Articles

++ The MEK’s nuclear revelations failed to bring it much needed media coverage apart from a tired report by Reuters which was subsequently dissected by Jim White in Empty Wheel with the title, ‘MEK Makes Desperate New Iran Nuclear Accusation, Reuters Yawns’. White concludes that “the MEK clearly sees diplomacy as the real enemy …”, but that “they have reached a level of incompetence that is barely worthy of rewriting the standard dismissal that Reuters keeps on file.”

++ On the same issue, the MEK’s supporters and those who have just left have been extremely critical in the Farsi language websites. The general argument is that even if you, the MEK, want to be a mercenary force and be known as traitors to your own country, you can’t impose yourself on others where you are not accepted, it makes you look ridiculous. The writers refer to the many western people, including those in the IAEA, who are responsible for the nuclear issue who have pointed out that if there is something that the MEK know then there can be no doubt that the Americans would have known about it long before them. The writers, from inside the MEK’s Iranian support base, refer to the killings at and closure of Camp Ashraf and say this nuclear revelation will not divert attention from that; you have to explain why these people stayed, why the survivors left only after the others were killed and not before this happened, and why are the investigators not allowed access to these 42 people who have been transferred to Camp Liberty.

++ Massoud Jabaani comments on something Parviz Khazai – an MEK supporter – has written about the current situation of the MEK in which he praises the fact that they stayed in Camp Ashraf and got killed. Jabaani reminds Khazai that ‘as somebody who has been working for the Iranian government as an ambassador then changing sides to be a representative of Rajavi in Scandinavian countries, you should obviously know that people getting killed without their own informed consent or free choice does not constitute martyrdom’. Jabaani details other abuses of human rights including forced divorces and the naked dances etc, and says that ‘in a disgusting career which includes working for the Shah, for Khomeini and then Rajavi, for which you have been paid without believing any of it, the worst part of all is praising Rajavi as an opposition leader’.

++ Minoo Sepeher has published the second part of her article which goes into the details of where Camp Ashraf started and where it finished. At the end of it she refers to a preliminary finding by the investigators into the Camp Ashraf killings of September 1st. In ten paragraphs the report criticises the Mojahedin for preventing the investigation from being conducted fully so that it can come to a conclusion. Criticisms of the MEK include: explosions targeted at destroying evidence, not allowing investigators into the camp before destroying things, claiming they have been attacked by RPG and mortar whereas no evidence of that has been found, the bullets found at the scene are not anything like the bullets carried by the Iraqi army, the MEK have been moving bodies far distances inside the camp before letting anyone get in to see them. There is clear evidence of attempts to clear up and set a scene after the killings took place. There is even a paragraph which says that on the following day, in the presence of UNAMI representatives, the Iraqi forces managed to stop one of the MEK members from exploding a homemade bomb which he had in his possession. Another obstacle is that the MEK refuse to hand over the films and pictures they have taken to the investigators. There is clear evidence that the killings had been pre-planned and the MEK had knowledge about it. Minoo Sepeher concludes that although we have to wait for the full report by the Iraqis, these killings must have been carried out by the MEK themselves.

++ Nejat Association reported that an official of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced that 33 members of the Mojahedin Khalq were received as refugees by the German government. He also noted that some of these individuals, who were interviewed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, “suffer from distressed mental states and fear staying in Iraq”. Germany has agreed to accept a total of 100 residents of Camp Liberty.

++ In an Open Letter to Catherine Ashton, Massoud Khodabandeh warned that the MEK were set to take aggressive or violent action to disrupt the 5+1 talks in Geneva with the Iranian delegation. Khodabandeh describes how Ashton had been unknowingly set up to perpetuate MEK lies about events at Camp Ashraf which the European Parliament’s Iraq Delegation exploited to pursue an anti-Iraq agenda. The letter concludes, “It is important to put the MEK where it belongs – it has no place in the political process. The group is purely a brand and a tool. Once a group is named as a tool in the hands of paying masters then it loses its potency. The MEK has no independent existence. You must look to the people who issue the orders to find out how to counter its influence.”

++ In Farsi sites and media there is much criticism over the continuation of the hunger strike (last week it was exposed that the participants have been denied food and are therefore forced to be on hunger strike). Critics pose the question: ‘what crime have these people committed that they must be killed by hunger strike? Why is it that every time someone has to burn themselves or starve to death or whatever, we never see the leaders involved? They point out that what Rajavi is doing to these people in Camp Liberty is against every human rights law and the only reason he does it is to get more blood.

