Articles

++ Many people have reacted to Massoud Rajavi’s audio tape in which he threatens to kill his critics. In sum they point to three main issues.

1. When Rajavi talks like this, which he has done before, it shows his desperation, and this is due to opening the gates of Camp Liberty.

2. For the attention of those advocates who say they are not a terrorist group, Rajavi clearly says in this tape that the MEK has killed and will kill people in Europe.

3. It is emphasised that any attack on people in Europe cannot be blamed on the head of a terrorist cult. It is the responsibility of the police and security services in the Western countries where these attacks take place. In particular France, which hosts the MEK, where many violent attacks take place. But no country can absolve itself of responsibility.

++ Iran Ghalam (Iranian Pen), interviewed Mohammad Hossein Sobhani about the threatening audio tape. Sobhani made the above points but goes into great detail about Rajavi’s personal history and the conclusions that can be drawn. He says that while Rajavi uses terrorism to push his way, the critics and former members will use the media to expose him and the law to bring him personally to justice. Sobhani lists the murders that Rajavi was personally responsible for during the time of the Shah, and then describes what Rajavi did in prison, how he plotted and schemed against his fellow prisoners. After the Revolution Rajavi took to killing people and blaming others. Sobhani talks about Abu Ghraib, and the regime of silencing internal critics, as well as Rajavi’s collaboration with the Israelis and Mossad. Sobhani lists the people that Rajavi tried to get rid of, like former President Abol Hassan Bani Sadr, and the character assassination of many others. Sobhani concludes that from the first day to this day, Rajavi had no other job except killing people he saw as rivals. He has never faced a direct enemy, only targeting his political and social rivals – including friends and family – who are named in the article. Sobhani says that Rajavi was, and is, main obstacle to progress toward democracy in Iran; the best gift to the hardliners of Iran.

++ A second group of Camp Liberty residents have arrived in Albania taking the total this time to 233. According to the Iraqis and other sources in Albania, about 50 were so ill they were taken straight to hospital in Tirana. Another 50 are well known internal critics who didn’t want to stay with the MEK and who have been under pressure for a long time. These will soon separate from the MEK. People in Albania who recognise some of the new arrivals have made the names of 24 of them public. Other names will be made public in due course. Rajavi’s internal critics in the West are asking why Rajavi is so afraid of being made public, and ask why, if there is a valid reason, their families are not informed privately.

++ The MEK’s presence to protest the Vienna nuclear negotiation drew ridicule from inside Iran. A reporter with Jahan News simply published pictures of the MEK demo in Vienna, in which some three or four people are shown with around twenty flags planted in the ground. Another reporter writes: During my work I came across an Israeli man who was going about his business in the buildings. He asked me “Are you Iranian?” When I replied in the affirmative, he said “I am a Zionist, and I believe that you and Iran are my enemy, and I am sure you feel the same toward me. But having said that, as a patriotic Israeli I can’t stand the sight of these MEK people. Even as a mercenary force willing to act for us, we shouldn’t degrade ourselves by association with them.” Another Iranian newspaper article is titled, ‘The master accepts, but the servant is still shouting”. This refers to Maryam Rajavi’s pronouncements in favour of Israel and her complaint ‘why is war not an option?’ The paper translated her Western speeches into Farsi.

In English:

++ An Open Letter by Iran Ghalam (Iranian Pen Club) to major international bodies warns against Massoud Rajavi’s audio tape in which he threatens to kill his critics in Europe. The letter also explains that Rajavi doesn’t want to protect the lives of people in Camp Liberty in spite of the threat of ISIS in Iraq, and calls on international humanitarian bodies to do more to help the residents.

++ Reporting on the nuclear negotiations, Fars News writes that Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan “underlined that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has come to realize that the allegations raised by enemies and the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as MEK, PMOI and NCRI) against Tehran’s nuclear program have all been fake and wrong.” Dehqan continued, “It wasn’t the sanctions which pushed us to the negotiating table; rather we just wanted to prove that we don’t want anything but our rights, and that the westerners are bullying… The Islamic Republic also displayed to the world (through these talks) that its red lines cannot be threatened at all.”

++ Open Letter of 60 ex members of MEK to the Members of the European Parliament.

“The leaders of the MEK do not cooperate in any shape or form with the UNCHR and/or other UN bodies in charge of the transfer and resettling these Iranians from camp Liberty to other counties. The announcement of solidarity by a number of MEPs with the residents of camp Liberty and asking for assurance regarding their security and safety will have no effect in helping these individuals. On the contrary it only encourages the leaders of the Mojahedin Khalq more to try to keep them in Iraq and evade any cooperation with the UNHCR.

