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Historic deal is working despite MKO-AIPAC- led obstructions

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday suspended some of its sanctions against Iran, after the Islamic Republic began halting some of its nuclear activity as part of the historic deal with P5+1. Historic deal is working despite MKO-AIPAC- led obstructions

The U.S. Treasury said hours following news of the Iranian move that it has suspended sanctions on foreigners engaged in transactions related to Iran’s oil exports, and some trade in gold and precious metals.

As nuclear deal takes effect easing international sanctions in exchange for slowing Iran’s nuclear work, and buying time for a more comprehensive deal seems to be a horrible nightmare for the pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and the Mujahedin Khalq terror cult that have been lobbying members of Congress to keep the pressure on Iran. Attempting to make them pass extra sanctions against Islamic Republic their ultimate aim is definitely a violent regime change in Tehran.

Maryam Rajavi the self-claimed president of the National Council of Resistance the propaganda wing of the MKO, visiting a few French sponsors of the group blamed the West for its "erroneous policies" towards Islamic Republic. "They must compel the mullahs to shut down their nuclear sites completely", she said.

The MKO and Israel as well as Arabic states of the Persian Gulf claim that the nuclear deal with Iran will not work. Indeed, these Middle Eastern allies of the West are mostly worried about the opposite effect of the nuclear accord; they panic it might work!

Regarding the MKO, its role in the relations and equations between Iran and the West is so trivial that the cult leader strives hard to create tension between the two sides more and more in order to achieve the least support they can gain. The MKO’s only means to survive is to convince the West that the proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is symbolized in supporting a cult of personality with the darkest and dirtiest background of violence and crime against Iranian nation.

The MKO’s anti-Iranian substance is also demonstrated in the large-scale well-funded lobbying by the group in the US Congress to increase sanctions against Iranian people who are already suffering the outcome of the previously imposed sanctions. Senator Robert Menendez was the key MKO lobbyist in US Congress to pass legislation that as stated in Menendez’s press release its goal was “the complete and verifiable termination of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program”.

The MKO’s lobbying efforts to launch another war against Iran was seen as a deal-breaker by the Obama administration. Although the group’s efforts to undermine improvements in Iran-West relations do not seem to be influential, one thing is verified, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization is never the representative of the Iranian nation but its true enemy.

Mazda Parsi

January 26, 2014 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 38

++ UNAMI published its Half Yearly Report on Human Rights for January to June 2013. Section 11.1 covered Camp New Iraq (Camp Ashraf) and Camp Hurriya (Camp Liberty). The report points out that the “UNHCR’s efforts to find durable solutions for the residents have been hindered by the non-cooperation of residents, such as the boycotting of UNHCR interviews.” It goes on to say, “UNAMI has continuing concerns about human rights abuses committed by the PMOI/MeK leadership within Camp Hurriya against the residents. These claims have been made to United Nations Monitors during interviews with residents who had managed to leave Camp Hurriya, as well as in a number of private discussions with residents who still reside in the Camp – despite the leadership’s attempts to prevent such discussions. The PMOI/MeK, which has a hierarchical and authoritarian structure, imposes a number of severe restrictions on the residents’ rights, including the right of freedom of movement within the Camp and the right to leave the organization, the free right of association, along with restrictions on contacts with family members (including those residing in Camp Hurriya), on access to basic communications, and on access to medical care and treatment.”

++ This week in Baghdad, Dr Nafeh Issa, a prominent political and human rights activist, says some MPs have shown him evidence that some groups of MPs who still have Saddamist affiliations have been meeting in Jordan with representatives of the MEK. During these meetings the MEK promised unlimited financial backing by the Saddamists in Jordan – the Izzat Ebrahim branch and Saddam’s daughter – in return for the promise that if they are re-elected they will help the MEK to stay in Iraq and get Ashraf camp back to be used as the HQ for their mutual political benefits and activities. The MEK have given examples of how they have been able to financially support and push their own candidates into the European Parliament and the US House of Representatives, etc.

++ Adnan Al Mayahi, MP in Baghdad, member of the security and defence commission in parliament, announced that fresh evidence has shed more light on the relation between the MEK and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al Qaida in the Anbar province. He also criticised western governments saying that they love to have these terrorist organisations but only to use them in countries like ours rather than having them in their own countries. With reference to Ban Ki Moon’s appointment of Jane Holl Lute as his Special Adviser for Relocation of Camp Hurriya Residents Outside of Iraq, Al Mayahi says her appointment doesn’t change anything for my country and the continued presence of terrorists here. Our position is clear and simple, he continues, the MEK have been part and parcel of Saddam’s regime, have massacred Iraqis and after Saddam have become proxies to interfere to endanger our people including support for Al Qaida and ISIL and trying to create corruption in the country.

++ This week the MEK tried to sell the idea that by signing a deal with the West, Iran has drunk poison and will collapse soon. Many Farsi commentators reacted by reminding Rajavi that he has been saying this for over thirty years, but the reality is that the poison that will affect the remains of the MEK is if there is rapprochement between Iran and the West because the West is the only place that was feeding the MEK after the fall of Saddam.

++ There have been several articles about the possibility of moving the whole MEK organisation to Romania and the desire of the Americans to keep them intact and to create a new closed-door camp in that country. Many refer to this as a failed attempt but which, if it does go ahead, will open the doors anyway since if the MEK leave Iraq they will leave the organisation anyway. In example they say that when the MEK arrived in Albania over half separated in first few days of arriving in the country. At present the MEK is desperately trying to prevent them from talking by misusing their financial dependency. Many have contacted Iran Interlink and said the MEK will pay $500 per month on condition that they do not openly criticise the MEK or say what happened to them in the camp, and that they do not talk to the UN about anything nor accept the $200 the UN pays to refugees. They have all pointed out that this situation cannot last as they are all talking privately and the word is spreading anyway, but that out of desperation to feed ourselves we have to agree to this for now. Critics point out that if more people arrive, the MEK will not be able to pay for all of them. In this respect Bahar Irani has mentioned this situation in an article in Mojahedin.ws pointing out that the MEK’s silence over the Romanian case and their lobbyists’ silence and refusal to answer on this issue shows they are seriously worried because they know that just moving them at all will precipitate the collapse of the organisation.