++ In separate articles, Iran Interlink and Mohammad Razaghi exposed Ali Mansouri – who was arrested in Israel as a spy – as a long serving member of the Mojahedin Khalq cult. A statement issued by the MEK tried to claim that Mansouri was an infiltrator, an agent of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Instead the articles describe him as a covert agent working for the MEK and Mossad, who used to visit Iran and bring back information. His arrest was either a mistake in which case the MEK and Mossad need to coordinate better, or the MEK saw him as a liability and set him up to get rid of him.

++ Inside supporters of the MEK have criticised the European Parliament and its resolution for not being directed at saving lives, but rather at prolonging the situation to help Rajavi. Otherwise, instead of crying crocodile tears for the camp, the EP would help to get the people out of Iraq.

++ Quite a few reports and articles showed how the MEK failed to disrupt the 5+1 meeting in Geneva. One is from a reporter for Mehr News who wrote a short piece about fringe activity at the meetings. He explains that as the press conferences of Ashton and Zarif got underway, officials identified three people from the MEK who tried to attend. Swiss police intervened to throw them out and thus prevented any disruption. The reporter says the three were obviously given press passes to get in the building by someone, that they had backers and asks who were they? He also says that there were MEK activists in the area outside the venue but they were not allowed to hinder or halt proceedings. Instead they went been trawling round the building looking for people to harass or attack. Failing in this too they could only daub graffiti around the city centre.

Iran Interlink, October 18 2013

++ Nejat Society wrote in response to Massoud Rajavi’s narrated message in which he implies that the victims of Camp Ashraf were all there to get killed for him and that they died saving his life. Nejat points out that if this is true it is truly shocking because Rajavi had deceptively kept them there under the pretext they were to sell the MEK’s remaining possessions. This shows, says Nejat that in order to save his skin, Rajavi is willing to kill every one of his followers.

++ Faleh Fayaz, Iraq’s National Security Advisor, met with the ambassadors of various countries in Baghdad. In the meeting he announced that the Mojahedin Khalq has until the end of the year to leave the country. He advised that any embassy which thinks it has any relation with the MEK should take them out as soon as they can.

++ In Tirana those who have deserted the MEK have started talking. One individual wrote a letter explaining how the MEK are putting pressure on them. He asks ‘where are the human rights organisations that he and his friends believed would be concerned over their plight’. He describes the MEK’s threats, one of which is that if they take money from the UN refugee organisation and register as refugees then the MEK will treat them as agents of the Iranian regime in which case they can do what they like with them – [in MEK jargon being an agent of the Iranian regime carries a de facto death sentence under made-up MEK law]. The dissidents in Tirana are now desperate. The MEK promised them money so they wouldn’t go to the UN, but this has been withheld and now they fear for their lives if they do take UN money. They are asking for help from anyone, anywhere.

++ Edaalat Association translated into Farsi an article by journalist Daniel Solis from the Czech Republic which exposes an MP, Daniel Herman, who has been taking money to work as a lobbyist for the MEK. He is now under judicial scrutiny and there have been a variety of critical radio reports and newspaper articles alleging that he has been bought by a terrorist organisation.

++ Mohammad Al-Seyhood from Nouri Al-Maliki’s coalition party speaking with Al Madi press on behalf of the coalition says that Iraq is neither a servant nor a colony of America and if Washington is worried about the mercenaries – MEK – they should take them out as soon as they can rather than interfere in the internal affairs of our country. He was speaking in response to those in America who are demanding a ‘sharp cut in US aid to Iraq’ over the alleged missing seven MEK from Camp Ashraf.

++ There were many articles in Farsi about what is behind the MEK’s so-called hunger strike. Some treat it as a joke as the strikers have not given up dying their hair and trimming their moustaches over the past six weeks. Others are concerned that Rajavi will start killing them one way or another to have something for the papers to write about. Some write, including Mohammad Razaghi, that we never see the MEK leaders burn themselves or go on hunger strike. Some articles refer to MEK propaganda outlets in Farsi pointing out that more than half is devoted Syria and support for terrorist organisations. One of these terrorists got killed last week – the contact with the MEK from the Free Syrian Army.

