++ After her International Women’s Day event, Maryam Rajavi remained in Tirana to stage two more events based on the Persian New Year. Commentators though say that the fact she did not return to Paris shows only that she is desperately needed in Albania to keep everything together. The whole MEK organisation in that country is disintegrating. However, from the time she arrived and after three glamorous and expensive events,
++ Reports from MEK formers in Albania indicate that Rajavi is in deep trouble. As people separate in increasing numbers, the MEK has had to move these disaffected members to a different apartment block some distance from the other members so that their dissent does not affect the whole organisation. It is alleged that the CIA and Albanian mafia have coerced the UN to not pay these individuals as refugees but to illegally give their money as a lump sum to the MEK leaders for their upkeep. This means that disaffected members cannot fully leave and are still subjected to MEK control – they are effectively held in a state of modern slavery. Many formers who had escaped the MEK in Iraq say they have seen this scenario before. Their testimonies describe how, after 2003, the Americans at first would not allow dissenters to leave Camp Ashraf. When these people became enough to cause problems for the MEK the Americans established the adjacent TIPF. They separated dissenters only so they wouldn’t infect the other members. In TIPF the dissenters were treated harshly to deter others from joining them. Eventually, in 2008, the Americans abandoned the dissenters by driving them into the desert and leaving them to make their own way to safety. This is what is now happening in Albania; dissenters will at first be separated to keep them from going public about their treatment, and eventually they will be abandoned with no money or possessions and perhaps no legal status. Just as many people lost their lives in the MEK camps in Iraq, it is predicted that the same scenario will play out in Albania.
++ The quarter where the MEK are stationed and where Rajavi held her catwalk event is one of poorest most run-down parts of Albania. It has now changed the name of its main street to President Donald Trump Street. The mayor has insisted that Trump is now an honorary resident of that township. This prompted a small demonstration by residents who declare they are sick and tired of the CIA activities and bases in their country and the CIA ridiculing Albanian citizens by bringing the MEK to a desperately poor town which already has more than enough problems. Several weeks ago there were similar demonstrations in the capital Tirana, protesting against the government, corruption and American influence. Protestors labelled their government a puppet regime.
++ Families of the MEK’s hostages have written their views through Nejat Society. The MEK responded by swearing at the families accusing them of being angry because the MEK is supported by the Americans. The families published a statement denying any feelings of anger.
++ Sahar Family Foundation was established in Baghdad in 2008 to provide aid to abandoned MEK members (see second item above). Soon after, families of current MEK members also gave their support and joined Sahar in trying to rescue people who wanted to leave the MEK but were prevented by the MEK leaders. Sahar issued a statement last week announcing that six months after the Baghdad office closed, Sahar Family Foundation would begin its activities again, this time focused on the MEK in Albania. The statement did not mention where the new office would be.
In English:
++ Albanian newspaper Gazeta Impakt in an article titled ‘US News Agency BIRN calls Iranian terrorists residing in Albania “dissidents”’ highlighted how the US news agency BIRN, linked with George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, treats MEK as “dissidents”, unlike ISIS and other Wahhabi terrorists.
++ Mazda Parsi in Nejat Society calls the MEK “a destructive cult of confession”. “…Based on numerous evidences, the MKO was one of the first groups to commit suicidal terror acts against civilians. Besides, several group members committed self-immolations in European capitals to protest the arrest of their co-leader Maryam Rajavi by the French police, in June 2003.”
++ ‘Evolution, Not a New Revolution, in Iran’, an analytical article by Paul R. Pillar in Lobelog, demolishes the myth that regime change can or will be forced on Iran. The article mentions the role of the MEK. “The myth often is connected to a faith in exile groups as instruments for quick transition to a completely different type of regime. Many of those hoping for regime change in Iran look in this way to the Mujahedin-e Khalq, a cult-cum-terrorist group that actually has almost no popular support within Iran. Some of the same people had placed a similar faith in Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi, whose qualities as a huckster more than as someone who could father a new Iraqi republic became increasingly apparent after the U.S. invasion of 2003.”
++ Publishing an interview with John Bolton by Top Channel, Tirana, Iran Interlink comments: “Warmonger John Bolton attended a secret meeting of the MEK in Tirana. In an interview afterwards it becomes clear that the terrorist MEK cult is being groomed in Albania as part of a bigger agenda to confront Russia. Albania, a member of NATO, is not part of the EU. John Bolton was passed over by President Donald Trump for any position in his cabinet. Analysts believe this was partly based on his continued support for the toxic MEK.”
March 24, 2017