Articles

A Camp Ashraf in France

Once and following the French police raid against MKO’s HQs in Auvers-sur-Oise, M. Bousquet de Florian, the director of French counter-intelligence, confirmed that many MKO leaders had returned to France since the American intervention in Iraq to turn “Auvers-sur-Oise into an operational headquarters for terrorism”. It was hard to believe what he meant. The Camp Ashraf once turned into a bastion of terrorist plots and operational headquarters heavily supported by Saddam, now MKO needed new HQs the patron being fallen.

Reported by VO news on 24 September 2008, a number of elected representatives of Val-d’Oise gathered to support the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). As the report states, “sixty mayors of Val-d’Oise support the PMOI, main opposition to the regime to the mullahs in Tehran. All are demanding the withdrawal of the Iranian Resistance from the list of terrorist organizations of the European Union”.

In its 8 October 2006 edition, the paper Al Irak Al-Yom wrote: "72 sheikhs and leaders of the tribes in the vicinity of Ashraf City, while supporting the charter of honor of the tribal sheikhs of all the Province of Diyali which states that the People’s Mojahedin are honorary citizens and members of their tribes, signed a new charter in which they undertake the defense of Ashraf City against all threats constituted from the ruling regime in Iran. They emphasized that any attack against the People’s Mojahedin and Ashraf City amounted to an attack against themselves, their families and their tribes".

Now the Province of Diyali in Iraq becomes known as Val-d’Oise in France in the same way that the mayors of Val-d’Oise replace the Iraqi sheikhs and tribe leaders. Has France really accented to the formation of another Camp Ashraf in the heart of the country?

October 4, 2008 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Camp Ashraf, a heavily controlled cult haven

Of the most common controlling techniques within MKO is that of collective control. Camp Ashraf plays an important role in keeping full all-out control over all members as well as carrying out brainwashing mechanisms. Strengthening security systems within Ashraf to prevent the members’ exit, resistance against transferring Mojahedin to other places and such activities imply the necessity of collective life for Mojahedin. The first consequence of dispersion of MKO members may be the destruction of intra-organizational controlling systems. Although lifestyle of members located in Ashraf is similar to that of Auvers-Sur-Oise and early headquarters of the organization in Iran, it is better to review the history of the formation of Ashraf in order to gain a better understanding of its strategic significance.

Before the formation of Ashraf, MKO members lived separately in Iran, Europe, Kurdistan and other countries and cities; therefore, it was impossible for the leadership to develop a collective life. It is not clear whether Ashraf was formed due to predefined ideological objectives or its formation was the inevitable consequence of some events like the disintegration of resistance cells of Mojahedin within Iran, and Europe’s disagreement for the collective settlement of Mojahedin. However, it can be claimed that Rajavi made an informed decision to keep the integrity of his organizational running for many years.

strategic failures of Mojahedin, their expulsion from France, Rajavi’s meeting with Tariq Aziz were some main factors that lead to the true prediction that Rajavi was planning to form a camp consisting of Mojahedin’s military and organizational members in order to prevent members’ passivity and disintegration of the organization. Considering Ashraf as the symbol of Mojahedin and a utopia proves the above claims. Ashraf, as the location of the development of the ideological revolution, may be regarded as the controlling lever against dissidents too. Taking a brief look at the labels defined for Ashraf may lead to a better understanding of its strategic role. In this regard, it is said:

Mojahedin’s Heart (Camp Ashraf) is called by a woman’s name, a woman who is to have a major role in the internal ideological revolution of Mojahedin. (1)

There is a kind of dialectic relationship between camp Ashraf and the ideological revolution of Mojahedin:

There is no doubt that the considerable resistance of Ashraf under the hegemony of Mojahed women had its roots in the internal ideological revolution within MKO. (2)

Although Rajavi justified his decision to move to Iraq under the pretext of changing strategy and being close to Iranian soil, his main objective was keeping full control over members. The consequences of the development of the ideological revolution such as the increase of dissidence among members were another factor to make such a decision. The dispersion of members would result in their opposition to leaders’ policies and decisions; however, living in Ashraf would reduce this probability.

