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Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

The Bitter And Unpleasant Realities of Anti Iran Terrorism

The worst terrorist operation happened in Iran 33 years ago. A week after the removal of the first president of Iran; AbolHassan Banisadr, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei was subject to an attempted assassination. As the representative of Iran’s former leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, in the National Security Council and as Tehran’s representative in Parliame The Bitter And Unpleasant Realities of Anti Iran Terrorism nt, Ayatollah Khamenei strongly supported Banisadr’s removal, bringing a suitcase to the parliament filled with documents against Banisadr on June 21, 1981.

Six days after the removal of the president, Ayatollah Khamenei who is currently Iran’s supreme leader went to a Mosque in Tehran for a planned speech. A bomb put inside a voice recorder on the lectern exploded while he was speaking which left him terribly wounded and in critical conditions. According to officials, Khamenei’s chest and his right hand were severely injured and he lost a lot of blood but miraculously he survived after receiving almost 60 blood bags.

While Iranians were still shocked about Ayatollah Khamenei another terrorist operation shocked them again.

Ayatollah Beheshti talking between Iranian soldiers during Iran-Iraq war.

At the time Mohammad Ali Rajaei was the President of Iran. This time a bomb exploded in the headquarters of the Islamic Republican Party, killing 73 top Iranian officials including Ayatollah Beheshti, the head of the party. Four ministers and 27 members of the Parliament also were killed in the bombing.

The terrorist operation was carried out by Mojahedin E Khalgh (MEK or MKO). MEK had a close relationship with Banisadr and thus when he was removed, they saw themselves out of power and began to continue their opposition by using arms.

Mohammad Reza Kolahi was responsible for the operation. He had penetrated into the party a long time before the operation and as planned invited a group of top officials of the country to the meeting on July 28, 1981 using official cards.

The terrorist operation took place only two years after the establishment of the Islamic Republic and while the country was under attack by Iraq’s Saddam Hossein who was supported and motivated by all world powers.

Before that terrorist operation Iran had already encountered an attempted Coup (Nojeh) and also had lost of several of its major scholars including Morteza Motahhari, the theorist of the revolution in a number of assassinations.

But that was not all. The MEK intensified their terrorist operations in August 1981. In their biggest terrorist operation they destroyed by explosion the office of the National Security Council killing Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar and President Mohammad Ali Rajaei who had been elected only three months before.

President Mohammad Ali Rajaei(left) and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar (right) assassinated in a terrorist attack in 1981.

The MEK who were based in England claimed the responsibility of the bombing. They also officially claimed the responsibility of assassinating religious leaders in different cities including Tabriz, Kerman, Shiraz, and Yazd. They also sided with Saddam and officially entered into the war against Iran, carrying over 100 military operations inside the country through its military wing called “The Liberation Front”.

They are also charged with helping Saddam in suppressing Iraqi Kurds and Shias. Later the terrorist organization continued its operations, assassinating many other top Iranian officials like Ali Sayyad Shirazi.

According to Iran’s security organizations, the MEK have in recent years have helped the intelligence agencies of Isarel and the US in assassinating the country’s nuclear scientists. Some American news outlets like CNN and the NY Times disclosed their cooperation with Israel in the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

So far the information about assassination of 12 thousand Iranian officials have been disclosed. Iran claims the victims to be over 16 thousand.

For decades, the MEK occupied the Camp Ashraf (aka US Forward Operating Base Grizzly) that is situated in 40 Kilometers north of capital Baghdad.

In 2011 The Iraqi government made it clear that it wants Camp Ashraf shut down and the MeK to leave Iraq.

In 2012 the MEK moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya in Baghdad (a onetime U.S. base formerly known as Camp Liberty). US and some European countries like the UK and France are trying to find them another suitable place to have them settled.

The Council of Ministers of the European Union removed the MEK from the Union’s list of terrorist organizations on January 26, 2009 and on September 28, 2012 The U.S. State Department formally removed the MEK from its official list of terrorist organizations as a result of the MEK spending millions of dollars in lobbying and influencing significant politicians.

These bitter and unpleasant realities show that since its establishment, the Islamic Republic has been targeted by terrorist groups and organizations that have carried out many terrorist operations inside the country.

Iran’sView Jul 1st, 2013

July 7, 2013 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 10

++ Le Monde carried an article about the MEK’s “American show” in Villepinte, pointing out that every year they bus in refugees from any country they can and students from Russia and Poland, etc. This year was interesting because Maryam Rajavi has denounced the election of Hassan Rohani and described it as a plot and claimed also that he is a murderer. She dismissed the large voter turnout and claimed the Iranian regime is on the verge of collapse.

++ In his weblog, Mohammad B. talks about the MEK’s hatred toward Nelson Mandela and says that although they can’t directly go against him, the MEK published an article titled, ‘I will not pray for your life, nor will I pray when you die’. The hatred stems from Mandela’s visit to Iran during the Presidency of Khatami when Mandela wished both the Iranian government and Khatami himself well.

++ Some articles about Villepinte talk about how it turned against the MEK even though they spent a lot of money on the event. The event was exposed as a sham but what made things worse was that they couldn’t hide the fact that people can escape from Camp Liberty in Iraq and can leave the National Council of Resistance (NCRI).

++ Yet another site was hacked, this time Kanoon-e Avaa in Germany. It is now back online again with a new address. The site owners point out that ‘the site is a tool and an address and that hacking it is not going to save your butt Rajavi’.

++ Many people refer to the MEK’s anger because Iran’s volleyball team won in Italy. MEK activists tried to get into the stadium to disrupt the game and demoralise the team players, but Iranians with the team and in the audience prevented them.