++ Yaran Association has published an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon specifying that we have information from people inside Camp Liberty that Rajavi has ordered that food be actually withheld. This means that many of those on hunger strike are not doing so willingly, they have no choice as their food has been removed. Contrary to every human right the MEK are deliberately starving people to death. The letter demands intervention to save these people.

++ The MEK claimed today that it had discovered something about Iran’s nuclear programme. The claim was not repeated by media outlets except a very few which took it with a pinch of salt and ridiculed them.

++ Sahar Family Foundation in Baghdad published an article which highlights the news that residents of Camp Liberty are being forced to be on hunger strike because they are given no food. Although this is supposed to be related to the seven missing MEK, the reality is that the overwhelming number of people in Liberty and among the MEK’s west based Iranian supporters blame Massoud Rajavi for the killings in Camp Ashraf. They are all asking’ why didn’t we leave before this happened because Rajavi in his statement said he was expecting this’. They point to the contradiction that if people have been detained and tortured by the MEK’s enemies then what good is a hunger strike to put pressure on such people to release the seven. In addition, news has reached Camp Liberty that well over half of those transferred to Albania have rejected Rajavi and become ex-members. They are also aware that the surviving 42 transferred from Camp Ashraf are still being held incommunicado and have no contact with the other residents of Liberty. After weeks the MEK leaders are still working on them and they are still not able to have contact with anyone. Rajavi is still claiming that whoever in the world condemns the killings and kidnappings of Camp Ashraf, this proves they support Rajavi so their blood has not gone to waste. But for the old, sick and injured on hunger strike none of this means anything as they are being deliberately denied food. Apparently Rajavi thinks this is a good idea; he can get rid of them and claim their blood for himself. Sahar concludes that if no intervention is forthcoming from the international community, then disaster is imminent.

++ In English and Farsi there have been many articles exposing the MEK’s disreputable role in attempts to disrupt any US-Iran negotiations and rapprochement.

++ In the UK, in response to a parliamentary question from the Bishop of Coventry; “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have received from the government of Iraq to their representation requesting an investigation into the violence at Camp Ashraf on 1 September.” Government spokesperson Baroness Warsi (Conservative) replied, “The Government of Iraq has told our Embassy in Baghdad that a committee will conduct a full and open investigation into the attack on Camp Ashraf on 1 September, and that its findings will be made public.”

Iran Interlink, October 11 2013

++ Mohammad Reza Rohani, former member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), published the third part of his series of articles titled ‘The Smell of Joseph’s Shirt’. This third part answers questions raised in the first two articles. Rohani says the main objections against him have been as to why he writes against the MEK and he reminds these people that he didn’t start it. He only resigned and wished the MEK good luck. But for months after this the MEK did nothing but swear at him. He didn’t think this would happen but now he knows what they are really like.

++ Ashraf News reported on a statement issued by Ban Ki Moon’s Press Office following a meeting between the UN Secretary General and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari. Moon announced in the statement that the MEK must be removed from Iraq asap.

++ In a meeting with Catherine Ashton at the UN meeting in New York, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari said Europe should think about finding a place for the MEK asap. ‘They will be thrown out and you have to take them’, he said.

++ Several articles were published about how isolated the Israelis and also the MEK were this time in New York during the UNGA meetings.

++ Irandidban website has an article about Massoud Rajavi’s latest proclamations, which were not in his voice but were read out as a general rant. During the broadcast Rajavi claims that everyone who was killed in Camp Ashraf had loved to be martyred and he clearly stated that they were there for that purpose. Irandidban reminds us that the MEK had publicly demanded that they stay in Camp Ashraf in order to sell their belongings, not to get killed.

++ An Open Letter to Mr Samir Tahiri, Interior Minister of Albania, was published in English and signed by many former members and critics of the Mojahedin Khalq. Warning that the MEK is trying to send its trusted henchmen to control the new arrivals the letter asks Tahiri to ‘prevent the entrance of Mrs Masoumeh Malekmohammadi to Albania. She should be handed over to the Iraqi courts of justice for her criminal activities in Iraq’. And concludes, ‘We urge you and your government to allocate and designate a place for the separated members of the PMOI away from those who are loyal Mojahedin members in Albania in order for them to be safe and sound from the psychological tortures and pressures of the PMOI.’

++ An article by Amir Hossein Panahi from Aryia Association in Paris titled ‘Rajavi’s group and what they gained in New York’, discusses those individuals who were paid to make speeches to beggars in New York during the MEK’s mock demonstration. He concludes that the speakers would be better off if they hadn’t exposed like this how empty handed they are.

