Members of the MEK in Albania

Mujahedin Khalq Organization members' families

Letter of Mostafa Qaedi’s mother to Albanian Prime Minister

Mr. Prime Minister,
I am Montaha Zahrai; A mother who has been longing to see her son for several years. My son Mostafa Qaedi has been imprisoned in an organization called Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) for 35 years.
The MEK is based in your country, Albania. I don’t know how I can visit my child in your country, Albania. The MEk led by Maryam Rajavi does not allow my son to contact his mother. I suffered hardships and pains in the absence of my child. My son was studying at the university when he was in Iran, when the MEK tricked him to join them out of Iran and transferred him to a Camp Ashraf, Iraq and cut off his contact with me.

Who understands my pain?! The MEK brainwashes my child and has turned family into an enemy in my child’s mind. I request you to open the way to travel to Albania so that I can meet my child closely. Please, Pay attention to the words of a grieving mother.
Sincerely

Montaha Zahrai, Mother of Mostafa Qaedi

November 19, 2023 0 comment

Albania

Why MEK is considered as an ungrateful group for Albania

It is already known that the mujahedin organization came to Albania as part of a promised dream, to be away from their country, Iran and the Iranian regime.
The MEK organization for more than 10 years has come with the status of humanitarian shelter, which caused a lot of trouble in relation to the neighboring countries, but it was a diplomatic relationship of that time, which favored this community to be able to get the green light In our country.

At that time, more than 30 Mujaheds were accepted into Albania by the government of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. They were congratulated both by international institutions and by representatives of the USA.

After this step they moved from the initial location in Kashar, and relocated more than 3000 members of this organization to a camp called Ashraf 3 in Manez, near the city of Durrës.

But, with full generosity, the Albanian citizens, despite their skepticism, accepted this fact for this coexistence that was organized, since the MEK community was closed only in that location.

According to official data, then the number of deserters or those who left the MEK camp, who surrendered to the institutions of our country, to seek according to a legal protocol to live freely in our country, has naturally increased.

Even though the MEK continued its activity in silence, fearing the transparency of information about what was happening inside that camp, this information was transmitted by former members who left that camp.

This is where the Albanian institutions came into play, which offered him support to live freely and to make it possible to communicate with him why it was necessary to leave that camp.
Their confession turns out to be unbelievable even for the employees of the institution, when it was proven that many basic human rights are prohibited in that camp.
They make it official that communication with their families is forbidden, it is forbidden to have a family, even for those who are married, they have to divorce only for the interests of the organization.

However, in retrospect, they fell prey to a scam by this organization where they were promised that they would live in a European country where they would live freely, but the truth turned out to be different.

Some of them in public interviews in the Albanian media have claimed that they were trained for cyber purposes.

It is known that from the control reports of suspicion of policies, policy structures and the appearance of a routine in the premises of the MEK, and the door has been closed for a control reason.

Why all this non-transparency in a foreign country? What were they hiding?

But policy resistance meant that a number of servers that turned out to be used for negative purposes emerged as material evidence to be prosecuted.
Albania does not deserve a group that is treated without freedom and respect to human rights.

Aldo Sulollari/ Alfapress.al

October 15, 2023 0 comment

Canada

MKO Terrorists Planning Relocation to Canada

The leaders of the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) are making arrangements to relocate their members from Albania to Canada.
The MKO ringleaders have reportedly decided to relocate their base to Canada following the Albanian government’s intense pressures and after the failure of their negotiations with the Paris government over relocation to France.

An informed security source told Tasnim that the MKO terrorists have come up with the relocation plan after the government of Albania and its counter-terrorism court imposed restrictions on the terrorist group following the discovery of incriminating evidence from their Ashraf-3 camp near Manze, a small hill town 30 kilometers west of Albania’s capital Tirana.

“The MKO heads are making preparations for the gradual pullout of their members (from Albania),” the source said.

The source noted that the MKO terrorists have failed to obtain France’s consent for the relocation of a number of their elements to a camp in Auvers-sur-Oise on the northwestern outskirts of Paris.

