The ruling by European Court of First Instance was not a verdict against listing MKO as a terrorist organization, as the group publicizes it. Let them think so. Does it change anything? The world was, and is, well aware of the innate violent nature of MKO when it was put on the list for certain reasons; people hardly leash a dog unless they develop the idea that it might attack others.

The parliamentarian advocates of MKO are not, no doubt, nai’ve about the violent nature of the group and the reasons that led it onto the black list of the proscribed terrorists. Few of them, for certain political, or maybe personal, reasons prefer to close their eyes on reality for the time being. The main issue for them is to deal with Iran utilizing some kind of leverage of pressure, which in this case they have mistakenly concluded to be MKO.

The NCRI’s site reported that in a press conference at the European Parliament on December 12, Mr. Alejo Vidal Quadras, First Vice-president of the European Parliament welcomed the ruling by European Court of First Instance against listing MKO as a terrorist organization. In his mad speech, Mr. Vidal Quadras is quoted to have stated:

In my view, the European Union should change its approach to Iran. The most striking aspect of this change should be in our approach to the Iranian opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

EU should engage in dialogue and cooperation with the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The EPP-ED group invitation to Mrs. Rajavi is a move in this direction. We should send a clear message to Ahamadinejad “

Does this message indicate that these parliamentarians have developed the idea that Mojahedin are non-violent, democratic people? The invitation to Mrs. Rajavi serves more as to "send a clear message", or better to say a threat, to Iran. I believe both MKO and these parliamentarians are under the influence of some hallucination, especially the latter that might ascribe significant weight to the former. What do you think? 

A. Afshar – December 21, 2006

The post People Caught in Hallucination appeared first on Nejat Society.

He further elucidates facts about the terrorist nature of the group and the terrorist atrocities its members perpetrated in Iran and the Iraq under Saddam.

The Iraqi-based PMOI is a terrorist organization that killed an American citizen in the 1970’s and helped Saddam to massacre the Kurds after the First Gulf War. If you think Al Qaeda or Hezbollah came up with the idea of suicide bombing you should know that PMOI pioneered suicide bombing in Iran in the early 80’s when they killed a number of Iranian senior officials as well as innocent people. PMOI was in turn ruthlessly punished by the Iranian government. In the mid-80’s PMOI moved to Saddam’s Iraq and became part of his army. Since then they have been regarded as traitors and lost any sympathy inside Iran. But through a powerful public relations campaign and focused lobbying in Washington they managed to present themselves as a viable alternative to the "regime of mullahs." PMOI was put on the American government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations in 1997. But the neo-cons thought that following their success in Iraq they could conquer Tehran with the help of PMOI. As a result the U.S. government gave the members of the terrorist group protection.

As things stand today PMOI members in their base north of Baghdad became more of liability than help to the American forces in Iraq. These days the Kurdish president of Iraq, Jalal Talibani, whose people were killed by the PMOI want them out of there and the Shia Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri Al Maliki, last September asked PMOI to find a new base within six months. It’s difficult to prescribe to anything to do with three and something thousand Shia Iranians stuck in the middle of Sunni Triangle but it’s time to at least start talking to Iran about the fate of PMOI members. If not for political reasons at least for humanitarian reasons.

Maziar Bahari’s conclusion is a fact that all Western supporters of MKO should pay some attention to; Mojahedin are most detested both in Iran and Iraq regardless of their public relations potentiality to establish close identification with mavericks and intransigents.

The Iraqi people, especially the Kurdish people, in no wise forget Mojahedin’s collaboration with the ousted Saddam against the innocent Iraqi people, neither do the world. Dr. Amir Matin in his comment on Mr. Bahari’s article expounds that:

PMOI exemplifies terrorism. They acted as professional militia in Iraq to help Saddam massacre Kurdish innocent people. They killed civilian Kurds on large scales in most brutal ways possible. An ex-member of PMOI reported that they used tanks to overrun bodies of old Kurdish villagers and could hear their scream while they were being crushed! There is a tape of Massud Rajavi reporting on these massacres. With pride, in a meeting with Iraqi officials, he was describing it as only fulfilling his duties and also saying "your enemies are my enemies".

Besides, the issue of those members who reside in Camp Ashraf in Iraq should be taken into consideration as a humanitarian issue rather than political. Nearly 3000 members are living under harsh conditions in the camp while the group’s leaders are concerned about the refugee state and insisting to stay in Iraq. No body cares the less about these members as individuals who have rights to decide for their own destiny.

The international bodies should act before it is too late because Mojahedin, as a terrorist cult, do not exempt their own insiders from the innate violence to pave the way towards the fulfillment of the goals.

A. Afshar – Mojahedin.ws – November 28, 2006

The post A Humanitarian Negligence in Favor of Terrorists appeared first on Nejat Society.

