Families of the MEK hostages denied of their rights

What must be done to reach “liberty”?

On Thursday March 8, 2012, at 14.00 hours local time, some 400 individuals of the Rajavi cult were moved to camp Liberty using 18 closed, protected coaches.

According to the agreement reached between the Iraqi government and UN officials, the MKO will initially evacuate Ashraf garrison and then the inhabitants will be transferred to another location in Iraq and then they will be moved to a third country.

Whether staying in the cultic Ashraf garrison or moving from it, staying in Iraq or going to another country, or going to Europe or to some other place, will not make any difference so long as the cultic structure of the MKO – which is the basis of its terrorist characteristic – is in place and destructive mind control techniques are systematically applied. What all entities are in agreement with is that the Ashraf inhabitants must enjoy the minimum of freedom.

Will the individuals have the right to visit their close relatives in the new base? Will they have access to the outside world? Will they be able to think freely and decide for their own destiny? Will the brainwashing techniques still be in use? Will the families’ concern about their loved ones eventually be ended? Unfortunately those parties who praise the MKO just for accepting to leave Ashraf garrison are not ready to answer these questions.

We must act in the interests of the suffering families who have no voice in this dilemma. Each party is after their own political interests. Rajavi’s desire is to keep the cultic structure of his group intact and keep the members isolated from the outside world. So far, thanks to the weak positions adopted by the parties involved, not only has he achieved that goal, but apparently he must be rewarded and we must come to the conclusion that he is no longer a terrorist.

The suffering families of the members trapped inside the MKO will stay firm in their struggle until they reach their goal which is for their loved ones to have the chance to think freely and decide independently, and they will not be deceived. The only way their loved ones can reach liberty is to insist on the just demands they have been demanding for the last two years outside Ashraf garrison.

The latest pictures of the families

March 12, 2012 0 comments

USA

Open letter of SFF to US Secretary of State

Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
US State Department

Dear Ms. Secretary, Open letter of SFF to US Secretary of State

With regards, on behalf of the ex-members and families picketing outside the Ashraf garrison in Iraq we wish to draw your attention to the following:

We were informed that you have stated: “M.E.K. cooperation in the successful and peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf” will be “a key factor in any decision” on its longstanding request that the State Department lift its terrorist designation.

We have no argument on lifting its terrorist designation or not, since it is not our concern and has no effect on our tasks. This is up to the US administration which will of course act on national and political interests. As far as we are concerned, we are seeking a humanitarian goal to which no government (including Iraq and the US) and no international organization has paid any proper attention.

The MEK led by Massoud Rajavi is a destructive mind control cult which is manipulating its members using psychological techniques in order to keep them captive. The families of the members have been sitting outside the Ashraf garrison for more than two years with the request of just visiting their loved ones freely. This request has been completely denied by Rajavi. He is afraid that once these people meet their families and have the smallest access to the outside world their minds would break free and they would no longer stay in the cult. Only once Rajavi accepts this request we can say that he has cooperated.

Moving from ‘Ashraf’ to ‘Liberty’ would not be good for anyone as long as its cultic structure is kept intact. It is just like moving an armed mine from one place to another. If the mine is defused (the cult’s structure is changed) and left where it is, it would be much more beneficial than moving it to another place without defusing it. Merely moving the cult physically without changing its cultic relationship which is the basis of its terrorist characteristic will have no effect whatsoever.

The Rajavi cult has claimed that since the invasion of Iraq by the allied forces it has abandoned its weapons and was not involved in any terrorist activities. But you know well that this cult was forced to be disarmed by the American Forces and had no means to get engaged in military actions. Rajavi then said that “we want the owner of the weapon rather than the weapon itself” and vowed to his followers that they would be given modern weapons by the Americans. Rajavi gave the weapons to keep the cultic structure of the MEK. Now, Rajavi is prepared to give up the Ashraf garrison in order to keep its inhabitants and his organization intact. By doing so he would be able to establish another “Ashraf” elsewhere. This by no means is considered as “cooperation” since when being unarmed, Rajavi gave up his weapons but as soon as the cult was de-proscribed by the EU, he issued a statement and claimed his weapons back.

