News

US “War on Terror” Not About Terrorism

Pope Benedict XVI’s recent commentary suggesting religion is being exploited to fuel continuing wars is a concept familiar to award-winning author Reza Aslan.

Aslan, 35, who spoke Monday before a packed audience at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco to promote his latest book How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror, discussed religious ideology and extremism and its destructive impact on the world.

According to Aslan, the former Bush administration’s self-proclaimed “War on Terror” was never about terrorism. If it were, Aslan argues, the war would have included terrorist groups like ETA (Basque separatists), or the Iranian group Mujahideen-e-Khalq, for example. Instead, the US war on terror is specifically targeting Islam and Muslims, in areas of the world where the US has oil and gas reserve interests.

“That is what it is. The war on Islam,” Aslan said. “That is how it was deliberately conceived and it was how it was consciously propagated.”

ByFanny Dassie – Fogcityjpournal

May 16, 2009 0 comments

Missions of Nejat Society

Families of Nejat Society branch in Ahwaz issued a statement

A group of family members of Camp Ashraf residents, at Nejat Society office in Ahwaz, attended a gathering held by NejatNGO on Friday May 8th,2009. They issued a statement addressing Mr. Nouri Al Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister,

The Honorable Prime Minister,
As families of MKO members, we have been deprived of visiting our beloved children who have been taken as hostages in Camp Ashraf for years. We use the opportunity to ask your Excellency to provide us with a situation that we would be able to visit our captured children who are barred by MKO which violates all international human rights conventions.

The anti-democratic cult of Rajavi, with its inhuman nature is known to you and Iraqi nation since it has committed crimes against the innocent Iraqi people in Northern and Southern Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein dictatorship. During the past years, MKO leaders have always prevented us from visiting our children and our efforts have not succeeded yet.

1. We present our request to your Excellency appreciating the position Iraqi government has taken against MKO and its efforts to expel MKO terrorist group out of Iraq.
Our request is based on the followings:

2. We want to visit our captured children as soon as possible in order to learn about their health conditions.
Regarding that Iraqi government is now holding the control over Camp Ashraf, we ask you to facilitate our trip to Iraq and our visit with our children.

3. We ask the Iraqi Government and Red Cross to help us make phone or letter communications with our captured beloveds.

4. We ask the Iraqi government to arrange a facility outside Camp Ashraf so that we can visit our children without the presence and supervision of MKO officials and far from fear and chantage.

May 14, 2009 0 comments

Iran

Support for MKO Weakens EU, US Global Position

The support by the US and Europe for the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), would damage their standing both in Iran and the world, an Iranian analyst said on Sunday.
Referring to the move by the European Parliament to demand Washington to strike the name of the MKO off the US list of terrorist groups, Reza Talayee Nik told FNA that the West is seeking to make an instrumental use of the MKO in confrontation with Iran, using the group as a pressure lever against the Islamic Republic.
“Placing the name of the Monafeqin (the Hypocrites, as MKO is referred to in Iran) in the list of terrorist groups or delisting it does not take place in accordance with a stable policy in Europe and the US,”Talayee Nik, a former member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said.
After removing the anti-Iranian terror group from their blacklist, the EU lawmakers are now urging US President Barack Obama to follow suit.
More than 100 members of the European Parliament have tried to persuade the US president to lift an American ban on the MKO.
Meantime, he pointed out that the western world has already failed in using the MKO as a pressure lever against the Islamic Republic, saying that the weakness and inability of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization is the reason for the West’s failure in using the group as a tool against Iran.
He further pointed out that the Europe is after maintaining its position in the competition with Russia and some other regional countries in providing an atmosphere for negotiations between Iran and the US.
The analyst mentioned that the EU aims to make a tactical use of the MKO in a bid to provide an advantage for the US in potentials talks with Iran,”but influence of the Zionist lobby on Europe has cause the EU’s failure in attaining desirable results”from such a move.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
In the past, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.
A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.
According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.
The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.
Leaders of the group have been fighting to shed its terrorist tag after a series of bloody anti-Western attacks in the 1970s, and nearly 30 years of violent struggle against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In recent months, high-ranking MKO members have been lobbying governments around the world in the hope of acknowledgement as a legitimate opposition group.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.
The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by the neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.
The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s, but the Iraqi government and parliament have in recent months stepped up efforts to expel the terrorist group from the country.