++ Many people have written articles ridiculing ‘Rajavi and his gang’ for calling everybody ‘agents of the Iranian regime’: from defected members, to the ones who recently left the NCRI, to the UN representative and the prime minister of Iraq, and even a student from Kyrgyzstan who dared to write about them. The general conclusion is that Rajavi has become a clown for Iranians outside the country.

++ On his return from Villepinte, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner faced questions from journalists about his all expenses paid trip and why he had taken time from his official duties to attend the Villepinte show. He claimed the trip was not a “junket,” but a “business trip which is to get jobs to San Diego.” Filner has previously accepted travel from the NCRI. He went to Paris in June 2011, as a member of Congress. He also took a similar trip in June of 2007, federal records show. His 2011 trip cost $6,589 and was paid for by Colorado’s Iranian American Community, a group tied to the MEK.

++ Several articles expose ‘sister’ Farzaneh Meidan Shahi who was dispatched to Albania from Camp Liberty to keep control of the transferred residents. Many ex members remember how savagely she acted toward them, meting out vicious physical and verbal abuse, and say that Rajavi liked her for that and tasked her specifically to annoy and suppress people in the camps.

++ Adel Azami’s article remembers some of the people who have arrived in Albania – some are his friends. He describes how the families are still waiting in front of the camp to see their loved ones. He remembers how Rajavi tried to stop his friends from leaving, saying ‘stay as a Mojahed, or stay as a guest’. Azami says Rajavi likes guests in Paris for singing and dancing, but in Baghdad being ‘Rajavi’s guest’ means prison.

++ Some articles pointed out Massoud and Maryam Rajavi’s sudden changes of view over the Iranian election. Previously Massoud Rajavi wrote an open letter to Rafsanjani and asked him to get involved in the election, but now suddenly he denounces the election of Rohani even though he is endorsed by Rafsanjani.

++ An electronic book published by Arash Sametipour pulls together various examples of social networks and commentary surrounding the issue of the MEK in Farsi language.

++ This week’s guests on Mardom TV were ex Abu Ghraib prisoner Ali Ghashghavi from Germany, and Massoud Jaabaani from Holland. Jaabaani drew attention to the anniversary of Hadi Shams Haeri’s death and how he was never able to see his children before he died as they remained trapped in the Rajavi cult in Iraq. Both guests explained further about the current situation of the MEK.

++ Javad Firouzmand in France has written an article responding to the MEK’s long, long statement against Ghassim and Rowhani and the ridiculous accusations made against them. He goes into the detail s of this long ‘book’ the MEK produced and says that every part of it shows that their real problem is not the ones who left but the ones inside who want to leave. They repeat the cult phobia to reinforce the fear of those trapped inside. Firouzmand attached the document which has not spared anyone from the accusation of being an agent, from the UN, ex members , anyone they could think of has been mentioned one by one. The MEK draw the conclusion that because all these people are agents then it stands to reason that Ghassim and Rowhani must also be agents. Writing on the same theme, others described this document as a Self Inflicted Wound. Why would the MEK write pages and pages swearing at everybody, they ask.

++ Many people wrote about Maryam Rajavi’s claims in Paris. They remind us of her background under Saddam and the cultish practices she imposes even in Europe. Some say it is as though she is playing a character or role in a play because what she really is and says is nothing like this.

++ Rajavi is on overdrive, along with Struan Stevenson MEP and other lobbyists, to discredit Martin Kobler. Now that Kobler’s term as UNAMI chief has come to an end and he has taken up his new role in the DCR, they are pretending that he has been dismissed from Iraq and changed because of pressure brought to bear by the MEK. This is laughable as Kobler has been praised highly from every direction – the UN, EU, US – for his good job. Apparently the MEK are desperate to show a face and claim they have some power, but no one believes this.

Sahar Family Foundation has published an announcement complaining about Maryam Rajavi talking as though she wants to save the lives of the residents of Camp Liberty and claiming that Iran wants to kill them. Everyone knows that the only people stopping the move are Rajavi and the MEK leaders. The European parliament, the Iraqi government, UNAMI and the DoS, all say that it is the MEK leaders who are preventing a good ending. Rajavi wants them to get killed says Sahar.

++ According to Al Sumeria TV, Prime Minister Maliki’s office rejected claims by retired US general Casey. Maliki asks the Americans to be more careful of their representatives, whether working or retired. Before this, Mokhtada Sadr also reacted to the general’s comments, saying as far as he is concerned Casey is no more than a cheap actor, but embarrassingly America regards Iran as a coat hanger and all the shameful acts that they committed themselves they try to hang on Iran.

++ Nejat Association hosted a gathering in Sanandaj, Iranian Kurdistan, for university lecturers and students. The event included talks from four ex MEK members who had come back to Iran and a book table. The meeting at Sanandaj University was very popular and was packed with both students and staff.

++ Islam Times, reporting from Arabic media, says that several leading members of terror organizations have met in Jordan to discuss their operation in Syria. A report presented to the Jordanian intelligence chief Genera clearly points to the arrival in Jordan of large numbers of PMOI – People’s Mojahedin of Iran, a terror organization – where they met with Syrian opposition leaders.

July 5, 2013

July 7, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

What’s remained of the MKO?

The June22 gathering of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in Paris was first of all a multi-national rally despite what the group’s propaganda labels it: “the Greatest Iranian Gathering”.