++ Mazda Parsi of Nejat Bloggers has written about the threat which the MEK will pose to the West if the group is relocated to the Balkan region, in particular Romania. Citing various experts and journalists the article concludes with a section from Anna MIKHAILENKO’s piece on the new US plan to move “the Cult of Rajavi” to the Balkans, translated from Russian by the ORIENTAL REVIEW. ““It is obvious that the Mojahedin-e-Khalq is not a peaceful organization” she writes. “In fact, it would be better compared to the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, or Jubhat al-Nusrah, other groups which also enjoyed the tacit support of the United States until they became too unruly.” … MIKHAILENKO warns of the threat of “this army of 3,000 militants” at the door of a tensed region. “Harboring so many fighters so close to Ukraine, a country that has been afflicted with EuroMaidan fever for the past month and a half, could pave the way for any number of coercive scenarios for regime change”, she suggests.”

++ This week there were still a few articles about Massoud Dalili who was killed in Camp Ashraf, asking the UN to push the Pentagon back and allow the witnesses to be questioned and the issue to be fully investigated.

++ A few articles have pointed out that Maryam Rajavi has echoed Netanyahu’s statements about Iran this week. Both of them fear Iran having better relations with the West. Many point out that until only a few days ago Rajavi claimed the deal to be as poison and claimed Iran will die from it. Now it seems they have jumped to order and now that Netanyahu has changed the argument, Rajavi has had to obey and change her tune as well.

++ This week the MEK have tried more than before to praise Saudi Arabia and try to get nearer to the security services of the Kingdom. A few Arabic outlets claim the MEK have had new meeting with Saudi Arabia’s secret services in a bid to start more terrorist activities and bombing in Iraq, Syria and Iran with the promise of more money from the Kingdom. (Note that even at the time of Saddam the MEK got money and backing from Saudi Arabia and had good relations with Wahhabis, Al Qaida and the Saudis.)

++ Ashraf news website reported that former MEK member Mohammad Razzaghi said the MKO has been training some militant groups fighting the Syrian government, including the FSA, on bomb manufacturing, planting and detonation methods, assassination and street war. Razzaghi noted that some MEK leaders have had a series of meetings with the Syrian opposition leaders in France and Jordan and discussed help and assistance to the FSA and a number of other extremist Salafi groups in Syria.

++ There has been reaction to Maryam Rajavi’s attack on disaffected members and internal critics in which she clearly asks them to fight against the ex members. She challenges them by claiming that if you are only critics and not agents of the Iranian regime then you have to expose those who are agents of the regime among yourselves. Mohammad Razzaghi has answered by pointing out that what the critics question is nothing other than what you and your husband have been doing and saying, such as the forced divorces, the separation of the children, and now working with MOSSAD and praising Wahhabis, etc. This is what they are criticising.

++ Parviz Khazai the infamous member of the NCRI in Scandinavia has yet again come out with an article swearing at the internal critics of the MEK. He refers specifically to Atefeh Eghbal but without naming her, calling her “that oik” and trying to discredit her by claiming she only wants to be famous. Khazai himself first worked for the Shah and after the revolution switched to the Islamic Republic as civil servant before being bought by Rajavi to become a low paid, low level lobbyist. There are many examples of his immoral and degenerate behaviour, visiting prostitutes and being found drunk in the street. Even inside the MEK he is known as a man with no dignity.

++ Hadi Afshar, (Said Jamali), has published a note about his experiences in Geneva with the MEK attacking and threatening to kill him. He briefly details how Rajavi’s ideology and his teachings have created these kinds of murderous thugs. He warns Rajavi, even if you kill a few of us as you do in Ashraf and Liberty, you will never get rid of all of us and there will always be enough people to expose you and there is no way you can evade justice.

++ The MEK have held their so-called National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) meeting in Paris. Hojjat Seyed Ismaili, an ex Intel officer of MEK and former Central Leadership Council member, has written a short note in Irandidban website titled, ‘Useless members of the NCRI and the boring rants of the Mojahedin Khalq’. He says that their announcements claim they have discussed and talked about the economy of Iran and the effect of the reduction of the subsidies and also about international events surrounding the Middle East etc. Islmaili asks, should they not talk more about their immediate problems such as why they did not evacuate Camp Ashraf until 53 of them had been killed and only then were they ready to come out. Why did they go on hunger strike for over 100 days, why did they stop and what happened to their demands. Wouldn’t they want to ask who is Massoud Dalili and why did he end up in the camp with his face burned beyond recognition. Why don’t they ask about the alliance between the MEK, the ISIL and Al Qaida. Don’t they want to find a solution for the desperate 3000 people in Camp Liberty. Why don’t the MEK give the names of the injured to their families. Wouldn’t they want to know from their leaders why he or she have never mentioned the need to transfer these people to third countries; leaders who are afraid of even saying it. Why are the MEK engaged in the internal politics of Iraq and Syria and have not been engaged in Iran for at least a decade. In this meeting Maryam Rajavi has announced that whoever asks for the names of the injured are all agents of the regime who are trying to find out the exact situation on the ground so as to discover where to aim their missiles next time. Many others who wrote on this affair criticised the members of the NCRI for sitting there passively and not asking ‘what on earth are you talking about?’

++ There are reports from inside both Camp Liberty and Auvers-sur-Oise that there is a ban on questioning and that any questioner will be severely punished. Absolutely forbidden is to ask: 1. why didn’t we leave Ashraf before the attack and why, after giving so much resistance, did we then accept to leave? 2. Was Rajavi in the camp when it was attacked? 3. Why did we stop the hunger strike after 108 days and why have you stopped pursuing what happened to the allegedly missing seven who you say are being held by the Iraqis? 4. Should we stay in Iraq or go? 5. What happened to those who left Iraq, what happened to those who went to Albania and who is going to leave next? Asking any of these questions is forbidden on the grounds that if these things are talked about it will give information to the enemy and therefore the questioner is an agent of the Iranian regime and has no other motivation but this to help the regime attack us again.

