington lobbyist. Only the phone clipped to his belt suggests that he is tied to a worldwide effort to change U.S. policy on a controversial army that the Council on Foreign Relations estimates has 10,000 members. Tanter does not consider himself a lobbyist”because the MEK is considered a terrorist group, advocacy on their behalf is illegal. The Thinker Professor Raymond Tanter says the Iranian rebel group Mujahedin-e-Khalq can reduce Sunni terrorism in Iraq and counter Iran’s ayatollah regime. EMILY VOIGTLANDER “I’m not an advocacy group either, I’m 501©(3),” he said, referring to the tax provision for non-profit groups. The Iran Policy Committee is a 501©(3). We educate the public, we don’t advocate.” Tanter has been busy educating people on both sides of the Atlantic in the past year. In addition to meeting with Congress, Tanter spoke in the British Houses of Lords and Commons last year and met with members of the European Parliament in Belgium. At the beginning of February, he held a press conference in France calling for the delisting of the MEK-linked National Council. I’m on a roll, don’t you think he said of his recent activities abroad. The MEK has been on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations since 1997 and has been blamed for killing civilians and American military personnel before the 1979 Iranian Revolution. A one-time ally of Iran’s religious government, the MEK was exiled and fought on the Iraqi side in the Iran-Iraq War. The group, which has a largely female officer corps, has been tied to numerous violent incidents; a 1981 bombing attack of the Iranian government killed 70 high-ranking officials. The MEK also allegedly helped Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the bloody suppression of Kurdish and Shia rebellions in 1991, though the group denies involvement. Recently, the MEK has provided the United States with information about sites suspected to be involved in an Iranian nuclear program. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the American military bombed the MEK camp until a ceasefire was reached with the group that allowed it to keep its camp in exchange for not fighting Coalition forces. The MEK was not disbanded after the war, avoiding the fate of much of the Iraqi military, and Human Rights Watch reported in 2005 that the MEK’s base was used to hold prisoners for the U.S. government. While the United States and the MEK coexist in Iraq, their relationship is different in this country. In 2002, the State Department shut down the Washington offices of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella group to which the MEK belongs. According to Tanter, treating the MEK like terrorists is counterproductive to American interests. In his evocatively-titled books Baghdad Ablaze and Appeasing the Ayatollahs and Suppressing Democracy, he promises a plethora of benefits to come from removing the MEK from the terrorist list: it would wean Sunnis from the insurgency and break the cycle of sectarian violence in Iraq and help democratic forces establish liberty in Iran.

Alireza Jafarzadeh at the National Press Club. Next to him (l to r) are Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney (ret.), Bruce McColm and Professor Tanter.

Courtesy ALIREZA JAFARZADEH

When he taught at the University of Michigan, Tanter helped convince prospective athletic recruits to choose the Wolverines. Now that he’s at Georgetown, he insists he’s not trying to recruit his students to his school of thought. “I’m not a preacher, I’m a scholar,” he said. In his class, Terrorism and Proliferation, Tanter uses an aggressive cold calling technique, imploring some students to “be Googling!”, others to challenge their classmates and one girl to smile. Tanter uses his connections with special guests to surprise his students, he once made them present threat assessments to Iranian dissident Alireza Jafarzadeh and former Spanish president JosÃ© MarÃa Aznar.

during another class, former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski discussed threats from Iran and Russia, and complimented the class on their presentations (he offered to send one student’s analysis to the Polish foreign minister).