The alleged dozen thousands of attendees who participated the gathering actually included 500 parliamentarian What’s remained of the MKO? and politicians from over 50 countries,” but also Russian and polish immigrants not very aware of their struggle and taking advantage of free bus trip from Germany, hailed the “mother” of the movement, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran [Maryam Rajavi],” reported Christophe Ayad of Le Monde. [1]

The Le Monde journalist notifies American leading role at the event: "Saturday at Villepinte, the Mojahedin could rely on the support of French personalities: Michele Alliot-Marie. Ingril Betancourt, Christine Ockrent. But the show was primarily American. on the attendance sheet, you could list four generals, including a former national security advisor to Barack Obama, James Jones ,a former head of FBI, Louis Freeh, a former director of the CIA, Porter Goss, and four members of Congress, including the conservative Newt Gingrich, former candidate for the Republican nomination. Not to mention the former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. A very neo-conservative Areopagus in fact. Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero was also present.”[2]

Bob Filner former US congressman and the new mayor of San Diego, was among the dozen MKO’s American sponsors who has been advocating for the group in response to the group’s generous offers of speaking fees, first-class trips and luxurious hotels . Trent Seibert of UT San Diego puts, "Mayor Bob Filner just returned from Paris but declined on Thursday to answer questions about the travel or who paid for it." The author reports that the new mayor seemed reluctant to clarify the reasons of his trip," Filner briefly told reporters at a news conference that the trip was not a “junket,” but a “business trip which is to get jobs to San Diego.”[3]

Dean Calbreath of the Daily Transcript also notes that Filner has not responded to requests for information about the event, but in two previous trips –taken while he was a congressman – he has described it as a “grand meeting of Iranians in support of human rights and democracy“, where he could meet Iranian advocates of greater religious freedom and women’s rights. [4]

But why is a US prominent figure so scared of revealing the motivations for his participation in an Iranian opposition’s rally? It seems that following the June 14 presidential election in Iran where near 72 percent voted and chose their president elect; Mr. Filner himself finds it odd to attend an anti-Iran event. Besides, if he explains about his motivations, He will have to reveal the fee he was paid by the group for the expenses of his trip to the French Capital.

The Daily Transcript criticizes the Mayor Bob Filner for “spending a couple of days with groups hoping to topple the current government of Iran” instead of being present at San Diego City Hall. The author of the article warns about the threat of the group that is embraced by Mr. Mayor referring to Maryam Rajavi’s address in the event. “And in her speech on Saturday, Rajavi also made clear that she was not afraid of bloodshed in the struggle to achieve those goals”, he suggests.[5]

Speaking of the MKO agent in Clorado, T.Mehdi Qaemi a real estate broker, Calbreath gives accounts of large amounts of money US figures are paid for the group’s advocacy. He states: “The push to get the MEK off the list, which occurred in July 2012, included a well-funded lobbying campaign that brought US politicians to the group’s headquarters in France. Ghaemi a broker with the Alborz Real Estate Co. in Greenwood Village, Col., paid $7,487 for Filner’s first class airfare and hotel accommodations in a 2007 trip and $7988 in 2011, although he never contributed to political campaigns.”[6]

Besides numerous government officials who were generously received at the MKO rally, the group launched a massive campaign to make the Villepinte hall look bursting by Iranian –actually non-Iranians – waving flags, chanting slogans. On June 27, Radio Free Europe published the diary of a Kyrgyz student studying in Prague, Alina Alymkoulova who was recruited by the group propaganda arm to attend Villepinte gathering. Alina reveals facts about the MKO’s rent-a-crowd assembly. “Most of the “protesters” were young and obviously students like me” she recounts. “I met many Russians, Ukrainians, Czechs, and students from Asian countries who were all recruited via the Internet.”[7]

About the atmosphere of the deceitful MKO-run rally in the suburb of Paris she says, "As we exited the bus, I resigned myself to the idea that running away was not an option — people were guarding the area.”[8]

Alina and his companions on the bus were not the only non-Iranians who were brought to the MKO Show. “The endless sight of buses from many different countries was somewhat alarming”, she notices. There were a lot more travelers from all over Europe who did not even agree about whether they were going to a rally "in support of human rights" in Iran or Iraq! [9]

Although the MKO spokesman, Shahin Qobadi severely denies Alina’s report on his group’s fraudulent methods to rent a crowd calling it as "suspicious". Alina’s story is not the only one to reveal details about lack of MKO’s popularity among Iranians. There are also numerous photos and videos on the presence of non-Iranian especially Africans on MKO rallies in previous years – that were widely reported following the MKO’s earlier rallies.

The past experiences of Villepinte rally have taught the MKO to be more careful about the non-Iranian participants. As Alina States this year “cameras were not allowed” and non-Iranians were seated on the black rows of that hall.

Definitely the MKO show in Paris was not an Iranian demonstration at all. The major authorities speaking at the hall were mostly American; the attendees were deceived to take a trip in Paris almost for free. Not a single Iranian except the she-guru of the cult, Maryam Rajavi addressed the crowd because none of the Iranian intellectuals –even those who oppose Islamic Republic – care about the MKO if they do not hate it.

By Mazda Parsi

References:

[1]Ayad, Christophe and Imbert, Louis, Show à l’américaine pour les Moudjahidine du people, Le Monde, June 26, 2013

[2]ibid

[3]Seibert,Trent, LITTLE FROM MAYOR ABOUT TRIP TO PARIS, UT San Diego, June 28, 2013

[4]CalBreath, Dean,Filner visits Iranian resistance in Paris, The Daily Transcipt, June 27,2013

[5]ibid

[6]ibid

[7]Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Diary of an MKO Rent-A-Crowd Demonstrator, June27, 2013

[8]ibid

[9]ibid

July 2, 2013 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 9

++ In an interview with (Farsi language) Andisheh TV in America, Iraj Mesdaghi challenged Massoud Rajavi to a debate and said, ‘Many times you have asked your enemies to debate with you, like at the start of the revolution when you asked Ayatollah Beheshti. Why not us, are we, your friends, less important for you than him?’