It has to be pointed out that Camp Ashraf prepared the grounds for application of brainwashing mechanisms as well as physical control of members by means of the prisons formed within it. The statements made by the MKO ex-members imply the fact that resorting to mental and physical pressures against dissident members were common activities in Ashraf. Taking a look at the security considerations in Ashraf and calling it as Mojahedin’s symbol, laboratory, heart, utopia, etc may clarify this point. An MKO former member describes collective life in Ashraf and says:

Camp Ashraf turned to a laboratory for testing Rajavi’s theories and members turned to guinea pigs. (3)

He also refers to Ashraf as the Mojahedin utopia in which collective life paves the way for winning full control over the members:

Camp Ashraf is a model of Mojahedin’s utopia promised by Rajavi. Organizational hierarchy is developed based on ranking officials and inferior rank-and-files. There is no separation or collection among members; every one is connected to the ideology. Every one has to obey his superior who is more ideological. Every one needs a leader. Masoul is a person connecting members to leader. The relationship between Masoul and members inferior to him/her is like that of water and a thirsty person in which the latter can not live without the former. In MKO each Masoul is subordinate to his/her Masoul too up to Rajavi at the peak of the organizational pyramid. (4)

The running lifestyle in Ashraf is under full control. Internal as well as external relations of Mojahedin are monitored and controlled using various controlling levers:

Camp Ashraf is located out of the city and is surrounded by barbed wire. Members never leave it except for visiting doctors and accompanied by another Masoul. It resembles military camps in which members are imprisoned voluntarily. Most members have been there for an average of ten years except for military maneuvers. No one visits it but some Iraqi officials. (5)

In a nutshell, according to the supporters and sympathizers of the ideological revolution, Camp Ashraf is a must, a model focusing on collective life due to the ideological considerations. As a result, the significance of such a social life is based on an all-out control over the members and their full submission. In other words, in MKO collective life grants a chance for further monitoring and control of members. Camp Ashraf has been described as follows:

After the strategic settlement of Mojahedin in Iraq, their leader had the chance to test his revolutionary theories in a small society under his own control and free from the outside value systems. Such a society had to be a micro model of a real society consisting of government, president, the parliament in exile, armed forces, police forces, prison, court, mass media, diplomatic relations, economical and logistic systems. (6)

Collective life is common in almost all historical cults and a number of American cults. The place where these cults are located is so significant that sometimes the name of the cult is derived from the name of their location like Alamout castle and the cult called Alamout led by Hasan Sabbah. Likewise Ashraf and Mojahedin have the same connotation today. What is of importance is the fact that all such considerations are taken aiming to control members and to give cultist identity to them.

References:

1. Niyabati, Bijan, Another look at the ideological revolution within MKO

2. ibid

3. Shams-e Haeri, Hadi, The Swamp

4. ibid

5. ibid

6. Niyabati, Bijan, Another look at the ideological revolution within MKO

September 30, 2008 0 comments

Terrorist groups and the MEK

MKO, another version of al-Qaeda

A spokesman for the family members of terrorism victims in Iran says the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) is simply an earlier version of al-Qaeda.

Iraj Moradi, the spokesman for the Edaalat Society, which represents over 12,000 relatives of Iranian victims of terrorism, said the MKO and al-Qaeda use the same methods to lure their members into carrying out terrorist attacks.

Iraj is the son of Ebrahim Moradi, a blacksmith who was assassinated by the MKO in June 1984.

The Mujahedin Khalq Organization is a terrorist group banned by many countries including the US. It has claimed responsibility for numerous terror attacks inside Iran and Iraq since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

At a recent UN human rights conference in Geneva, Edaalat Society revealed documents highlighting the extent of MKO activities in Iran as well as the group’s cooperation with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The MKO has long been charged with assisting Saddam in the massacre of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

A British envoy, who has received the documents, asked the delegation to shed light on MKO crimes in a visit to the UK – where a British court has dropped the MKO from its blacklist of terrorist organizations.

“Edaalat Society does not seek revenge,”said Sepehri, the daughter of another Iranian victim.

“Branding some terrorists ‘good’ and some ‘bad’ would legitimize their actions and provide a pretext for their existence,”she said referring to the recent UK court ruling.

She added that is why the MKO has continued its existence.

According to Sepehri who is the official spokesman for the Edaalat Society, terrorists are sick people who are suffering from hallucinations due to the cult-like structure of their organizations and could be cured if they were freed from the mind-control tactics of their leaders.

A delegation of the Edaalat (Justice) Society has recently visited Geneva to attend the UN human rights summit and meet NGOs and rights groups.