24 January 2014

January 25, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq as an Opposition Group

Mr. Obama’s Iran problem

Congress is not helping the president deal with the Islamic Republic

NEAR the end of George W. Bush’s presidency, his inner circle twice debated whether diplomacy or American air strikes were the best way to stop Middle Eastern foes from building a nuclear bomb. In both debates, involving Syria and Iran respectively, Robert Gates, the defence secretary, argued that Mr Bush could afford to try talking first without sacrificing his credibility. “I suspect no one in the world doubts this administration’s willingness to use force,” Mr Gates told Mr Bush in 2007, with more than a touch of understatement.

Now Iran is again causing angst in Washington. Barack Obama faces acute, bipartisan scepticism in Congress, after his envoys joined other world powers in brokering an interim nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic. This is due to take effect on January 20th, easing international sanctions in exchange for slowing Iran’s nuclear work, and buying time for a more comprehensive deal. At the time of writing 59 of 100 senators say they back a proposal to hold extra sanctions over Iran’s head, despite warnings from Mr Obama that if Congress votes for new sanctions Iran may abandon the talks. That means Senate sceptics are not far from the two-thirds majority they need to override Mr Obama’s threat of a veto. (The Republican-controlled House of Representatives strongly backs tougher sanctions, either because members think the Iranians are bluffing about walking out, or because their favoured Iran strategy involves regime change.) Team Obama has let rip, asserting that passing new sanctions—even ones whose bite is suspended—will wreck talks, shatter international unity over Iran and trigger a “march toward war”. A National Security Council staffer said that if some members of Congress want military action against Iran, “they should be upfront with the American public and say so.”

Some of the forces at work have changed little since 2007. Friends such as Israel and allies such as Saudi Arabia still believe that Iran is a rogue power that will always break nuclear promises. Many members of Congress sincerely loathe Iran’s regime, partly because it sponsors terrorism and tortures dissidents, but also, perhaps, because of a sense that Iran bested America in the battle for influence in post-Saddam Iraq. If the Iranian government of President Hassan Rohani presents a smiling face to the world, many American lawmakers see that as a trick or as a sign that existing tough sanctions have worked, making it imperative to keep a boot on the regime’s neck, while reminding Iran that fresh cheating will be punished.

Another constant is domestic politics, especially in a mid-term election year. An influential pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has been lobbying members of Congress to keep the pressure on Iran. So have members of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (often known by the Persian acronym MEK), a group with a violent past whose opposition to the Iranian regime has nonetheless earned it allies in Congress. Lastly, cynicism remains a lodestar. Democratic leaders in the Senate are not rushing to put plans for extra sanctions to a vote, and insiders say that suits some senators very well. For such opportunists, co-sponsoring a sanctions bill that goes nowhere is an ideal outcome: it avoids hard foreign-policy trade-offs, while warding off attack ads that call them soft on Iran.

Yet at least one big thing is new: a widespread belief, certainly among Republicans, that Mr Obama is in exactly the opposite position to Mr Bush. Plenty of people in the world doubt his willingness to use force, even to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb on his watch. If Congress is willing to risk scuppering talks with Iran at this early stage, a big part of the explanation is that Mr Obama is suffering a crisis of presidential credibility. That crisis dates back, most acutely, to his failure to secure congressional approval for promised strikes on Syria for using chemical weapons. Put bluntly, Washington critics think Mr Obama talks endlessly and wields only sticks small enough to be delivered by drone.

Putin and Assad take him seriously

Obama supporters inside and outside government offer two big counter-arguments about credibility. First, they offer a different interpretation of what happened over Syria last year. At the very moment that Washington was focused on Mr Obama’s apparent weakness, they say, the people who counted—Presidents Bashar Assad of Syria and Vladimir Putin of Russia—found talk of American strikes credible enough—and frightening enough—to dismantle Syria’s chemical arsenal.

Second, it is argued, when such allies as the Saudis or Israelis talk about American credibility, they often mean that they want American troops to fight and die to advance their own foreign- policy interests. In their bleakest moods, American officials accuse the Gulf monarchies of being willing to hold the coats of the last American soldiers to fall on their behalf, but not much more.

In public, Israel and the Gulf monarchies say their fear is that a nuclear deal with Iran cannot work. In private, Obama-backers suggest, such Middle Eastern allies are almost as frightened of the opposite outcome: that a nuclear accord might work, paving the way for Iran to resume its pre-revolutionary role as a Shia regional power and a counterweight to the influence of the mostly-Sunni Gulf monarchies. There are few signs of Congress pondering these questions very hard. “There aren’t five senators who have really thought through what it means for the geopolitical balance of power, if we do reach a [nuclear] deal,” growls a senior figure on Capitol Hill.

Much simpler for Congress to cover its back while planning for failure. Overall, Mr Obama’s handling of foreign policy is far from flawless: his approach to Syria is a mess, for instance. But with Iran he is right to try talking, not least because international unity has probably peaked. He could do with more help at home—but is unlikely to get it.

January 21, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

The threat of MKO in Balkan

The relocation of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization from Iraqi has been a problematic issue from the very start phase. Although the process started near a year ago it has been rather slowly and it has faced different frustrations whether by the group leaders or by the host countries. Leaders of the MKO seek to relocate the group as a whole body in order to prevent the collapse of the cult-like structure of the group while third countries hesitate to accept a crowd of 3000 militants with a dark background of violent acts and cult-like attitudes.