The US was the fist to blacklist MKO as a terrorist group and closed all its American located offices. While over 3,000 disarmed members of MKO are currently confined to Camp Ashraf under the Geneva Convention’s “protected persons” status and the coalition forces’ control, the organization is active in Western countries and in the US under various aliases. The ‘Colorado’s Iranian American Community’ is one out of the many.

It seems that some supporters of MKO in the Congress consider violence as positive and the terrorists as positive forces to establish democracy. The US State Department in the first sentence to describe MEK as a terrorist group states “The MEK advocates the violent overthrow of the Iranian regime”; the group’s conduction of terrorist activities in the past twenty-five years well accredits the description. Congressman Bob Filner, however, believes that the US must unleash the terrorists that have the potentiality of establishing freedom and democracy in a country where they are most despised:

The terror tag has put several thousand volunteer dissidents in Camp Ashraf in a virtual house-arrest at a time when they could be a much needed positive force for helping Iranians in their quest for freedom and democratic change

It is odd to see that the US blacklists a certain terrorist group on pretext of global war on terror and to safeguard its nation and citizens against the possible terrorist threats, while, at the same time, some Congressmen take part in the same terrorist group’s meetings and recommend it as beneficial to institute peace and democracy in another country. What a democracy would it be if the terrorist were to establish it!

A. Afshar  –  mojahedin.ws –  31/10/2006

The post The Positive Force of Terrorism appeared first on Nejat Society.

With a budget estimated in published accounts of circa eighty-five million dollars ($85,000,000) per year, the US State Department funds a covert pro-democracy movement inside Ahmadinejad’s Iran. This US-Iran project has been roundly criticized in the US and in the international media for its financial support of the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq (MEK)–an independent militia that has been labeled a terrorist organization for the past twelve years because of its overt links to Saddam Hussein. That dubious distinction does not prevent the MEK from finding warm support in the Republican-dominated Congress. While the right-wing extremists, Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) are the most vocal supporters of the MEK, at least four more members of Congress have also voiced their support for the terrorist militia. Astonishingly and shamefully, three of them are Democrats. These Republican-leaning Democrats are: Edolphus Towns (D-NY); Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). In addition to these Republicrats, the rabid Republican right-winger Lincoln Diaz Balart of Florida is known to be a supporter of the pro-Saddam faction in Iran.

“The bureaucrat in charge of the vast budget for support of the MEK and other insurgents in Iran”, as he states, “is none other than Dick Cheney’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth Cheney”.

mojahedin.ws –  A. Afshar  –  October 12, 2006

The post A Shameful Support of pro-Saddam Faction appeared first on Nejat Society.

Enumerating these errors one by one to correct them, Mr. Zucker begins: “One of the errors about the MEK is the allegation that they were involved in assassinating U.S. Army personal and military contractors in the early and mid-1970’s. The accusation derives from the fact that little was known about the MEK by American intelligence at the time, and not much has been learned until recently”. He seems to have read Mojahedin’s Democracy Betrayed, a response to U.S. State Department on the Mojahedin and the Iranian Resistance, because his attempt to acquit Mojahedin of being involved in assassination of the American citizens follows the baseless justification of Mojahedin themselves. It is up to U.S. State Department to defend itself against Mr. Zucker’s allegations but, for sure, it has never refuted what it had acknowledged earlier about Mojahedin’s engagement in the murder of Americans. Here is the excerpt dealing with the issue:

MKO Assassinations

In the period leading up to the revolution and its immediate aftermath, the Mojahedin carried out their strategy of armed struggle. The results included the murder of Americans, support for the seizure of the U.S. embassy, and opposition to the release of U.S. hostages. The Mojahedin are known to have assassinated the following Americans in Iran during the 1970s:

Lt. Colonel Lewis L. Hawkins Killed: June 2, 1973

Air Force Colonel Paul Schaeffer Killed: May 21, 1975

Air Force Lt. Colonel Jack Turner Killed: May 21, 1975

Donald G. Smith, Rockwell International Killed: August 28, 1976

Robert R. Krongrad, Rockwell International Killed: August 28, 1976

William C. Cottrell, Rockwell International Killed: August 28, 1976

Reza Reza’i, a member of the Mojahedin’s Ideological Team, was arrested and executed by the Shah’s government for the murder of Colonel Hawkins. The attacks on the Rockwell employees occurred on the anniversary of the arrest of a Mojahedin member, Rahman vahid Afrakhteh, for the murder of Colonels Schaeffer and Turner. In addition. Air Force Brigadier General Harold price was wounded in a 1972 attack Planned by Mojahedin Central committee member, Kazem Zul Al-Anvar. Widely credited in Tehran for these attacks at the time, the Mojahedin themselves claimed responsibility for these murders in their publications.

While Mojahedin have recurrently insisted that they were among the firsts to support the occupation of the US embassy, their own published statements and evidences are more than enough, Mr. Zucker refers to the incident as the next error: “Another false accusation against the MEK is the allegation that the MEK supported the student takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran in February 1979, and subsequent 444 day hostage crisis”.