September 28, 2008 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

Cultic Collective life

Collective life constitutes one of the most significant stages of human development; however, nowadays some cultist groups misuse it as a favored Cultist joint life is based on a collective unity in which individuals are exposed to some uncommon factors resulting in their blind obedience and submission means through which a variety of controlling techniques such as brainwashing and mental exploitation of their members is accomplished. It has to be pointed out that communal life in a cult has a meaning much different from that we have in our mind.

Cultist joint life is based on a collective unity in which individuals are exposed to some uncommon factors resulting in their blind obedience and submission. A kind of discipline is exercised within cults much stronger than that of army, schools, political groups, etc. Such a discipline covers all aspects of cult members’ life such as their mentality, beliefs, sleep, food, leisure time, occupation, emotional relations, blood ties, etc. Eric Hoffer describes cultist collective life as follows:

Collective unity is not the result of the brotherly love of the faithful for each other. The loyalty of the true believer is to the whole-the church, party, nation-and not to his fellow true believer, True loyalty between individuals is possible only in a loose and relatively free society, As Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only son to prove his devotion to Jehovah, so must the fanatical Nazi or Communist be ready to sacrifice relatives and friends to demonstrate his total surrender to the holy cause. The active mass movement sees in the personal ties of blood and friendship a diminution of its own corporate cohesion. Thus mutual suspicion within the ranks is not only compatible with corporate strength, but, one might almost say, a precondition of it (1).

Cultist relations aim at cutting all individuals’ personal attachments on the one hand and then putting that individual within a collective unity. In other words, it is attempted to prevent member’s connections with the outside world and all his/her family, emotional, social, professional, mental, and ideological relations to make him/her wholly dependent on the cult. There is a paradox between the individuals’ separateness from the society and connection with cult members. According to Hoffer:

The effacement of individual separateness must be thorough. In every act, however trivial, the individual must by some ritual associate himself with the congregation, the tribe, the party, and etcetera. His joys and sorrows, his pride and confidence must spring from the fortunes and capacities of the group rather than from his individual prospects and abilities. Above all, he must never feel alone. Though stranded on a desert island, he must still feel that he is under the eyes of the group. To be cast out from the group should be equivalent to being cut off from life (2).

In fact the main motivation for conducting collective life in cults is taking members under full control. According to Hoffer, the mechanisms of cultist life change the value system of members in a way that it even puts value on aggression and aggressive behaviors:

There is also this: when we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole, we not only renounce personal advantage but are also rid of personal responsibility. There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears, hesitations, doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgment. When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom-freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse (3).

It is a fact that communal life is the sole solution for keeping absolute control over a group of individuals. As a result it is a common strategy in all cults to resort to collective life.

Where new creeds vie with each other for the allegiance of the populace, the one which comes with the most perfected collective framework wins (4).

Such a collective framework has been referred to repeatedly by Mojahedin as the main factor resulting in winning their political and ideological achievements and legitimacy.

References:

1. Eric Hoffer; The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, New York: First Perennial Classics 2002, p. 115.

2. ibid, 61.

3. ibid, 93.

4. ibid, 44.

September 27, 2008 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

A matter of control and freedom

Majority of those who joined Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO/MEK/PMOI) and spent years and decades trapped in the leftist group could never dream that their quest for a socialist utopia would lead them to the abyss of a destructive cult of personality. Many of defectors that managed to break the embrace of the cult confess that what they gained in all those lost years was an understanding that they had been the sure victims of a man’s power abuse and ambitions who had not the least idea what democracy could be like.

Kept totally in ignorance of the true nature of the group, since the group severely controls the outlet and leak of information, even the sympathizers living in the free world of modern European countries as well as a handful of European parliamentarians, who seem to be after their own party and political interests rather than caring about Iranian people, have been led to a prejudice that the organization is a pro-democratic political group struggling for the institution of democracy in Iran. However, a merely show of sympathy does not seem to harm anybody. But when it comes to sympathize with a cult and terrorist group to further keep and enslave its members against their will it makes different.

Looking it from a humanitarian point of view, let’s support voluntarily return of MKO members to Iran or any other country they wish to move according to international regulations and through the organizations concerned. Let’s help those in Ashraf decide where to live rather than who controls them. They have had enough of any form of control and what at the present need is to be free.