The MKO terrorists have employed their lobbies in the Canadian government, the source noted, adding that arrangements have been made to relocate the MKO elements with temporary Canadian passports or temporary resident permits in Canada in the first step.

The MKO terrorists have reportedly come to the decision after realizing that their status quo in Albania is similar to what they experienced in Iraq.

Last week, the government of Albania banned Maryam Rajavi, the ringleader of the terrorist MKO group, from entering the country.

Sources said Albania’s counter-terrorism court has issued the ban after reviewing evidence that shows the group has run terrorist activities in Iran.

Rajavi fled from Albania to France in late June, after Albanian police forces raided the camp hosting the MKO due to its engagement in “terror and cyber-attacks” against foreign institutions.

They seized 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities.

At least one MKO terrorist was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp.

MKO members spent many years in Iraq, where they were hosted and armed by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They sided with Saddam during the 1980-88 imposed war against Iran and then helped him quell domestic uprisings in various parts of the Arab country.

The hated group is responsible for killing thousands of Iranian civilians and officials after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

More than 17,000 Iranians, many of them civilians, have been killed at the hands of the MKO in different acts of terrorism including bombings in public places, and targeted killings.

August 12, 2023 0 comment

Maryam Rajavi

Maryam Rajavi Banned from Entering Albania

The government of Albania has banned Maryam Rajavi, the notorious ringleader of the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), from entering the country, informed security sources told Tasnim.

The sources said Albania’s counter-terrorism court has issued the ban after reviewing evidence that shows the group has run terrorist activities in Iran.

Rajavi fled from Albania to France in late June, after Albanian police forces raided a camp hosting the MKO due to its engagement in “terror and cyber-attacks” against foreign institutions.

They seized 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities.

At least one MKO terrorist was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp, known as Ashraf-3, in the northwest of the capital Tirana.

Reports suggest that the MKO terror group member killed in the raid was ‘Abdolvahhab Faraji’, a prominent commander of the terrorist group with expertise in military engineering operations who was in charge of technical and engineering activities during an operation launched by the MKO terrorists against Iran in July 1988.

The notorious group is responsible for killing thousands of Iranian civilians and officials after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

More than 17,000 Iranians, many of them civilians, have been killed at the hands of the MKO in different acts of terrorism including bombings in public places, and targeted killings.

August 5, 2023 0 comment

Mujahedin Khalq as an Opposition Group

What is known about MEK funding in Albania?

Who is behind the financing of the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (MEK) remains a mystery.

The camp of about 3,000 members of this organization in Kamez, Albania, extends over a territory of 38-40 hectares, where about 127 objects are built.

For their deployment in the Ashraf 3 camp, the USA had contributed, which had given 20 million dollars to the UN refugee agency to help the relocation to Albania.

But, after an action by the Albanian Police in this camp on suspicions that its members have committed the criminal offenses of “provocation of war” and “cyber attacks”, the US Department of State emphasized that the US does not finance this organization.

The financiers of this organization are not publicly known, since the MEK does not provide official data. However, its financing has been a point of discussion several times in the world media.

In an article published in 2018, the British newspaper The Guardian wrote that the MEK organization was financed by the former leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussien, “for most of its life in asylum”.

The MEK moved to Iraq in 1986, after its activities in Iran were banned in 1981. The Council on Foreign Relations, based in New York, USA, writes that Hussein had been the main financier of the MEK until the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“But in recent years, the group claims to rely on the large number of wealthy Iranian expatriates in the United States and Europe, and other people opposed to the clerical regime in Tehran,” a Council on foreign Relations report said..

But the participation of the former intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki al-Faisal, in a gathering of this group in Paris on July 6, 2016 had prompted criticism from Iran after he had supported the overthrow of the Government of Iran.
An Iranian official, quoted by the state news agency IRNA, had accused Saudi Arabia of sponsoring terrorism.

The professor of the University of the City of New York, Ervand Abrahamian, told The Guardian in 2018 that Saudi Arabia is behind the financing of the MEK.

“The money ultimately comes from Saudi [Arabia]. There is no one else who can subsidize them with this level of funding,” said Abrahamian, a Middle East historian.

