For the past four months the families have been asking to meet with their relatives who remain captive inside the camp. The families have established a small camp of their own to out-wait the Mojahedin’s stubborn refusal to comply with their simple request.
The families are cheerful and optimistic. They are being encouraged and facilitated by the Iraqi authorities, who also want the Mojahedin to comply with demands of the Iraqi Government.
The Mojahedin have accused these families of being ‘agents of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry’ who have come to kill them. Rajavi has indoctrinated his followers with fear and loathing of their own mothers and fathers.
Of course, the work of dissolving a mind-control cult is not easy. Cult experts would agree that the two groups of people who most threaten the leaders’ control over members’ minds are the ex-members and the families of current members. This is no different in the case of the Mojahedin-e Khalq. Having been pushed into a corner by the revelations of the ex-members, the cult now faces the absolute determination of these families to achieve their aim. The families will stay at Camp Ashraf until they have freed their children.
Out of fear, the MEK leadership has been unable to cope with an ongoing challenge regarding their loss of “protected persons status” which was issued to them, under the Geneva Convention, shortly after the war in Iraq began. But since the Iraqi government took over in 2004, the “protected person’s status” has been defunct and Mujahedin Khalq leaders and members have been in a state of denial. The reality is that they have had a downfall in Iraq, and the Iraqi 
government is determined to expel them from Camp Ashraf, the territory which the MKO has occupied for more than two decades.
According to Wijdan Mikhail Salim, one of the Iraqi Human Rights Ministers, "Conditions for asylum seeking as well as the terms of Geneva Conventions do not apply to the members of the group [MKO]" [1]
Furthermore, a reporter for TIME, Rania Abouzeid, reports in her coverage of Camp Ashraf that “[t]he obligation to treat the MEK as protected persons under the law of war ended when the Coalition Provisional Authority handed over responsibility for governing Iraq to the Iraqi interim government in June 2004 which ended the occupation of Iraq.” Abouzeid articulates that the MEK has insisted they maintain this status—one of the members even showed her a photo ID with no expiration date. In response Abouzeid reports that according to a Western official, “protected person status is never a permanent status as it applies only during circumstances of armed conflict or occupation.’” [2]
In fact, in February 2010 it was published in the UK House of Lords’ website, that "the view of UK Government is that with the formal end of hostilities and the transfer of responsibilities for the Camp to the Iraqi authorities; any claim to protected persons status by the camp’s residents under the fourth Geneva Convention has ceased to apply. That view is shared by the United Nations. The camp leadership has been given that information."[3]
Although camp leadership has essentially been told by the Iraqi government that they are no longer protected, the members are still being told they are. Members are still isolated from the outside world, and they are regularly exposed to the groups’ own media. This propaganda campaign, an emblematic tactic for the MKO, keeps members subdued and believing that the organization maintains strength. For leadership, such misinformation serves to systematically reinforce a delusion (which they believe puts them in power in Iran); it also serves to protect the deluded members. However, this campaign will only make it more difficult for members once they find out the truth of their status, and are faced with repercussions as a result of the group’s terrorist history. For the MKO, the current situation is dismal, the loss of their status is daunting, and yet in their denial they cling to this obsolete status.
[1] "Geneva Conventions ‘not applicable’ to MKO". PressTV. December 22, 2009 <http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114353§ionid=351020101>.
[2] Abouzeid, Rania. "An Anti-Iranian Enclave in Iraq Fights to Stay". Time/CNN . April 12, 2009 <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1890590,00.html>.
[3] Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, Baroness Falkner of Margravine. "United Kingdom Parliament.” Parliamentary Business. UK Parliament, Tuesday, 9 February 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2010. <http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldhansrd/text/100209-0001.htm>.
By: Mazda Parsi
"Cults In Our Midst" is a book written by professor Margaret Thaler Singer in 1995. Mrs. Singer is a Psychologist with over fifty years of research and clinical experience. Her book is a well-written text describing what cults are and how they work. The book explains how cults (Like Al Qaida or MKO) use motivational psychology to create closed controlling environments where cult members have little opportunity for free thinking.
