Articles

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 60

++ This week, right minded Iranians all over the world have given their attention to the atrocities being inflicted on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Predictably, only the MEK – out of fear of their Israeli owners – have remained silent on this issue in particular.

++ The mother of a resident in Camp Liberty held hostage by Rajavi has died after her desperate appeal for Rajavi to allow a last phone call with her son was denied. Ironically, although Rajavi did not allow this contact, the MEK announced her death in a statement which refers to her as a Mojahedin Martyr and claiming she was one of their supporters. This nasty ploy of Maryam Rajavi provoked many reactions in Farsi sites about the way she behaves. Hamed Sarafpour sent his condolences to the family and reminds us that it was only a week ago the family had made a last desperate attempt to arrange a phone call. This, he says, is how shameless Rajavi is.

++ Sahar Family Foundation reporting from Tirana during the last week has detailed the situation of ex members there who, although they are freed from MEK control, still face many problems. They live in an apartment block paid for by UNHCR but have been told that at end of a year this funding will be withdrawn and they will have to fend for themselves. This UN support includes a small stipend for food and fuel which already doesn’t cover their basic needs. On top of that they are being harassed daily by MEK operatives who obviously have unlimited financial backing. The MEK threatens them to be silent, but even if they agree to be silent they are then pushed to come back and work for the MEK. The pressure can be triggered by anything such as contacting their families, or a random accusation of being ‘agents of the Iranian regime’. The latest ploy is for the MEK to tell them their picture or name is on Iran-Interlink or Nejat Association websites and if they refuse to write swearing at these sites they will be beaten up because they are “obviously” agents of Iranian Intelligence and the MEK will therefore deal with them as “the enemy”.

++ This week has seen a spate of savage verbal attacks on Mrs Zahra Moini in Cologne, Germany from a variety of MEK sources trying to stop her talking after she became vocal about her experiences with the cult. The MEK threatened to publish information they have about her if she doesn’t cooperate. The MEK also claims she has never been with them and was an agent of the regime when she came to Iraq and they threw her out when they discovered this, and afterwards she was sent to Germany by Iran. Moini has been a resident and citizen of Germany for many years and it is only now that she has become a vocal critic that the MEK are attacking her. Today, a collectively signed open letter has been sent to her by ex members in Albania, reassuring her that many of them knew her in Iraq and witnessed the many difficulties she underwent there at the hands of the Rajavi cult. They have promised to bear witness wherever needed that she and her husband Babak Nik Tale’an were forced to hand-write dictated texts falsely confessing to be agents of the Iranian regime, and that was the condition that they would transfer them back to Germany from Iraq. They remind her that each one of them also has written such false confessions as the MEK forces everyone to do. Iran Interlink has also published photographs of Moini standing with Maryam Rajavi.

In English:

++ Global Research published an analytical article by Eric Draitser titled ‘The Strange Case of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki against the Backdrop of the “War” against the Islamic State (IS)’. Draitser identifies a clear shift that has taken place in the rhetoric against, and analysis of, Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki and his government recently. The article states, “It should come as no surprise to anyone who is even moderately aware of how US foreign policy and propaganda has historically operated, that the demonization of Maliki is directly linked to the inability of Washington to control him or, to put it another way, his refusal to accept US diktats… it was Maliki’s refusal to grant the US request to maintain US military bases in the country after the withdrawal which prompted the first round of attacks on him and his government… Maliki also took the absolutely monumental step of closing down Camp Ashraf and killing or expelling its inhabitants. Far from being a camp for “Iranian political exiles” as Western media have attempted to portray, Ashraf was the base of the Iranian terrorist organization Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), an organization supported wholeheartedly by neocons (as well as most “liberals”) in its continued terror war against Iran. Of course, because Maliki dared to cleanse Iraq of these US-sponsored terrorist thugs, he was immediately convicted in the court of US public opinion which described the operation as an assault on Iranian “freedom fighters.” We know all too well what the US means when it describes terrorists as freedom fighters.”

++ A. Sepinoud and Mazda Parsi on Nejat Bloggers write about the MEK’s seemingly desperate attempts to link itself to ISIS and other terrorist groups in the region apparently as a perverse way of proving that it still exists.

++ Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Ali Ashraf Rashidi, Head of Iran’s Evin prison, dismissed as a “lie” the recent media reports that a fire had erupted in one of the jail’s wards last week. MEK media outlets among others reported a fire on July 1 in one of the Evin prison wards. Rashidi explained the incident as “like how two electricity wires may have contact in any house resulting in short circuit and puff of smoke, the same incident happened in the clerics ward”, noting that anti-Iran groups are not expected to provide authentic reports anyway.”

++ Iraq’s Al-Raie International News Agency reported that “Awad Al Awadi, member of the Sadrist Al Ahrar Bloc of the Iraqi Parliament, called on the Iraqi attorney general to request that Interpol issue international arrest warrants for the leaders of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO), in particular Massoud and Maryam Rajavi.” He said, “some of the elements of the MKO who had come from Europe Entered Iraqi territory crossing Turkey borders in order to join ISIS forces in Mosul. Al Awadi stated, ”This is considered a threat to Iraqi national security and the Iraqi Government has the right to pursue the issue via international bodies.”

11 July 2014

July 12, 2014 0 comments

Terrorist groups and the MEK

MKO–ISIS alliance backed by Western Warmongers

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) are both groups of zealous extremists left over from the days of crisis in Iraq. They are both supported by a group of Western high profiles.

Western supporters of these extremists are shadowy people about their real intentions. Members of the European Parliament who back the MKO as what they call "Resistance" and the ISIS as what they call "part of popular uprising" hardly ever like to go on public record supporting terrorist extremist like the MKO and ISIS unless it is the highest priority which is their common enemy in the region, Islamic Republic of Iran. This means that terrorism designations are fundamentally political choices according to such Western politicians.

The so-called Grand Iranian Gathering was attended by dozens of purchased politic men who praised the MKO and its brother ISIS. While the main objective of the meeting was to support the MKO’s so-called resistance, the cult leader Maryam Rajavi seized the opportunity to violently lash out against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and rejoice over the progress achieved by the ISIS.

The ISIS atrocities in Iraq were claimed by the MKO as victories of "Iraqi revolutionary forces and tribes"! The group’s opportunistic strategy sees its survival in the achievements of the so-called Islamic State that seeks to seize the entire Islamic countries in the region.

Today, in the chaotic situation of Iraq and Syria, the MKO might be the last thing that the international community pays attention to. Thus the MKO resorts to any notorious force that opposes Iraqi and Iranian states. It contributes with them, tries to get involved with them just to draw the world’s attention to itself.

Maryam Rajavi’s meeting with Ahmed Jarba the head of Syrian opposition two months ago was another effort made by the MKO to get itself seen in the region’s equation. To obtain this goal the group’s skillful propaganda bought officials and audience and held its annual gathering –this year—to demonstrate its support for the Saddamist extremists whose leader claimed to be the Califat of all Muslims around the world.