As far as the suffering families are concerned, there are 3400 captives in the hand of Rajavi who have no access whatsoever with the outside world no matter being in Ashraf or in Liberty. Rajavi is prepared to pull back provided he is able to keep his cultic structure and rule over his followers. So long as he is keeping his cult as it is he is able to conduct terrorism. Unfortunately the western governments as well as the international organizations in the past 9 years have played Saddam Hussein’s role for the MEK and have restored Rajavi’s physical and psychological rule and influence over his captive members.

There are talks about Ashraf inhabitants. Who is their representative? Is the self-appointed totalitarian leader of a mind control destructive cult recognized to talk on their behalf? Why there are always talks about terrorism but not about mind control? You know well that the latter is the base of the former. Is the US administration making the same mistake as was mentioned in the RAND report and is preserving a cult with terrorist application?

The Sahar Family Foundation (SFF) has always emphasized that without involving the families there would be no solution for the dilemma, and unfortunately the US administration that plays a vital role in the case pays no attention to this key factor and sill tries to solve the problem without engaging the true representatives of Ashraf inhabitants. We are afraid that in this case this difficulty will remain unsolved.

March 5, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Warning: MKO to overshadow families’ gathering

The MKO takes action to overshadow the gatherings held by families of Ashraf residents in front of the Camp.

Regarding the deadline announced for its expulsion from Iraq, the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization finds no way to prolong its stay in Iraq although it enjoys the support of US and The MKO takes action to overshadow the gatherings held by families of Ashraf residents in front of the Camp European sponsors and it makes too many efforts in the international community. The most disastrous problem the MKO faces now is the demand of families picketing in front of Ashraf gates.

They want to visit their family member held in Ashraf in a private uncontrolled atmosphere.
The MKO has begun to contact families and to promise them a fake private visit.

During the past two years of families’ picketing in front of Camp Ashraf, the MKO has never been able to rationalize for members why it never let them visit their families. Today, it attempts to diminish families’ presence in front of Ashraf. In order to get rid of their current problems, MKO leaders use this deceitful ploy. Families picketing at the Camp gates should be cautious about such sort of tricks used by the group.

January 28, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

The achievements of two years of families picketing

As you know, an agreement has been struck between UNAMI, the Iraqi Government and the leaders of the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation according to which the camp should be evacuated by the end of year 2011.

Also, according to this agreement the deportation of Mojahedin Khalq will be delayed by another 6 months in which time the UNHCR would be able to register the residents and carry out individual interviews in preparation to transfer them to other countries.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding, an initial 400 of the residents of Camp Ashraf are to be transferred to the former American Camp Liberty adjacent to Baghdad Airport, but to this day, 30th December 2011, the leaders of the Rajavi cult have rejected the planned transfer by bringing all sorts of reasons and excuses, clearly against the agreements accepted by the other two parties involved (UNAMI and the GOI).

Today it is clear to everyone that the leaders of the Rajavi cult like all similar cults anywhere in the world which use destructive mind control methods do not see themselves bound by their words or their signatures. It is now clear that they are more than anything else afraid that their forces (hostages) would run away during this transfer. Sooner or later, Rajavi will have to give up Ashraf garrison – which is situated on land illegally and forcefully confiscated by his benefactor Saddam Hussein where he built a military base which he later gifted to the Mojahedin Khalq. Sooner or later he will have to face the fact that the members will be deported from Iraq.

It is worth mentioning the continuous hard work of the families of the people trapped inside the camp who have stayed by the camp for the last two years and demanded their human rights from their base, which they call Freedom City, built adjacent to Camp Ashraf. They exposed the lies of Rajavi and they proved that the leader of the Mojahedin Khalq cult has no respect whatsoever for the people and the loved ones taken hostage inside the camp.

it is the fathers, mothers, children and spouses of the trapped people who represent the best interest of the hostages

It is now clear to everyone that it is the fathers, mothers, children and spouses of the trapped people who represent the best interest of the hostages and not the leaders of the cult.