September 27, 2008 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

NCRI and Money Laundering

One of the tricks NCRI/MKO uses in Europe to fundraise is to form front associations with the purported aim of supporting Iranian children and asylum seekers. This Group, by gaining the sympathy of ignorant people and extracting money from them, has collected considerable amount of money and used it to finance its terrorist operations.

One such association for collecting money is the “Society for the Support of Iranian Refugee Children” in Germany. Under the supervision of this front association in Köln the children who have been separated from their parents residing in “Ashraf” base in Iraq by NCRI/MKO are raised.

In this regard the German "Focus" magazine, no. 2000/29 stated:

“Reliable information indicates that MKO, with prior intention, separated children from their families and secretly brought them to Germany and under the false pretences that they were orphans and homeless children, lodged them in the Child Care buildings so that it could receive governmental financial aid and then transfer it to the bank account of the organisation.

For this purpose the Society for the Support of Iranian Homeless Children in Köln was established in 1993. From the text of the Code of Conduct of the Society, it was obvious that these children were kept under the strict supervision of Iranian mentors, so that under a brainwashing program, prepare these children to return to Iraq and fight the Iranian State.”

"Focus” refers to a letter sent by an Iranian youth who was trained in this child care house in Köln and who went to Iraq to his friend in Köln. In his letter written in 1998, this 16 year old Iranian youngster writes the following to his friend in Köln:

“We were firing guns, and you can not understand how much I was excited when I was hitting right to the target.”

The "Focus "magazine quoting the German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) added:

“This Society was formed under the name of a charity organisation to collect money and other financial gains by Mojahedin Khalgh organisation.”

The German newspapers repeatedly uncovered illegal activities of the association for the Support of Iranian Refugee Children and revealed that despite its claim for supporting Iranian child refugees and orphans, this group has collected millions of German Marks each year in a highly professional manner using money laundering methods. The money collected would then be transferred to MKO’s account.

Another example of fraud and extortion done by this group through charity organisations is the creation of “Iran Aid” in United Kingdom.

By using this charity organisation, NCRI/MKO in the UK extracts money from people and students with abject means, even using intimidation. In this way the group collects money from the people under the guise of “Iran Aid” and in the name of helping the families of those killed or political prisoners in Iran. These shameful acts for collecting money were the reason for many com-plaints filed against the group with the UK Charity Commission. Some information and figures relating to the past two years show that this group collected annually about 2 to 4 million pounds by using the above mentioned methods. “Therefore, for the sake of clarifying the situation, a Commission entitled the “Commission of Charity Affairs” was set up to carry out extensive investigations about the performance of this organisation and its purposes and the ways and means of spending the money collected. In 1997, after these investigations the Society was dissolved and its assets were confiscated.”

The other scandalous event in collecting money for terrorist operations was the arrest of 5 Iranians and 2 Americans of Iranian origin in the United States in March 1991. These people were arrested on charges of collecting more than one million dollar to finance terrorist operations. The seven men, Tahmineh Tahmtan, Mostafa Ahmadi, Hussein Afshar, Ali Reza Moradi, Hussein Rezaei, Najaf Taji Oshtofteghi and Mohammad Omidvar were later put on trial.

The LA Times, quoting the FBI, reported that most of the money was collected from ignorant passengers in LA International Airport and transferred to MKOs’ bank accounts in Turkey.

James Dissaro an FBI official in LA stated:

“The FBI arrested these 7 persons after carrying out extensive investigations which lasted 3 years. It is said that all these people were members of a cell belonging to MKO. Only one of the detainees denied his affiliation to MKO. MKO members in the name of a Charity Committee for the Defence of Human Rights collected money from passengers, mostly Asians, under the false pretences of helping refugees. They showed the photos of children suffering from hunger and apparently victims of mistreatment and torture in Iran. In this way, they gained the sympathy of passengers by telling them that they want the money to help the refugees.”

According to the FBI, this group was able to collect daily about 5 to 10 thousand dollars in LA alone and for this purpose it set up a Committee by the name of “Charity Committee for the Defence of Human Rights” which is a fake name. In this way, the money collected was transferred from Los Angles to NCRI/MKO bank accounts in Turkey. According to investigating officers, the money was then distributed to different locations and in one instance more than 400,000 USD was sent to the account of a spare parts shop in United Arab Emirates.