Maryam Rajavi perhaps dreams of ruling one of the provinces in the map of ISIS’s territory 5-year plan !

Mazda Parsi

July 8, 2014 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 59

++ Iraqi news agencies Al-Moragheb and Kol al-Akhbar reported sightings of 120 MEK working alongside ISIS in Mosul dressed in their own uniforms. Previously there had been reports of ISIS using MEK equipment moved from Camp Ashraf and that the MEK openly supported ISIS on its official website.

++ An article by Ebrahim Khodabandeh drew a fierce reaction from the MEK, including death threats. The article reveals that some members and internal critics of the MEK are in contact with him in Tehran by telephone and email and they like to nag about what is happening inside the MEK. Some also travel to Tehran and have met with him there. This includes several members of the NCRI. One who visits regularly says the MEK don’t have a problem about this activity as long as it is kept secret from others. The MEK threaten to expose such people and denounce them as traitors if their visits become known. Khodabandeh categorises the problematic questions circulating inside the MEK which include: working for Saddam Hussein, the insistence on staying in Iraq now, the continuation of the cultic indoctrination sessions and where Massoud Rajavi is. Anyone raising any of these issues inside the MEK is sworn at and accused of treachery. One NCRI member who travels regularly to Tehran told the MEK he was finished with them and no longer believes in anything they do or say. The MEK only threatened to expose and destroy him and even had the audacity to ask for money as part of this blackmailing stance. Khodabandeh concludes his article by addressing these MEK members and saying, it’s alright to rescue yourself, but you have a humanitarian duty to help rescue others, not leave them behind still trapped.

++ Representatives of Iran Setaregan Association had a meeting at the Iraqi embassy in Bern, Switzerland, briefing officials and offering cooperation to help rescue the MEK victims in Camp Liberty in Iraq.

++ Reactions to Villepinte continued, mainly putting the humanitarian aspect first. Writers criticised the MEK for paying millions of euros for speakers and audience which could have been better used to help the people trapped in Iraq. Several question why the MEK and NCRI add “of Iran” to the name while they have no Iranian speakers on the platform and the paid US speakers only talk about the MEK in Iraq. Why are all the speakers Western? Why not bring Iraqi or Iranian speakers? they ask.

++ Nobody except the MEK themselves has mentioned Villepinte without describing it as a PR disaster. Many commentators ridiculed the speeches of various speakers, and said the likes of Giuliani and Bolton calling for freedom and regime change ‘on behalf of the people of Iran’ is a joke for people.

++ In Iraq various people welcomed the fact that France referred to the MEK a terrorist cult, but a few articles point out that words and actions do not match. France says one thing, but does another. If you really mean what you say, they point out, why don’t you do something about it.

++ Videos of the participants in a meeting of ex members on Saturday 21st June in Paris was released this week by Iran Ghalam (Pen) Association, showing both speakers and parts of a small demonstration in the city afterwards.

++ In Paris, four members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly issued a statement warning parliamentary colleagues and government officials to be cautious about the deceptions of the MEK and not to fall into their trap. They advise colleagues and others to keep away from them.

++ Among articles by Bahar Irani on Mojahedin.ws, one predicts the fate of the MEK after the defeat of ISIS. Another compares Abu Baghdadi with Massoud Rajavi after Baghdadi claimed he is leader of all the Moslems in world, just as Rajavi did.

++ The final part of a series of articles by Milad Ariyai titled ‘Quarter of a Century After Eternal Light’ has been published. In this last part Ariyai talks about his own experience of the operation, before during and after.

++ Nejat Association published a demand from Mrs Babai in Iran, who has begged Rajavi and his gang to let her see her son once more before she dies from her terminal illness. At same time, in an open letter to the MEK leader from the Netherlands, Reza Azmudeh has a similar issue with his mother who is in hospital and her last wish is to see her son Morteza or at least speak over the phone with him.

++ Last week in Karbala the authorities accused a man called Mahmoud al-Serkhi and his gang of killing several people. A bomb factory was discovered and several gang members arrested. The man was known as a gangster under the Saddam regime whose accusations of rape and killing were dropped due to Hussein’s protection. After 2003 he put on mullah’s clothes and now calls himself ‘Grand Ayatollah’. Ironically the Saudi papers (which are anti-shia and don’t believe in shiite religious terminology) all refer to him as Grand Ayatollah. This was exposed in both Iraqi and Iranian papers in an effort to contain him. But the MEK were quick to jump on the bandwagon and praised him when he declared his intention to kill Grand Ayatollah Sistani and Prime Minister Maliki.

++ Jamshid Salvar wrote an interesting article on his blog ‘the footprints of the wolves’ – which is dedicated to analysing Rajavi and MEK activity. The article is, ‘a glance at the childish dreams of Maryam Rajavi versus this week’s clear stance by the French government toward the cult’. He writes that just as Iraq is throwing them out and the Americans don’t want them, now the French may expel the MEK. At this time, Maryam Rajavi, who is past 60 still acts like a child, surrounding herself with her paid audience and speakers. Salvar points out what rubbish she speaks, having promised regime change ‘in six months’ for two decades. In the latest meeting she refrained from saying six months leading Salvar to speculate whether her timetable has expanded into the 22nd Century. Yet Rajavi has paid all her speakers to say exactly the same thing, “Iraq has been handed to Iran on a silver plate”. Maryam Rajavi is on overdrive to support ISIS, calling them revolutionaries and then connects this situation to Camp Liberty to ask the Americans to liberate the retired MEK members so they can join ISIS. She has also not forgotten to repeat every word of Netanyahu on the 5+1 negotiations with Iran, and even exceeds him in lying about everything. Rajavi blames everybody else under the sun – the US, the West, the UN – for her failure to deliver over the past three decades. Salvar writes that ironically Maryam claims that the fact ex MEK members talk and write and expose her means she has power over them and Iran and Iraq are afraid of her. In effect she believes ‘they swear at me therefore I am’. Maryam is fond of lecturing everyone else but falls short of what she and Massoud should do themselves; the Americans should stop the Iraqi government from being against the MEK, they should find the missing 7 from Camp Ashraf, they should leave the area surrounding Camp Liberty and allow them to do what they want, the MEK should be given political asylum as a group and the UN should send blue helmets for their security – presumably Rajavi will tell them what to do when they get there. Salvar says Maryam Rajavi is like a child. They are about to throw her out of France and she’s still talking about these things. The reason she asks the US to help is clear, there are 75 people in Camp Liberty who are wanted for war crimes and she is asking for a way to smuggle them out of the camp because if they go on trial they will talk about her as well. Maryam Rajavi says ‘if we are allowed to have a demonstration in Tehran the regime will be toppled in 35 days’. Salvar asks, ‘where did you get 35 days from?’ But says the idea of having a demonstration is rubbish because the MEK can’t even fill the salons in the West and has to pay for the audience. He says that everyone describes Villepinte as a PR disaster because this bubble of pretence suddenly burst with just one sentence from the French government, especially that the MEK is illegal – France won’t keep them there. We know that is why people inside the MEK are already panicking he concludes, especially because Maryam Rajavi’s court case is still not closed.