++ Ismael Vafa Yaghmai remembered Mehdi Eftekhari in his weblog. Eftekhari was the MEK commander who brought Massoud Rajavi to Paris. He rejected Rajavi’s Ideological Revolution and was under severe pressure for years. He died a couple of years ago and Yaghmai commiserated that he was such a good person, but was so badly treated by his own organisation.

++ Former MEK member Mohammad Razaghi wrote from his hospital bed in France to remind Karim Ghassim that before leaving the MEK he had tried not to listen to the ex-members’ claims. He lists their sufferings and concludes by observing that the consciences of people inside the MEK are now awakening one by one and that he welcomes this development.

++ In a meeting with UNAMI chief Martin Kobler, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki asked him again to expedite the MEK’s expulsion from Iraq.

++ Massoud Khodabandeh writes in Iranian.com that the election of a new Iranian President is bad news for those who want war with Iran, including the MEK. But the MEK’s internal crises are far more dangerous to the group than any external situation. He predicts the group will implode soon due to growing internal dissent.

++ After the successful transfer of a fourth group of residents, the UN and US Department of State both issued statements welcoming the transfer of a total of 71 MEK residents from Camp Liberty in Iraq to Albania as refugees. Both urged the MEK to cooperate with the process.

++ Martin Kobler in an interview with the Associated Press cited concerns about what he called “human rights abuses inside Camp Liberty done by the MEK themselves.

”Residents are not free to move between different sections of the camp without approval, and some are denied Internet and mobile phone access by MEK officials, he said. Medical treatment outside is also often blocked by the group, he alleged.

“There are, of course, MEK residents who probably would like to disassociate themselves from the MEK,” he said. “Everybody who wants to go out of the camp … should have the chance to do so.”

The MEK denied the allegations saying “Kobler has never been an impartial person and does not represent the values of the U.N.”

++ Jamil Bassam from Nejat Association in Iran writes about 21 June 1981 and the start of the MEK’s armed struggle. He recounted his years with the MEK before and after this event and says the only person who should answer for this day is Rajavi himself.

++ A group of former MEK members held a picket at the Trocadero in Paris on June 22 to protest and inform about Maryam Rajavi’s meeting in Villepinte on the same day. Media reporters interviewed several of the participants. A statement accompanying the picket stressed that the captives in Camp Liberty must be helped soon before they all die.

++ Many articles in Farsi criticise Rajavi for swearing and shaking over the election in Iran of Rohani and how their violent nature is threatened by the possibility of peaceful means and negotiations. Villepinte was deemed a failure as it attracted only bad publicity so that even with paid advertisements the MEK couldn’t get anything positive out of it. In her speech Rajavi claimed that voter turnout in Iran was extremely low and that the election was a sham.

++ Anjoman Yaaran in Paris visited Villepinte the day before Rajavi’s event and distributed over 5000 leaflets. As a result, some individuals who were going to attend without any knowledge of what the event was about, changed their minds.

++ Mohammad Karami and Nader Naderi were guests of Mardom TV this week. They recounted what they knew of people being killed in the MEK, of suspicious deaths, and they talked about the issue of people running away from Liberty, with 18 new people managing to escape last week. They also discussed Maryam Rajavi’s show on 22 June and the resignation of members of the NCRI and what it means for the MEK.

++ Iran Farnous in Germany have analysed the MEK’s recent past in an article titled ‘Many Defeats and No Victory’. It especially refers to the defeat of their lobbying efforts, particularly the latest one in Villepinte which attracted bad publicity for Rajavi.

++Homayoun Kohzadi’s article titled ‘Has the Rajavi Cult Given up Terror and Violence?’ refers to acts of violence committed by the MEK since being removed from Western terrorism lists.

++ Many ex-members have written to the Czech ambassador in Paris. Maryam Rajavi is trying to engineer an invitation to visit the parliament there through her lobbyists. The writers say it is obvious to everyone that the aim is to try to stop any rapprochement with new government in Iran. Rajavi believes any backlash will bring her name up which will act as publicity. Nader Naderi compared Rajavi with Hitler and Bin Laden and said ‘letting her come and misuse your government buildings and institutions would be like letting them in and would be a great discredit to the Czech Republic’.

++ In an article titled ‘Camp Liberty residents’ questions go unanswered’ Sahar Family Foundation in Baghdad reports what is going on inside the camp. The article covers Rajavi’s erroneous analyses and calculations in relation to the Iranian election. It then goes on to reveal how the resignation of two NCRI members caught the MEK leaders off guard so they issued contradictory explanations. The article says, ‘The Rajavi cult is also trying to link the replacement of Mr Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the UN General Secretary to Iraq, to their hostile efforts against him and show it as a victory gained by them.’ And finally, ‘The other news is that cult officials inside Camp Liberty try to pretend that those who were sent to Albania did not wish to go and they had to force them to do so. They do this to discourage people from volunteering to leave the camp so that the leaders can pre-select the people they choose to allow to go.’

++ Ghassim and Rohani have published a joint article criticising Rajavi for attacking them and presenting their case as though they are in a court but without accusation or evidence. The title is, ‘Our Resignation Is Their Test Not Ours’.