Albania was the first country in the Southeast Europe that accepted to receive 210 residents of Camp Liberty. The United States welcomed the Government of Albania’s "generous offer". However, the move has not been accomplished yet. [1]

Germany was another European country to accept members of the MKO but it did not agree to accept more than 97 individuals. German authorities ordered to relocate 77 of these people in Koln but the decision was disputed by the officials of the city, according to German newspaper, Kolner Stadt –Anzeiger. [2]

The United States is now planning to move 3000 members of the MKO from Iraq to Romania — again in Balkan region. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry employees the U.S. State Secretary and the Romanian Foreign Minister discussed the issue of militants’ migration during the meeting in Brussels in early December. This time the US seems to seek to compactly resettle the group members near the city of Craiova. [3]

Ilya Kharlamov of the Voice of Russia believes that by such mass relocation "Washington may turn Romania into a hotbed of tension, which will prove quite a headache both to Romania proper and the neighboring countries." The VOR’s correspondent suggests that the action on the US plan is fraught with danger quoting an expert with the Moscow-based Institute for Strategic Studies and Analysis, Sergei Demidenko: "A transfer of a large group of people, drilled ideologically and militarily, to an unstable European area will clearly add no quiet to the area."[4]

Besides, another Russian expert in Oriental Studies Boris Dolgov considers the US plan as inappropriate. He told VOR," If the Romanian leaders have certain doubts, and they will certainly question the correctness of the decision, then they should stiffly oppose the move." Pointing to terrorist history of the MKO he added, ”The US plan is at variance with the recent trend towards improving relations between Washington and Tehran.” [5]

The author of the VOR article puts the responsibility on the Romanian Government that is free to accept or refuse to persecute the US plan and warns on the risk of the presence of "well-trained fighters" of the MKO in the unstable situation of the neighboring Ukrain.

Anna MIKHAILENKO’s piece on the new US plan to move "the Cult of Rajavi” to Balkan was translated from Russian by the ORIENTAL REVIEW. She also criticized the US for delisting the MKO in 2012 and "trying to move militants from this group out of Iraq and closer to sites that are being readied for future armed hostilities."[6]

"It is obvious that the Mojahedin-e-Khalq is not a peaceful organization" she writes. "In fact, it would be better compared to the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, or Jubhat al-Nusrah, other groups which also enjoyed the tacit support of the United States until they became too unruly." [7]

MIKHAILENKO warns on the threat of "this army of 3,000 militants" at the door of an tensed region. "Harboring so many fighters so close to Ukraine, a country that has been afflicted with EuroMaidan fever for the past month and a half, could pave the way for any number of coercive scenarios for regime change", she suggests. [8]

Is it really worth to maintain the supremacy of a cult like terrorist group by risking the peace in an already-tensioned area? Will Romania buy the danger of receiving "Saddam’s Private Army" the MKO to the cost of appeasing the US?

By: Mazda Parsi

References:

[1] Psaki, Jen, Thirty MEK Camp Hurriya Residents Depart Iraq for Relocation to Albania, US Press Statement, June 3, 2013

[2]https://www.nejatngo.org/en/posts/5423

[3]Martov, Delyan, U.S. to move 3000 MKO terrorists to Romania, Sofia, December25,2013

[4] Voice of Russia, US to flood Romania with terrorists, January 10, 2014

[5]ibid

[6]MIKHAILENKO , Anna , Is the US preparing to stash 3,000 terrorists near the Ukrainian border? ,Orientalreview, January 11,2014

[7]ibid

[8]ibid

January 20, 2014 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 37

++ In a press statement, US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, embarrassingly refers to Maryam Rajavi as ‘Maryam’ as though the two are BFF, and describes the woman responsible for thousands of deaths as a human rights advocate. Ros-Lehtinen then goes on to, unintentionally perhaps, reveal that her best use of the MEK is as a stick to beat the government of Iraq and the UN with. While careful not to attribute blame to the GOI – as do the MEK – for the September attack on Camp Liberty she declared ,”These parties – the Government of Iraq and the UN – made promises of security, but these promises have yet to be fulfilled, as is evidenced by the hundreds of protective T-walls that have yet to be installed despite assurances that they would go up and the inability of the parties to bring those accountable to justice.”… While mentioning the seven MEK members allegedly missing from Camp Ashraf Ros-Lehtinen makes no mention of the 42 surviving eye witnesses who are incarcerated incommunicado inside Camp Liberty.

++ Many people on the web this week have joined the demand for the UN to investigate the murder of ex member Massoud Dalili in Camp Ashraf. Evidence is emerging that he was imprisoned there and has more than likely been killed by the MEK and the disfigurement to his body (uniquely among the victims) was an attempt to destroy evidence.

++ This week marked the anniversary of death of Takhti, the legendary wrestler during the reign of the Shah who was widely admired for his sporting ethic and for helping people and charities. Much has been written in Persian against what they describe as the “opportunistic support of Rajavi”, and through examples writers have concluded that there is no relevance between the activities of the cult leaders and their abuse of human rights with Takhti and his passion for humanitarian ethics.

++ Baghdad has officially welcomed the appointment of Ban Ki Moon’s new special representative and her role in moving the MEK out of Iraq. Baghdad said any help in getting rid of this terrorist organisation by anyone and for any reason is most welcome. Observers, however, believe that the sticking point rests with the MEK’s American backers, specifically the Pentagon, who do not want this terrorist organisation to be dismantled. Hence they are trying to move them all together to another closed camp as hostages, something that European countries do not accept.

++ Following on from a revelation in a Bulgarian article earlier this month, both Voice of Russia and 21st Century Wire wrote about attempts by the United States to negotiate the en masse transfer of the residents of Camp Liberty to a new camp in Romania. Russian expert in Oriental Studies Boris Dolgov said “Washington’s plan to deploy the Islamists in Romania is inappropriate at the very least”, and elaborates, “If the Romanian leaders have certain doubts, and they will certainly question the correctness of the decision, then they should stiffly oppose the move. The organization acts against Iran, Tehran sees it as terrorist, Mujahedin-e Khalq is known for numerous terrorist attacks and life attempts. Besides, the US plan is at variance with the recent trend towards improving relations between Washington and Tehran. Also, a presence of Islamic militants will serve to aggravate tension in the region. It’s obvious that peaceful coexistence with the people of other religions is the last thing the Islamists will think of when arriving in Romania”. So far, the US attempts have proved futile, even though Romania heavily depends on Washington.