But, The Guardian points out that the MEK has always denied that it is financed by Saudi Arabia. Radio Evropa e Lire has contacted the spokesperson of this organization regarding the financing of the MEK in Albania, but has not received a response until the publication of this article.

For various periods from 1997 to 2013, the MEK was listed as a terrorist organization in several countries, such as the USA, EU, and Great Britain.

In 2009, Great Britain removed the MEK from this list. The USA did the same, under the administration of former President Barack Obama, in 2012. At that time, The Guardian reported that a multi-million dollar campaign was made to remove it from this list.

The MEK describes itself as “the largest and longest-lived Iranian opposition group with a five-decade history of fighting for freedom and democracy in Iran.”

But on June 21, the US State Department said it does not consider the MEK to be a “sustainable democratic opposition movement representing the Iranian people” and stressed that the US does not contribute to the funding of the MEK and does not provide any support or training for the members of this organization./rel

Politiko

July 31, 2023 0 comment

Albania

Albania: The MEK and National Security

Cyber-war and diplomacy The break between Tirana and Tehran and the cumbersome presence of the Mujahedin-e Khalq in Albania
For over ten years, the Balkan country has hosted members of the National Liberation Army of Iran (MEK), thanks to an agreement with the United States. In recent days, the police raided the camp on suspicion of interference in computer systems and terrorism.

On June 20, several dozen forces of the State Police and the special anti-terrorism unit intervened inside the Ashraf 3 camp with an inspection order issued by the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPak), as part of the investigative operation on the alleged involvement of some mujaheddin in activities of interference in IT systems and terrorism.
Members of the Mek (Mojahedin-e Khalq) resisted the forces of order in an attempt to prevent the authorities from inspecting their premises, with the claim that they had not been notified earlier. To disperse the crowd, the police used tear gas and pepper spray.

The police intervention followed the proceeding filed by SPAK on 15 May for six counts of charges against members of the Mek, including the crime of “provocation of war”, “illegal interception of computer data”, “interference in computer systems.

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Report/Alb-Daily-Ashraf3-20230620.mp4

to download the video file click here

Fifteen officers were injured in the clash, several vehicles were damaged and twenty-one mujaheddin were taken to hospital for tests. A seventy-nine-year-old Mek member with a history of heart disease has reportedly died. From the first investigations there are no signs of violence on the deceased and the medico-legal report is awaited.

The interior minister, Bledar Çuçi, immediately declared that his death “was not caused by any action by the police”. Furthermore, he said he was indignant at the Mek’s reaction towards the police and affirmed that the judicial authorities will have to proceed with the investigation into the responsibilities: «It is not only a violation of Albanian legislation for those who live in the country, but also a sort of violation of the hospitality code that we have offered».

Despite the tensions, the operation ended with the seizure of about one hundred and fifty electronic devices, computers and servers, which are suspected to have been used by members of the Mek in their activities against the Iranian government authorities.

Camp Ashraf 3 is located in Manzë, a fraction of the municipality of Durres, made up of one hundred and seven buildings spread over forty hectares of land. It was built almost from scratch and looks like a fortified village, and is monitored by security cameras. It is home to about three thousand inhabitants, all members of the National Liberation Army of Iran, also known as Mojahedin-e Khalq (Mek).

Little is known about the functioning of the camp. The Mek has always refused to speak to journalists and the little information we have has emerged from the sporadic stories of the few former members who managed to detach themselves from the organization, rebuilding a new life in Tirana. In the few stories it is clear that a hierarchical and military regime is in force inside the camp, and the almost total isolation from the outside and from family members.

Of far-left origin, the Mek was founded in 1965 to counter the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran. Over the years, he has become the main opposition group to the Ayatollah regime, building a controversial profile. It is still unknown who finances their activities.

In 2012, the center-right government of ex-premier Sali Berisha accepted the Obama administration’s proposal for the relocation to Albania of about two hundred members of the Mek. The media believe that the only condition posed by Albania to the Americans was to remove the group from the list of terrorist organizations, where it had been included by the USA in 1997. And so it happened.