The agreement between all parties to sort out the problem of Camp Ashraf could not have been achieved without the hard work and the suffering of these families, especially during the last two years. They have worked flat out for the last two years in Freedom City, adjacent to Camp Ashraf for two years and intend to do so for as long as it takes. It is clear that even after the transfer of Rajavi’s hostages to a new location, the families will not rest until they achieve their minimum demand of private visits with their loved ones. The hope of reaching this goal is now greater and nearer than ever and the number of families is continually increasing in number. They have all decided to finish the quest that began two years ago and to not give up until they have achieved their simple humanitarian demand of ‘Right of Visits’ with their captured relatives.

SFF on behalf of the picketing families would like to extend its appreciation to all the survivors and ex-members, as well as human rights activists in Iraq, Iran and other countries who have been aiding and supporting the families and helping their voices be heard in the world.

With the hope that one day soon the goal of the freedom of every one of our loved ones takes the tiredness of all these years off our bodies.

translated by Iran Interlink

January 3, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

No family visits for MKO hostages in Camp Ashraf

The Iranian families of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) members, who are kept in Camp Ashraf, say they are not allowed to see their relatives, Press TV reports.

The families of the MKO members complained that they have come thousands of kilometers in the hope of seeing their relatives, but the organization does not permit them to meet their family members.

The Ashraf Camp, about 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) west of the Iranian border, houses more than 3,000 MKO members.

In 1986, the group fled to Iraq where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein and set up the Ashraf Camp near the Iranian border.

According to the reports prepared by NGOs and the defected MKO members, the MKO members inside the camp are living in dire conditions and are deprived of their basic rights.

“I don’t know why the MKO is keeping the people against their will. They are isolating them from the world,” said an Iranian woman who came to see her relative in Camp Ashraf.

Iraq, which considers the MKO as a threat to its national security, has agreed to a UN appeal to extend the December 31 deadline to close Camp Ashraf.

The MKO is known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprising in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

The group has also carried out numerous acts of terrorism against Iranian civilians and government officials.

Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the group, but the US has blocked the expulsion by mounting pressure on the Iraqi government.

December 29, 2011 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Ashraf residents transfer, Families gathering

A large number of families of Camp Ashraf residents gathered in front of the Camp, this morning, reported Nejat Society representative.

Families are hopeful to see or at least get news of their children --after years of no news about them-- while they are transferred from Ashraf to Baghdad.

Families of Ashraf prisoners chanted slogans to once more announce their call to visit their loved ones.

Local and foreign reporters are present in there in order to broadcast the news of the region.

As it was also reported 100 residents of Camp Ashraf are relocated in Camp liberty, a site near Baghdad international airport, today.

Families are hopeful to see or at least get news of their children –after years of no news about them– while they are transferred from Ashraf to Baghdad.

December 27, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Families representing Camp Ashraf residents want fast and peaceful resolution

The most unhelpful aspect of the negotiations to close Camp Ashraf and remove the residents from Iraq is that the Western agents continue to act on the myth that the people inside the camp Families representing Camp Ashraf residents want fast and peaceful resolution are somehow a single, discrete entity with no connection to the outside world and no say in their own treatment. Thus it is reported without context, analysis or explanation that the Mojahedin-e Khalq will need to be transferred to a separate facility – specifically the former U.S. military base Camp Liberty. Once there they will need to be interviewed by the UNHCR for decisions to be made on their refugee status, with UNAMI overseeing Iraqi conduct at the new camp. And out of this process their futures will be determined.

But even this, ‘the desired outcome’, is being promoted without the actual cooperation of the MEK leader.
This proposed mass movement of the camp’s residents can only give rise to a pseudo angst-ridden hand-wringing which at one time fears mass suicide, at another their mass deportation to Iran where they will be tortured and executed, it fears they are labelled as terrorists and will not be ‘allowed’ to come to the West, and then fears that they will come to the West and pose a security threat. Underpinning the whole Washington-led negotiation process is the basic principle ‘how do we conserve the MEK’.