“I’m probably in over my head,” Devon Cohen (SFS “˜10), one of Tanter’s students this semester, said, “But I love the class.” Tanter is aggressive about his views in class, according to Cohen. “It’s kind of his way or the highway in his perspective,” she said. Tanter runs his class imperiously, telling students and presidents alike to speak louder or stand up when they talk. “I do sound like a general, don’t I? Maybe a colonel,” he said, adding that despite his work on Iran he remains dedicated to teaching. Tanter and his students frequently refer to his books about Iran and the MEK in class, though some question his estimate of the MEK’s power to change Iraq and Iran. Russ Greene (SFS “˜09) critiqued Tanter’s optimistic assessment of the group’s abilities in class, noting that It kind of sounds like [Tanter is] a lobbyist for the MEK.” “I forgive you for calling me a lobbyist,” he replied. Once, while Tanter was a professor at Michigan, pro-Palestinian activists disrupted a speech he was giving. “The protesters laid down on the ground and forced the security people to pick them up,” he said. “They put on YouTube that this was violence against students.” While nothing similar has happened at Georgetown, some on campus, like Daniel Byman, the director of Georgetown’s Center for Peace and Security Studies, oppose Tanter’s positive view of the MEK. 50,000 Strong for the MEK Last June, 50,000 Iranians rallied in Paris for Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the MEK. Courtesy THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF RESISTANCE OF IRAN “I generally agree with the U.S. government’s view that it is a terrorist organization,” he said, adding that he did not think the MEK should be taken off the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list. “It would anger some Shia groups we’re having trouble with.” Byman did not discount Tanter himself, though, saying that despite their different views, he considers Tanter “serious.” “I work in hot topics,” Tanter said, trying to explain the breadth of issues he has covered in his government and teaching jobs. Tanter’s career plays like a highlight reel of American foreign policy crises: he has written books about Lebanon, Vietnam and rogue states, and was the personal representative for Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger at multiple arms control meetings. Tanter came to Washington after 9/11 because he “wanted to be closer to the action.” Here in D.C., besides teaching and running the Iran Policy Committee, Tanter has worked with the Department of Justice on terrorism issues.

“I think Professor Tanter has played an important role in igniting a debate in Washington about a policy option that was before him limited to Congress,” Alireza Jafarzadeh, a former spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the umbrella group that includes the MEK which had its Washington office closed, said. In 2002, Jafarzadeh gave the United States information which he said demonstrated a budding Iranian nuclear program.

“There was a lot of talk in the U.S. Congress supporting the idea of regime change through relying on the Iranian opposition,” Jafarzadeh said. “But Professor Tanter made that an academic debate, a debate among the think tanks, the experts doing research on it, giving it much more depth than it was before.”

Tanter can’t remember when he started wearing bow ties, which have become, like the MEK, linked to his public persona. “I’ve been bow-tieing forever, “ he said. The bow ties have contributed to Tanter’s reputation as a snappy dresser””in an article on the MEK, MSNBC called him “nattily dressed.”

After working for the Department of Defense and teaching at several American universities, Tanter was appointed to Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council in 1981 (he also worked on Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign). Asked if he knows anything about rumored negotiations between Ronald Reagan’s campaign staff and the Iranian government to hurt Jimmy Carter’s chances in the election, Tanter laughed and said he didn’ t work in that part of the campaign””then pointed out that he didn’t deny or confirm the rumor.

Journalist Yvonne Ridley thinks Tanter’s claims about the MEK are ridiculous. Courtesy YVONNE RIDLEY During the campaign, Tanter worked with Zalmay Khalilzad, the current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Tanter called Khalilzad his friend, then backtracked, saying “When someone is a friend who goes higher [professionally], you can’t really call them a friend anymore.” Watching Khalilzad deliver a speech about the Middle East in Gaston Hall in November, Tanter knit his fingers under his chin, pointing out when the Ambassador echoed a point Tanter made in Baghdad Ablaze. When Khalilzad mentioned “internal elements in Iran,” Tanter leaned over excitedly and whispered “Did you hear that? Internal elements in Iran.” Despite this possible nod to the MEK, Tanter said he does not think his opinions have been adopted by the Washington foreign policy establishment. Working in the Reagan administration gave Tanter access not only to Khalilzad, but also other influential Republicans who continue to influence foreign policy. In the acknowledgments chapter of his book Who’s At the Helm?: Lessons of Lebanon, he thanks Ronald Reagan, Donald Rumsfeld, and George Bush for being “supportive of [his] professional development.”

Still, Tanter’s connections and history with Republicans haven’t been able to get him a meeting with the woman who could most help him get the MEK delisted: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“I’m trying to get a “˜date’ with her,” he said, “But her staff is keeping me away.” Since the State Department decides what groups are designated as foreign terrorist organizations, one good meeting with Secretary Rice could mean new resources and status for the MEK and vindication for Tanter.

Tanter last visited Iran in 1975 when it was still ruled by the pro-Western Shah. After the Shah’s repressive regime was overthrown by a coalition of bourgeois intellectuals and fundamentalist Shia ayatollahs, the ayatollahs gained the upperhand and turned against the Shah’s foreign backers, including the United States.