“No one is safe and no one has security in the current situation of war torn Iraq and as you are aware hundreds of people in Iraq get killed and/or injured on daily basis through bombings and similar atrocities in various parts of the country. Even the employees of the UN who were stationed near camp Liberty to carry out interviews and meetings with the individual members of the MEK have left their place due to the dangerous situation of the area – close to the airport – and the threat of ISIS.

“The leaders of the MEK emphasise only the need for protection and security for these Iranians in the camp and never promote or even mention the need to transfer them out of Iraq. Above that, the leadership of the MEK by demanding the transfer of the whole organisation (and not individuals) has put in place demands which in practice make it impossible to transfer people according to the laws and regulations of the UNCHR.”

November 28, 2014

++ Mohammad Sahimi, a prominent professor and analyst in the US, has published the second in a collection of articles about Daesh. This is titled ‘Daesh and Daesh-like groups’. In it he examines similarities in the creation, funding and support of various terrorist groups including the MEK.

++ According to Iran Interlink’s sources in Iraq, 120 residents of Camp Liberty were due to be transferred to Tirana, Albania last week. This was cancelled because the MEK leader changed his mind again. The residence in Tirana has been ready for months. At first Rajavi wouldn’t allow access to anyone in Liberty. Then he granted access only if he chose the 120 transferees himself. The UNHCR accepted this on the understanding that 120 transfers are better than none. The interviews went ahead only for Rajavi to halt the process again because he wants more concessions. From the time this plan was achieved by UNAMI, Rajavi has demanded various things: heavy machinery, more land, unrestricted access to the border (with Jordan), etc. Through the Zionist backed Western media and MEK outlets, Rajavi has hidden these demands behind allegations that “Iraqi officials” are denying medical help, restricting fuel and have confiscated lift trucks. This is not a new ploy and both UNAMI and the Iraqi authorities have consistently and publicly rejected these allegations.

++ This week in Baghdad, Human Rights Minister Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati met with the Deputy Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mission in Iraq Georgi Posten. Al-Bayati expressed support for all initiatives and steps that would strengthen national unity on the one hand and achieve justice for the victims of terrorism on the other hand, stressing that the issue of a general amnesty should include those who have not stained their hands with the blood of innocent people. In respect of the MEK, al-Bayati stressed that the presence of the terrorist MEK in Iraq is illegal and pledged support to expedite UNAMI’s efforts to fully expel the MEK.

++ Sahar Family Foundation published an article about the ongoing issue of excessive numbers of deaths among MEK members in Europe and Camp Liberty. The article says that although it has been known about for some time, no agency or body is trying to investigate or stop it. The deaths are ongoing. The common factor is that the dead people are all known to be disaffected members who have been unable to escape the group. All had been kept in the MEK by force. Sahar believes that some deaths have been deliberately expedited by withholding medical care, others may simply have been murdered.

++ Massoud Taghipourian’s article in Nejat Association is titled, ‘Rajavi has no supporters even in cyberspace’. He identifies various MEK activities to demonstrate how divorced from reality the MEK is. Most of the MEK’s work, he says, is directed towards keeping the members busy, giving them something to do. All their so-called cyber victories are only for internal consumption. But even inside the MEK only a few hundred people get to see this. One of the internal jobs is to ‘Like’ MEK sites on Facebook and other social media. Even with this activity, it is clear their supporters are in the tens rather than the hundreds.

++ The MEK’s main task this week has been to work against the nuclear negotiations. The group posted bill boards in Washington against peace, and held a couple of demonstrations with fewer than ten people each in the US and Vienna. On November 20th another so-called revelation meeting was chaired by John Bolton and attended by paid lobbyists. Again, after all these efforts to attack Iran’s nuclear programme nobody listened except a couple of well-known Zionist backed media. This has been a waste of Zionist money. In fact there was more coverage of the meeting inside Iran than rest of world put together. News agencies like Fars News made full reports on the MEK’s demonstration of eight people with as many, if not more, flags in their hands in Vienna. Since 1997 Maryam Rajavi has been banned from travelling to North America and the UK. France, where she is a refugee, has said they would expel her if only they could. Rajavi’s attempts to make herself and her cult indispensable to the Zionist agenda is backfiring since she is simply trying too hard to be more than the nobody she is.

++ The other area on which the MEK concentrated this week was its ongoing attack of the government of Iraq and the militia forces which have joined the army in fighting Daesh. The MEK clearly shows dissatisfaction that Iraq is winning in its efforts to repel and destroy Daesh. Earlier this year Massoud Rajavi was hoping Daesh would take over and ‘liberate’ Camp Liberty. He exposed his group to severe criticism for this direct support. Since the Daesh incursion was unsuccessful he has avoided direct support for Daesh and is, instead, attacking those forces which are fighting against it.