Behind the naive and unhelpful scenario of convincing Massoud Rajavi to agree the mass relocation of his captives to an open camp over which he has no control lies a blatant violation of fundamental human rights which is taking place before everybody’s eyes but which nobody apparently wants to acknowledge. This is because focusing on this situation would remove any legitimacy from the negotiations. It would expose the reality behind the myth; Massoud Rajavi is nobody’s representative. It would mean acknowledging that Rajavi has falsely imprisoned over three thousand individuals and is daily violating their basic human rights and it would mean moving forward on that basis.

There are currently around 400 families at the gates of the camp. They have come determined to rescue their loved ones and protect them from harm. These are the true representatives of their captured relatives in the camp. Why do they still have no voice? Why do international agencies ignore them and pretend they have no stake in the negotiations and outcome.

Over the past eight years family after family has tried to assert their basic right – to meet with their closest relatives in a secure and private atmosphere outside the control of the MEK. The demand pre-dates the decision to close Camp Ashraf, and will certainly post-date any moves at the camp. Indeed, the biggest scandal is that this demand has nothing to do with the Iraqi determination to close the camp before the end of 2011, but it is still being ignored.

While nobody expected the MEK leaders to welcome the families with open arms, and nobody expected the MEK’s callous and cynical owners to care for the individual welfare of their gladiators and slaves, it is shocking that even internationally renowned human rights organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UNHRC have not uttered a word about this situation. These protectors of human rights may as well have been paid by the Rajavis for their spurious appeals to the Iraqis to ‘protect the human rights’ the camp’s residents. Not one single word of criticism has been said against the Rajavi’s blatant and cruel denials of these families’ just demands. Not one word of criticism has been levelled against the Rajavis’ daily abuse of human rights inside the camp in spite of the on-going testimonies of both past and recent escapees.

It is the urgent obligation of every humanitarian agency involved to prefix the mythical negotiations with the unequivocal demand that Rajavi immediately and peacefully open the gate of Camp Ashraf and allow the people inside to have contact with their families. There can be no legal or moral obstacle or objection to such a course of action.

Anne Singleton is the author of the books "Saddam’s Private Army" and "Camp Ashraf"

December 24, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Pictorial- Nejat Society Gilani Families at Ashraf Gates

November 2, 2011 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Nejat Society Gilani Families at Ashraf Gates

On Wednesday, October 19th, a number of family members of Ashraf residents from Gilan joined other families picketing in front of Camp Ashraf in the hope of visiting their loved ones kept by force in the camp, in a free atmosphere without the presence of the cult officials.
Nejat Society Gilan branch wishes good luck for these people who have long been waiting for such an opportunity, particularly on the threshold deadline to expel Mujahedin khalq from Iraqi territory.

October 23, 2011 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Nejat Society,Tehran families in front of Ashraf

The families of residents held in camp Ashraf, Iraq, left Tehran to join the others picketing at the Camp gates. Facing the gloomy atmosphere of the camp they are determined to bring hope, love Nejat Society,Tehran families in front of Ashraf and emotions back to humiliated hearts of their loved ones held as hostages by the Cult of Rajavi. The Beheshtis have lost one of their sons, Morteza in the MKO. They urge to visit their other beloved son Mostafa who is kept in the Camp but the Cult leaders who consider themselves as the owners of the members’ lives, haven’t allowed Mostafa to visit his family and they have imposed sever psychological pressure on him.

The parents of Mr. Jaberifard who have come to Camp Ashraf for several times, say,”we just want to see our son Musa. Which law bars us from meeting our son?”

Mohammad Ali Maleki’s sister could manage to come to Ashraf after years. “Mohamamd Ali, don’t forget us! We have never forgotten you,” she says.

Families picketing at Ashraf gates are all hopeful to defeat the terrorist cult of Rajavi someday.

They are staunchly firm in their decision until they can witness the release of their children from Ashraf prison.

September 22, 2011 0 comments

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