TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi officials have issued warrants for arresting three members of an anti-Iranian terrorist group called the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), and the court order is viewed by observers as to be testing the United States’ honesty in restoring calm and security in Iraq. The Iraqi criminal court issued warrants for the arrest of Mozhgan Parsayee, Abbas Davari and Sediqeh Hosseini, who are deemed to be among leaders of the terrorist group, following the several complaints lodged by the relatives of a number of MKO members. While different peace-seeking groups and the plaintiffs are demanding implementation of the court ruling, the arrest warrants will produce no results unless the US troops show cooperation, and this has faced the US with a new challenge to prove its allegations about the fight against terrorism in Iraq. Despite the slogans frequently chanted by the US about a so-called tough campaign against terrorism, ever since the US invasion of Iraq and the fall of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Washington has always shielded the MKO and provided backup and support for the terrorist group in a bid to use them for materializing its goals. The Bulgarian military commander in Iraq admitted in May 2006 that his forces are protecting the MKO at the request of the US central command in Iraq. Bulgaria had withdrawn most of its forces from the occupied Iraq by the end of 2005, but 154 of its soldiers still remain as security guards for the Ashraf camp where 3500 MKO terrorists are based. MKO terrorists have martyred many innocent Iranians over the past 25 years and had supported Saddam’s tyrannical Ba’th minority regime during the 8-year Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s. Fars News Agancy-10 Feb.2008
Fars News Agency
Fars News Agency Quoted Sotaliraq website as follows:
After General Abdulkarim Al-Rabiee asked Baqubah refugees to return to their homes following the restoration of security in parts of the area, residents said that security won’t be established in the city while American forces appease terrorist groups including Mojahedin Council, Ansar al-Sunnah and Mojahedin-e khalq.
Qais Abdulhalim, a resident of Al-Mefraq district in Baqubah, said: "We are tired of changing our homes and going from one place to another. We like to get back to our city if terrorists have left any homes at all!"
"This situation requires real security strategies and those who had to leave their place should be compensated," he added.
The report indicates that at least 13000 residents of Baqubah have been forced to leave their homes in the past 2 years due to US’s wrong policies.
Earlier, Iraqi officials had announced that they were going to discuss the issue of MKO expulsion in a meeting on Tuesday.
Fars News – 2007/07/19
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Camp Ashraf which is occupied by the Iraq-based Iranian opposition group the Mujahedine Khalq Organization (MKO) is sited more than 260km north of Baghdad.
This group resettled in Iraq in 1987 during the rule of Saddam Hussain. After Saddam was ousted in 2003, the US army gave protection to this camp which remains today.
The Iraqi coalition government headed by Shiite Ebrahim Al Jaafari and Nouri Al Maliki decided to expel MKO members from Iraq and close Camp Ashraf. However, none of these decisions have been implemented.
In this camp and in other Iraqi cities, there are between 4,000 and 5,000 MKO members and their families, with identities issued by the United Nations and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to facilitate their mobility inside Iraq.
Jalal Al Din Al Sagheer, a prominent figure in the Shiite coalition, has accused MKO members of supporting terrorist groups affiliated to the former regime.
He told Gulf News, "There is an Iraqi constitution which prohibits using the Iraqi territory to launch a series of cross-border attacks against neighboring countries and we are committed to this position."
Leaders of Camp Ashraf move with heavy US forces’ protection inside Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. During visits of Iraqi officials to Tehran and their Iranian counterparts to Baghdad, the MKO group file was at the top of bilateral talks. It was said that Iran wants a settlement with Iraqis to end the MKO file.
Lubaid Abbawi, the undersecretary of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "The MKO file must move fully to the responsibility of the Iraqi government and must not be a political agenda used by different politicians or parties."
In the light of American-Iranian conflict in Iraq and in the region it is unlikely that the American forces will submit Camp Ashraf to Al Maliki.
According to some leaks from Baghdad, Americans have begun to form special groups comprising MKO members to assist them to track Iranians in Iraqi cities, as well as to provide the US intelligence with a huge amount of information from inside Iran, especially with the escalation of the Iranian nuclear file. These measures came just after the launch of the new US strategy set by President George W Bush, which included reducing the Iranian influence in Iraq.
Hadi Al Ameri, leader of the Badr Organization of the Shiite Supreme Council, has accused the MKO of training terrorist elements and working to destabilize Iraq. Al Ameri affirmed the coming period will witness the exile of this Iranian opposition group from Iraqi territories.
The MKO group in Iraq has established political relations with prominent Shiite religious leaders who oppose the political process, the Mahmoud Al Hasani group in Karbala and the Jawad Al Khalisi group in Kadhimiya city, Baghdad.