++ After declaring support for Rajavi and the MEK during announcements for the “Islamic government of Iraq and Syria”, an off-shoot of Al Qaeda which is engaged in fighting the Iraqi Government in Al Anbar province, many have written in Farsi about reasons Rajavi must support Al Qaeda as well as the remnants of the Saddam regime in Iraq and Syria. As much as Rajavi has tried to change master and become a western supported mercenary, until he is in full possession of such support he dare not let go of the vital life saving support he gets from the Saddamists office in Jordan, in particular the Ezzat Ebrahim branch of insurgents and Saddam’s own daughter.

++ This week many have written open letters to Romanian politicians warning them of the formation of a new lobbying committee in their parliament after America started putting pressure on Romania to accept them. Many comparisons have been made with the lobbying committees in the European Parliament and the Houses of Parliament in the UK and the problems they have caused in these establishments’ international relations especially with Iraq.

++ Families of Camp Liberty residents have asked for the names of those injured in the December attack on the camp to be made public. The MEK reacted by labelling the families as ‘agents of Iran’ who want sensitive information. Commentators have responded by pointing out that the injured are in Iraqi hospitals and since Rajavi claims Iraq is a subsidiary of Iran then there is nothing secret for Iran. The families this week have turned to the UN, particularly the UNHCR to ask for their help in discovering the names of the injured.

++ This week Rajavi and the MEK have on a daily basis posted announcements on Facebook and secondary sites rather than in their official sites, warning that the Iraqis want to attack us. In one of these they claim that Iraqi security have climbed the walls of the camp to take pictures. This is while Iraqi forces have been in charge of the camp even before they moved the MEK there. Writers about this are warning that this is another attempt to kill more hostages and blame Iraq for it. Interestingly in all the MEK propaganda there is not a single instance of a demand for getting out of Iraq, instead they and their benefactors in the Israeli lobby and House of Representatives in Washington ask for the expansion of the camp, and demand that the American army be brought in to protect them and all other sorts of peculiar and impossible demands to bide time to kill and get rid of as many people and witnesses as possible.

++ Iraqi media outlets have reported that the British parliamentarians who visited Iran met with the families of MEK terrorism and quote Jack Straw, former British Foreign Secretary, describing the MEK as a terrorist group, while another delegate said it is possible that the MEK be put back on the British terrorism list. Iraqi media also reported on interviews with former high ranking MEK members who have given evidence of the MEK massacre of Kurdish people to quell their uprising against Saddam in the 1990s.

++ Swearing on Rajavi’s paid sites and outlets against their internal critics has continued to the point that many outsiders are now reminding the group that this kind of behaviour against their own members and internal critics cannot be in their favour and the effect of this line of action which was intended to make others afraid of talking is wearing thin and in fact has the opposite effect.

++ It was reported that after Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk visited and spoke directly with members of the MEK in Camp Liberty, the diplomat stressed the urgency of relocating the residents to another country. Since then the MEK have refrained from swearing at the US State Department. but have not mentioned the visit on their sites either. Commentators believe that because the US representative asked them to cooperate and move individually, Rajavi has panicked, and the MEK are now working with AIPAC to intervene and stop them being removed from Iraq and reintegrated into normal society. Many believe that now Rajavi has seen how people have left immediately after arriving in Tirana, he is now determined not to let the rest of the hostages get out of his hands.

17 January 2014

January 18, 2014 0 comments

Human Rights Abuse in the MEK

Rajavi’s absurd claim of equality !

Maryam Rajavi’s claim for promotion of equality in her cult is absurd and ludicrous.

Many argue that the hijab is oppressive to women and removing it would enhance women’s equality and freedom. They argue that veiling prevents and limits women’s activities in public. On the other hand, Muslim believers of hijab argue that It not only makes a woman feel confident and liberated, but encourages society not to see women as sex objects. They believe that Islam promotes sexual equality, and Hijab allows women to be an instrumental part of the society without being discriminated and looked down. Hijab can also prevent men from ogling look. What about Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization, the MKO as an Islamic Marxist group? What is her stance about hijab?

Actually, Maryam Rajavi’s idea about hijab is very controversial. She claims in her so-called “ten point plan for future of Iran” that women “will enjoy the right to freely choose their clothing”. However, evidences on what is really going on inside her group indicates that there is no freedom of clothing in the MKO camps.

Perhaps, Elizabeth Rubin the New York Times correspondent, was the first to reveal the cult-like atmosphere ruling the MKO camps including uniform clothing of members, in 2003 after she visited Camp Ashraf. Rubin titled the MKO as “The Cult of Rajavi”. “As you pass the checkpoints and dragons’-teeth tire crunchers into the tidy military town, you feel you’ve entered a fictional world of female worker bees. Of course, there are men around; about 50 percent of the soldiers are male”, she recounts. “But everywhere I turned, I saw women dressed in khaki uniforms and mud-colored head scarves, driving back and forth along the avenues in white pickups or army-green trucks, staring ahead, slightly dazed, or walking purposefully, a slight march to their gaits as at a factory in Maoist China.”

Following the collapse of Iraqi dictatorship and the main financial supporter of the MKO in 2003, the US forces disarmed the MKO. Camp Ashraf was since then guarded by the American army. Having been disarmed and guarded by the MKO’s former enemy the US, members started doubting the group’s ideology. Moreover, the group’s leader Masssoud Rajavi was disappeared. The process of defection of members began.

Disassociated members of the MKO –hundreds of individuals—including female members disclosed shocking realities about the life inside MKO camps. They revealed cult-like and suppressive practices of the MKO authorities. The testimonies of women who had left the group exposed cases of forced divorce, forced celibacy, forced hysterectomy surgeries to make female members barren and particularly sexual abuse by Massoud Rajavi.

Among such abusive treatment against female members of the MKO, forced clothing might be very trivial but it certainly proves the invalidity of Maryam Rajavi’s claims about freedom of choosing clothes in future of Iran. Zahra Sadat Mirbaqeri is a defector of the group who was a member of the second layer of the group’s Elite Council. She was a candidate to marry Massoud Rajavi. She was given the famous necklace with the portrait of Massoud. Fortunately she managed to escape the Cult of Rajavi before she was raped by Massoud.