In English:

++ Several articles looked at the stance taken by France, including a Press TV interview with Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, an author and historian from Washington, to discuss why the French Foreign Ministry has recently condemned the anti-Iran terrorist MEK for its acts of violence. He identifies sensitivity toward the growing threat of ISIS. Although Tarpley doesn’t directly say the MEK support ISIS he says, “obviously there is a feeling in the MEK I would guess that they have got to get involved, that they have got to contribute, they have got to make themselves heard or they are not going to get the funding that they are accustomed to getting.” Asked if the French would expel the MEK Tarpley said that it’s up to them but there is “in the Western intelligence community a kind of frisson – a shudder of alarm – about the terrorists that are being minted in the ISIS but also in the Nusra Front inside Syria and in this entire situation.”

++ Massoud Khodabandeh’s article in Iranian.com says everyone is a loser for allowing the MEK to promote ISIS in Paris.

++ Habilian Association in Iran highlights Guy Taylor’s report in the Washington Times which says that each of the former U.S. officials who spoke to the paper acknowledged that some of their respect for the MKO “stems from the group’s history of having shared intelligence with Washington” about Iran’s nuclear program and the Iranian military activity inside Iraq. The MKO has provided U.S. military officials and successive U.S. administrations with “all types of good intelligence,” said Gen. Shelton. [Ironically, ‘spying for the MEK’ is the reason the IRI gave for the execution of Gholamreza Khosravi] The report quoted an MEK spokesman saying “…the organization’s reach and popularity inside Iran are deep and were instrumental in bringing about the 2009 uprising against the government in Tehran!” [Ironically the very excuse given by the IRI for its severe crackdown on people’s peaceful protests.]

++ Sahar Family Foundation wrote a letter to Jane Hol Lute on behalf of several hundred families of residents in Camp Liberty. Now the situation has become so tense and dangerous the families want to know what plans and progress has been made to rescue their loved ones: “It is now about 6 months since you were appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s special adviser to relocate the residents of Camp Liberty to other countries. We are aware that you have always been successful in your previous tasks and no one doubts your capabilities. We wish kindly to ask you to let us know what efforts you have made to transfer these people to a safe place, and what obstacles you have faced during fulfilling your mission and what programs you have for the future.”

++ Fars News (Iran) reported that “the Secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council, Mohammad Javad Larijani, blasted the European states for sheltering members of the terrorist groups, including PJAK (the Party for Free Life of Kurdistan) and Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as MEK, PMOI and NCRI), adding that they have turned into a safe haven for the terrorists.”

++ Voltairenet described the MEK’s Villepinte meeting as an ‘International meeting for ISIL in France’. “While the main objective of the meeting was to support the Mujahidin military base in Iraq, Camp Asharaf and their fight against Iran, MEK president Maryam Rajavi seized the opportunity to violently lash out against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and rejoice over the progress achieved by the Islamic Emirate in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)… French politics nowadays are profoundly schizophrenic: on one hand France (as the U.S.) officially condemns the destabilization of a State by a terrorist organization, while on the other hand, the Élysée participates alongside the U.S. in the secret war in the Middle East and details Foreign Legion officers to oversee the ISIL in Syria and Iraq.”

04 July 2014

July 6, 2014 0 comments

USA

US turned against Maliki for cleansing Iraq of US sponsored MEK terrorists

The Strange Case of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki against the Backdrop of the “War” against the Islamic State (IS)

While the world’s attention has been fixated on the rapid advance and conquering of territory by ISIS/ISIL in Iraq, a clear shift has taken place in the rhetoric against, and analysis of, Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki and his government. Though he was praised up and down by Washington while US troops remained on Iraqi soil, in the nearly three years since their exit he has transmogrified into a brutal sectarian autocrat evoking the worst aspects of both Saddam’s regime and that of his Shia neighbors and allies in Iran. What could possibly account for such a dramatic about-face?

The question then becomes: Is it simply that the world has finally taken notice of Maliki’s dictatorship against the backdrop of the war against ISIS/ISIL? Or could it be that the narrative has changed because the US agenda and interests have changed, and thus, so too has the image of Maliki. From democratic representative of the religious/ethnic majority to vicious tyrant bent on the destruction of Sunni and Kurdish minorities, Maliki has undergone a shocking political makeover.

Indeed, Maliki is not the first, nor is he likely to be the last, leader propped up, armed, and supported politically and militarily by the US, only to then become the proverbial “greatest threat to peace and stability in the region.” Such was Saddam’s fate. So too was it the fate of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti. And it seems now that Maliki, like countless other would-be US puppets who suddenly discovered their own national interests, has magically become the center of evil in Iraq and the region.

It should be noted that an examination of how the narrative on Maliki has shifted should not be taken as a de facto endorsement of all his actions or policies. Quite the contrary, such an analysis is rooted in an examination of the facts and material conditions, rather than an emotional appeal to “pick a side” and “support the people.” These and other hollow phrases have adorned the writing of many analysts on this issue in recent weeks without thoroughly examining the real forces at play. As such, the hollow phrases turn into shallow analysis which leads to the confusion about Iraq today.

Washington, Tehran, and Maliki’s “Sins”

It should come as no surprise to anyone who is even moderately aware of how US foreign policy and propaganda has historically operated, that the demonization of Maliki is directly linked to the inability of Washington to control him or, to put it another way, his refusal to accept US diktats. Consequently, he has been made into a villain, rather than a leader attempting to establish independent institutions in a country in which all institutions were created by the authority of a military occupation. So, the question then becomes, is Maliki simply trying to consolidate all power to himself? Or has Maliki been attempting to purge his government of US agents, clients, puppets, and other assorted front men? As is so often the case, the answer will lie somewhere in the middle.

To listen to the talking points of the State Department, news pundits, and “security experts,” you’d think that everyone in the Obama administration and the US political elite was in agreement that Maliki is an autocratic dictator. However, Obama himself revealed quite the opposite when the Iraqi Prime Minister came to the White House less than two and half years ago. On December 12, 2011, just weeks before the ultimate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, President Obama stood next to Maliki and made the following remarks:

Today, I’m proud to welcome Prime Minister Maliki — the elected leader of a sovereign, self-reliant and democratic Iraq… Iraq faces great challenges, but today reflects the impressive progress that Iraqis have made. Millions have cast their ballots — some risking or giving their lives — to vote in free elections. The Prime Minister leads Iraq’s most inclusive government yet. Iraqis are working to build institutions that are efficient and independent and transparent.

In examining these and other comments made by Obama, and Bush before him, it becomes clear that a tectonic shift has occurred in how Maliki is viewed by Washington. Once seen as a pliable, compliant client regime, Maliki has now become the embodiment of corruption, sectarianism, and lust for power. What could possibly have motivated such a drastic change?