“I’ve gotten invitations from the Iranian regime to come, which I consider to be””gick!” Tanter said, drawing his hand across his neck and making a noise like his throat was being cut. “They ask me to come on Iranian television all the time. No, I don’t want to give them the legitimacy.”

At least some in Iranian television aren’t eager to give him legitimacy, either.

“You’d have more chance of seeing the Pope’s b**ls [sic] than seeing this lot being taken seriously by anyone,” journalist Yvonne Ridley wrote in an e-mail. Ridley hosts a show on Press TV, an international television channel funded by the Iranian government. Ridley also questioned Tanter’s claim that the MEK can bring change to Iran. “The Iranian Government hates them, the pro-Shah/return-the-Peacock-Throne lobby hate them. Saddam loved them and they were part of the famous “˜Saddam’s Tank Girls,’” she wrote, referring to the large number of women in the MEK army. Tanter’s personal conversation continually echoes his professional interest; he lists Lawrence of Arabia, a film whose hero gains his government’s support for a rebel movement in the Middle East, as one of his favorite movies, and he can turn anything into a metaphor about Iran. He plays tennis twice a week, and is quick to draw an analogy between this hobby and his passion. “In tennis, stroke the ball leaning forward, not on your backfoot,” he wrote in an e-mail, “Similarly, the Iranian regime is leaning forward by building the Bomb, destabilizing Iraq and threatening its neighbors.” Even the air he breathes is fodder for a metaphor””Iranian meddling in Iraq “is like oxygen fanning the flames of conflict in Iraq.” Despite his relentless focus on Iran and the MEK, Tanter says he will not let his work as an educator suffer. “I’m still committed to my teaching, even though I’m involved in all this transformational business,” Tanter said. Whether in the classroom, Congress, or Europe, Tanter’s work is teaching. Speaking about his research on Iran, Tanter said, “You don’t have to buy mine, just do yours.” Will Sommer – georgetownvoice – March 5, 2008

March 9, 2008 0 comments

Lord Corbett

Member of Parliament for Hire?

Joseph Joubert said: “Imagination is the eye of the soul”. It therefore comes as no surprise that with terrorists lending their imagination to Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, a member of the House of Lords from Gordon Brown’s ruling Labor Party, his soul is blinded. Lord Corbett would have us believe that millions of Iranians are eagerly waiting for the “freedoms offered by Iran’s parliament-in-exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.” Perhaps it is the inaccuracy of the number that troubles this writer. , the only terrorists in Iraq, the MEK, were given ‘special persons status’; hardly a noteworthy credential for ‘self-acclaimed parliamentarians in exile’ who wants to offer freedom, unless the sort offered by the Bush-Blair coalition – complete destruction of Iran. One must wonder what has prompted a distinguished British Lord to rise up in the defense of terrorists, and more importantly, to accept the highly visible position of chairman of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom? To believe in a ‘good Samaritan’ state is fool-hardy. Empirical evidence supports the fact that Britain’s foreign policy has been in direct conflict with that of Iran’s national interest. Given that the MEK’s history has been fully explored and recorded by the Human Rights Watch organization and the United States State Department, one has to examine Lord Corbett’s risky undertaking in associating his distinguished title with this group. Ronal Reagan once said: “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first”. He was remarkably astute in his observation. In 1995, it became painfully clear to Lord Nolan that 30% of all MPs were being paid for consultancies (advice and lobbying) related to their parliamentary role. At the time of this revelation, the majority of Conservative backbenchers were ‘spoken for’ by one commercial lobby or another. An influential lobby group called ‘Decision Makers’ had Dame Angela Rumbold, Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party as one of its directors. She resigned when Mohammed Al-Fayed, father of Princess Diana’s fiancé, Dodi Fayed, made allegations against senior party figures[iii]. Another ‘lobbying company’ was set up by lan Greer who began in politics working for Cabinet Minister Peter Walker. He remained a Conservative agent for thirteen years after which he has enjoyed close links with senior Conservative politicians. In 1969 he began lobbying as a business. Among Ian Greer Associates (IGA) was Prime Minister Bhutto. Could it be that the MEK is using a lobby group to influence the likes of Lord Corbett? This group is not without influence. Indeed, they have many friends in the United States Congress. They are cunning and skillful in the art of deception. They have also had the world believe that the minority religious in Iran are being persecuted setting Iran in the ‘Orientalist’ perspective of the Muslim ‘otherness’ denoting barbarism. This will give the neocons who believe in a combination of force, ideas, and morality the ammunition to attack Iran. However, nothing is further from the truth. The minorities themselves have spoken to this fact:”Christians and Zoroastrians leave because of unemployment, the bad economy, but these problems affect all Iranians,”said Yonathan Betkolia, an Assyrian Christian leader and member of Iran’s parliament who holds the United States responsible for his community’s decline.”They give all those green cards to our people. Their only goal is to propagate the idea that Iran is mistreating its minorities.” Who is providing this group with such logistical support? Heilbrunn, a former neoconservative who is now senior editor at the Nixon Center’s journal,”The National Interest”, asserts that neoconservatism”is in a decisive respect a Jewish phenomenon,”even if many adherents — albeit a minority — are not Jewish. Moreover, neoconservatives, both Jew and gentile, are bound by a”shared commitment to the largest, most important Jewish cause: the survival of Israel.”Let us hope, for the sake of the British people, and others, that the good Lord Corbett of Castle Vale will not be so easily misguided by unsavory groups in the future. Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich is an Iranian-American who was educated in Iran, England and France. She is a member of World Association of International Studies – Stanford. Her research focus is US Foreign Policy towards Iran and Iran’s nuclear program, and the role of lobby groups in influencing US foreign policy. She is a peace activist, essayist and public speaker.