Doctor Singer believes:
"A considerable number of different guided–imagery techniques are used by cult leaders and trainers to remove followers from their normal frames of reference […]. As a result, they enter a trancelike state in which they are more likely to heed the suggestions and absorb the content of what is being said than if they were listening in an evaluative, rational way." [1]
Professor Singer describes the role of cult leaders as:
"..Many cult leaders put great pressure on new members to leave their families, friends and jobs to become immersed in the group’s major purpose. They use manipulative techniques to make the members review their past and view their parents as evil and no loner trustworthy."[2]
During the few past days, MKO leaders had some of Camp Ashraf residents interviewed on the group’s TV channel. The show indicated the annoying systematic manipulative pressure on the group’s rank and file. Those who were interviewed on TV were mostly among those members whose families were waiting to visit them at Ashraf gates. The families were prevented from visiting their loved ones by MKO leaders.
It is stunning that the participants at the TV show view their awaiting and suffering parents as evils, and insult them!! They call their brother or sisters as traitors and spies of Iranian Intelligence!!
It sounds like MKO leaders are feeling distressed of the families constant presence at Ashraf gates, persisting on their legitimate demands.
The group’s leaders have never expected such a situation so they commit political suicide rather than behaving democratically and according to civil ethics.
The decline of cult-like thinking in MKO caused its leaders to perform these TV shows. They resort to these tactics since they realize how terribly they are discarded by public opinion which will end in their final cul-de-sac in future.
It is clear that the defection of experienced members following the presence of families at Ashraf gates, signifies the decline of the terrorist destructive cult of Rajavi.
Sources:
[1] ‘cults In Our midst: the continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace.", Professor Margaret Thaler Singer Ph.D, Page 157.
[2] Ibid page 88
By: Arash Rezaee
Rajavi and Cult leadership
Near a year after post presidential election incidents in Iran and the failure of futile efforts of opportunist Iranian oppositions in exile, Massoud Rajavi confesses his signal defeat. Rajavi’s recent message on May Day signals his retreat from his all previous claims and promises.
When in June 2009,Iran was the scene of post-election protests, MKO attempted to mobilize its forces to surf on the waves of Iranian youth’s emotions but the efforts didn’t succeeded so Rajavi came into the conclusion that the "uprising" started in Iran, did lacked " a competent leadership" otherwise the situation in Iran would be completely different . Thus, in order to prove his claims, he seriously criticizes heads of the protests.
Such a reaction by Rajavi who once was offering sympathy for the heads of protesters, pretending himself and his cult as a part of Iranian opposition against results of presidential election, leads us to the fact that his dream (overthrowing the regime of Tehran) didn’t come true.
The crisis monger of Rajavi’s cult made futile efforts both in propaganda and operational phases to light the fire of protests in Iran. Now, no way is left for Massoud Rajavi but using displacement mechanism to put the blame on others. Addressing his imaginary evidence, MKO’s leader, stuck in his contradictory ideas, represents the ambiguity of the organization’s ideas.
As it has been always a particular characteristic of Rajavi, he attempts to magnify his declining cult. He claims that "the only way to get rid of international pressure towards its nuclear program for Iranian regime is to displace the pressure on Camp Ashraf."(!) So he calls the imaginary audience for uprising to defend Ashraf. His narcissism syndrome has turned into a psychological complex that he suffers from so to relieve his distress he keeps on publishing messages.
By: Mazda Parsi
The MKO’s long-time ideological leader, Mr. Massoud Rajavi’s recently published a message (April 2010) which is weighted with the MKO’s typically aggressive language. Rajavi presents various examples from among national heroes, religious leaders, saints and prophets. It is full of fallacious reasoning particularly used to manipulate and convince Ashraf residents. Here, Rajavi measures himself up to these figures. His words suggest he considers himself superior to them, but his futile effort to heighten the members’ spirits does not thrive because they have long been the audiences of such delusional sayings. 
Rajavi also accuses the IRI of launching a psychological campaign by "sending its spies" to Camp Ashraf in his ten-page propaganda campaign. Rajavi uses denial as a defense mechanism to suggest that "the families’ show" in front of Camp Ashraf is a conspiracy of both the Iranian and Iraqi governments. He attempts to make the members believe that there are, in fact, no real families, and that those people, with a very strong emotional presence, who are waiting at Ashraf gates are the regime’s mercenaries—actors who merely play the part of family members. Iraqi and Western media reports portray a number of grieving elderly whose beloved ones are barred from visiting them. Those awaiting people tell stories of the years of separation from their dear ones. Among those interviewed by the BBC, is a young girl who speaks of her eagerness to meet her father whom she has not seen since birth. There is a strong emotional presence near the gates of the camp .