Mirbaqer challenges Maryam Rajavi’s promise to let Iranian women “enjoy the right to freely choose their clothing’’. She recites her firsthand account of living under regulations and obligations of Rajavi’s cult of personality:

“I was a member of this destructive cult for 23 years. I was not allowed to wear any clothes except the khaki uniform and the green head scarf. Forced hijab was ruled everywhere even in places that only belonged to female members…

“In the cult, women are not allowed to use any kind of hijab except green, khaki and red scarves. However, red and khaki scarves are allowed only for special occasions. You would be punished if you wore your red or khaki scarf in occasions other than the group’s propaganda ceremonies and marches.”

Zahra Sadat Mirbaqeri criticizes Maryam Rajavi’s propaganda for freedom of women quoting a renowned sentence that female rank and files of the MKO were always told:” Scarf is the official uniform of the organization.”

Mazda Parsi

January 14, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

On U.S. plan to transfer 3,000 MKO terrorists to Romania

It’s incredible when one looks behind the scenes of the facade of ‘diplomatic relations’ with the likes of John Kerry masquerading as a globetrotting statesman, mostly enacting damage control in response to the tangled spider’s web of CIA-steered terrorist organizations around the world. “As long as we control them, they’re our terrorists”, or so the mantra goes.

The important concept for our readers to grasp in all of this is that more often than not, countries like the US, Israel, Britain and France, will employ third parties to carry out assassinations on their behalf. The main reasons for this are fairly obvious – to maintain ‘deniability’ should any individual plot be exposed causing an international incident.

Secondly, readers should understand that the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has nothing to do with detaining terrorists who threaten America citizens. That was merely the public relations myth which Washington conveniently put forth in the aftermath of 9/11. The true function of Gitmo (and the reason why it has remained open for business for so long) and similar detention facilities worldwide, is to prepare suitably corrupt Islamic extremists and other militants to become double agents before they are sent back into the field. Any detainees who cannot fulfill this purpose for the CIA are either laid to waste in jail, or allowed to ‘expire’.

In 2012, former US Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton , formally removed the Iranian opposition group, PMOI-MEK from its blacklist of designated terror groups. Note that this move by Clinton in 2012 set the stage for this latest bombshell revealed below – where the US appear to be offering some sort of financial incentive to Romania in return for them allowing that Eastern European country to be used as a forward operating base to launch terror attacks globally.

But as you will learn, the story goes back much further than Clinton’s clandestine move to secure this private terror army. Go back to Iraq, and even before, to see the full scope of this US intelligence-controlled terrorist army.

Why maintain such a terrorist force in the region? Answer: to maintain the upper hand in all foreign affairs by controlling and steering the business interests of the worst criminals. Drug-running, human trafficking, smuggling and kidnapping are only some of the lucrative business used to generate black budget cash and grease the skids of corruption in the Middle East and Central Asia.

This latest revelation is also linked to the completely reckless, joint US-Israeli STUXNET/FLAME cyber attack against Iran and Russia’s civilian nuclear power facilities.

Hillary Clinton’s hands are extremely dirty in this regard.

Now the US are wanting to plant these criminal inside Europe. Watch this space…

U.S. to move 3000 MKO terrorists to Romania

21stcenturywire,

January 12, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Is the US preparing to stash 3,000 terrorists near the Ukrainian border?

After removing the extremist organization Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) from its list of terrorist organizations in 2012, the US State Department has been unsuccessfully trying to move militants from this group out of Iraq and closer to sites that are being readied for future armed hostilities.

Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean listens to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Brussels, December 3, 2013

Washington seems to feel that Romania would be an auspicious location for 3,000 of these militants, specifically the city of Craiova, which is located near the Bulgarian border. Massoud Khodabandeh, who was previously a highly placed leader within the Mojahedin-e-Khalq, referred to the Bulgarian press in his claims that the issue of their resettlement was discussed during the meeting between the American secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Romanian foreign minister, Titus Corlatean, in Brussels in early December 2013.

Early last year, Albania and Germany announced their willingness to accept a few hundred of the 3,000 fighters. However, the MEK insists that all the members of the group be resettled together in one area, something to which the governments of these countries have not been prepared to agree.

Despite Hillary Clinton’s decision to the contrary, the MEK is still considered a terrorist organization in Iraq and Iran. Iraq’s Shiite government, which rose to power after the US invasion in 2003, has an adversarial relationship with the members of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq and insists that any countries that provide the group with support also be willing to accept its members for resettlement within their own borders.

At present, MEK militants are being housed at a former American military base near Baghdad, and their camp has more than once been the target of rocket attacks in recent months (the latest incident was on Dec. 27, 2013). Mojahedin-e-Khalq militants blame the Iraqi authorities for the attacks, but the latter have denied any involvement.

Who is the Mojahedin-e-Khalq?

The MEK is a militant organization that is waging an armed struggle against the Iranian regime. The group has been responsible for the deaths of about 50,000 people, including the assassination of the president, prime minister, and dozens of senior Iranian officials. After its relocation to Iraq in 1986, Saddam Hussein often received assistance from the organization’s members during the Iran-Iraq war and also employed them to suppress the Kurdish separatist movement.

From the beginning of the US campaign against Saddam Hussein, the organization became a focus of interest of the American government. In 1994 the State Department sent Congress a damning 41-page report conclusively proving the MEK’s status as a terrorist organization, and as a result, the group was included in the State Department’s 1997 list of terrorist organizations. The report specifically stated, “It is no coincidence that the only government in the world that supports the Mujahedin politically and financially is the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein.”

After the American military invasion in 2003, the group came under US control. The MEK actively lobbied to be removed from the official list of terrorist organizations, and the US put its members to use as part of America’s clandestine commando operations against Iran.

It has now emerged that the Bush administration secretly brought members of the MEK to the US for military training that included signals intelligence and other skills related to covert espionage. Presumably the program ended just before the Obama administration took office. Apparently, the MEK was then placed under the control of Mossad, which utilized it to kill Iranian nuclear scientists. Thanks to an article by Justin Raimondo, the writer and founder of the Antiwar.com website, the group was dubbed “Hillary’s Terrorists.”