The interesting and noticeable point is that this terrorist group, after being included in the list of terrorist organisations by the United States and European Union, continued its illegal activities under the cover of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). This is a tactic for misleading European Union officials. It seems that this tactic has worked because the name of NCRI does not appear in the list of proscribed terrorist organisations of the European Union. But US officials have included the name of NCRI along with MKO in the list of terrorist organisations and have barred its activities in the US.

After the invasion by coalition forces in Iraq and the downfall of the Ba’ath Party, NCRI became the main source of fundraising for the MKO, which illegally and secretly transferred the assets and money belonging to MKO from Iraq to Europe. In this connection, the group assigned two of its members, Jamil Bassam and Ebrahim Khodabandeh, both having British Nationality to go to the Iraq-Syrian border and take delivery of a heavy pack containing hard currency and inner-organisation documents from other members of the group coming to the border and then take the pack to England. Iran interlink website reported:

“Mr. Ebrahim Khodabandeh and Mr. Jamil Bassam were arrested at the border of Iraq-Syria on 18 April 2003 while smuggling lots of money and documentation belonging to MKO.”

On the same website it has also been reported that Baroness Emma Nicholson, Deputy Chairperson of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and the Founder of “Ammar Charity” while visiting southern regions in Iran and Iraq met these two accused men. She then wrote a 13 page report and presented it to the European Parliament and UK’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs. According to that report both men claimed that they were misguided by their “cult” and were unaware about the content of the pack they were carrying with them.

September 27, 2008 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq 's Function

Where Mujahedin Khalq is destined to settle?

If the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) is forced to weigh anchor from Iraq, since the Iraqi government is decisive to expel the group as once France did, it has to drop it in another country; it has already succeeded to drop it partly in France although not officially consented and announced neither by French government nor the organization. In fact, the organization needs to root in a country to survive, as it has already survived in Iraq for so long within its Ashraf cult-like enclave.

In spite of many current controversies and concerns that the group’s members would be sent to Iran to face trial for numerous terrorist atrocities if the Iraqi government holds the control of Camp Ashraf, a duty more on the shoulders of legal international tribunals investigating war and terrorist crimes, Iran seems to be unveiling to receive and tackle with so many ideologically potential terrorist forces that need thought reformation and have to go under a process of treatment for psychological or physical traumas before being sent into the society. No doubt, it would lead the organization to the precipice of absolute demise and that is why the organization is already protesting an improbable decision through a widespread international propaganda blitz.

Now at the service of world powers that walk on a war path with Iran, MKO will be probably granted a camp of refugees. Will it be a Western country? Of course not, since none of them is willing to risk its internal security. Despite given protections, the world has witnessed MKO’s acts of violence, meddling and espionage wherever it has been settled. Even the strictly imposed controls of French anti-terrorist forces could not cease potential terrorist and cult threats of the group settled in Auvers-sur-Oise when it came to display its real cult nature through setting member ablaze in Paris streets.

The courageous deed by the French government to handcuff terrorists who tried to turn Auvers-Sur-Oise into a bastion of terrorist plots worked as a blueprint for the Iraqi government to follow in order to have more control over Camp Ashraf. Being kept on terrorist lists or removed by some certain country does not necessarily mean that the countries where MKO members are officially, or under political refugees, residing have changed their views on the group; they are known to be terrorists and cultist above all and no country trust them to be freely moving here and there.

Restrictions imposed on the organization in France and Iraq, where it holds two bases, has actually checked group’s political and propaganda activities more or less. All these lead to a third supposition that the group would be relocated to the US as refugees. Although the US is supporting MKO to utilize it against Iran, however, it has never come to terms with the organization to recognize it an alternative for Iran’s current ruling order.

But MKO’s settlement in the US requires another decision: abandoning group’s designation as a terrorist organization. Of course, such a decision would cause the greatest controversy not only amongst the ruling administration but also amongst different political parties as well as national and social communities. It would be a logical and rational question to ask whoever delist MKO that how a group long occupying notorious rank of terrorists comes to be removed from the list and, above all, turns into a most favorite opposition group permitted to settle in the country. Then, where the terrorist cult is destined to settle?