Rajavi uses condescending language and erratic reasoning to affront the families whose loved ones remain in the camp. Further, Rajavi claims to be a follower and admirer of Mosadeq (the Iranian President who nationalized the oil industry in the 1950’s) and quotes his words, saying, "My family is my nation". Although he compares himself to, he fails to mention the atrocities he and his followers committed against fellow Iranians during the eight years of being Saddam Hussein’s accomplice.
Further in the article, Rajavi compares himself with Noah and Camp Ashraf with Noah’s ark. , He interprets the Quran’s verses regarding Noah’s story and clearly sees himself superior to Noah by his criticism of the prophet. Noah who allegedly hesitated to deny his son, but Massoud Rajavi is determined to deny all families’ of Ashraf residents. These allegations are parts of Rajavi’s hard job to persuade Ashraf residents and indeed, signs of his total indigence in justifying his three-decade terrorist activities!
By: Mazda Parsi
Extremist leftism ends with Rightism. This is a logical statement which has been proved by historic experiences so far. Without considering historical backgrounds MKO failed to realize the real situation of Iran so it resorted to anti human violence and terrorism. Terror strategy and then armed struggle of NLA presented by MKO leaders didn’t enjoy any public support in Iranian society but it was strongly supported by foreign regimes including Baathist of Iraq. That large-scale financial and military support symbolized MKO extremist leftist behavior.
One might conclude that MKO represented a type of fascist populist leftist movement for more than two decades because MKO leaders have never had clear, realistic and defined ideas. Their ideas include some ways to face political theories which eventually makes the leaders stuck in a pure pragmatism where they are not able to view the realities around them. Their abnormal exaggeration about mental issues and their irrational altercation towards political and social issues result in an illusion due to which leaders suppose that they can achieve power in near future and therefore they launch blind operations that end in their signal failure. Such a tendency is what Lenin calls "Syndrome of Childish Leftism".
It is obvious that MKO leaders and particularly Massoud Rajavi supposed their illogic ideological and political demands as concrete realities. Their extreme abstraction caused their false understanding of political and regional equations to the extent that they consider families of forces under their control [Ashraf residents] as "enemy, spy or traitor". This kind of consideration shows zenith of MKO’s imaginary false understanding.
The outcome of such an abstraction is a type of blind will that never obeys a clear logic. Thus MKO leaders obsessed with such an illogic premise do not realize their current situation which is a total cul-de-sac. In their opinion the world is viewed as black or white; everything or nothing. This worldview results in a constant adventurousness and anarchy in MKO’s interests and activities.
At last, after two decades of failures, the current declining situation is inevitable although they pretended to be excessively hopeful in short term, in fact they suffer a huge depression.
Since MKO leaders misunderstand their organization’s condition, they are stuck in a defective cycle of "absolute denial of others" and "extreme violence". This ends in their disability to solve their strategic or tactical contradictions, and eventually the gradual defection of their forces. All this leads MKO from ultra leftist interests (in theory) to rightist activities (in action) as Imperialist’s mercenary and Capitalists’ footman. Today, MKO leader take the same positions of America warmongers and capitalists!
By: Arash Rezaee
Since the Government of Iraq took over responsibility for Camp Ashraf on January 1, 2009, there has been a steady trickle of people who have made their escape from the clutches of the cult despite the extreme strictures imposed on everyone inside.
The most resent escapee, Mr. Alamdar Shaygan, escaped the MKO terror group on 24th April, 2010 after 22 years, and joined the families behind the Ashraf gates.
Mr. Shaygan broke free from the cult after managing to reach the front gates of the Camp where a small group of families have established a picket for over three months. Mr. Shaygan joined the families, who welcomed him as one of their own children.
· Official American version of events at Camp Ashraf
· British Minister of State: It is in the interest of Ashraf residents to cooperate with Iraq
· MKO terrorists tried and appealed in France
· The Ministry of HR and UN ask for families’ access to MKO victims
· Report on the MKO attack on the families on Thursday night 14th April, 2010
· UK: No evidence of intimidation or harassment in the Camp Ashraf
· MKO: People’s Friends or Foes
Download Pars Brief – Issue No.52
Download Pars Brief – Issue No.52