May 12, 2009 0 comments

Iran

EU decision on MKO ‘will’ backfire

The MKO is responsible for numerous acts of violence
against Iranian civilians and government officials as well as Iraqis
A senior Iranian dignitary describes the EU-led decision to remove the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from the terror blacklist as a ‘strategic mistake’.
A senior member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Javad Jahangirzadeh said the EU move to exempt the MKO from the killings of thousands of Iranians was a political disgrace, Fars News Agency reported Sunday.
“It is the European Union’s strategic mistake to hold hope on the MKO because the terrorist group has no social or popular base in Iran,”he added.
The lawmaker said the mistake by European countries would be in Iran’s favor because the”West has no concrete information and analysis about the MKO.”
The Mujahedin Khalq Organization, which identifies itself as a Marxist-Islamist guerilla army, was founded in Iran in the 1960s, but was exiled some twenty years later for performing numerous acts of terrorism in the country.
The terrorists are especially notorious for taking sides with former dictator Saddam Hussein during the war Iraq imposed on Iran (1980-1988).
Anne Singleton, an expert on the MKO and author of Saddam’s Private Army explains that the West aims to keep the group afloat in order to use it in efforts to destabilize Iran and possibly attempt to stage a regime change.
“With a new Administration in the White House a pre-emptive strike on Iran looks unlikely. Instead the MKO’s backers have put together a coalition of small extremists groups, the known minority and separatist groups, along with the MKO. These groups will be garrisoned around the border of Iran and their task is to launch terrorist attacks inside Iran over the next few years to turn up the heat,”she explains.
“The role of the MKO is to train and manage these groups using the expertise they acquired from Saddam’s Republican Guard,”Singleton added.
A 2007 German intelligence report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has identified the MKO as a”repressive, sect-like and Stalinist authoritarian organization which centers around the personality cult of [MKO leaders] Maryam and Masoud Rajavi.”

May 11, 2009 0 comments

Iran

MP Slams West’s Selective Definition of Terrorism

An Iranian legislator lambasted the West for changing the definition of terrorism on the basis of its own policies, and regretted that the western world has no specific definition for terrorism.
Saying that the western countries follow no specific logic in their behaviors, member of Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Heshmatolah Falahat Pisheh told FNA on Sunday that if they had a certain definition for terrorism, they would not strike the name of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) off the list of terrorist groups.
Elsewhere, he referred to a letter from the European Parliament to the US administration demanding the White House to strike the name of the MKO off the list of terrorist groups, and said, "There is no doubt that the Monafeqin (the Hypocrites, as MKO is referred to in Iran) are the friends of the Europeans and they have now returned to the place where they are rooted."
After removing the anti-Iranian terror group from their blacklist, the EU lawmakers are now urging President Barack Obama to follow suit.
More than 100 members of the European Parliament have tried to persuade the US president to lift an American ban on the MKO.
"Before the event we had no doubt in the Monafeqin’s proximity with the West," Falahat Pisheh lamented, referring to the letter sent by EU Parliament to the US administration on MKO.
"The West has used the Monafeqin as a tool during the (Islamic) Revolution and after that," he added.
Asked if the West could use the MKO to make Iran to attend negotiations, the legislator stressed that if the West aims to attain a pressure lever in negotiations with Iran, the measure would lead to nowhere.
He pointed out that Iran’s hesitation for entering negotiations with the West is rooted in such moves by the western countries.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
In the past, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

May 11, 2009 0 comments

Habilian Foundation

Crimes of MKO in Iraq discussed

Dr. Abdalzahra Mohye: Iraqis have suffered from crimes committed by MKO
Iraqi intellectuals meet Habilian Secretary General

Mashhad- A number of Iraqi elites and intellectuals met and exchanged ideas with Secretary General of Habilian Association over the current status of Iraq and also the presence of terrorist cult of Mojahedin-e Khalq within this country. After welcoming the arrival of the delegation in the holy city of Mashhad at the beginning of the meeting, Mohammad Javad Hashemi Nejad expressed his happiness to host his Iraqi brothers and said: We are very much pleased of the ongoing relations between the people of two brotherly nations of Iran and Iraq and also the strong ties between the authorities of the two countries. No one could possibly find any other two nations around the world closer to each other than Iran and Iraq.