First and foremost are Maliki’s attitudes and policies towards the US occupation and the presence of military and non-military personnel. In fact, it was Maliki’s refusal to grant the US request to maintain US military bases in the country after the withdrawal which prompted the first round of attacks on him and his government. And it was then that the image of Maliki as Iranian puppet truly became popularized, at least in Western media. Indeed, as The Guardian noted at the time,

“The Pentagon had wanted the bases to help counter growing Iranian influence in the Middle East. Just a few years ago, the US had plans for leaving behind four large bases but, in the face of Iraqi resistance, this plan had to be scaled down this year to a force of 10,000. But even this proved too much for the Iraqis.”

Maliki also took the absolutely monumental step of closing down Camp Ashraf and killing or expelling its inhabitants. Far from being a camp for “Iranian political exiles” as Western media have attempted to portray, Ashraf was the base of the Iranian terrorist organization Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), an organization supported wholeheartedly by neocons (as well as most “liberals”) in its continued terror war against Iran. Of course, because Maliki dared to cleanse Iraq of these US-sponsored terrorist thugs, he was immediately convicted in the court of US public opinion which described the operation as an assault on Iranian “freedom fighters.” We know all too well what the US means when it describes terrorists as freedom fighters.

And so, by refusing basing rights, refusing to extend immunity and legal protections to US contractors operating in Iraq, and wiping out Camp Ashraf and MEK members, Maliki became a villain. More to the point, it was his refusal to allow Iraq to be used by the US and its allies as a military and political bulwark against Iran that earned him the West’s ire. Far from wanting a “sovereign, self-reliant and democratic Iraq” as Obama eloquently proclaimed, Washington needed the country to remain a client state to be used as a weapon of US foreign policy in the region. By rejecting this, Maliki, almost overnight, became “a dictator.”

But the Maliki-as-dictator meme has become a powerful device for shaping the narrative about Iraq. One of the primary methods of this narrative-building is establishing, and constantly reiterating, that Maliki has consolidated all power to himself by purging his government of political rivals. While there is undoubtedly some truth in the fact that Maliki has sought to sideline certain political figures who were unwilling to “play ball” with his regime in Baghdad, this is only half the story, the only half western media wants you to hear.

The other side of that story is the fact that Maliki was left by the US with a government rife with factions and individuals who represented not Iraq, but Western political and financial interests. One of the patterns to which Maliki’s accusers point as an example of his dictatorship is his purging of key figures in major Iraqi institutions. However, these same accusers never mention exactly who was purged, and why.

One of the principal examples of such purging was Maliki’s sacking of two key figures in the banking establishment in Iraq. Specifically, Maliki dismissed Sinan al-Shabibi, Governor of Iraq’s Central Bank, and Hussein al-Uzri, former head of the state-owned Trade Bank. These dismissals were reported as a power grab. However, for the most part, they fail to mention the critical fact that these two very powerful individuals in Iraq’s financial establishment are very close friends and associates of Ahmed Chalabi. This name should ring a bell for those who have followed the Iraq tragedy for these last twelve years; Chalabi was the darling of Bush, Cheney, and the neocons. A close political ally, Chalabi was originally envisioned by Cheney and Co. as the leader of the new Iraq, an Iraq which would be amenable to US political and corporate interests in the country.

Though Chalabi was rejected by the Iraqi people, and was never able to establish political power for himself at the time, he and his neocon friends were able to embed their people in Iraq’s banking institutions, thereby giving the US effective control over credit in the country. As has always been known, power over finances is de facto political power and authority. So, was Maliki seeking to consolidate all power to himself? Or was he attempting to rid Iraq’s banks of corrupt agents of Western finance capital who had been undemocratically put in place by precisely those same forces who eagerly championed the destruction of Iraq?

Another of Maliki’s grave crimes was taking on Western oil companies looking to make massive profits off of Iraq’s vast energy deposits. Perhaps the most well known instance occurred in 2012 when ExxonMobil signed an oil exploration deal with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. Maliki rejected the validity of the deal, noting that any oil contracts must be negotiated with the central government in Baghdad, rather than Barzani’s US-aligned government in Arbil. Maliki’s spokesman noted at the time that:

Maliki views these deals as representing a very dangerous initiative that may lead to the outbreak of wars… [and] breaking up the unity of Iraq…Maliki is prepared to go to the highest levels for the sake of preserving the national wealth and the necessary transparency in investing the wealth of the Iraqis, especially oil… [He] sent a message to American President Barak [sic] Obama last week urging him to intervene to prevent ExxonMobil from going in this direction.

It is no secret that Maliki’s strong-willed resistance to this deal, in addition to his refusal to pay ExxonMobil upwards of $50 million to improve production at one major southern oil field, led directly to the oil company pulling out of the lucrative West Qurna-1 project. Essentially then, Maliki took on the very powerful oil corporations (BP is no friend of Maliki either), seeking to get a better deal for Iraq. It would be safe to assume that the endemic corruption in Iraq would have made it easier for Maliki and his associates to enrich themselves by skimming off the top and/or receiving payouts from other oil interests. However, this is secondary to the primary “crime” of challenging the hegemony of oil companies in Iraq. Doesn’t Maliki realize that the US fought a war in Iraq to protect and further the interests of oil companies, among others?

Undoubtedly, Maliki’s greatest sin in the eyes of US-NATO-Israel-GCC has been his steadfast support for Syria and Assad. Maliki refused to abandon Assad when the US-NATO war machine was gearing up to bomb Syria. He loudly proclaimed his support for Assad and his resistance to any attempts to coax and cajole Iraq into allying against him. In this way, Maliki affirmed the alliance of Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus-Hezbollah against the US-NATO-Israel-GCC axis of power, and in doing so put himself at the top of Washington’s enemies list.

In late 2013, Maliki, along with Assad and Iranian authorities, participated in continued negotiations over the proposed Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline, which would bring Iranian and Iraqi gas to the Mediterranean via Syria, thereby giving those countries direct, overland access to the European market. Naturally, this was seen as a direct challenge to US ally Qatar and its dominance of the Middle Eastern gas trade to Europe. It should be noted that it is no mere coincidence that the eruption of the war in Syria coincided perfectly with the initial negotiations over the proposed pipeline.

So, rather than a leader defending national interests and attempting to engage in independent economic development outside the hegemony of Western political and corporate powers, Maliki has been portrayed as a corrupt and brutal tyrant bent on destroying Sunnis, Kurds, and anyone else who stands in his way. Might it not have something to do with Maliki not being a willing puppet for a war on Syria?

Almost as an afterthought are still other reasons why Maliki has been demonized. He has purchased significant military hardware from Russia, including attack helicopters, rather than being solely reliant on US military assistance. Maliki allowed Iraqi Vice President Hashemi, a politician known to be close with Qatar and the US, to be indicted and tried for running an assassination-for-hire operation. Maliki moved to reorganize Iraqi political life by breaking some of the deliberately dysfunctional political institutions created by the US occupiers after the initial war. He sought to use loans and credit to rebuild some of the destroyed infrastructure. He refused to allow Shia politics to be the sole territory of the Sadrists and others. These and countless other actions obviously demonstrated to the US and its allies that “Maliki must go,” as they are so fond of saying.