September 25, 2008 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

MKO‘s propaganda Machine

As a terrorist organization closely allied with Saddam Hussein, MKO should not be considered as serious as any other source. Relying on news sources like MKO terrorist cult, is just like using the information of a news agency that absolutely lies or exaggerates incidents in order to run their own cause: regime change in Iran. Therefore every time the IAEA went on discussing the Iranian nuclear program, MKO’s propaganda machine set off for repeating their old allegation to “reveal” “clandestine” nuclear activities of Iran. MKO has almost very little information on Iran’s nuclear program and this little part is also known to the world. The only thing MKO do is to repeat and exaggerate the same words from time to time showing photos of Natanz installations with explanations by Ali Reza Jaafarzadeh. As Michael Rubin says in his famous article”Monsters of the left”; “The MKO is masters of propaganda …[but] terrorism, the deliberate targeting of civilians for political gain, should never be acceptable”.

There are some special phrases usually used by MKO members and supporters such as “ democratic alternative”, ”democracy in Iran”, ”human rights”, ”freedom” … to represent a misleading image of the cult of Rajavi but as Michael Rubin exactly defines them :” Many “monsters of the left” use the rhetoric of democracy to realize their ambition. Masud and Maryam Rajavi and the organization over which they exert dictatorial control, are no exception.”

In 2005, when the Human Rights Watch published the detailed report on human right abuses committed by MKO, the organization launched a large champagne to say that the report was due to a plot between the HRW and the agents of Iranian regime! And of course the HRW didn’t stay quiet and gave a response to such allegations. According to MKO’s ideology anyone who is not with MKO is with the Islamic Republic.

MKO’s disinformation quest is working hard to deceive European and American politic men by their propaganda including their campagne to remove the name of the cult from the UK’s terrorist list. They are still on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations although they allege that MKO was listed as a terrorist group due to Clinton’s appeasement policy towards Iran.

Although there are some allegations on the clandestine support of some Pentagon officials for MKO but you never forget that in his pre-invasion speech before the American operation against Iraq, President Bush said: “Iraq shelters terrorist groups including Muajhedin-e-Khalq, which has used terrorist violence against Iran and in the 1970’s was responsible for killing several US military personnel and US civilians.”

The MKO exaggeration policy is also an important factor to run their propaganda machine .When in MKO websites the number of the participants in one of the groups gathering is reported as 40’000, the credible news agencies such as Washington Times reports 300 participants.

Therefore MKO’s propaganda machine distorts the truth, fabricates false information, repeats and exaggerates the clearly known realities.

September 25, 2008 0 comments

The cult of Rajavi

Fostered ambiance of distrust within Mujahedin

As was explained in previous articles, one of the controlling techniques practiced within MKO is espionage. Despite the fact that in almost all political systems and groups it is attempted to conceal the identity of the spies, within MKO spying is respected and valued so all members are involved in it openly and consider it to be an ideological and organizational duty. It seems that Mojahedin have redefined some terms. According to a former member:

Many reactionary features such as blind obedience and submission are considered to be positive ones. In fact, terms have lost their original meaning and the most shameful actions are introduced as revolutionary and valued characteristics and vice versa (1).

It is a fact that Mojahedin’s leadership resorts to appropriate approaches in accordance with the existing situation and conditions so that utmost security and control is achieved. According to some MKO ex-members, the strategy of spreading mistrust among members was taken after the ideological failure of Rajavi in the operation Eternal Light (Forugh-e Javidan). In other words, faced with a strategic impasse concerning the issue of the overthrow of the Iranian regime, Rajavi decided to put more strict control over the internal relations and MKO members.

It has to be noted that Rajavi had clear justifications for his decisions. For example, this strategy would control individual members one by one and consequently all the MKO members would be under control. What was of utmost importance for Rajavi in this critical phase was the danger of emotional relations of the family. Therefore, he decided to create mistrust among family members in order to prevent the negative consequences of their family ties. The leadership was well aware that after the failure in the operation Eternal Light, the family relations might intensify the challenges the organization was facing. As a result, the leadership tried to make family members pessimistic against each other by means of different approaches one of which was spying against each other.

Inter-organizational marriages that aimed at making the mind of members engaged in other issues rather than thinking of organizational challenges turned itself into a problem that threatened the organizational potentialities in next phases. One of the former Mojahedin members, Hadi Shams Haeri, refers to the main reasons behind obligatory organizational marriages in the first phase of the ideological revolution and the obligatory divorces in the second phase and writes:

Another trick played by Rajavi was creating much pessimism and hostility in women against men to create a resultant deep gap. Also the organization announced repeatedly that ‘men coveted women to satisfying their own sexual desires. For them, women are like properties and dolls. They are very selfish and aim to exploit women. Men are wild creatures and the ideological revolution is to solve the existing disparity’. Such comments affected the family relations negatively and made it full of distrust and disfavor (2).