++After years of trying to find and rescue her son from the MEK’s Iraqi camps, Mrs Abdulahi has started a new blog. In it she explains how her son Amir Aslaan Hassanzadeh had gone to Turkey to find work but was deceived by MEK recruiters and taken to Iraq and never allowed out again.

++ Iran Ghalam quoted eye witnesses reports that an Afghani man named Najib who had gone to Villepinte for 70 Euros died outside the venue when be got extremely drunk and was knocked down and killed by a bus. His uncle is to claim compensation for his death from the organisers.

++ Esamail Yaghmai wrote another article criticising the MEK for character assassination emphasising that he should have the right to criticise without facing this backlash.

++ Ghader Rahamai writing in Nim Negah website criticises Yaghmai for trying to answer any old rubbish that Rajavi says against him. The title: ‘Dear Mr Yaghmai, you are neither a suspect, nor is Rajavi a judge’.

++ In his weblog, Iraj Shokri examines Massoud Rajavi’s recent announcements. He questions why they are all audio addresses and are never written; ‘they come one after another but are removed so no one can relate them to one another’. He refers to contradictions even in one speech; Rajavi attacks UN, ICRC and DoS officials while sending conciliatory audio messages to Rafsanjani and Khamenei.

Mohammad Karami published news about the 71 refugees in Albania. The MEK dispatched Farzaneh Meidan Shahi to pull them together stop them dispersing. She arranged a meeting in a hotel for them to come and eat and drink and watch Maryam Rajavi’s Villepinte show live. Only ten turned up. Karami says these 71 have gob smacked Rajavi twice – once by coming to Albania and once by rebuffing the MEK after they arrived.

++ Jamil Bassam describes Villepinte as the other side of the coin of Camp Liberty and says it is used to deflect public attention away from Liberty. As much as they put pressure on people in Liberty to be obedient, in Paris they have to pay people just to sit there as a fake audience. On one side is huge spending and extravagance and on the other side is misery and suffering and deprivation.

In an article for Pejvak Iran titled ‘MEK’s factory for manufacturing agents of the regime and how does it work’, Hanif Heydar Nejad explains the position they start from how they end up swearing at everyone and labelling people with the hope they remain quiet, but that apparently it is not working.

++ Iraj Mesdaghi wrote ‘The Unpublished Parts of my Report – an Open Letter to Rajavi’ for his website. He explains that in his first open letter he tried to self-censor but has now changed his mind because what he censored is relevant to Rajavi’s internet struggles and it needs to be made public. He goes on to explain in detail how the MEK misuse people, situations, falsify documents and information, etc.

++ Radio Free Europe published the amusing ‘Diary Of An MKO Rent-A-Crowd Demonstrator’ by Kyrgyz student Alina Alymkulova who recounts how she was recruited to travel from Prague to Paris to attend a rally for the MEK.

“I approached two Russian girls to see if they might have a better idea about the purpose of our trip. “To defend the rights of Iranian women,” said one of the girls. “To meet handsome Frenchmen,” said the other. “Who cares about Iranian women?””

++ In his weblog, Mohammad B. refers to the Kyrgyz student and quotes Rajavi’s reaction who claims this girl is an agent of the Iranian regime.

++ Anti-cult French youth have broadcast a video made clandestinely in Villepinte and ridiculed the MEK with film of invited foreigners who don’t speak Farsi or English.

++ Hamed Sarrafpour writes to commemorate Haft-e Tir (June 28, 1981) when the MEK blew up the Hezb-e Jomhouri Headquarters (Islamic Republic Party) killing seventy three leading officials of the newly established Islamic Republic. He recounts his personal involvement with the MEK at the time and how he was witness to them starting killing.

June 28 2013

July 1, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

Unending fraudulent recruiting methods of MKO

During the past three decades the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK, a.k.a. MKO and NCRI) has pretty well proven its abilit Unending fraudulent recruiting methods of MKO ch they fill their rallies with hundreds of and even thousands of non-Iranians.

Another year, another June, and another non-Iranian huge rally in Villepinte, Paris. Each year, the terrorist MKO group celebrates the anniversary of its armed struggle against its compatriots in June 1981, and claims that tens of thousands of Iranians gather in Villepinte from across Europe. However, last year’s rally was ended up with some recorded films which revealed something contrary to their assertions. The videos showed a great number of peoples from a wide range of nationalities. This time it’s a Kyrgyz student’s turn to spill the beans about the real participants of this gathering.

Alina Alymkulova, who studies Journalism and Mass Communication in Kyrgyzstan, told RFE/RL how she was recruited to travel from Prague to Paris to attend the June 23 rally of the MKO.

“I was in Prague listening to music online and checking news on social media when an advertisement caught my eye. It offered a weekend trip to Paris, a city I always dreamed of visiting at least once during my lifetime.”

“The price was amazingly cheap — round-trip by bus and bed and breakfast at a four-star hotel would cost me only 35 euros ($46),” she added. “I met many Russians, Ukrainians, Czechs, and students from Asian countries who were all recruited via the Internet.”

Alymkulova went on to describe the hotel they were taken to as a shabby place about 60 Kilometers outside Paris.

The day after that they were taken to the Villepinte to attend what would be expected to be Iranians rally. There, she said, was “the endless sight of buses from many different countries.”

“Security guards checked us as we entered a building. They stopped me because I had kept my camera inside my backpack despite the organizers’ warning. Amazingly, the guards let me take my camera in after I paid them a couple of euros. Within seconds I was inside the building.”

This bitter experience of Alina Alymkulova rings a bell. It reminds us of the way MKO recruited members some three decades ago. It reveals that such questionable acts of the group-let are not new, they recruited most of their members through such deceptive offers of job, education and asylum in European countries, and many other measures which are detailed in a 2009 report by RAND Corporation.