Is the US Really Supporting Maliki?

One of the more pernicious aspects of the coverage of the conflict in Iraq has been the propagandistic talking point from both mainstream and some non-mainstream outlets that the US is “supporting” and “propping up” Maliki. Dozens of articles and interviews have appeared in recent weeks in which experts espouse the notion that the Obama administration is trying to keep Maliki in power. Despite flying in the face of both logic and the facts, this narrative has taken root in many quarters, and has become the basis upon which many have provided de facto support to ISIS/ISIL and the Sunni insurgents allied, however tenuously, with them.

It would seem that those who argue that the US wants to preserve Maliki’s position in Iraq have not been paying attention. Indeed, headlines such as “US leaders want Iraq’s Nouri al-Maliki to step down in return for US airstrikes on ISIS: Report” from the International Business Times, or “Iraq must form new government, Kerry warns in Baghdad” from the Financial Times, call into question that very assertion. In fact, it is not Maliki that the US is trying to preserve, it is its own influence in Iraq. This is the point that many so-called experts have utterly failed to grasp; Maliki is not doing what he’s told, so the US wants to put in his place someone who will. And they are using the ISIS/ISIL takeover as a convenient pretext for this sort of regime change.

And whose name keeps coming up in discussion about who the US might want to see replace Maliki? It’s none other than good old Ahmed Chalabi, the same puppet who Bush and Co. tried to install in the first place. Ayad Allawi, another Iraqi politician with close ties to the US, is also on the short list. So, two failed US political proxies are now being promoted as the “democratic” and “inclusive” future of Iraqi politics. It’s enough to make anyone laugh, or be sick.

It is also amusing to hear so-called experts discussing how the US has sent troops to Iraq to help Maliki. Such a superficial analysis reveals a complete lack of understanding of both military matters and the way in which the US operates abroad. The authorization for the deployment of 300 military personnel to Iraq is evidence not of an attempt to save Maliki, but to preserve certain key political, financial, and energy infrastructure for Western interests.

The US is not protecting Maliki, but protecting itself and its investments from Maliki, should he attempt to cling to power. Those troops have been protecting the US embassy, advising key figures in regards to securing the oil fields, and providing protection for foreign oil workers among others. This cannot be mistaken for military support for Maliki, unless of course it is the goal of those espousing this nonsense to convince the world that Maliki is the “US man in Iraq.”

Today Iraq is at war, and in danger of breaking apart. With Islamist militants and Sunni insurgents fighting a war against the government in Baghdad, the country is headed for total collapse and partition. But this war did not start with ISIS conquering Mosul. It did not start with Maliki consolidating power. It began before the last US troops ever left Iraq. It began when Maliki decided that he would not be cowed by US threats and diktats. It began the second Iraq tried to assert itself independently. And for this, Iraq is paying the ultimate price.

Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City, he is the founder of StopImperialism.org and OP-ed columnist for RT, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”

By Eric Draitser

July 6, 2014 0 comments

Terrorist groups and the MEK

Hanging to ISIS terrorists; futile struggle of MKO terrorists to survive

At the end of May, when an ISIS fighter returning home from Syria carried out a deadly attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels killing reportedly 4, the Europe got to the fact that the violence doesn’t stop at its external borders .

The Islamic States of Iraq and al-Sham (SIS) prevailed in recruiting more people, and obtain weapons and money from different sources. This concerned the Western states that once supported and armed the group against the legal government of Syria and Iraq.

The ISIS terrorist group which has now organized a terrorist army seems to have plan to tangle with the West.

A senior U.S. official, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said that events in Syria and Iraq are dominating discussions in the counter-terrorism community. The official said ISIS was now focused on Iraq, but "the big concern" was that it will shift its attention to the West — identifying, recruiting and training Western individuals to return to their homelands as hardened, combat-trained extremists.[1]

European governments estimate that at least 1,400 of their citizens are fighting as ISIS jihadists but the true numbers may be higher—one British parliamentarian said that as many as 1,500 Britons have fought in Syria, compared to an official estimate of 500. [ 2] Authorities in France believe some 800 French nationals have travelled to Syria, or intend to. Analysts believe as many as 100 American citizens have made the trek.[3]

on the other side, the Mujahedin Khalq terrorist group which has already been active supporting the extremists in the region or elsewhere, didn’t hesitate hailing and supporting blatantly the so called Islamic government of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL/ISIS), despite the shocking news and gruesome photos of the mass killings and savage crimes the ISIS commit in Iraq and against ordinary people. Instead the group supporters in the European Parliament downplayed the horrors of ISIS’ actions claiming the violent acts were “part of a popular uprising” against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. [4]

The military equipments and armored vehicles of the MKO reportedly were seen as being used by the elements of ISIS.

In their annual gathering in Paris to hail their vicious past, Maryam Rajavi the so called president elect of the MKO rejoiced over the progress achieved by the ISIL.[5]

Meanwhile, the French Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization stating:” "France has no contact with the Organisation of the People’s Mujahideen of Iran which is known for resorting to violence,"

Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, an author and historian from Washington, in an interview by PressTV to discuss the reason behind the France recent condemnation of the MKO says:” When you see a group like ISIS which is similar in many ways to the terrorists of the MEK, obviously there is a feeling in the MEK I would guess that they have got to get involved, that they have got to contribute, they have got to make themselves heard or they are not going to get the funding that they are accustomed to getting”.[6]

The Mujahedin Khalq Organization’s support and mutual cooperation to the extremist groups in the region seems to be – -in addition to its terrorist nature -based on the fact that the group depends on crises to secure its survival.

While Syria and Iraq experiencing unrest the MKO has been active supporting the insurgents and saboteurs.

In late august 2012, a number of MKO terrorists detained by the Syrian government confessed that the MKO is training the militants on Turkish soil near the border with Syria. [7]

After the downfall of Saddam Hussein the MKO has been active in supporting Baath Party elements and other terrorist and extremist groups against the legal government of Iraq who wants the MKO out of the country.

Anyway, the group’s supports and mutual services to terrorists and extremists haven’t brought anything good for them. It may lose its years-long stronghold in France, as it did in Iraq; Camp Ashraf.

By A. Sepinoud

References:

[1] Cruickshank, Paul , Lister, Tim, CNN, Europe faces ‘greatest terror threat ever’ from jihadists in Iraq and Syria , June 19, 2014

[2] Abi-Habib, Maria, Jihadists Step Up Recruitment Drive, Wall Street Journal, June25,2014

[3] Cruickshank, Paul, Lister, Tim, ‘Foreign Legion’ in Iraq and Syria may bring jihad to West, CNN, June 17, 2014

[4] Mamedov, Eldar, European MEK Supporters Downplay ISIS Role in Iraq, LobeLog, May 6, 2014

[5] Voltarie Network, International meeting for ISIL in France, July1,2014

[6] ISIL terror alarms France to MKO threat: Analyst, PressTV, June30, 2014

[7] PressTV , MKO terrorists active in Syria under guise of medics ,May4, 2013

July 5, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

US officials’ support for MKO stems from its intelligence-gathering on Iran

Former US officials support for MEK due to the group’s intelligence gathering against Iran, reported Washington Times.