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- To conclude the 3-day visit to Tehran by President Jalal Talabani, Iran and Iraq issued a joint press statement here on Wednesday.
According to the Presidential Press Office, the two sides have stressed in the statement that Iran and Iraq share many common views about various bilateral, regional and international issues.
The statement further said that both sides are insistent on upgrading their present level of relations and cooperation in all political, security, oil, industry, economic and cultural spheres, given their abundant age-old historical, cultural and religious commonalities.
The Islamic republic of Iran has also stressed the necessity for the safeguarding of Iran’s national unity, territorial integrity and independence, while it also voiced support for the building up of a political trend, establishment of democratic institutions, and restoration of the Iraqi nation’s right to control their countries’ natural wealth, enjoy territorial integrity and form their desired political life based on Iraq’s new Constitution.
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In another part, the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomed the recent decision and a relevant approval of the Iraqi government for expelling the members of the terrorist group Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from that country, and stressed that accelerating implementation of the said decision will be a positive step in the development and deepening of the two countries’ relations.
Reminding the crimes committed by Saddam’s regime against Iraqi people and its military aggression against Iran and Kuwait, the two sides reiterated the necessity for a transparent and just trial of Saddam and the other high ranking officials of the former Iraqi regime.
Fars News Agency – 2006-11-30
Iraqi MP: MKO trying to foment trouble between Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis
Fars News Agency: the representative of Dyala province in the Iraqi parliament, Taha Dor’ Al-Saadi, said that Baathists and the terrorist group of MKO, which enjoy the support of America, try to make division between Sunnis and Shiites.
In an interview with Al-Alam news channel, Al-Saadi said: "The elements of the MKO has played a very destructive role in Dyala province and has tried to foment problems for Muslims here."
"In 90s, former regime used this group to massacre the Kurds in the north and Shiites in the south. After the former regime was toppled, they exploited the instability to boost their position in Iraq."
Stressing the fact that the presence of MKO in Iraq has a negative influence on Iran-Iraq relations, Al-Saadi referred to the order of transitional government on expelling the MKO from Iraq and said the order has not been executed so far.
"It’s now time to execute this order and expel the members of this organization, which has shed the blood of Iraqis. We in the parliament will do our best to expel this group from Iraq although there are some MPs who support this group."
"Americans support this group and its activities in Iraq," Al-Saadi added.
Pointing to the death of Zarqawi in Dyala province and the emergence of his successor, Al-Saadi said: "Shiites and Sunnis have family relations here in Dyala and tribes work to eradicate terrorism."
Fars News
Discrepancies between Zionist lobbies and US politicians about US and West’s support for the MKO entered a new phase with the secret talks by the US, British and Zionist officials last May about the possible role and influence that the terrorist group can play in pressurizing Iran on the political scene.
A French journalist who asked to remain anonymous said that the Israeli intelligence service, Musad, had attended some meetings with a number of the MKO members during the last 6 months, where the two sides have made some deals.
The source said that the two sides have agreed to keep their meetings secret and increase the number of their representatives in the said talks.
Consequent to the MKO’s efforts during recent years to get out of international isolation and have their group’s name crossed out of the US and EU’s list of terrorist groups, they started meetings with Zionist groups, an effort which led to the formation of a committee of Zionist Jewish Rabbis. Representative of Reagan Administration to the US Jewish Community, Gary Crap represented the Zionist lobby in the said committee.
The Jewish lobby has recently forced the US administration to cross out the MKO from its list of terrorist groups, but some US senators and congressmen have advised Bush not to take the measure, stressing that such a decision would put the United States under a big question mark.
The journalist, quoting a member of the said committee, stated that the Jewish lobby is demanding the US administration and President Bush to exclude the name of MKO from the list in return for the terrorist group’s cooperation with the US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA.
The source reminded that considering the anti-terrorism feelings and atmosphere created on the political scene of the world and the US since September 11th and taking into account that the genuineness of MKO’s reports against the Iranian ruling system is much suspected, even the members of the MKO are not hopeful about the results of their contacts with the Zionist lobby and Musad.
Fars News Agency, June 9, 2006
US, British and Israeli officials last month attended secret talks about the possible role and influence of the anti-Iranian, terrorist group ‘Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization’ in West-Iran political relations.
Discrepancies between Zionist lobbies and US politicians about US and West’s support for the MKO entered a new phase with the secret talks by the US, British and Zionist officials last May about the possible role and influence that the terrorist group can play in pressurizing Iran on the political scene.
A French journalist who asked to remain anonymous said that the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, had attended some meetings with a number of the MKO members during the last 6 months, where the two sides have made some deals.