Middle East Online, Opinion, March 4, 2008 http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=24624

March 9, 2008 0 comments

Iraq

Uprooting Terrorism, the Solution to Chaos in Iraq

The first outcomes of Iranian president’s visit to Iraq was al-Maliki’s reiteration that Iraq will not let terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, the Mujahedin Khalq uprootinh terrorism in Iraq Organization (MKO) or the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist groups turn Iraq into a base against friendly countries in the region. That is what Iraq needs to end a phase of anarchy following the fall of the dictator who acted as the god-father of terrorism and groups like MKO that is notoriously known to have acted as Saddam’s mercenaries and private army. Ahmadinejad’s landmark visit to Baghdad is referred to as a "hero’s welcome" and "extremely helpful" even by the critics of the Iranian regime and slogans on the walls of houses and public markets in Baghdad’s Sadr City are reported to be all welcoming Ahmadinejad and hailing him as a hero. Of course, none of the active insurgent and terrorist groups can tolerate any move taken to uproot terrorism in Iraq and smash their fortified safe-havens in a variety of provinces. In a widespread propaganda blitz, for instance, MKO is trying to overstress protests against Ahmadinejad’s presence in Iraq and it is not wrong to say that the organization is the main instigator of a trifle of public demonstration. Once one of Saddam’s chief internal accomplices in his crimes against Iraqi people, MKO now plays a key role in masterminding organized protests against the decisions adopted by Iraq’s legal government. Following a given report of protests in some parts of Iraq, MKO adds: Last November more than 300,000 Iraqis including hundreds of Shiite tribal leaders from Southern provinces signed a petition condemning Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq and supported the presence of the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in that country. The petition was viewed as a turning point in Iraq. For the first time there was a public and organized display of opposition toward Iranian regime’s meddling by tribal leaders in the predominantly Shiite south. National solidarity and a united front to uproot terrorism will put an end to Iraq’s chaotic social disorder. Unfortunately, terrorists and insurgents meddling has disheartened efforts toward the accomplishment of a comprehensive social peace.

‘Terrorists will not use Iraq soil’