The monograph titled “The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum” deals with the terrorist MKO group and, in part, describes the questionable recruiting behaviors of the terrorist group:

“Once MKO settled in Iraq and fought against Iranian forces in alliance with Saddam, the group incurred the ire of the Iranian people and, as a result, faced a shortfall in volunteers. Thus began a campaign of disingenuous recruiting. The MeK naturally sought out Iranian dissidents, but it also approached Iranian economic migrants in such countries as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates with false promises of employment, land, aid in applying for asylum in Western countries, and even marriage, to attract them to Iraq. Relatives of members were given free trips to visit the MeK’s camps. Most of these “recruits” were brought into Iraq illegally and then required to hand over their identity documents for “safekeeping.” Thus, they were effectively trapped.”

Now the question arises that how, for God’s sake, MKO can bring democracy and freedom, while it is itself a cult with cult-like practices, for a country which already has freedom and democracy, and why some European and US former and current politicians speak in favor of such a cult in exchange for money.

June 30, 2013 0 comments

Bob Filner

Bob Filner mum on his paid trip to MEK terror group rally

Mayor is mum on trip to Paris

Filner says only that the trip was to get San Diego jobs

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner just returned from Paris but declined on Thursday to answer questions about the travel or who paid for it.

Filner briefly told reporters at a news conference that the trip was not a “junket,” but a “business trip which is to get jobs to San Diego.”

He deferred further questions until a news conference he said he would hold Friday. U-T Watchdog has submitted public records requests for documents related to the trip, including the cost of travel for Filner’s city security detail.

A news release from the National Council of Resistance of Iran said Filner attended a group rally in Villepinte, France, near Paris.

“My first question is who is paying for all this?” Councilman Scott Sherman said. “I don’t get why a mayor of the city of San Diego would need to be there. I think he was beating feet as quick as he could to get out of town because of all the negative news media.”

Filner left town late last week amid several controversies, including his use of a bodyguard to remove a City Attorney’s Office representative from a council meeting last week.

Filner was also facing questions over a donation to the city from developer Sunroad Centrum Partners. Filner vetoed the builder’s request to modify a Kearny Mesa development plan and then later dropped his objection after the company gave $100,000 to the city for a veterans plaza and a bicycling event — pet projects of Filner.

Filner has previously accepted travel from groups that are part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He went to Paris in June 2011, as a member of Congress. He also took a similar trip in June of 2007, federal records show.

His 2011 trip cost $6,589 and was paid for by Colorado’s Iranian American Community, a group tied to the Mujahideen-e Khalq or MEK, the militant — and largest — arm of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

That trip included a first class flight and a stay at a Marriott. Legistorm, a nonpartisan Washington DC-based organization that compiles information about Congress, including Congressional travel, noted, “This trip included unusually expensive hotel charges.”

The 2007 trip to France, also paid for by Colorado’s Iranian American Community, cost $7,949. The plane ticket in that case was business class.

During the mayoral campaign last year, Filner was criticized for accepting 16 free trips as a congressman, totaling $40,000. U-T Watchdog determined his travel was at the median for the county’s congressional delegation, that is, third highest out of five legislators.

He said at the time, “I plead guilty to doing my job as a congressman, informing myself about world issues, building relationships with world leaders and fighting for human rights.”

Filner is not alone in accepting travel from the Iranian groups. Others who have gone include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.

In large part, the trips were part of a lobbying campaign to remove the MEK from the U.S. State Department’s foreign terrorist organizations list. In a speech to the group, Filner compared their plight to the U.S. civil rights movement.

“This will happen,” Filner said in a speech to the group in 2011. “This will happen. The laws, the facts, are on our side.”

The de-listing effort succeeded last year.

U-T San Diego , By Trent Seibert

June 30, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

How to pack a Mujahadeen-e-Khalq rally

How to pack a Mujahadeen-e-Khalq rally: spend thousands on Western politicians, less on (non-Iranian) students

The number of Canadian parliamentarians accepting sponsored junkets from the political arm of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, which Canada until recently considered a terrorist organization, has fallen off of late.

Last year, according to the list of sponsored travel presented to the House of Commons in March, only Liberal MP Judy Sgro took a paid-for trip to France to “attend a global human rights event” hosted by the “Iran Democratic Association,” which appears to be the latest name the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq’s political wing has given itself in Canada. Globally it is known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran. How to pack a Mujahadeen-e-Khalq rally: spend thousands on Western politicians, less on (non-Iranian) students

These events happen every year and centre around a big rally involving thousands of supporters and robust praise for the NCRI’s “president-elect” Maryam Rajavi.

Sgro valued the travel, accommodation, and gifts provided by the NCRI at more than $2,000.

This year’s rally just concluded in Paris. We won’t know for a while yet whether any Canadian MPs attended. We do, however, have a glimpse into who some of the supposed NCRI supporters are.

Alina Alymkulova is a Kyrgyz — not Iranian — student studying in Prague. As she tells Radio Free Europe, she saw an online ad promising a weekend to Paris, complete with accommodation in a four-star hotel, for only 35 euros.

“I wrote to the trip organizer and discovered there was a catch, but it didn’t bother me,” she says. “The organizer explained that I would have to take part in a rally in Paris for a few hours, chant a few slogans in Persian, and wave flags. Although I don’t speak any Persian and don’t know much about Iranian affairs, I decided to go to Paris.”

Alymkulova wasn’t the only one. The buses that left Prague were full of Russians, Ukrainians, Czechs, and Asians. Some drank alcohol and chanted for beer. A Russian woman said she was going to meet handsome Frenchmen. A German she met in Paris thought the rally was for changes in Iraq, not Iran.