Hashemi Nejad notified the demise of dictatorship systems in the region and the support of colonial powers to them and said: considering the events that have occurred during past three or four decades one can easily find out that the use of force would not work and an instance of that is what we witnessed in Iran. The Shah of Iran which was supported and appointed the Gendarme of the region by Americans was easily brought down by the Islamic revolution.

At the same time, we saw the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Then we saw how the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled. We would also witness how American forces who occupied Iraq for their own interests become involved in the fate of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Secretary-General of the Organization representing the families of the martyrs of terrorism in Iran then referred to the attempts of Americans in order to sow discord among the peoples of Iraq and Iran and said: the United States of America was up to follow the policy of divide and rule in he region ; but we are still friends and there exist very strong relations between us. The colonial powers have always sought for a way to influence the viewpoints of the peoples of the two nations and this is why the responsibilities and pledges of the elites and intellectuals of the two countries is now more difficult than ever and any mistake would have irreparable consequences.

Martyr Hashemi Nejad’s son then spoke about the elections in Iraq and said: we have seen how Americans attempts to influence the Iraqi elections and their efforts to change the results failed.

The expert in the issues related to Iraq condemned America’s double standards in facing the issue of terrorism and said: The arrival of United States in Iraq was concurrent with the entrance of terrorists to Iraq. Now after the handover of the security issues to the Iraqi government the security situation has improved and terrorist operations have reduced to a high extent. In fact, the U.S has provided support for terrorist groups such as MKO (Mojahedin-e Khalq) which is designated as terrorist by America itself. This is an indication to the fact that not only America doesn’t want to fight with terrorism but also it tries to take advantage from terrorist groups.

Hashemi Nejad also said: Americans support MKO terrorist group to pressure against the Iraqi people and government .We must be careful because MKO is a very deceitful group and master of manipulation. All statements they post in the internet on behalf of the Iraqi people and authorities are false. They are professional in giving out false statistics. For example, they announced that five million two hundred thousand of the Iraqi people are on their side and support their presence in Iraq. Then they declare that three million Iraqi Shiites also demand their survival in Iraq; but until this moment none of these so called three million Shiite supporters have asked the government not to expel the group from Iraq.
Then Hashemi Nejad referred to MKO false propagations in the media over the interference of Iran in the internal affairs of Iraq and said: they have staged a large wave of false allegations in the media with the help of Americans against Iran while accusing Iran of having role in destabilizing Iraq; but they haven’t so far presented any document which proves these allegations. This is while America has kept this terrorist group in Iraq and has provided them with unlimited support exactly for the same reason of creating insecurity and sabotage inside Iraq so as to justify the presence of American forces in Iraq. There is also a second reason for the support America decided to provide the group with and that’s their presumptions based on which the attack on Iran will come after the invasion of Iraq, and in this sense terrorist cult of MKO would be useful for them as a source of espionage.
Another reason why MKO is still in Iraq is the refrainment by all nations of the world to give asylum to the group because they consider it a terrorist organization.
Here I should notify that the Islamic Republic of Iran has offered amnesty to those MKO members in camp Ashraf whose hands are not stained with the blood of the innocent people but as the existence of these deceived elements in Ashraf would guarantee the future of the MKO gang leaders and the fact that the leadership looks at them as human shields, therefore it’s ready to sacrifice them for its own survival and that way there would happen a human catastrophe in Ashraf.

Dr. Abdalzahra Mohye who is a university professor enumerated a part of MKO crimes in Iraq and said: I would like to talk about one of our common concerns which is the presence of MKO terrorist organization in Iraq. We know very well that the United States brought up MKO terrorist gang in order to implement criminal schemes against the peoples of Iran and Iraq in the past and even now. I want to tell you that many and Iraqi families have suffered from crimes committed by MKO. As the private army of Saddam Hussein, this little group assisted former regime to massacre Iraqi Kurds and suppress Shiites Intifada.
I saw it with my own eyes how they killed innocent people in a mosque in Baghdad’s Sadr district.
Dr. Abdalzahra Mohye also said: The Iraqi people will not support this criminal gang and will never bear their presence in Iraq.