Presstv, March 3, 2008

Iraqi ambassador: MKO presence not permanent

IRNA, February 27, 2008

Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Majeed Al-Sheikh said here on Tuesday that the presence of members of the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization ”MKO” in Iraq is not permanent. "The MKO members have been staying in Iraq before the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled," he said, adding the necessary measures have been taken to expel them. Al-Sheikh noted that the Iraqi government is not satisfied with their presence and said they would stay in Iraq until they find another country to accept them. The envoy assured that the Iraqi government does not permit any action against the Islamic Republic. He put the volume of Tehran-Baghdad trade at dlrs 2.4 billion, calling for expansion of mutual cooperation in all fields. Referring to the exporting electricity to Iraq, he underlined that the Islamic Republic has launched some electricity projects in the cities of Shalamcheh and Basra which are in final stages. He also termed the Tehran-Baghdad cultural and medical cooperation as proper, adding the bilateral cooperation in this regard is very good and effective. With the aim of boosting the cultural and medical cooperation, al-Sheikh stated that a medical conference is going to held in Naseriyeh in near future. He also called for holding talks between Iran and US, adding the Iraq issue is a good opportunity for them to set aside their differences. "We want to prove to the world that negotiations is the only solution to any problem," he observed. The envoy also voiced his country readiness to release some of the Iranian prisoners, adding currently a few Iranian prisoners are behind bars in Badreh Prison and negotiations are underway to release them. Referring to boosting bilateral cultural cooperation, the ambassador concluded that currently the issuance of visas for Iranian pilgrims have increased.

Iraq Not a Place to Raid Neighbors

A member of Iraqi parliament criticizes the Turkish incursion against PKK rebels in northern Iraq, stressing that Iraq’s territories should not be used to attack neighboring countries. "Before attacking northern Iraq, Turkey was supposed to attempt resolving the crisis by exercising the bilateral cooperation and diplomatic measures to prevent PKK from threatening Turkey’s security, a crucial measure that has regrettably not adopted, " said Abdul Aziz Al- Enzi, an Iraqi MP on Sunday evening to Alalam TV. He said that Iran has also expressed concerns over ‘Mujahedin Khalgh’ an Iranian opposition terrorist group (MKO) to employ Iraq’s territories to target some ends in Iran. "Iraqi government should adopt swift measures to resolve this crisis," he said. Al- Enzi stressed that any delay in resolving the MKO terrorists and PKK rebels’ crisis would have negative affect on Iraq- Turkey and Iraq- Iran ties. "Iraq’s Foreign Ministry should try to find a way out of this crisis to avoid such accidents with the adjacent countries, "he added. Al- Enzi rejected any rumors, saying, "Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has demanded Turkish government to suppress the PKK in northern Iraq," stressing that the president strongly respects Iraq’s sovereignty. He pointed out that the US has double standard policy towards Iraqi armed insurgents and US troops protect some armed militants such as the PKK rebels and MKO terrorists.

Alalam, February 25, 2008

"Iraqi government is not able to resolve the crisis of the armed groups, because it has not power to control the whole country, "he concluded.

Mojahedin.ws, March 3, 2008

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that Baghdad would not let terrorists use its soil to attack neighboring countries. Democratic Iraq has a constitution and will not let terrorist groups including al-Qaeda, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) or the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) insurgents turn Iraq into a base against friendly countries in the region, al-Maliki told IRNA Sunday. He added that Iraq is the ‘safety valve’ of the region and gave assurances that Baghdad would destroy terrorist group bases in the country to restore regional stability and security. The premier pointed to the current historic visit by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Iraq and invited Iran to carry out projects for the reconstruction of Iraq.

March 9, 2008 0 comments

Iraq

The presence of MKO terrorists prohibited by Iraqi constitution

Ahmadinejad and his Iraqi counterpart condemn an Iranian opposition group under U.S. guard northeast of Baghdad.

BAGHDAD” The presidents of Iran and Iraq today harshly condemned an Iranian opposition group here which has ties to U.S. neoconservatives and remains under the shelter of American forces.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived here today on a historic visit, blasted the Mujahedin Khalq Organization, as munafiqin, or hypocrites. The term refers to an account in the Koran of a group who pretended to follow the Prophet Mohammed’s teachings only to betray Muslims.

Talabani, appearing with Ahmadinejad at a press conference, repeated the insulting word and added, "The presence of this terrorist organization is prohibited according to the constitution and we are seeking to get rid of them soon."

The armed opposition group, which sometimes goes by the abbreviations MKO, MEK or PMOI, fought the Iranian government during the 1980s, when it received shelter from Saddam Hussein. Both Europe and the U.S. State Dept. list the group as a terrorist organization.

But as tensions between the U.S. and Iran have mounted, some in Washington have cultivated ties with the group and advocated using them to destabilize the Tehran government. Numbering up to 3,000, they remain under U.S. guard at their former base northeast of Baghdad.