Eventually, after staying in a dump of a hotel 60 kilometres from Paris, Alymkulova was bused to the rally near Charles de Gaulle Airport.

“We were given papers explaining where to go and what to do. Cameras were not allowed. As we exited the bus, I resigned myself to the idea that running away was not an option — people were guarding the area.”

Inside the venue, Alymkulova was given coupons for a drink and sandwich. There were headphones on her seat translating the speeches, but she wasn’t interested in listening and left to look for the exit door.

“We arrived back in Prague. I was feeling down, and even the souvenirs I bought in Paris could not cheer me up. In thinking about the whole experience, a saying comes to mind: ‘Only a mousetrap has free cheese.’”

Here’s hoping Sgro’s trip was more enjoyable

By Michael Petrou, Mcleans

June 29, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

Diary Of An MKO Rent-A-Crowd Demonstrator

Kyrgyz student Alina Alymkulova recounts how she was recruited to travel from Prague to Paris to attend a rally for the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), an Iranian opposition movement in exile.

The MKO and its Paris-based political wing, the National Council of Resistance in Iran, are often at the center of controversy. The MKO, which advocates regime change in Iran, was only recently delisted as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

The National Council of Resistance in Iran and its president-elect, Maryam Rajavi, are known for organizing mass rallies that attract Iranian exiles and VIP supporters from around the world. But as Alymkulova’s diary makes clear, some of the tens of thousands of supporters who attended the June 22 rally in Paris might have been motivated by more than their wish for a free Iran.

JUNE 20

9 p.m.: I was in Prague listening to music online and checking news on social media when an advertisement caught my eye. It offered a weekend trip to Paris, a city I always dreamed of visiting at least once during my lifetime.

The price was amazingly cheap — round-trip by bus and bed and breakfast at a four-star hotel would cost me only 35 euros ($46).

I wrote to the trip organizer and discovered there was a catch, but it didn’t bother me. The organizer explained that I would have to take part in a rally in Paris for a few hours. He promised the protest would be peaceful and violence-free, and that I would return home safe and sound.

JUNE 21

9 p.m.: I arrived at a bus station in Prague along with a friend, a fellow student from Kyrgyzstan. Just as the trip organizer said last night, there were eight buses waiting to take us to Paris.

Most of the “protesters” were young and obviously students like me. I met many Russians, Ukrainians, Czechs, and students from Asian countries who were all recruited via the Internet.

More than an hour later we were still at the bus station. People kept coming. It was cold and rainy, and some people began to drink alcohol to keep warm. Some others started to chant slogans: “Freedom to Iranian parrots!” and “Organizers should bring beer!”

I approached two Russian girls to see if they might have a better idea about the purpose of our trip. “To defend the rights of Iranian women,” said one of the girls. “To meet handsome Frenchmen,” said the other. “Who cares about Iranian women?”

11:12 p.m.: Finally, the trip organizers arrived and let us on the buses. The journey had begun.

JUNE 22

11:56 a.m.: After a lengthy bus journey and a sleepless night, we arrived in Paris. The organizers told us we had the whole day to see the city.

I met a student who traveled from Germany to take part in the same rally. But he was sure we were going to attend a rally in support of changes in Iraq, not Iran.

JUNE 23

12:52 a.m.: The hotel was about 60 kilometers outside Paris. We were promised a night in a four-star hotel, but I wouldn’t even give one star to the shabby place the organizers brought us to. “Well, what else would you expect for a 35 euro, all-inclusive trip to Paris?” someone said as we stood in line to use the toilet.

11:42 a.m.: I overslept and missed my breakfast. Those who woke up early said the breakfast consisted of milk and a sandwich. Kyrgyz student Alina Alymkulova recounts how she was recruited

1:16 p.m.: The buses took us to some strange place not far from Charles de Gaulle Airport. We were given papers explaining where to go and what to do. Cameras were not allowed. As we exited the bus, I resigned myself to the idea that running away was not an option — people were guarding the area.

There were yellow-and-purple flags hanging everywhere. The name “Maryam Rajavi” was written on the flags. Well, at least I knew the name of the person behind this massive event. Kyrgyz student Alina Alymkulova recounts how she was recruited

The endless sight of buses from many different countries was somewhat alarming. Security guards checked us as we entered a building. They stopped me because I had kept my camera inside my backpack despite the organizers’ warning. Amazingly, the guards let me take my camera in after I paid them a couple of euros. Within seconds I was inside the building.

2:23 p.m.: There were at least 10,000 people inside. Strange music was playing. All the participants were given coupons for a free drink and sandwich. We ate and drank and then joined the rally being held in what appeared to be a huge stadium.

There were headphones on each seat, apparently so we could listen to direct translations of the speeches. I suddenly realized that there was a woman standing next to me. She was covered head-to-toe and kept saying, “Allahu Akbar.”

Enough. I had to find the exit door.

Near the exit doors, where organizers were distributing salmon sandwiches and kebabs, I heard a few people speaking Kyrgyz, my mother tongue. They were three students who traveled from Germany.

9:28 p.m.: I spent the rest of the day sightseeing in Paris before returning to our bus.

JUNE 24

11:57 a.m.: We arrived back in Prague. I was feeling down, and even the souvenirs I bought in Paris could not cheer me up. In thinking about the whole experience, a saying comes to mind: “Only a mousetrap has free cheese.”