With the arrival of Edi Rama’s socialist government in 2013, the number of mujahideen hosted in the camp increased further, and in the following three years it reached three thousand people. The commitment undertaken by Albania provides for their hospitality for humanitarian reasons, and for their relocation the United States has contributed twenty million dollars, with the direct involvement of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The reactions

In the past, the main political parties have expressed a general consent to the hospitality offered to the Mek, thus safeguarding relations with the United States. Today, however, several security experts believe that in recent years the Albanian authorities have not adequately monitored the work of the Mek on the national territory, also considering the organization’s profile and involvement in paramilitary activities.
In this regard, part of a 2018 document signed by former police chief Ardi Veliu appeared on social media in recent days, from which it emerges that the presence of the Mujahedin Khalq could be a source of instability and a serious threat to national security. At the moment, it has not been possible to verify what measures have actually been taken by the authorities to counter this potential danger.

Based on the declarations of the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Julian Hodaj, released to Euronews Albania a few days ago, that the authorities do not intend to withdraw from the hospitality agreement of the Mek members and reiterated that the entire hosted community will not be prosecuted: «The criminal responsibilities are individual and the individuals who committed the crimes will pay the due consequences, from penalties to deportation, but this has nothing to do with the community”.

The statement from the US State Department also came in support of the Albanian authorities, which recognizes the right of the Albanian authorities to investigate any possible illegal activity within the national territory: «The Albanian police have assured us that the police operation was carried out in accordance with the laws in force”.
The former prosecutor for serious crimes, Eugen Beci, declared on 28 June that in legal terms a real agreement had not been stipulated between the Albanian authorities and the Mek. With the intermediation of the UNHCR and in accordance with international conventions, all members of the Mek have signed a letter of commitment in which they declare that they will not get involved in politics during their stay on Albanian soil.

The escalation of events in recent months has had a negative impact on the general perception of public opinion towards Iran, and consequently also towards the members of the Mek. Data from the National Security Barometer show that in 2019 only 27.9 percent of the citizens interviewed believed Tehran was a potential danger to the country’s security, while in 2022 this perception was shared by three out of four citizens.

Relations with Iran

As a result of the Mujahideen’s move to Albania, relations between Tirana and Tehran deteriorated significantly. In December 2018, the Albanian government requested the removal from the national territory of the Iranian ambassador Gholamhossein Mohammadnia and a second diplomat, as they were suspected of activities that undermined the country’s security.
On the other hand, in a note verbal sent by the Iranian Foreign Ministry to its Albanian colleagues, it was reported that the Iranian authorities had arrested three teams of terrorist origin on its territory, which had been trained in the Mek camp in Albania.

During 2022, Albanian institutions suffered a series of cyber attacks suspected to have been carried out by hackers affiliated with the government of Iran, resulting in the blockage of various government activities – such as the public services platform e-Albania and the border police control system TIMS – and the dissemination of a large amount of sensitive data of citizens. Despite the several million dollars provided by the United States to Albania to strengthen its computer systems, these cyber attacks have exposed the flaws in Albanian security systems, paralyzing the work of the state for several days.

Faced with allegations of his involvement in the 2022 cyber attacks, the Tehran government did not fail to react, denying any responsibility. The Spak investigative file also reports that the 2022 cyber attacks against Albania are identical to those suffered by Iran a few months earlier, for which the members of the Mek are held responsible. From the summer of 2022, Albania has therefore decided to interrupt diplomatic relations with Tehran.

By Gentiola Madhi – Balcani Caucaso – Translated by Nejat Society

July 29, 2023 0 comment

Hassan Heyrani and his Albanian Wife Margarita Balco

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Heyrani and his Albanian wife threatened to death by the MEK army

A month after SPAK and the anti-terrorist police raided the mujahedin camp in Manze, the mujahedin army seems to have attacked again. In the last 24 hours, online attacks against Albanian citizens who are critical of the MEK have resumed from the Mujahideen camp in Manze.

On the YouTube page of the Top Channel television, which has published a conversation that the Albanian citizen Margarita Ballco and her Iranian boyfriend, Hassan Heyrani, made in the show Shqiperia Live on 13/07/2023, where Ballco and Heyrani show the horrors inside the mujahedin camp, in the comments section, the mujahedin have released insults and threats against the Albanian-Iranian couple.