++ Sahar Family Foundation has translated several Iraqi newspaper articles into Farsi. These are some examples of what is covered: Iraq’s Foreign Minister declared again that the government of Iraq had no involvement in the disappearance of any MEK members and if Catherine Ashton or anyone else has any concerns they can of course talk with him and he can explain more about this issue; The Badr faction spokesman in parliament has declared that there is overwhelming evidence that the MEK massacred Kurdish people during the era of Saddam Hussein and that they have to be prosecuted before their deportation; Some Iraqi newspapers reported that while searching Camp Ashraf they have found mass graves some of which appear to contain Kurds and some Kuwaitis. A joint American-Kuwaiti team are investigating this and apparently one of the victims is a child princess related to the ruling royal family of Kuwait; another paper has said that, contrary to what the MEK claims, the American government has denied visiting the seven allegedly lost people and the government of Iraq also dismisses such claims.

++ A. Rayhani has written to Iraj Mesdaghi, a vocal critic of the MEK, giving many reasons why he and his colleagues who have deserted the MEK should start a separate MEK group so that other like minded people can join with them. Mesdaghi has answered this by reminding Rayhani that ‘you can’t start an opposition group from Sweden, all we can do from outside Iran is to help the opposition there. Mesdaghi says people can’t believe in an army without arms and they can’t believe in fighters who have suddenly become asylum seekers, and nor can they believe that MEK are warriors when they are working from Paris. In the same way such people wouldn’t accept us if we announced ourselves as the new MEK but this time from Sweden. Mesdaghi says ‘I am no Don Quixote! I am a realist. Let Rajavi make his wild claims’. Mesdaghi refers to Rajavi’s claims that the 3000 old and sick men and women in Iraq are going to play the role of Robin Hood from Camp Liberty, and that from there Rajavi will break down all the walls and go against the wishes of the UN and the international community, and he will break the chains of Imperialism and then destroy the army of Iraq and topple the Iraqi government…!

++ This week many have written articles marking the anniversary of America removing the MEK from its terrorism list. They commonly remark that contrary to what Rajavi claimed to the MEK forces, that being on this list was why they couldn’t topple the Iranian regime, now we see that this wasn’t the problem after all as the MEK are in a worse state than then. Some writers analyse the situation as ‘how the Americans use everything without hesitation’ – such as adding the MEK to the list then taking them off again just as easily. They point out that Hillary Clinton promised to remove the MEK if they agreed go to Camp Liberty. In Tehran, Dr Sajadi, Head of the Society for the Defence of Victims of Terrorism in Iran, says that although Clinton – wrongly – promised such a thing to a group of terrorists and kept her word, we saw that the terrorists did not keep their word and did not empty Camp Ashraf which has cost many lives until now. He says that the fact that the cult leaders have not been able to come back and are in a worse situation now is cannot be credited to the Americans since they have tried their best to use terrorism and groups like the MEK which has spent millions of dollars on Senators and ex-officials, etc.

++ A delegation from Faryad Azadi Association visited the Albanian embassy in Paris to discuss the MEK arrivals in Tirana. The delegation thanked the government of Albania for its humanitarian act and went on to explain the behaviour of the MEK, how they operate as a cult and offered consultancy as to how Albania can deal with them.

++ Ghorban Ali Hosseinejat wrote about the MEK’s so-called hunger strike in Camp Liberty which has apparently not affected the health of any of them after four weeks. (Hosseinejat points out this is a known sham tactic and the MEK typically do this for propaganda purposes.) He poses the question to Rajavi that if what you claim is true and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was responsible for the attack on Camp Ashraf and the deaths of 52 people while letting the remainder take photographs and films to be sent immediately to Paris for propaganda, and if meanwhile they take seven random people and put them in the hands of the Iraqi government – while most people believe this whole event has been an internal act – then, if this is true, isn’t it even more ridiculous that the MEK have gone on hunger strike asking the IRG to release them or they will kill themselves? If what you say is true, why would the Iranian Revolutionary Guard want to stop you killing yourselves?

++ According to Nejat Bloggers, Cologne city officials have objected to moves to bring 77 MEK from Camp Liberty to their city. Citing security concerns Mr Guido Kahlen, director of Cologne City Council seriously protested the decision. The Council considers the presence of those people with records of military, terrorist and cult-like activities as a risk to the security of Cologne’s citizens, he said.