Before the press conference, Ahmadinejad strode up a red carpet and into the Iraqi presidential compound today for the start of what may be the first-ever visit by an Iranian head of state to Iraq. The deposed late Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi fled briefly to Iraq in 1953 amid political turmoil in Tehran.

Iran and Iraq fought a brutal eight-year war during the 1980s that left up to 1 million people in both countries dead and maimed. The United States accuses Iran of meddling in Iraq’s political affairs and violence.

But there was no sign of lingering animosity during today’s lavish arrival. Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, smiled broadly as he guided his guest from a dark sedan into his compound in Baghdad’s Karada district. Iran sheltered many leaders of the current Baghdad government during Hussein’s rule.

"We welcome them and all who helped the Iraqi people during the hard days when the Iraqis were displaced and deprived from all human rights," Talabani said at the press conference, which was aired live on Iraqi television. "We think that this visit will produce good results and the preliminary discussions have had good results."

Ahmadinejad, a divisive figure in his home country and internationally, steered clear of controversies during his first appearance. Iranian officials say the primary purpose of the visit is to enhance economic ties between Iran and Iraq. Since Hussein’s ouster five years ago, trade between the two countries has reached about $8 billion a year, and Iran recently announced a $1 billion loan to Iraq.

"It seems that the Iraqi people are passing through critical circumstances," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "But according to our knowledge with the Iraqi people we know that they have huge natural and human abilities and they will overcome these circumstances."

In a striking departure from other high-profile visitors to Iraq, Ahmadinejad did not use a helicopter to come into the center of the city from the airport. Instead, his convoy used the airport road, once notorious for bombs and other attacks and heavily patrolled by U.S. forces. He also did not head into the heavily protected Green Zone, going instead to Talabani’s home outside the fortified area.

A military band played rousing anthems as Ahmadinejad shook countless hands on his way into the building. Amid the stern-looking security men who surrounded the entourage, there was a notable omission: U.S. troops, who usually form the bulk of protection forces for high-profile guests in Iraq.

This time, the U.S. military made clear it would not be involved in protecting the Iranian president, who denies White House claims that his country has provided lethal bombs as well as training and financing to Shiite militias in Iraq.

Iraq’s government has also accused Iran of fomenting violence here and has indicated that the topic will be up for discussion during Ahmadinejad’s two-day visit.

"This should be presented at the table and discussed and negotiated," the Iraqi government spokesman, Ali Dabbagh, said recently when asked what would be on the agenda. "This is something that worries us in Iraq. We need to find a way to stop all this," he said, referring to alleged arms smuggling over the Iranian border.

Talabani, who visited Tehran in June, will host Ahmadinejad. The Iraqi president’s ties to Iran stretch back to the 1980s, when he and other Kurds as well as Iraqi Shiite Muslim political parties and militias sought refuge there and fought alongside Iranian forces against Saddam Hussein’s army. On Saturday, on the eve of Ahmadinejad’s visit, Talabani met with both the U.S. and British ambassadors to Iraq.

By Tina Susman and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers, March 2, 2008

http:www.latimes.comnewsnationworldworldla-fg-iraniraq3mar03,0,4974258.story

Also on:

http:www.chicagotribune.comnewsnationworldla-fg-iraniraq3mar03,1,715485.story

tina.susman@latimes.com, daragahi@latimes.com

March 9, 2008 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

The Humanitarian Move appreciated by the opposition

In a new humanitarian move taken by Anne Singleton and Massoud Khodabandeh, ex-members of MKO, they strive to help other members of the terrorist MKO held against their will within the walls of Camp Ashraf in Iraq detach from the group. Their move is appreciated by a number of other oppositions including Alireza Nourizadeh who has long been revealing facts on MKO and voicing urgency to help dissatisfied members whose destiny is unclear.

Nourizadeh’s remarks stated on humanitarian grounds rather than a political notion has filled MKO with indignation and the group showed a harsh and insulting backlash against him in its media as it is its typical. Regardless of any political stance, the move by Sahar Family Foundation (SFF) run by the Khodabandehs for the survival of the reminders of their comrades from the clutches of the terrorist cult of Mojahedin is a worthwhile activity.