It is obvious that the Mojahedin-e-Khalq is not a peaceful organization. In fact, it would be better compared to the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, or Jubhat al-Nusrah, other groups which also enjoyed the tacit support of the United States until they became too unruly. In addition, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan have still been unable to extricate themselves from the aftermath of the MEK’s activities within their borders.

One can only guess at what awaits Romania should this army of 3,000 militants come calling at its door. Harboring so many fighters so close to Ukraine, a country that has been afflicted with EuroMaidan fever for the past month and a half, could pave the way for any number of coercive scenarios for regime change.

Source in Russian: Regnum

By Anna MIKHAILENKO (Russia), Orientalreview.org

January 12, 2014 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 36

++ In an Open Letter to Ban Ki Moon, Massoud Khodabandeh demanded an investigation into Massoud Rajavi’s role in the deaths of the 53 Camp Ashraf victims. He wrote, ” The impunity given to Rajavi by Western governments from the start of his stay in Iraq in 1986 until now has given him such latitude that he is able to kill his own people and blame the Iraqi authorities for it without any fear of investigation or recrimination. Commenting on the death of Massoud Dalili, Khodabandeh said,” For me, and for anyone who has had any dealings with the MEK, it is absolutely clear that this person, who was registered with the UN in Baghdad as an escapee and who suddenly went missing one day has been forcefully or deceitfully taken back by the MEK to Camp Ashraf… and has been kept there clandestinely and when they realised they would have to get rid of him they tried to destroy the evidence of his presence there.” Asking Ban Ki Moon to stand up to the Pentagon, the letter concluded, ” There are 42 surviving members who were moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty who are eye witnesses to what happened that day. They would all have known Massoud Dalili. Nobody has seen or heard from them since the time they were handed back to the MEK commanders in Camp Liberty. The MEK’s past behaviour and the impunity Massoud Rajavi clearly enjoys to imprison and kill his own followers strongly suggests that many of them and others in the camp are being mistreated behind closed doors. How many more deaths will there be?”

++ Massoud Rajavi has reacted angrily toward the request of family members who have asked for the names of those injured in the Camp Liberty attack on September 1st to be made public. Rajavi denounced their request as a plot by the Intelligence Ministry of Iran which he says is trying to “dismantle” the Mojahedin Khalq by trying to connect the families with the members in order to persuade them to go to Iran. Many people have described this as the most ridiculous statement ever issued by Rajavi, reminding him that he was the one who said the Iraqi government and its PM are working on the instructions of Iran and therefore firstly, according to this logic, Iran should already have these names since the injured people are in Iraqi hospitals. And secondly, they ask, what is in your mind and what do you think Iran can do even if they do have these names? Many have pointed out that as ridiculous as Rajavi and his statements have become, it is obvious that his greatest fear is for any contact between the injured members and the outside world, even with their immediate families, while they are in hospital. Many commentators have expressed their disgust that Rajavi is dismissing the families of his hostages in the camp as some sort of monsters and working for some mysterious agents, while he himself has been massacring Iraqi and Iranian civilians during the time of Saddam and is now doing the dirty work of MOSSAD in killing Iranian scientists as well as providing support for Al Qaeda in Iraq and Syria.

++ A frequent subject for comment this week has been the mysterious and suspicious death of Massoud Dalili an ex member. Many people knew him personally and blame Rajavi and the MEK for his murder. They point to the fact that the MEK did not reveal his identity for weeks and admitted it only when the Iraqis formally identified his body. All 42 surviving witnesses from Camp Ashraf knew him and would even recognise his voice. Javad Firouzmand in Paris has published an in depth analysis of the MEK video in which every part of it contradicts the next part. He has also identified the narrator as Hassan Nezamalmolk, one of the MEK’s torturers from the Saddam era. Firouzmand describes his own ordeal in the camp and how he was directly tortured by Hassan Nezamalmolk and Mehdi Abrishamchi (first husband of Maryam Rajavi and Saddam’s Mokhaberat section representative in the Mojahedin Khalq currently residing in Paris). Iran Fanoos in Germany published an article about the situation and identified the root of these problems to be the ideology of the group. The article is titled, “The ideology of death and humiliation”.

++ Ban Ki Moon appointed Jane Holl Lute as his Special Adviser for Relocation of Camp Hurriya Residents Outside of Iraq. In response Hadi Afshar (Saeed Jamali) has issued a short note on Pezvak Iran website welcoming the news and asking everyone to write to her and put her in the picture as well as asking her help to get the remaining MEK members out of Iraq ASAP.

++ During his visit to Iran, Jack Straw, former British Foreign Secretary, met with some of the families of the victims of MEK terrorism. He described the MEK as a terrorist organisation. Straw was part of a four person parliamentary group comprising Ben Wallace, Conservative MP, Lord Lamont, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP. The Britain-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group seeks better relations with Iran. The delegates met with counterparts from the Iranian Majlis.

++ The MEK have announced the death of two members from heart attacks. The MEK said the cause of the heart attacks was the missile attack on Camp Liberty. Mohammad B commented briefly on his blog that from one side, the ages and the conditions of the members should be considered yet on the other side Rajavi still issues statements in the name of the National Liberation Army claiming he will topple both the Iranian and Iraqi governments soon. Mohammd B points out that two people have died from heart attack caused by missiles that have not even been near them, how do they expect to fight with two countries at the same time with this kind of morale?

++ The Mojahedin Khalq have published an article on their website as an attempt to somehow deflect the supporters’ claim that Rajavi has been and is responsible for all the problems MEK is facing. The MEK are basically saying that “if Ayatollah Khomeini had not rejected the candidature of Massoud Rajavi [for the Presidency or as an MP] at the start of revolution then things would have been different”. Many writers reacted to this recent claim from both the supporters of the IRI and the opposition to it alike. One of the oppositionist reaction is titled, “If Khomeini had not rejected the candidature of Massoud Rajavi, Iran would have certainly been a second North Korea” referring to the cultish practices inside MEK.