Translated from Russian by Farangis Najibullah

June 29, 2013 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

Shadow of the Iranian election on the MKO gathering

On Saturday June 24, the political arm – read Propaganda arm – of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization held its annual gathering on the anniversary of the start of their violent movement against Iran. The so-called National Council of Resistance held their tenth annual conference to stick the image of a democratic movement on their cult like organization in the northern Paris suburb of Villepint.

Classically, the gathering was attended by hundreds of Western politicians whose luxurious flights and hotel rooms in Paris were paid by the MKO. "Major international figures including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and outspoken Republican politician Newt Gingrich were scheduled to speak at the event,” reported Alexander Turnbull of France 24.

The MKO propaganda ironically named the gathering "onward to freedom"! As a former member of the group or a family member whose loved one has be taken as a hostage in the group camps in Iraq and Paris, one may laugh at this fake title by a group that freedom is an odd notion in its internal relations. As an Iranian especially one who is living inside the country one may wonder who the MKO is who wants to bring freedom to Iran. The France 24 reporter suggests, "While the NCRI presents itself as a legitimate opposition group, critics say it’s an out-of-touch expatriate lobbying organization with a lot of money but with little relevance to Iran’s problems."

Disappointed with support from inside Iran the NCR has resorted to western supporters particularly since the fall of its main financial and military sponsor Saddam Hussein in 2003. Heavy, well-paid lobbying efforts of the group finally ended with its delisting in 2012 but not long later political relations turned against the MKO. "Maryam spent years making friends in high places, offering the West information on Iran’s nuclear program", asserted Turnbull.

This year, the MKO rally was harshly influenced by the recent Presidential elections in Iran in which the majority of Iranians participated and elected the moderate figure, Hassan Rowhani. Obsessed with the new political relations that may be formed between the world community and Iran following the election of Dr. Rowhani, the MKO leader Maryam Rajavi made efforts in her speech at the gathering to convince the West that the Iranian election is not a real one and the president elect is not a moderate.

"But while the NCRI may be able put on a good show outside its homeland, many of the group’s detractors feel that the Rajavis and their followers have ceased to matter to the situation in Iran," concludes the France 24 correspondent. This conclusion explains Maryam Rjavi’s serious concern about the future of the cult of personality her husband Massoud Rajavi has created around them. They fear any engagement between the West and the Iranian government — which is believed to be likely in the next Iranian administration. Thus the motto "Stop Appeasement" is now much more highly shouted by the group leader than before.

By Mazda Parsi

Reference:

Turnbull, Alexander, Exiled Iranian opposition in Paris for talks, France 24, June 22, 2013

June 27, 2013 0 comments

Camp Liberty

Camp Liberty residents’ questions go unanswered

News from inside Camp Liberty – base of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in Iraq – indicates that the cult leader Massoud Rajavi was seriously relying on the Iranian presidential elections turning into a fiasco. The cult’s Camp Liberty residents’ questions go unanswered leaders had prepared the grounds for an escalation of public unrest and had told the members trapped in the camp that the cult had a bright future, hence discouraging them from fleeing the camp.

When Iran named the Iranian New Year, beginning in March, to be a ‘political epic’, one MEK official told a gathering of the members with ridicule that, “They should beware not to have a political disaster during the elections never mind an epic”.

With reference to the sayings of Massoud Rajavi, one of the MEK officials said, “We lost our chance in the past election in 2009, if we lose our chance this time the overthrow of the regime will not be possible for another 8 years”. Apparently the cult had sent some sabotage teams into Iran who were arrested before they could do anything.

In his internal analysis Rajavi had calculated that when Rafsanjani and Mashai were among those who put themselves forward as presidential candidates, the regime would be in an awkward position. Whether they are qualified according to the Guardians’ Council or not, according to Rajavi the result would be turmoil and disorder. He therefore believed the situation would be ripe for the MEK to add to the difficulties of the Islamic Republic and he could carry out his own goals.

After a calm and hassle-free election with a big voter turnout – which all media and political sources agreed was the case, except of course Rajavi who claimed insistently that nobody participated and people shouted slogans – and after the ‘most-unlikely-candidate-to-win’ according to Rajavi actually won the election, questions were raised amongst the MEK members to which the cult officials had no answer. Although they had created the grounds for these queries in the first place, they could only, as it is customary inside the cult, accuse those raising questions of repeating the regime’s nonsense.

The other matter which raised many questions inside the MEK is the recent resignation of two prominent members of the National Council of Resistance (NCR, the MEK’s western style front group), Mr Karim Ghasim and Mr Mohammad Reza Rohani, and the consequent revelations by two other members, Ismael Vafa Yaghmai and Iraj Mesdaghi. The cult leaders briefed the members by claiming that Ghasim and Rohani were supposed to have been fired six months ago but the Council had deferred it to an appropriate time before they eventually got rid of them. This is quite the opposite to the Council’s public statement that emphasized how shocked they were to learn that the two had resigned and blamed it on infiltration by the Iranian regime into the NCR.

The Rajavi cult is also trying to link the replacement of Mr Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the UN General Secretary to Iraq, to their hostile efforts against him and show it as a victory gained by them. The truth is that Mr Kobler’s mission in Iraq came to an end and he has now been appointed to a new mission in the Congo and of course the policy of the UN will not change just because one Special Representative has moved on and another has been appointed. It should be noted that Mr Kobler will certainly thoroughly brief his successor about the cultic behavior of the MEK.

The other news is that cult officials inside Camp Liberty try to pretend that those who were sent to Albania did not wish to go and they had to force them to do so. They do this to discourage people from volunteering to leave the camp so that the leaders can pre-select the people they choose to allow to go.

June 26, 2013 0 comments

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