Washington Times cites former US officials who are backing the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK, a.k.a. MKO( as saying that the intelligence-gathering role of the MKO in Iran is the reason why they support the group.

Guy Taylor’s Washington Times wrote in a report which was published on the Washington Times that each of the former U.S. officials who spoke with The Times on his report acknowledged that some of their respect for the MKO “stems from the group’s history of having shared intelligence with Washington” about Iran’s nuclear program and the Iranian military activity inside Iraq.

The MKO has provided U.S. military officials and successive U.S. administrations with “all types of good intelligence,” said Gen. Shelton.

All of these former U.S. officials also acknowledged that their “travel and accommodations expenses in France” were being paid for by the MKO.

“However, each also asserted that it is common practice for them to accept payment for speaking engagements and stressed that their support for Friday’s rally and the plight of the MEK had nothing to do with money.”

One March 13, 2012, New York Times reported that the prominent former American officials have been giving well-paid speeches in support of the MKO which was fighting to reverse its 15-year-old designation by the State Department as a terrorist organization .

“Former chairman of the Democratic National Committee said he had given seven or eight speeches since July calling for the M.E.K. to be taken off the terrorist list and estimated that he had been paid a total of $150,000 or $160,000.” “Rendell said he had been told that his fees came from Iranian-American supporters of the M.E.K., not from the group itself.”

Other former officials who have accepted fees for speaking in support of the MEK said that they and their agents had not received subpoenas. Some did not respond to inquiries. The fees have ranged from $15,000 to $30,000 for a brief speech.

Washington Times added that questions over the extent to which it may or may not be in Washington’s best interest to support the group continue to swirl through Washington’s foreign policy community.

“The biggest question centers on whether the NCRI is truly representative of the wider Iranian opposition community — inside Iran and around the world.”

Taylor added that finding informed sources willing to speak openly on the question, however, is known to be difficult.

“One source approached by The Times said it was unthinkable to speak openly against the NCRI because doing so would result in death threats from this group.”

“Nothing signals cluelessness about Iran more than treating NCRI as a legitimate opposition group,” said the source, who agreed to be quoted only on the condition of anonymity. “It sided with Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war, so its popularity in Iran is on par with that of the American Taliban who fought alongside Osama bin Laden against the U.S”.

The MKO’s spokesman in Washington told Washington Times that such characterizations are nonsense and argued that the organization’s reach and popularity inside Iran are deep and were instrumental in bringing about the 2009 uprising against the government in Tehran!

Asked about where the organization gets its funding, MKO spokesman asserted that financing “has been and continues to be the Iranian people inside and outside Iran”.

All of the former U.S. officials who spoke with The Times for this article acknowledged that their travel and accommodations expenses in France were being paid for by the NCRI. However, each also asserted that it is common practice for them to accept payment for speaking engagements and stressed that their support for Friday’s rally and the plight of the MEK had nothing to do with money.

July 2, 2014 0 comments

Letter of Sahar Family Foundation to Jane Holl Lute

Sahar Family Foundation wrote a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special adviser to help with the relocation of residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq to new countries, Jane Holl Lute, which is below. This letter has also been given to the press and other relevant bodies.

Ms. Jane Holl Lute

UNAMI – Baghdad

June, 27, 2014

Dear Madam

Regarding the new situation in Iraq, the present condition of Camp Liberty where the members of Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, Rajavi Cult) are located is quite tense and dangerous; but Massoud Rajavi still insists on keeping his followers there, no matter what the price might be, and have all of them killed.

You are probably aware that the MKO leaders openly support the terrorist organizations looting and massacring the Iraqis, and that they are very pleased with this turn of events. There is also evidence showing that the MKO leaders, as in the time of Saddam Hussein, are acting against the Iraqi people and the consequence for the trapped MKO members in Camp Liberty will be possible revenge attacks.

We know from recent escapees that a large majority of the individuals located in Camp Liberty under the rule of Massoud Rajavi are discontented and dissatisfied with their situation and they try to disobey their commanders. This situation has reached a crisis point so that the MKO leaders are thinking of eliminating some individuals in order to avoid further unrest. We also have information indicating that they are practically living full-time in underground bunkers for security reasons and that conditions in these bunkers are atrocious.

The daily and weekly psychological manipulation sessions of brainwashing and indoctrination of cultic thoughts are carried out even more severely than before, and in the meantime the interviews with the UNHCR have been stopped and the camp leaders have announced that having any contact with the UN or the ICRC is crossing a red line.

It is now about 6 months since you were appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s special adviser to relocate the residents of Camp Liberty to other countries. We are aware that you have always been successful in your previous tasks and no one doubts your capabilities. We wish kindly to ask you to let us know what efforts you have made to transfer these people to a safe place, and what obstacles you have faced during fulfilling your mission and what programs you have for the future.

We, on behalf of the suffering families of the members of MKO in Iraq, urge you to reply to our inquiries and include as clear a picture as you can of what will be the future for these individuals.

Sahar Family Foundation

Baghdad – June, 27, 2014

July 2, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

Grand Iranian Gathering or Huge Misinformation Campaign?

Year after year, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) holds its so-called Grand Gathering in Villepinte, Paris where a large crowd –including paid Western former politicians, black Africans and European students– is assembled from all over the world. Ordinary attendees who are eager to go on a free trip to the most eye-catching European capital are bused to the gathering show by different means of propaganda effectively used by the MKO.

Although the leader of the MKO cult of personality Maryam Rajavi claims that "today’s gathering reflects the will of the Iranian people from all walks of life", the documented reports, photos and testimonies of the attendees of previous Villepinte rally has always proved the opposite.

Just like a tradition these revealing stories are published a few days after the alleged Grand Gathering every year. You may remember the Polish students who could not resist the offer of a three-day trip to the French capital for only 6 Euros! [1]

Or you must recall the diary of a Kyrgyz student Alina Alymkulova who recounted in Radio Free Europe how she was recruited to travel from Prague to Paris to attend a rally for the MKO in June 2013. [2]

But this year’s gathering was encountered with an immediate harsh reaction by the French Government. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal criticized the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, for “its violent and non-democratic inspirations,” ‘’cult nature” and “intense campaign of influence and disinformation”, reported the Associated Press. [3]

Romain Nadal also stated that France has no contact with the MKO "which is known for resorting to violence". The group has "no legal existence in France in the form of an Organization," Nadal stressed referring to its "sectarian practices". "We express our greatest reservations faced with the intense lobbying and disinformation campaign being carried out" by the MKO, He warned. [4]

While Rajavi criticizes the Unites States and the United Nations for their failure to relocate residents of camp Liberty in third countries, the expenses of organizing such a huge rally – at least one hundred politicians are offered first class flights and luxurious hotels in Paris by the MKO propaganda arm— could have been spent for the resettlement process of 3000 individuals who are taken as hostages by the cult leaders in the critical situation of Iraq.