The attacks on Margarita were initiated by the translator of the Mujahideen, Sokol Beqiraj. The pro-mujahedin fanatic calls Maryam Rajavit’s jihad defector Hassan Heyrani “an Iranian renegade”, “disloyal”, “supporter of the mullahs”, “traitor”.

@sokolbeqiraj1857
16 hours ago
This show, where the interviewee… an Iranian renegade who slanders his former brothers and who, after finding love, just abandoned those for whom he had given his allegiance… that is, a traitor and who supports the religious fascist terrorist regime of the mullahs…, what message can this traitor to his nation, the Albanians, give. Albanians know well that the Iranian mujahideen who live in Albania are honest people who have sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy in Iran, occupied by the regime of the mullahs.”

Sokol Beqiraj, who writes on the portal of the former Enverist Cerciz Loloci, albspirit, and the portal of the mujahedin of Manze IranProbe, is a regular translator of the mujahedin army. His aggressive writings calling for the overthrow of the regime in Iran, according to the penal code of the Republic of Albania, can be classified as incitement and calls for terrorist acts.
Sokol Beqiraj’s writings, which are published both in Bujar Tuku’s portal, Gazeta Si, and in Cerciz Loloc’s Albspirit portal, are ordered by Maryam Rajavi, Mehdi Abrishamchi and the mujahedin army. The purpose of Beqiraj’s writings is disinformation and spreading hatred against Islam and the Iranian state. Cerciz Loloc’s portal, where Beqiraj writes, is an ardent supporter of Israel and an unyielding opponent of Islam and Muslims. While Islam is attacked on Cerciz Loloc’s website, Cecoja from Gjirokastra fanatically advertises the Islamophobic Israeli website, Izraeli Sot together with Dine Fratari’s construction businesses.

The attack that Sokol Beqiraj launched against the Albanian citizen Margarita Ballco seems to have been made by order of the Mujahideen army. Immediately after Beqiraj attacked the Albanian-Iranian couple, comments from the mujahedin of Manze started on the Top Channel page. Hailing their victory for the expulsion of Hassan Heyrani from Albania, the Mujahideen hurled insults at Hassan and his wife:

@user-yo1le2yc6b
14 hours ago
This story was prepared for the refugees of the Mujahideen camp, this girl pretends that the Iranians in Maxe’s camp are bad. Perhaps I know them well from after they read Arthur to get married to increase the population, but when they came for protection, the Iranians are good people, peaceful and humane, they have helped me in resting my term and continuing the acquaintance of 5 years. Indeed, they are smart people, but the words expressed by this Albanian girl, Sensei Hasani, fled, left, or rather hid from the camp, not to marry, but to slander the Iranians in the Manx camp.

Reply2 replies
@hirbodazad40
16 hours ago
I heard that this ugly man was expelled from Albania
Why is the hand back in the trash and out?
Top Channel is a place for good people, not devils
An example is a wolf in any skin
Nature is like a wolf
So whatever he says is the nature of a hungry wolf.”
In the wave of comments and insults made against the Albanian Margarita Ballco and her husband, there are also terrorist threats. A commenter named @frankfranky7410 threatens the Albanian citizen and her husband with death:

9 hours ago
The next time you appear on TV with Hasan, you will be covered head to toe in black.

The attacks against the couple Ballco – Heyrani, launched by the Mujahedin army of Manza, are very disturbing. A month after the state police raided the mujahedin camp, where about 100 computers were seized, the SPAK still has not arrested any mujahedin for the crimes they have committed in Albania in recent years. While the mujahedin are not yet facing justice, the death threats made by the mujahedin supporter on the Top Channel television website are frightening for the media and freedom of speech. The attack against Ms. Ballco started by Sokol Beqiraj and the death threats made against them, should be carefully looked at by the anti-terror police and SPAK.