++ This week, Massoud Rajavi’s captive audience of MEK members was treated to a snooze fest of almost two hours as an audio tape was broadcast. However, after spewing out seemingly endless soporific nonsense, Rajavi finally got to the point. Massoud Rajavi threatened the lives of his critics in the West. Accompanying the audio with pictures, he identified such persons as former president Abol Hassan Bani Sadr and broadcaster and journalist Ali Reza Nourizadeh, along with many others, as targets. In particular he listed those people who testified against the MEK to the Judiciary in France. Rajavi told his audience, “These people are directly responsible for those who died in Iraq, including attacks on Ashraf and Liberty. Therefore it is the responsibility of the MEK to bring them to justice and kill them.” As for the ex-members (many of whom already have experience of the MEK’s thuggery and violent attacks in European cities), most have chosen to ignore it, but some have written articles and comments in Farsi ridiculing both Rajavi and his threats, especially because he has been in hiding for the past decade. But Iran Interlink reminds the authorities in Europe that this audio message was broadcast via the MEK satellite of a Saudi owned company operating in London. Britain removed the MEK from its terrorism list because it believes the MEK when it claims to have renounced violence. In this message, the head of the MEK is clearly saying that is not the case. He is ordering the deaths of his critics. Obviously the UK, US and France where the MEK operate freely will be held to account should any injury or death occur due to their lack of vigilance and failure to protect those individuals threatened.

In English:

++ Press TV reported the “influential” Lord Carlisle’s failure to get the ban on Maryam Rajavi entering the UK repealed. The report says: “Home Secretary Theresa May says Rajavi’s entry to the UK would not be conducive to the public good for reasons of foreign policy and in light of the need to take a firm stance against terrorism. Lawyers linked to the terrorist organization say Home Secretary’s reasons are irrelevant. But that argument has unanimously been rejected by Supreme Court judges. Critics have slammed attempts to downplay the actions of the MKO and put them forward as a democratic opposition.”

++ Mazda Parsi writing for Nejat Bloggers asks, ‘Are good terrorists always beneficial?’ Identifying “blatant double standards” in the fight against terrorism, Parsi draws on sources to make his argument. He says “Western states, Saudi Arabia, and some other Gulf States have been contributing funds and arms to the rebels against Assad Government. Thus, terrorists are not considered terrorists as long as they serve the interests of these certain countries. The same not-written rule is applied about the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) which is not actually an opposition group but it is a terrorist extremist cult against Iran. If cable news viewers and consumers of US print media knew who these “Iranian dissidents” actually were, they would begin to ask some serious questions about US foreign policy, writes Caleb Maupin of Russia Today.”

November 21, 2014

++ The Mojahedin Khalq are holding a press conference in Washington today to reveal Iran’s nuclear secrets.

++ Farideh Vanaai a long serving MEK member died in a hospital in Tirana this week. Maryam Rajavi blamed Iraq for withholding medicine. Responses in Farsi make it clear that even though their lobbyists repeat their lies wherever and whenever they can, nobody believes this because it is Massoud and Maryam Rajavi who refuse to allow MEK members to leave Camp Ashraf and go to hospital. Mohammad Razaghi and Hamed Sarafpour, who reside in Europe, have written in detail to explain that many of these people are old and ill. Rajavi herself admits the latest victim is the 210th person to die, a number which is much higher than normal for this demographic. Two weeks ago another person died in Camp Liberty called Mohammad Taghi Abbassian. His death was suspicious to the writers because they knew that he had been unhappy in the MEK for a long time and they suspect that the MEK had stopped his medicine because of this. Massoud Khodabandeh posted on Facebook in response to this that in Iraq it is clear, there are 210 beds in accommodation in Tirana which have been ready for months. The only reason residents were not able to go was that Massoud Rajavi blocked it. The UN has now given in to his demands and Rajavi has handed over his own list, of which over half are almost dead. It is clear he is sending them to Albania to die because he won’t let them be taken to hospital in Iraq. We should expect more deaths in Tirana after they arrive and the burden will be on the UN to sort them out. Khodabandeh says that dumping his sick on the UN is a deterrent to render the UN passive.

++ There were several reactions to Maryam Rajavi’s meeting in Paris last week. Commentators point out that the MEK are on the same side as Daesh and yet Rajavi was able to visit the French parliament and ludicrously blame Iran for creating it. Even Israel, America and Saudi don’t say this.