Mojahedin.ws- March 5, 2008

March 9, 2008 0 comments

Nejat Publications

Pars Brief – Issue No.39

1. Nejat Society Letter to The President of Higher Judicial Council

2. Britain still considers MKO terrorist

3. Four Mojahedin-e Khalq combatants arrested in Iraq

4. Iraq FM: 200 former MKO members exit Iraq

5. Open Letter to Bryan Wilfert MP from Mohammad Mohammady in Canada

6. Symposium on Terrorism in Iraq

7. Iran sees less threat in exiled MKO militants

Download Pars Brief – Issue No.39
Download Pars Brief – Issue No.39

March 5, 2008 0 comments

Soheyl Khattar

Mr Teymur Khattar and Mrs Khattar Appeal to the Iraqi legal authorities

Mr Teymur Khattar and Mrs Khattar Appeal to the Iraqi legal authorities to deal with the case of the suspicious death of their son Soheyl Kattar in the base of the MKO in Iraq called Camp Ashraf

Mr Teymur Khattar (father of Soheyl)

Honourable Judicial Authority of the Republic of Iraq,

My name is Teymur Kattar. I was born in 1948 in the city of Hamadan in Iran and at the moment I live in the city of Karaj in the province of Tehran. My wife and I wish to appeal to the Iraqi security and judicial authorities to deal with the case of the suspicious death of our son Soheyl Kattar in the base of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MKO) in Iraq called Camp Ashraf.

It is worth mentioning that Sohey Khattar left Iran legally with his Iranian passport along with my nephew Mehran Rastegar to go to Turkey to eventually go to Europe for employment. One week or ten days after their departure, my brother Manuchehr Kattar who lives in Holland contacted them and offered them a chance to go to some place to learn the language first and then move to Holland to join their uncle. But contrary to his promises they ended up in Camp Ashraf the base of the MKO in Iraq, a place which is quite hard to leave.

I was unaware of their situation for about four months until they called and told me that they are well and are busy training. We were relieved to learn that. They did not mention anything about going to Iraq and Camp Ashraf. Then they sent some letters and photographs which were posted from Europe. As I learned later my son had quarrels with the MKO officials and had asked them that he was supposed to go to Europe but now he remains in Iraq. He had even told them that he would escape from Camp Ashraf any time he finds the chance. I learned about all these through those who parted from the MKO and came back to Iran. He was even once put in solitary confinement for 48 hours just for opposing the MKO.

We had no further news from them until my brother Manuchehr called me from Holland and informed me that Soheyl was killed in a border clash four months earlier. I was quite suspicious about the reason of his death.

My wife and I along with one of our relatives went to Iraq and Camp Ashraf on the beginning of 2004. They told us a different story. While they had published my son’s picture in their publication and claimed that he was killed during the bombings of Iraq, they told us that he was killed when cleaning his gun by an undesired shot under his chin.

We had gone to Iraq and Champ Ashraf to claim for the body and belongings of our son which they never let us have them and eventually we left there with frustrations. They did not even show us a picture of his body or a picture of his funeral. Someone there who I prefer not to reveal his name for security reasons (if I am assured that the person would be taken out of the MKO control I would give the name to the relevant authorities) informed me covertly that our son Soheyl was killed by the MKO since he was discontented and restless and he wanted to part from the them. This person told me that the story of undesired shot is false. Apparently our son Soheyl was eliminated because he was opposing the organisation.

My nephew Mehran Rastegar, who had left Iran along with my son and escaped later from Camp Ashraf and returned to Iran, told me the whole story from the beginning and said that they were taken to Dubai for a few days first and then to Iraq. When he returned to Iran he was suffering from psychological disorders and was completely depressed. He told us that he was continuously under mental and physical pressure in Camp Ashraf. He died two years later at the age of 25 due to heart stroke caused by all he had gone through in the MKO. Soheyl was 20 when he left Iran and was killed when he was 22.

While in Iraq, once a well build commander called Asad approached us and told us that apparently Soheyl had committed suicide. Then he said that Soheyl enjoyed high moral and was very cheerful. I asked him how a cheerful person with a high moral commits suicide. Later I found out that a girl called Alan Mohammadi was also killed exactly the same way. She was shot under her chin and they claimed that it was an undesired shot or perhaps committing suicide.

Hessam Shakeri and Bizhan Rezavandi from Karaj are amongst those who had escaped from Camp Ashraf and returned to Iran and they know about our son Soheyl Kattar. They say that Soheyl was killed by the MKO.