The long list of former Western high profiles –mostly from warmonger parties– who address the MKO rally in Villepinte indicates that the rally is actually a misinformation campaign that never seeks the aspirations of the Iranian public. It is absolutely a heavy-funded act of propaganda for Maryam Rajavi to show off its fake prominence among Iranians.

Mazda Parsi

Sources:

[1]https://www.nejatngo.org/en/posts/2112

[2]Alymkulova, Alina, Diary Of An MKO Rent-A-Crowd Demonstrator, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, June 30, 2013

[3]Associated Press ,France lashes out at Iranian opposition group, June 27, 2014

[4]KUNA, France warns against "disinformation" campaign by MKO, June 27, 2014

July 1, 2014 0 comments

Maryam Rajavi

Maryam Rajavi’s annual Rally in Villepinte

Maryam Rajavi’s annual Rally in Villepinte. This year promoting ISIS, MEK, Saddamists – Everyone Loses

This past Friday in Paris, the Mojahedin Khalq is held its annual rally to celebrate its violent past. This year, as every year, the MEK will pay both speakers and audience to attend. The annual rally is increasingly exposed and mocked by the media.

Who are they?

Mojahedin Khalq is one of the rare forces which advertises and is proud of being a mercenary force. They never had an agenda of their own but have taken money from their paymasters, such as Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Although no government except Saddam Hussein’s regime has ever publicly condoned or supported the MEK, various Western agencies – the Pentagon, CIA, MOSSAD, the Israeli lobby and various neoconservatives – have at various times, and for various purposes, used the MEK. The MEK undertakes activities and poses in particular ways which suit their agendas – information laundry, assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, and more, culminating in Maryam Rajavi’s disastrous, ludicrous attempt to pose as a human rights advocate in the Canadian Parliament in May this year.

What is different this year?

This time the annual rally is being held at the same time that Western leaders meet in Paris to discuss how to find a political solution to the crisis in Iraq.

Each government is, of course, pursuing its own interests in Iraq and each wants to wrest the greatest political influence and benefit from the current crisis. But what they all share in common is the need to confront and stop the terrorist threat of ISIS in Iraq.

Iraqi media and analysts identify this current manifestation of ISIS as a sophisticated military force – although said to be an offshoot of Al Qaida formed in Syria – as an element of the Baath Party (that is, the remains of Saddam’s regime), who had warned before that they would take revenge and create chaos and mayhem. Some ISIS equipment has been found to have previously belonged to the MEK. This is not a group which has newly emerged or lately come together, but is part of an existing cohort of groups and individuals prepared to use extreme violence to pursue political aims. The MEK are part of this cohort.

While the violence of the triangle of Saddamists, ISIS and MEK in Iraq is ongoing, we witness that the MEK’s strongest advocates in the west, Struan Stevenson, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Paulo Casaca and a couple of others have abandoned their mainstream political careers in the European Parliament and similar places to become full time advocates for this cohort. Under the organisational label ‘European Iraqi Freedom Association’ (EIFA), they claimed that the recent violent acts in Iraq were not carried out by ISIS, but were “part of a popular uprising” against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In doing so, they are openly backing the MEK, ISIS and Saddamist cohort against the government of Iraq even after successful elections returned popularly elected political representatives.

For those with any lingering doubt about where the MEK stands on the issue of terrorism, an examination of their own website in Farsi is instructive. Only days before the current crisis erupted in Iraq, MEK leader Massoud Rajavi expressed his solidarity with the Saudi backed Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group based in Pakistan. Referring to the execution of 16 men affiliated to Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group Masoud Rajavi described them as “martyrs” and “brothers”.

A screenshot of the MEK site’s first page quickly circulated on the internet as shocked Iranians of every stripe denounced the MEK. As the world looked on in horror at the actions of ISIS (beheadings, mass murders, etc), the MEK hailed the group as “revolutionary forces”, (an echo of the false identity it ascribes to itself as “Iran’s resistance movement”), and continued to advertise ISIS achievements and stances.

Humanitarian issues

The MEK’s collaboration with Saddamists and its public support for ISIS is unsurprising for experts on the group, but it is problematic. This support has made MEK in Camp Liberty a legitimate target for revenge killing by its old enemies – the Kurdish and Shiite populations among which the MEK massacred several thousand for Saddam Hussein during the First Gulf War in 1991. This matches with one of Massoud Rajavi’s recent internal proclamations; that should Camp Liberty be threatened by (unspecified) outside forces the residents should all kill themselves. In this way, Rajavi would be rid of many witnesses to his multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes. A meeting of ex members in Paris on 21 June highlighted this very threat.

But this stance contradicts another of Rajavi’s positions, which is to use the forces in Camp Liberty as advertising products in the Paris rally. The speakers may admit to being paid, but they also claim to sincerely believe in the MEK’s ability to bring about freedom for Iran, and will no doubt be keen to use the platform in Paris to echo the demand to ‘rescue’ the Camp Liberty residents. Whether they are willfully ignorant of the facts or simply naïve is open to question. Indeed, both speakers and attendees should ask how this rally will help rescue the residents in Camp Liberty, Iraq, who the MEK leaders absolutely refuse to help. The UN has not hesitated to denounce the hindrances and obstruction created by the MEK leaders when it has tried to help these victims. In addition, the UN has accused the MEK of human rights abuses against its own members.

Lobbying for what? survival of a terrorist cult?

The idea that this rally is for lobbying is not only false but it is dangerous. Lobbying cannot involve the promotion of bloodshed and terror; that is murder. In any case, the MEK are not lobbying anyone for anything. The MEK is a cult and has its own agenda quite independent of its publicly stated policies. Its own internal interests are paramount and the current rally is being used to promote Maryam Rajavi as a replacement for Massoud Rajavi as the cult guru or ideological leader.

Everything the MEK has ever done has been to ensure its own survival; from working for Saddam Hussein to getting de-listed as a terrorist group. Governments, countries, agencies and lobbyists would do well to sit down and work out what have been their gains and losses because of using this organisation. For example, the MEK has not advanced the neoconservative agenda at all, instead because of its resort to violence it has benefited the conservatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran who use it to point out western double standards on terrorism. The MEK’s achievements in relation to its proclaimed stance are nil.

Can MEK be trusted? beneficial?

The MEK pretend to work as mercenaries to suit western backers but have in reality simply exploited loopholes and weaknesses in western political systems purely to promote themselves and, like parasites, find a niche to exist in for a while. The MEK have infiltrated parliaments and ministries and misused them. The rally in Paris on June 27th exploits the concept of ‘freedom of speech’ to promote a pretended political point of view.

Given the MEK’s very clear and public support for ISIS, the fallout from this rally will affect everyone. While Western leaders are in the same city promoting the formation of a united front (according to configurations best suited to themselves) to confront the terrorist group, by turning a blind eye to a rally held by ISIS supporters in Paris, all western governments, not just that of France, are implicated in tacit support for that terrorism.