Dr Ne’me Shihab was another speaker to the meeting who asked Secretary General of Habilian if he believes MKO claims about gathering over five million signatures from Iraqi Shiites whom the group says will support MKO presence in Iraq.
In response to this question Hashemi Nejad said: what is clear is that nobody believes these claims and none of the Iraqi officials confirm such claims. If they have so many

supporters in Iraq why don’t they even stage a rally against MKO expulsion from Iraq? We believe that Al Qaeda was not familiar Iraq and it was MKO which made Al Qaeda familiar with this country. We have talked to many Iraqi tribal leaders and they unanimously said that MKO deceives people and after gathering signatures use them for their own ambitions. We have witnessed the same situation in England, where they follow their terrorist activities and fundraisings under the name of 23 font organizations for human rights.
He also added: All the Iraqi authorities and groups we have met demanded the expulsion of MKO from their country. They believe that MKO receives support from the remnant of Baathis and some notorious figures like Salih al-Mutlak and Khalaf al-Ayan that prefer their personal interests to their national interests.

Dr. Mothanna al-Fadhli was another speaker of the meeting who said: Mr. Hashemi Nejad mentioned that MKO interferes in the Iraqi affairs indirectly; but I should say that they directly meddle in our internal affairs. They come out of camp Ashraf and declare they are Iranians. Then start killing Iraqi people. What I should remind you of is that Shiites never support such a terrorist organization and MKO and its supporters are quite notorious for the Iraqis.

May 10, 2009 0 comments

Missions of Nejat Society

Families of MKO members meeting in Ahwaz

On Friday, 8th May families of MKO members held a meeting in Ahwaz at Aftab Hall.

The meeting was held with the presence of more than 50 families of MKO captives who are banned behind the bars of Rajavis’ cult and also some of the separated members.

After presenting the schedule of the meeting Mr. Hamid Dehdar Hassani ; head of Nejat Society office – Khuzestan Branch gave a report on Nejat Society’s activities during the last year and also on incoming programs of the Society .

Mr. Ekrami member of Nejat Society then addressed the audiences under the title of “Active relations between families and Society, guaranties the release of hostages of MKO”.
Mr. Maziyar Shirvani the former member of MKO who recently managed to release himself from the cult and joined his family explained aspects of the atmosphere rules the cult of Rajavi and the role of Nejat Society in releasing the captive members of Mujahedin.

During the meeting books as well as articles and interviews of MKO former members presented to the participants.

Also during the meeting 17 families of captives of MKO, signed a letter of request to meet their beloveds. The letter was to be sent to ICRI.

At the end the statement to Mr. Nuri Al Maliki was read and signed by the participants of the meeting.

The meeting was ended at 12:30 PM.

On Friday, 8th May families of MKO members held a meeting in Ahwaz at Aftab Hall.

May 10, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

EU urges Obama to support terror cult

After removing an anti-Iranian terror group from their blacklist, European Union lawmakers are now urging President Barack Obama to follow suit.

More than 100 members of the European Parliament have tried to persuade the US president to lift an American ban on the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), AFP reported on Thursday.
The MKO, which identifies itself as a Marxist-Islamist guerilla army, was founded in Iran in the 1960s but was exiled some twenty years later for carrying out numerous acts of terrorism inside the country.

The group is especially notorious for the help it extended to former dictator Saddam Hussein during the war Iraq imposed on Iran (1980-1988) and helped him in the massacre of thousands of innocent Iraqis.

The group masterminded a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, one of which was the 1981 bombing of the offices of the Islamic Republic Party, in which more than 72 Iranian officials were killed, including the then Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.

The report adds that the lawmakers feel the group’s removal from the US list of terror is necessary as it has”clearly demonstrated”its commitment to the West and its opposition to religious fundamentalism.

The organization, known as the”Rajavi cult”after its leader Masoud Rajavi, was placed on Washington’s list of banned organizations in 1997.

The European Union had also initially banned the group, but later gave in to the intense lobbying of Rajavi’s wife Maryam and removed it from the terrorist list in January.

Renowned journalist Elizabeth Rubin of the New York Times brands the group as a cult, operating like”any other military dictatorship.”

“No one can criticize Rajavi. And everyone must go through routine self-criticism sessions…If there’s a sign of resistance, you are considered not revolutionary enough, and you need more ideological training. Either people breakaway or succumb,”she wrote in 2003.

The group’s cult-like activities include psychological coercion techniques, physical abuse and ‘forced sterilization’ to prevent members from leaving the group.

The MKO is responsible for several acts of terror in Iran including the 1994 bombing of a revered Shia shrine in Mashhad in eastern Iran.

In 2003, French anti-terrorist police arrested 165 members in Paris, including Maryam Rajavi, for ‘associating with wrongdoers in relation with a terrorist undertaking.’
More recently, around 10 members of the notorious organization were arrested in France and Switzerland on charges of money laundering on September 29, 2008.

May 9, 2009 0 comments

Missions of Nejat Society

A delegation of Czech Republic journalists visited Nejat society

A delegation of ten journalists from Czech Republic visited Nejat society office in Tehran, yesterday.

During this visit, Mr. Arash Sametipour the secretary of Nejat Society welcomed the delegation giving a detailed description of the activities of the society and its plans for future.

Mr. Khodabandeh also explained the current situation of Rajavi’s Cult, the measures of violation of human rights in the cult, manipulation practices and the efforts of the cult leaders to maintain power over the members’ lives and time.

The members of this delegation asserted the cult-like nature of MKO declaring that the European authorities are well aware of the disgusted image of the group all over the world.

Nejat Society officials then answered the questions posed by the journalists and asked the European Union to support Iraqi government’s decisions on MKO cult. Czech Republic currently holds the EU Presidency.

May 6, 2009 0 comments

Iran

Iran has lost 16000 of its nationals to MKO

Iran: As the Main victim of US backed terrorism, Iran has lost 16000 of its nationals to Mojahedin Khalq Orgaisation (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)

US petrol embargo not to harm Iran’s will for nuclear rights: FM Spokesman Service: Foreign Policy

TEHRAN (ISNA)-Iran’s will to achieve its sacrosanct right of peaceful nuclear technology will not be harmed by US boycott of petrol supplies to the country, said Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Monday.

“The policy of threat and sanction has joined the history and has lost viability, those who show the byway (sanctions) to the new US administration should put this policy aside because it does not accord with their change policy,” Hassan Qashqavi said at his weekly press conference.

As the Oil Minister has announced Iran has considered mechanisms that will make the petrol embargo futile and it has no effect on Iran’s will to accomplish its lawful nuclear rights, he noted.

Also regarding US State Department recent report that has called Iran one of the main sponsors of terrorism, he said Iran has always been one of the “main victims of terrorism” and has lost 16,000 of its nationals in Mujahidin Khalq Organization (MKO) terror acts.

“The main emblematic of state terrorism is Israel and its main sponsor is the US, thus Iran can’t be labeled in this way, all and everybody should have the cause of fight against terrorism in a non-political atmosphere.”

Regarding the growing power of Taliban in Pakistan and Iran’s program and the possibility of negotiation with NATO and the US in this regard, he stressed on regional approaches to resolve the insecurity problem.

Asked about the impact of Iran’s upcoming presidential elections on Tehran-Washington rapprochement of ties, Qashqavi explained the country’s leading policies and strategies are not influenced by the elections.

Meanwhile, regarding the Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, sentenced to 8 years in jail for espionage for Washington he noted “Saberi’s case is not complicated, this Iranian woman has received a verdict and her case is now in the appeal court.”

Also over Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in Quds, Qashqavi said the move has made a wide reaction among Muslims as well as the Orthodox church of occupied territories of Palestine.

The move is against all international conventions and calls for serious response by UNESCO, Organization of Islamic Countries and the Arab league, he continued.

The Foreign Ministry Spokesman also played down US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s remarks on Iran’s growing influence in Latin American countries saying “she can have her comments but our ties with Latin America is a dynamic one and in favor of our interests in culture, politic and economy.”

Qashqavi, regarding some Arab countries demand from Iran to remove the tag of Persian Gulf from medals and brochures of Islamic Solidarity Games he said the name will not be dropped for any excuse because it is historical, international and approved by the UN and any other name is fabricated.

May 5, 2009 0 comments

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