Now which story is true? Was he killed in a border clash by the Iranian guards as my brother told me? Was he killed under the US and its allies’ bombings as published in Mojahed weekly publication? Was he killed because of an undesired shot as we were told by the officials in Camp Ashraf? Or did he commit suicide as a commander mentioned? I would say none of these stories are right and they fabricate these lies to cover the truth which is my son was killed in Iraq by the MKO.

At this moment the wish of my wife and I is to know the real cause to our son’s death and we urge the judicial authorities in Iraq to investigate the reason. Our son Soheyl Khattar was killed in Iraq and it is up to the Iraqi security and judiciary officials to take up with the detection of the cause.

I must also add I was a firm supporter of the MKO in the past and I even went to Turkey and made contacts with this organisation and introduced them a few individuals. But now I hate them so much that I do not wish my son’s body or any of his belongings remain with them.

Therefore I summarise my demands as follows once again and I appeal all legal authorities in Iraq to help me.

1. I appeal that the case of murdering my son Soheyl Khattar be investigated by the relevant judicial authorities in Iraq and the persons responsible be prosecuted.

2. I wish to visit one individual in Camp Ashraf that I personally encouraged him to join the MKO without the presence of the MKO officials in Baghdad or somewhere ells.

3. I would like to go to the grave of my son in Camp Ashraf and also seek his body and belongings with the aid of Iraqi officials.

Sahar (Dawn) Family Foundation, Baghdad, February 29, 2008-http://www.saharngo.com/en-articles.html

Link to the original letter (Arabic)

March 2, 2008 0 comments

Iraqi Authorities' stance on the MEK

Iraqi ambassador: MKO presence not permanent

Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Majeed Al-Sheikh said here on Tuesday that the presence of members of the terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization ”MKO” in Iraq is not permanent.

“The MKO members have been staying in Iraq before the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled,”he said, adding the necessary measures have been taken to expel them.

Al-Sheikh noted that the Iraqi government is not satisfied with their presence and said they would stay in Iraq until they find another country to accept them.

The envoy assured that the Iraqi government does not permit any action against the Islamic Republic.

He put the volume of Tehran-Baghdad trade at dlrs 2.4 billion, calling for expansion of mutual cooperation in all fields.

Referring to the exporting electricity to Iraq, he underlined that the Islamic Republic has launched some electricity projects in the cities of Shalamcheh and Basra which are in final stages.

He also termed the Tehran-Baghdad cultural and medical cooperation as proper, adding the bilateral cooperation in this regard is very good and effective.

With the aim of boosting the cultural and medical cooperation, al-Sheikh stated that a medical conference is going to held in Naseriyeh in near future.

He also called for holding talks between Iran and US, adding the Iraq issue is a good opportunity for them to set aside their differences.

“We want to prove to the world that negotiations is the only solution to any problem,”he observed.

The envoy also voiced his country readiness to release some of the Iranian prisoners, adding currently a few Iranian prisoners are behind bars in Badreh Prison and negotiations are underway to release them.

Referring to boosting bilateral cultural cooperation, the ambassador concluded that currently the issuance of visas for Iranian pilgrims have increased.

IRNA -2008/02/27

March 2, 2008 0 comments

Iran

MKO fabricates anti-Iran evidence

Iran’s UN Envoy Khazaei has accused the terrorist MKO group of fabricating evidence that Iran has been trying to make nuclear weapons.

The United States is getting unreliable intelligence from the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization which assisted Saddam Hussein during the imposed Iran-Iraq war, said Mohammad Khazaei in an interview with the Associated Press.

Khazaei reiterated that Iran has resolved all six outstanding issues about its nuclear program, insisting that Tehran should not face any new UN sanctions. He also warned that new sanctions would harm the credibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Khazaei told reporters that when the IAEA raised the US allegations and showed Iran several documents on February 15, Iran recognized the papers were fabricated because individuals were named that do not exist, and others named who have not been involved in Iran’s nuclear program.

"I’m afraid to say that, according to my information, some of these allegations were produced or fabricated by a terrorist entity – listed as a terrorist group in the United States and elsewhere in Europe," Khazaei concluded.

Presstv-February 26, 2008

March 2, 2008 0 comments

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