June 30, 2014 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran-Interlink Weekly Digest – 58

++ Dr Zahra Jazayeri, a fierce critic of the MEK and its leaders, died this week in London. Zahra is the sister of Hassan Jazayeri who died in Iraq from heat exhaustion exacerbated by a heart condition in an MEK training camp in the 1980s. Zahra vociferously criticised the MEK and took action against her brother’s widow, a loyal MEK supporter called “Azam Farahani Mollahasani Kohneh” after Azam changed her name by Deed Poll to “Leila Jazayeri” to evade criminal charges. Zahra tried to make Azam give up the Jazayeri name because the family are highly respected and successful in Iran, and they did not want the taint of the MEK and criminality to link to them. Zahra enlisted the help of Dr Nourizadeh and other prominent Iranians in the UK to prevent the misuse of the family name, and also complained about the waste of Hassan’s son Hanif’s life saying that he could have been somebody if his mother had not given him to the MEK.

++ This week MEK websites have published pictures of Dr Zahra Jazayeri and her brother Hassan dating from the 1980s. Presumably they could not find any more recent pictures of her. The MEK labelled Hassan “a martyr killed by Iran” and claimed that Zahra was a supporter of the MEK, and especially of Maryam Rajavi. Many commentators in Farsi are expressing their disgust at Maryam Rajavi and her brazen misuse of Zahra now she is dead and cannot respond.

++ There has been severe criticism of the Brussels based European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) led by MEK advocates Sturan Stevenson, Alejo Vidal-Quadras and Paulo Casaca, pointing out that although by themselves they are nobodies, they are part of a wider warmongering front across the world. Criticism was levelled at the European Union for allowing this open promotion of terrorism.

++ An article in a prominent Israeli newspaper promoted the MEK and advised Israel to make more use of them as proxys in Iraq now the country has been destabilized. One suggestion was that Israel make use of Camp Liberty near Baghdad. Reactions in Farsi were that this is simply more proof that the MEK is in the pocket of Israel.

++ Saudi backed channel Al Arabiya broadcast news citing a Kurdish source claiming that the MEK have been in talks with Massoud Barezani and as a result will be given sanctuary in Iraqi Kurdistan. As this rumour gained momentum, representatives of the Kurdish Regional Government rejected the news emphasising that the MEK is a criminal organisation which has killed many Kurds and therefore such a thing would never happen. The KRG also rejected news that Barezani met with Maryam Rajavi in Paris saying this would never happen.

++ On 21st June, the anniversary of ’30th Khordad 1981′ when the MEK staged a failed coup d’etat, Yaran Association, a network of former MEK members and their groups, organised a meeting, followed by a leaflet drop. The attendees condemned the MEK’s current alliance with ISIS which has now killed many Iraqis. They also raised the issue of Camp Liberty as a humanitarian crisis because now the head of the cult is working with ISIS, these vulnerable people could be killed.

++ The MEK tried to disrupt the Yaran Association meeting – as they have done with other gatherings of ex members – but this time were unable to do so. They therefore they went back to their usual internet attacks. This consisted of re publishing the pictures taken by Yaran and adding comments like ‘traitor’ or ‘agent of the regime’. This was so that they could report to the leader that they managed to do something to push back the enemy. Massoud Khodabandeh commented in Facebook, ‘it is interesting that these guys couldn’t even achieve the minimum like taking pictures as they used to, let alone knifing which they have also done in the past. Whether they have been curtailed by the French authorities or whether it’s due to the incapability of the MEK itself, the MEK’s so-called Intelligence department has apparently collapsed.”

++ Ebrahim Khodabandeh has analysed some articles published by the MEK, one of which claims the MEK have an important role as a support. Khodabandeh says that what they come up with is not that they get their position as a support from the people, but rather from their ideological leader. He recalls the speeches of Maryam Rajavi saying nobody can replace Massoud, and points out how suddenly the MEK have now switched from Massoud to Maryam as the ideological leader. He says that in cults it is not possible to change or replace the guru, but that is what they are trying to do.

++ There have been many comments about Villepinte from different points of view. One is a question that “everyone inside the MEK should ask”: “If what you claim is true, and you have all this support and the whole world is with you, then why is Massoud still in hiding?” Many ask why the MEK pays so much for the speakers and the audience and why they do this. Some have answered by saying this is to solve internal problems, others say it is to satisfy Maryam Rajavi’s ego, but whatever the reason, nobody takes it seriously as a force.

++ In Tehran a new book by Seyed Hojjat Esmaili a high ranking ex member of the MEK’s Intelligence Department, has been published. He has worked on it for five years. The book is titled, ‘The Rise and Fall of the God of Ashraf’.

++ A short article by Aawa Association in Germany ridicules the MEK claim that it has the support of 100 German MPs. Aawa does not see how this is possible since no names have been published, and says that as a German Association, they would certainly have known about it. It is also ironic that the photograph accompanying the MEK claim shows two individuals who were MPs many, many years ago, revealing that the MEK couldn’t even find a recent picture to back its claim.

++ On Friday 27th, before the start of the MEK rally in Villepinte, Iranians in France, particularly those Yaran Associations who met last week, distributed thousands of leaflets around the area exposing the criminal past of Maryam Rajavi and her gang for the people who have been bussed in.

++ In various Iraqi papers this week there have been reports of MEK members being seen alongside ISIS. One paper specifically identifies a group of 120 MEK in Mosul who are working within ISIS.

In English:

++ The French Foreign Ministry made its position toward the MEK very clear in a press release following a Q & A session on 26 June.

“Q: What is your view towards the Iranian opposition Mojahedin Khalq and Mrs. Rajavi, who reside in France?

“A: France has no contact with the “People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran” which is known for its use of violence. It has no legal existence in France as an organization. Its violent and undemocratic Ideology has been exposed by several human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International who have reported on the organization’s cultic practices and its refusal to formally renounce violence. We also warn about the intense campaign of disinformation and influence it leads.”

++ A short Press TV item mentioning the 30th June 1981 event had Ebrahim Khodabandeh, (a former high ranking MKO member who knows the organization inside out and author of the book ‘One man – One Day – Thirty Years’) comment, “despite claims by the group that they would no longer use weapons, arms struggle is still a part of MEK ideology”.

++ Mazda Parsi writes for Nejat Bloggers to expand on an article by Eldar Mamedov – who warns new MEPs who might be approached by the MKO well-funded lobbyists to “be wise to think twice about associating with an organization that attempts to minimize the acts of a group so murderous and fanatical that even al-Qaeda has declared it too extreme.” John Kerry, writes Parsi, says that “they are threatening the United States and Western interests”. Parsi concludes however that, “As a matter of fact the MKO terrorist cult does not recognize the interests and benefits of any side and neither the interests of its own members. Their only strategy is always focused on violence, the more extreme the more favorable for the MKO.”

June 27 2014

June 28, 2014 0 comments

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