At the time, Mojhedin even criticized the Iranian authorities for any probable future relations with the US. In “Mojahed” 18 issued on Jan.8, 1980 Mojahedin stated:

Recent recession in our anti-Imperialist struggle after the Shah’s downfall is one of (Mojahedin) Organization’s criticisms of government and officials. Of course, the reactionaries call this criticism, "uncalled for criticism" or "opposing revolutionary government". Fortunately by revolutionary move of the Students following Imam’s Line, and specially decisive position of Imam(Khomeini) to resist and face U.S. imperialism our revolution is about to get on the track.

From the very moment the U.S spy den was occupied, the organization welcomed the move and used all its facilities to mobilize masses. Especially the historical decree of Imam on general, politico-military mobilization, the Mojahedin sent their military units to support the Students following Imam’s Line, and to guard and monitor the Embassy round the clock.

Mr. Zucker fails to remember, or he may have never heard, that Mojahedin were the most enthusiastic in making anti-imperialism slogans and encouraged others to chant them as well as bearing tracts and banners. In “Mojahed” 10 issued on Nov.12, 1979 they admitted their role in making and chanting a variety of slogans:

The slogans before the American Embassy remind us of the days of the revolution.

Integral, joyful mottos of the people remind us of the days, we together with our martyrs shouted against the Shah’s dictatorship. The people and the students joint slogans like "Khomeini Combats, the U.S. retreats" could be heard in and out of the Embassy.

Expulsion of Americans is an act to follow Imam (Khomeini)’s "Death to Imperialism” which is the most beautiful slogan. We also chanted: “Extradition of traitor Shah is our people’s demand”, “Struggling with the U.S. builds our unity”, “Carter must be killed either by gun or by feast”, “Savage Imperialism is the enemy of the mankind”.

If Mr. Zucker is in any doubt about MEK unpopularity among Iranian people, we gladly invite him to have a short visit to Iran to writ down some notes for himself. Can he ever name the other Iranian opposition and diaspora talking in support of Mojahedin? The exaggerated numbers of the supporters he refers to are the same baseless statistics computed and advertised by Mojahedin’s own propaganda machine. We will be also pleased to see Mr. Zucker, on behalf of Mojahedin, exhibit the documents and evidences of “over 120,000 MEK members and sympathizers” claimed to have been tortured and murdered. At the present, MKO claims the Islamic Republic has so far executed 120,000 members of the group. Their claimed number of the executed in 1987, the year they settled in Iraq, did not exceeded 20,000 which was an overstatement at the time.

Mr. Zucker furthers to say “The MEK, under the leadership of theoretician Massoud Rajavi, did not take up arms against the Islamic Republic of Iran until June 21, 1981, the day after a peaceful demonstration of over 500,000 individuals in Teheran was attacked.… Following these incidents, the MEK leadership decided to take up arms against the Khomeini regime, launching attacks that killed several high officials of the regime”.

Every now and then, we hear the news of some dissidents in some countries, especially in developed Western countries, organizing protesting rallies in demand of some right or objection to an adopted policy or else. We are also disappointed to see some of these mobs are scattered by anti-riot forces’ violent crackdown that, in some cases, ends in some killings. Do all the organizers and plotters of these quashed rallies take up arms and announce armed struggle against the government or assassinate the authorities?

Furthermore, have you ever thought of the Mojahedin’s claimed number of over 500,000 sympathizers marching in Tehran’s streets and the destructive potentialities of such a crowd if they really existed? Sensibly, could such a big mob be easily dispersed by a number of not yet organized paramilitary forces as Mojahedin, and you as well, claim?

Mr. Zucker argues that “The MEK is the grandchild of Dr. Mohammed Mossadeq, the popular nationalist prime minister that the CIA toppled in 1953 so as to bring the shah back to power”. That is too amazing that the grandchild of a once popular figure toppled by a US orchestrated coup are urged to be de-listed and protected “to allow them to lead the Iranian people to make the necessary changes to bring about a secular democracy in Iran”. It seems that Mr. Zucker, one among many others, is misguided by Mojahedin’s expropriating Mosaddeq’s name and repute. Mojahedin’s present struggle manner might in no way beguile those who are familiar with Iranians contemporary history.

Last but not least, blacklisting Mojahedin is the result of no tradeoff between the US and Iran as Mr. Zucker believes. The political breach between the two countries is broad clear to the world and the US seems to be much more prudent not to trade the security of its nation for trifle advantages. Besides, the US is not the sole country to have blacklisted Mojahedin. Reading Mr. Zucker’s article one may conclude a question; is his commendation of terrorists a newly developed approach of establishing democracy, preferably in Iran?

A. Afshar –  mojahedin.ws – August 9, 2006

The post Mr. Zucker, more Mojahed than Mojahedin appeared first on Nejat Society.