What does the MEK intend to do with the couple Ballco – Heyrani? After the slanderous attacks that Sokol Beqiraj launched, the death threats made by @frankfranky7410, what does Maryam Rajavi intend to do? Will the supporters of the MEK, like @frankfranky7410, kill those Albanian and Iranian citizens who denounce the Mujahideen crimes in the media? How is it explained that after the attack on Sokol Beqiraj, the Mujahideen started attacking the Iranian-Albanian couple? Do we have a coordination of mujahedin attacks against free speech? Why did the MEK become active on social media a month after the raid by the police? Have the computers been returned to the MEK by the prosecutor’s office or has the MEK trafficked new computers to Manze?

The MEK has a long history of violence, terrorism and threats to free speech from Iran, Iraq to Albania. Mujahideen, as Prime Minister Edi Rama has emphasized before, have turned Albania on the basis of their terrorist activity against a foreign country. They have killed Iranian civilians, officials and scientists. They have incited violence and terrorist acts in their country.

The latest threat launched by Sokol Beqiraj and followed by mujahedin accounts, sends a gloomy message for freedom of speech and thought in Albania.

While the police and the Albanian court confiscated the mujahedin’s computers a month ago, the reappearance and re-activation of the mujahedin on social networks shows that the MEK has received new computers, has resumed political activity, which Prime Minister Edi Rama denounced a few weeks ago.

These facts, threats and blackmails, must be investigated by the anti-terrorist police and the SPAK and mujahedin activity must be stopped again.

The show of Margarita and Hassan and the threatening comments can be seen in the link below:

Gazeta Impakt – Translated by Nejat Society

July 23, 2023 0 comment

Albania

Iran: Is Albania’s clampdown on the MEK linked to nuclear deal?

Agreement on opposition group is part of Iran-US negotiations and Albania is acting accordingly, analysts believe.
On Monday, Albanian authorities handed over hard drives and computers seized from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) to their Iranian counterparts.

Albania has no diplomatic relations with Iran. Despite this, a series of recent moves against the opposition MEK, which operates in exile, has led many to wonder whether these actions are linked to the ongoing nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran.

“There are negotiations between Iran and the EU and Iran and the US. It is easy for me to believe that Iran brings up the MEK issue with the West,” Armin Montazeri, foreign policy editor at Ham-Mihan, an Iranian newspaper, told Middle East Eye.

MEK members at the Ashraf 3 camp wave Iranian flags during a speech by former US Vice President Mike Pence at the Iranian opposition headquarters in Albania, June 2022 (AFP)

Montazeri said he suspected that Iran and the US have “already reached some sort of agreement” about the MEK, which was unlikely to be publicly announced.

On 20 June, Albanian law enforcement raided the MEK’s Ashraf 3 camp, citing concerns that the base northwest of the capital Tirana was being used for subversive political activities, cyberattacks against Iran and mass online trolling of opponents, in contravention of an agreement struck between the MEK and the Albanian government.

“I think they are at the beginning of the implementation phase,” Montazeri said of the potential nuclear agreement.

The recent actions against the MEK can therefore be seen as a confidence-building measure between Iran and the US in addressing issues of mutual concern.

Following the raid on the MEK camp, US authorities released an unusually terse statement that was critical of the group.

“We support Albania’s right to investigate any potential illegal activities within its territory,” said a US State Department representative following the raid.

“The US doesn’t see MEK as a viable democratic opposition movement that is representative of Iranian people. The US State Department continues to have serious concerns about MEK as an organisation, including allegations of abuse committed against its own members,” it said.

That statement must have come as somewhat of a shock for a group accustomed to enjoying high-level support from US officials.

Included among those western politicians the MEK considers as allies are former British prime minister Liz Truss, who recently spoke at one of its events, US presidential candidate and former vice president Mike Pence, former senator Joseph Lieberman, Trump national security adviser John Bolton and a dozen sitting members of US Congress from both parties.

A state within a state

In a bid to appease Washington and curry political favour, Albania for years largely turned a blind eye to the activities of the MEK, which until 2012 was classified as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department.

As the group grew in confidence, buoyed by growing support from the US, it metastasized into a quasi-state within a state, with Albania as its base of operations.