++ Abbass Mousavi from Habilian Association has written about the MEK position toward Iraq and Syria. He refers to the MEK announcements in support of Al Qaeda in Al Anbar and their joint claim that they would ‘topple the Iraqi Establishment by armed struggle and force’. He also refers to MEK statements in favour of supporting and participating in the “armed struggle” to topple the Syrian Establishment as well as their statements in support of fugitive Saddamists. He makes the point that with this declaration, Iraq can legitimately act, and in fact it is the duty of the government of Iraq to act, to finish off the MEK at the same time as finishing off the Al Qaeda forces in the Al Anbar province (near the Jordanian border), and the north (near the Syrian border). Several people reacted to this article, in particular from the families, who remind Mr. Mousavi that Rajavi has taken the MEK members hostage in Camp Liberty and this is the main factor that the Iraqi government has to take into account as well as other concerns.

++ Atefeh Eghbal from The Campaign to Transfer Camp Liberty Residents to 3rd Countries has issued a statement warning that the lives of the remainder of the residents are in imminent danger as Iraqi forces have started engaging with Al Qaeda forces, specifically in Al Anbar province. She points to statements published daily by the MEK (NCRI, Rajavi) which ask for greater protection in the camp, better and more facilities, more support from the Americans and everything under the sun except mentioning the need to get these people out of there, or asking for the transfer process to be expedited. She was also interviewed by the BBC Persian programme about the situation of these people, in which she again emphasised that all parties should accept and cooperate to remove the remaining residents to 3rd countries ASAP.

10 January 2014

January 11, 2014 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

US to flood Romania with terrorists

Washington may turn Romania into a hotbed of tension, which will prove quite a headache both to Romania proper and the neighbouring countries. The point is the United States is making efforts to move several thousand members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran organization (Mujahedin-e Khalq) from Iraq to Romania. The so-called civilized society’s care for radical Islamists is due to the fact that the Mujahedin see their mission in fighting Iran, which the West also seeks to weaken by all means available.

Both Iran and Iraq see Mujahedin-e Khalq as a terrorist organization. The armed wing of the organization, – the National Liberation Army of Iran, is believed to have founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which brings together all of Iran’s opposition forces. Those who opposed the rule of the Shah of Iran started their resistance in the middle of the 1960s on a romantic idea of building a class-free socialist society, but as time went on, the idea degenerated into mass-scale terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage. The Iranian authorities’ sharp rebuff caused Mujahedin-e Khalq to move to the neighbouring Iraq, whence it launched armed attacks on Iran during the Iran-Iraq War and helped the Iraqi regime to quash Kurdish rebellions. Mujahedin-e Khalq went on with its attacks on Iran in the subsequent years taking advice from and controlled by the United States.

But the impressive "record of service" (some 50,000 people killed, including Iran’s top-echelon officials) proved no hindrance to the EU and US recent decision to strike Mujahedin-e Khalq off their list of terrorist organizations. The EU and the US obviously proceeded from the assumption that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", although the two saw Mujahedin-e Khalq as terrorists just a short while ago.

Washington’s plan to deploy the Islamists in Romania is inappropriate at the very least, says Russian expert in Oriental Studies Boris Dolgov, and elaborates.

"If the Romanian leaders have certain doubts, and they will certainly question the correctness of the decision, then they should stiffly oppose the move. The organization acts against Iran, Tehran sees it as terrorist, Mujahedin-e Khalq is known for numerous terrorist attacks and life attempts. Besides, the US plan is at variance with the recent trend towards improving relations between Washington and Tehran. Also, a presence of Islamic militants will serve to aggravate tension in the region. It’s obvious that peaceful coexistence with the people of other religions is the last thing the Islamists will think of when arriving in Romania".

So far, the US attempts have proved futile, even though Romania heavily depends on Washington. The US sees Romania as an important nation in terms of its geopolitical interests, and has been patronizing Bucharest throughout the post-Soviet period. But the pay Washington has demanded seems clearly excessive.

Yet, when the US State Secretary John Kerry met with his Romanian counterpart Titus Corlaţean in Brussels in December, they took up the issue of moving the Mujahedin in question to Romania, according to some reports. A year earlier, Germany and Albania said they were prepared to accommodate Mujahedin-e Khalq militants. But the organization chiefs insist on a compact settlement of all three thousand militants, who are currently making their home at a US military base in Iraq. But the Albanian and German authorities see this as too dangerous. The terrorist leaders are in a stalemate. They are welcome nowhere, while in Iraq they have been coming under rocket fire recently. The organization activists put the blame at the current Iraqi government’s door, namely because the Iraqi Cabinet has been openly demanding that the terrorists be removed from the country.

Action on the US plan is fraught with danger, but is highly improbable, points out an expert with the Moscow-based Institute for Strategic Studies and Analysis, Sergei Demidenko, and elaborates.

"A transfer of a large group of people, drilled ideologically and militarily, to an unstable European area will clearly add no quiet to the area. But Romania will hardly approve the scenario, since Bucharest realizes that Romanians will otherwise have to deal with people of specific mentality, oriented to fighting the non-Moslems, or kuffar, which is about the only thing they can do at all. But if the events do follow that scenario, this will only serve to further aggravate the situation around Islamic radicalism in Europe, the more so since the European security services can do nothing to counter Al-Qaeda militants who are active in southern Europe".

Of course, one may admit by a stretch of imagination that sticking to its friends in trouble is kind of noble of the United States; the more so since the US is due to build a military base in Romania, where the militants could be accommodated at first. Also, the recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme involving the United States will hardly prove a watershed event in the Iran-US standoff. Washington has not forgone up the plan to deploy its missile defence system in Europe to defend the West from Iran’s missile strike.

Whether to accept the members of an organization, placed on a par with Taliban and Al-Qaeda, or not depends wholly on the Romanian government, which will likewise be solely responsible for its decision. The authorities of the neighbouring Ukraine will also have food for thought. The well-trained fighters may prove effective as a force to change the government or at least rock the unstable situation, for they are not used to sitting idly.

Ilya Kharlamov – Voice of Russia

January 11, 2014 0 comments

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