++ This week marked the anniversary of Ashura. Reports from Iran suggest that the MEK was trying to use the occasion to incite disturbances; mixing this event to the acid attacks and the recent increase in executions in Iran. The MEK were very hopeful and their backers very excited about these disturbances, but the MEK proved unable to raise even a finger as the plan was intercepted and thwarted by the Iranian authorities.

++ A. Afshari has sent a letter to Iran Interlink exposing one of the MEK’s agents in the Netherlands called Ali Reza Kazemi. This individual is widely known and has been exposed several times before by many other people on different occasions. His job for the MEK is to manufacture front groups. This latest one is called Iran Academy, and like other MEK groups which don’t admit their association with the MEK, Kazemi says he has nothing to do with them. Kazemi has also infiltrated the Netherlands government paid Farsi language Radio Zamaneh. Afshari warns the radio station to beware of Kazemi as the MEK don’t infiltrate a place for no reason.

++ An open letter by families of residents in Camp Liberty from East Azerbaijan has been published called ‘the true nature of some British MPs’. The letter quotes Brian Binley and other lobbyists who under the guise of sympathy for the victims in Liberty are actually supporting terrorism. The families challenge these MPs and say that “the money you people get for lobbying (even though you are elected representatives of the British people), is stained with the blood of our children who are being held captive. People like you, to save face at least, should ask Rajavi to open the camp.”

In English:

++ Anne Khodabandeh wrote about Maryam Rajavi’s speech in Paris last week. Her article titled ‘ISIS supporter Maryam Rajavi attacks Obama from French parliament’, concludes: “When a supporter of ISIS sits in the French parliamentary building and attacks President Obama, the cracks are seriously beginning to show in the West’s approach to resolving the whole Middle East situation. Observers may not be sufficiently informed to tell Western governments what to do in their own interests, but any schoolchild can point out the damage the MEK is doing to them.”

++ Hannah Allam writing for The Tribune in an article titled ‘Think helping to fight ISIS will get you off terrorist list? Think again’, points to the different treatment of Kurdish nationalists whose groups are listed as terrorists. Although they are fighting against Daesh there are no moves to de-list them. “The main criticism of the process is the seemingly arbitrary way that groups get on and, more rarely, off the list.” An exception Allam identifies is the MEK “a deep-pocketed Iranian dissident group that ran by far the most ambitious campaign to get off the terrorist list. After legal victories in Europe, the group hired top lawyers and paid high-profile speakers tens of thousands of dollars a pop to raise awareness of the MEK cause in the United States.

A Washington lobbying firm received nearly $1 million to work on getting the MEK off the terrorist list, according to an investigation of the group’s payouts by the British newspaper The Guardian. The MEK cultivated an image of a pro-democracy, Western-friendly supporter of the ouster of Iran’s theocratic government; detractors describe it as a cult-like militant group with only fringe support among ordinary Iranians…

“But the official line that lobbying played only a small role in the MEK’s de-listing rings hollow when that case is compared with other designees who slipped from the headlines years ago. One seemingly outdated presence is Abu Nidal, the Palestinian guerrilla group whose eponymous founder was shot and killed in muddy circumstances in Iraq in 2002. Even the State Department’s annual terrorism review calls the group “inactive”.”

++ Mazda Parsi writing for Nejat Bloggers asks for an independent international probe into the suspicious deaths in the MEK after Maryam Rajavi called for just this after the execution of Reihaneh Jabbari the Iranian woman convicted of murdering Morteza Sarbandari. Parsi highlights the hypocrisy of this stance and cites numerous examples of MEK women whose deaths were highly suspicious.

++ Observer Research Foundation, Euroasia Review, asks why, when Iran and the P5+1 appear to be making progress on a nuclear deal in which Iran is making many concessions, has there been an explosion at Iran’s Parchin missile centre. The article points the finger of suspicion at Israel which is desperate to derail any deal. “Iran has been facing targeted killing of its nuclear scientists and precision guided cyber-attacks on its nuclear reactors since the early 2010… Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, was the obvious suspect. It is believed to have acted in collaboration with the Mujahideen e-Khalq, an Iranian émigré organisation banned by the US as a terrorist organisation. The Americans, instead of chastising Israel for working with a banned terrorist organisation, helped them to launch highly sophisticated cyber-attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

The article concludes: “With such baggage of hostility and mistrust, it is surprising that the Iranian leadership is at all negotiating with the US, yet it seems to have no choice. The economic hardships that its people have borne for all these years leave it with little options. President Rouhani has promised a Government of ‘Hope and Recovery’ and he has to deliver on that.”