He further explained that this controlling strategy was taken after the initiation of the first phase of the ideological revolution in 1985-6. He himself can be referred to as one of the victims of this strategy. As he says:

After the ideological revolution in 1985, I never felt secure at home. I talked to my wife cautiously since I felt that she controlled me like a spy. In fact she reported my words to the officials many times and they interrogated me for that. She was very different from the early years of our marriage turning to an obedient spy who did whatever she was ordered. She told me many times: ‘why are you such a subordinate member? I expected you to help me win promotion’ (3).

There are many reported instances in MKO in which the couples are made to belittle each other by spitting at their spouses’ face, using ideological swears and expressing hate to each other in order to pave the way for the leadership to put more control and hegemony over the members.

Anne Singleton, an MKO former member, elaborates on this controlling procedure and believes that Rajavi has generalized the absolute distrust exercised in the external policy of the organization to that of internal relations of the members in that the members felt pessimistic toward the outside world as well as other members and even their family members to the extent that all members tried to act in a cautious way not to be subject to the suspicion of others.

In such an atmosphere, any event resulting in others’ misunderstanding and doubt may lead to a lack of trust on the part of the leadership toward the members. According to Eric Hoffer, any individual’s reaction in such a milieu is the result of his adaptation with circumstances came across and the sole inlet into a system of values is renouncing individual wills to be dissolved in a collective whole:

Only the individual who has come to terms with his self can have a dispassionate attitude toward the world. Once the harmony with the self is upset, and a man is impelled to reject, renounce, distrust or forget his self, he turns into a highly reactive entity (4).

This mechanism may be interpreted as the best instrument for controlling members by their own family members after losing trust in each other to become reactive entities. According to Anne Singleton:

There is total trust between all the members of the Mojahedin, as a group of people facing an outside enemy (the rest of the corrupting world) they must trust one another completely. But, there is also a total absence of trust between all the members because no-one can ever be sure what anyone else is really thinking, or even what oneself is thinking and therefore it is easy to lose trust in oneself as a rational being. The only certainty that remains is to listen to and obey Rajavi (5).

References

1. Shams Haeri, Hadi, The Swamp, vol 1.

2. ibid.

3. ibid, p.131.

4. Hoffer, Eric, The true believer, p. 80.

5. Singleton, Anne; Saddam’s private army.

September 21, 2008 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Ashraf, a camp for refugees or captives

Reportedly, in the conference "In Search of Justice, European Committee for De-listing the PMOI" held in Brussels and attended by dozens of parliamentarians form the European Parliament and delegations from national parliaments of Member States, Mr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, president of the conference, announced the formation of a European Committee to challenge the Council of the European Union decision to maintain the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran on the EU terrorist list.

as stated by Mr. Struan Stevenson, the Vice-President of the EPP/ED, in the conference”if what the PMOI is doing constitutes terrorism then the EU Presidency should also include parliamentarians on the list because we support PMOI’s conduct”. The conference also discussed the recent developments regarding the situation of MKO members residing in Ashraf in Iraq and emphasized that those in Camp Ashraf are political refugees and protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and as such they are protected by the principle of non-refoulement, International Humanitarian law, International Law and enjoy juridical security.

Just on the day before the conference was held, a delegation from Nejat Society, formed by MKO ex-members in an attempt to unbind the comrades still held captivated in the terrorist cult, travelled to Geneva to participate the meeting of United Nations Human Rights Council and to visit the delegations from other international human rights organizations to stop political abuse of those in Camp Ashraf and guarantee their individual rights.

Nejat Society asks the whole international human rights community to demand justice for the remaining members who really deserve the right to visit their family, choose clothes other than military uniforms, the right to have access to public information resources like newspapers, radio or TV and the right to select their living-place.

It would be a good thing if the EU advocates of terrorist and cultist MKO made a thorough study of group’s atrocities or contacted the ex-members before making a fuss to be included on the list next to terrorists. If they believe that those in Ashraf have to be treated according to the International Law, the least they can do is to provide for the international humanitarian organizations to freely visit Camp Ashraf and the residents individually. Then it will be much easier to stay with the terrorists or avoid them.

September 20, 2008 0 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts