It is much disappointing to come across accounts that, to appease terrorists for certain personal or political concerns, try to justify blatant terrorist moves perpetrated by a globally proscribed terrorist group as “a just armed resistance”. No doubt, the composers of these accounts can hardly differentiate between terrorism and resistance.
Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization has recently started a new move in Scandinavian countries against the EU to remove its name from the terrorist list. Of course, many of those who concur with MKO to antagonize its proscription, are not fully or at all acquainted with the group’s past history of bloody terrorist moves against innocent Iranian civilians and have not developed a good understanding of its hypocritical nature.
For instance, a Danish columnist, Ole Damkjær, in an article released in Berlingske Tidende, criticizes the EU’s approach to keep MEK in the terrorist list. The writer states that:
Opposition in the Danish Parliament along with other oppositions in EU countries have criticized the government for not abiding by the ruling of the EU Court as well as not presenting any evidence on the reason for inclusion of MEK in the list. The Foreign Minister Per Stig Muller has yielded to Parliament’s European Committee and sent them a top secret letter which specifies the reasons for inclusion of MEK in the terrorist list.
This document which Berlingske has obtained lists five violent activities between 1980 and 2001 and MEK renounced violence in 2001. In none of these 5 operations of the Iranian organization any terrorist activities such as those of Al-Qaeda’s have been utilized. The first reason the EU presented for including the Mojahedin in the list is concerning that MEK in 1980 that carried out operations across the border from their bases in Iraq. Other reasons are as follows:
In 1992 MEK had terrorist operations against 13 Iranian embassies and establishments.
In 1993 right before the Presidential election in Iran, the organization claimed the responsibility for attacks on Iranian oil facilities such as Iran’s largest refinery.
In 1999 MEK assassinated deputy commander of Iran’s armed forces.
In 2000 and 2001 MEK announced that its members were involved in attacks on Iranian armed forces, police and governmental offices near Iran Iraq border.
These are activities that EU lists in a document and emphasizes on and calls them terrorist activities. But their reasons are questioned not only by MEK but increasingly by a great number of EU Parliamentarians. They say MEK has only carried a just armed resistance against the brutal mullahs’ regime.
I do not know if these Danish advocates of MKO would maintain the same idea about “a just armed resistance” in case a group carried out the same “questioned” operations in a European country. The terrorists that demolished the Twin-Towers in 9/11 or blasted the London Subway had also justifiable reasons for themselves. Then, why a global war on terrorism is declared? If all dissidents and resistances were engaged in armed moves, what the world would be like?
Besides, the above mentioned reasons compared with the group’s unmentioned black file of terrorist atrocities are of no significance. A look at some counter-MKO websites, mojahedin.ws, iran-intrlink, irandidban and …, that present instances of the group’s terrorist operations will contribute to further information. For instance, MKO claim it has denounced terrorist activities since 2001. Can you believe it? Here are evidences that are excerpts from the group’s organ, Mojahed.
Furthermore, I do not think anybody can challenge the State Department’s recent report on MKO. Either all those countries that have proscribed MKO as a terrorist group are mistaken or MKO is lying to dupe the world. It is betrayal of moral standards to take safe refuge behind the globally accepted counter-terrorism laws to chant in favor of terrorists. One should choose to stand either in the former or the latter front.