“I think MEK being in Albania makes Tirana kind of responsible when it comes to the national security issues [facing Iran],” said Montazeri.

‘The MEK is not necessarily an asset for the West against Iran. It is more like a tool, and using this tool has consequences for the West internally’

– Armin Montazeri, Journalist

“If MEK runs campaigns against Iran from Albania, which we know it has, then Iran has the right to respond in its own way,” the Iranian journalist said.

In September, Albania faced a massive cyberattack on its government services, resulting in sensitive information being hacked.

Tirana accused Tehran of conducting the attack. It subsequently cut diplomatic ties with Iran.

The actions being taken by Albania now are also meant to “defend its own national security”, said Montazeri.

“Obviously it does not want to be stuck in a war between Tehran and the MEK, whether it is cyberattacks or other kinds,” he said.

More broadly, Albania found itself sleepwalking into a proxy war with Iran, not fully appreciating what housing the group could mean for the country.

“Note that the MEK is not necessarily an asset for the West against Iran. It is more like a tool, and using this tool has some consequences for the West internally,” said Montazeri.

A tool against Iran

Albania’s population, initially ambivalent about the presence of the group, now increasingly sees it as something it has not agreed to, Olsi Jazexhi, an Albanian academic who has been tracking MEK activities in his country, told MEE.

Jazexhi is convinced the current exchange with Iran is related to the nuclear agreement being hashed out by the two sides, which MEE reported for the first time last month.

“The MEK presence is problematic, because they have turned Albania into a base from where they launch terrorist attacks against a foreign country. They break Albanian laws and have created a state within a state in their paramilitary camp in Albania,” said Jazexhi.

When Albanian police attempted to enter the Ashraf 3 camp with a warrant last month, the MEK resisted, resulting in injuries on both sides.

The actions of the opposition group, which was initially accepted by Albania on ostensibly humanitarian grounds, raises questions as to whether the group has reformed at all from its violent past.

“The Trump administration and Israel used the MEK to exert maximum pressure on Iran from 2018 to 2021,” said Jazexhi. “But now, with Biden in office, the US administration does not want to have an ex-terrorist organisation, which has very strong ties with Trump officials, dictate its policies towards Iran.”

Overstayed its welcome

Questions are now being raised about the MEK’s continued existence in Albania, including why Prime Minister Edi Rama has not been more proactive in tackling the group.

“If Albania was indeed used as a launchpad for cyberattacks against Iran, it raises questions about why the Albanian government didn’t react sooner to prevent escalation into a full-blown conflict with Iran,” Mentor Beqa, professor of international politics at the Aleksander Moisiu University of Durres, told MEE from Albania.

Even France, which hosts MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, has recently clamped down on the group, denying its request to hold a large gathering this month.

The group, which needs such rallies to shore up its international visibility, is feeling the squeeze.

“The US’s apparent reluctance to protect MEK members suggests a shift in its stance towards the group, potentially opening the door for their removal from Albania, albeit difficult under the current circumstances,” Beqa said.

Beqa believes the Albanian government made a mistake in allowing the group to seclude itself in a camp away from prying eyes.

“Allowing the group to reside together in one camp and maintain its organisational structure might have been a misstep, as this may have facilitated the group’s capacity to engage in activities that put Albania in a challenging position,” he said.

Caught up in the movements of great powers, the Albanian government is now left needing to be clear about where it stands on the foreign group that has made Albania its home.

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By Elis Gjevori – Middleeasteye.net

July 10, 2023 0 comment

Albania

PM Rama warns to expel MKO if it uses Albania soil for war against Iran

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama says the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) must leave the country if it wants to use Albanian soil to fight against Iran.

“We have had MEK in our country for several years. They are welcome but on the condition that they do not use Albania as a platform for their political operations. Our Iranian guests have repeatedly violated this agreement “, said Rama in an interview in the German media “Der Spiegel”. He added that Albania has no intention of being at war with the Iranian regime as he commented on the action of the Albanian police last week in the MEK camp.