The source said that the two sides have agreed to keep their meetings secret and increase the number of their representatives in the said talks.
Consequent to the MKO’s efforts during recent years to get out of international isolation and have their group’s name crossed out of the US and EU’s list of terrorist groups, they started meetings with Zionist groups, an effort which led to the formation of a committee of Zionist Jewish Rabbis. Representative of Reagan Administration to the US Jewish Community, Gary Crap represented the Zionist lobby in the said committee.
The Jewish lobby has recently forced the US administration to cross out the MKO from its list of terrorist groups, but some US senators and congressmen have advised Bush not to take the measure, stressing that such a decision would put the United States under a big question mark.
The journalist, quoting a member of the said committee, stated that the Jewish lobby is demanding the US administration and President Bush to exclude the name of MKO from the list in return for the terrorist group’s cooperation with the US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA.
The source reminded that considering the anti-terrorism feelings and atmosphere created on the political scene of the world and the US since September 11th and taking into account that the genuineness of MKO’s reports against the Iranian ruling system is much suspected, even the members of the MKO are not hopeful about the results of their contacts with the Zionist lobby and Mossad.
Fars News Agency
Security sources in southern Iraq reported that a number of MKO members being supported by US forces have been settled in Basra.
These MKO members (the number of whom is not clear) have been placed in former palace of Saddam Hussein in Basra and several US forces escort them.
British soldiers used to stay in the palace during past 3 years.
The settlement of MKO members in Basra occurs when US forces have come close to the Iranian border in Shalamcheh.
Earlier also, a number of MKO members were cooperating with British forces and Saddam’s Estekhbarat (secret service) on Iran; they trained terrorists to sabotage in Khuzestan province.
Fars News Agency
Secretary-general of Habilian Association said: "we have collected a list of 16000 terrorism victims and have translated them into English and Arabic. Out of this number, 12000 have been assassinated by the hypocrites (Mojahedin-e Khalq organization) across the country.
In an interview with Fars News agency, Seyed Javad Hasheminejad talked about the activities of Habilian Association and said: "Since a year ago, Habilian started identifying the relatives of terror victims and creating legal files for each one to be able to pursue their cases."
"After recent developments in Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein, terrorist groups that were active in the form of Mojahedin-e Khalq and were a part of Saddam’s army went under the control of the US in order to be used to weaken Iran."
Mr. Hasheminejad criticized claims of the Western countries, particularly the US, on fighting terrorism and said that their first step to fight terrorism should be the shutting down of centers for plotting against Iran; centers that are supported by them.
He reminded that practical works by Habilian started from Ramadan (October) in the city of Mashhad, and added: "The statistics were collected from the Islamic revolution in 1979 until November this year. We want to say to the world that if they claim of fighting terrorism, they should note that we are ourselves victim of terrorism and this high number is a proof for that. They support such terrorist activities under the name of fighting terrorism and democracy. They spend large amounts of money to support terrorist activities against Iran and other independence-seeking countries."
He said they had collected acceptable documents and evidences on terrorist activities and that they will pursue the cases legally. "We have had different meetings with Iraqi officials, including Iraqi deputy president; in these meetings, we talked about the activities of terrorist group sin Iraq against Iran. Iraqi officials expressed their opposition to such activities and stressed that they would try and expel MKO criminals. However, we see that these groups are being supported by occupiers and are active along our borders."
The son of martyr Seyed Abdulkarim Hasheminejad then stressed the "preparedness of Habilian to pursue the cases of MKO’s repentant members to help their freedom" and said: "Habilian, which has four committees (Political, Legal, Cultrual and Human Rights), has interviewed 300 former members of Mojahedin-e Khalq who have returned to Iran and has found interesting points through these interviews such as the fact that the MKO forced our war prisoners to cooperate with it and that it kidnapped border guards and forced them to cooperate."
"In October last year, we invited 40 Iraqis (lawyers and tribal leaders from Diali province, where the MKO camp is located) to take part in a two-day seminar on terrorism. On the return of this group to Iraq, we receive good reactions but the MKO has threatened them in order to stop their anti-terrorist activities. "We hold Americans and Iraq occupiers responsible for any possible actions against these people" he added.
About the activities of Habilian in the current year, he said: "Reflecting the collected legal cases, holding a meeting with the families of terror victims and representatives of international communities like Red Cross would be among the steps that would be taken in 2006."
Then, he asked for the support of international communities and said: "We ask for the support of some countries that claim of being concerned about human rights. We also ask our own government, judiciary and Majlis as well as the media to reflect our voice and support us."
"We want the issues related to terrorism be reflected and we have initiated cultural measures to support humanitarian efforts and this requires the assistance of international and domestic groups."
Fars News Agency