Massoud Khodabandeh, The MEK former member and Olsi Jazexhi, historian and social activist explain more on the issue:

https://dlb.nejatngo.org/Media/Interview/PressTV-Khodabandeh-Olsi.mp4

to download the video file click here

July 9, 2023 0 comment

Albania

Albania turns on dissident Iranian group

Albania no longer appears willing to host a cult-like Iranian dissident group it has sheltered since 2014.
On June 20, Albanian authorities raided Ashraf-3, the compound outside of Tirana home to 3,000 Iranian opposition fighters for the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK). The MEK relocated from Iraq to Albania as part of a 2014 deal brokered by the United States, but Albania has accused it of violating the terms of the agreement.

“MEK has not respected the 2014 agreement,” said the Albanian interior ministry after the raid. While the MEK was “settled in Albania for humanitarian purposes alone,” the ministry said, “unfortunately, this group has not adhered to these commitments, breaching the agreement.”

The MEK said that one of its members was killed in the raid while many more were injured, but Albanian interior minister Bledi Çuçi said, “I guarantee you that the death of the person in the compound was not caused by the state police.”
“Albania has no intention of being at war with the Iranian regime. Albania does not accept anyone who has abused our hospitality,” said prime minister Edi Rama, referencing the MEK’s continuation of “political operations” from Albania.

Cult or freedom fighters?

The MEK originated as an Islamist-Marxist militia founded in opposition to the US-backed Shah of Iran. It played a major role in the I979 revolution before falling out with the newly-established Islamic Republic led by Ayatollah Khomeini and joining forces with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein against Iran in the bloody Iran-Iraq War. Its bombing attacks within Iran have killed numerous officials as well as a president and prime minister, and Americans have been killed by its attacks.
“It is no exaggeration to say that perhaps nothing unites Iranians today more than opposition to the MEK and their agenda,” said Iranian historian Arash Azizi. “Not only are they not popular amongst Iranians, they are despised and hated by Iranians across the political spectrum.”
While in exile in Iraq, there were numerous reports of torture, sexual abuse, and medical sterilisation of members within its Camp Ashraf compound as its leaders—Massoud and Maryam Rajavi—developed a cult of personality.

The MEK was designated as a terrorist group by the United Kingdom until 2008, by the European Union until 2009, and by the United States until 2012 but has since built an incredibly successful lobbying network in Western capitals that it uses to push for regime change in Iran.
It counts Rudy Giuliani—a US politician turned personal lawyer to former US president Donald Trump—and Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton among its paid speakers and former Slovenian prime minister Janez Janša as one of its staunchest supporters in calling for regime change in Iran.
On July 1, former UK prime minister Liz Truss and former US vice-president and possible presidential candidate Mike Pence spoke at high-profile MEK conference in France.

Geopolitical context

The MEK’s relocation to Albania—a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)—came after attacks on their camp in Iraq by pro-Tehran militias, and Tehran responded to the relocation agreement with fury towards Tirana.

In 2022, multiple cyberattacks attributed to Tehran targeted Albanian government websites.
Some 95 per cent of government services in Albania are provided online. After a cyberattack forced the government to suspend daily operations as websites used for everything from paying utilities to obtaining driver’s licenses went down, Rama severed diplomatic relations with Iran and considered invoking NATO’s Article Five. Article Five obligates a collective response from the alliance if any member is attacked and has only been triggered once—by the US after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
“It’s like bombing a country,” said Rama of the cyber strike. Ultimately, however, it became clear that many NATO allies did not want to be dragged into a confrontation with Iran, and Tirana abstained from invoking Article Five.

Now, however, new talks for an informal agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programme are underway between Western and Iranian officials, and Europeans and the Biden Administration alike are looking to lower tensions with Tehran.

Although the July 1 gathering in France eventually went ahead, the MEK was initially denied permission to hold it by French authorities. While it is unlikely that Tehran will be able to secure the extradition of MEK members, Iranian officials welcomed news of the raid in Albania, with a spokesperson for its foreign ministry saying, “We hope the Albanian government will take the practical and responsible step against the group of the hypocrites.”

The moment presents Tirana with the opportunity to de-escalate tensions with Tehran and potentially stave off more cyberattacks.
“Our country is used as a trench in a war that is not ours, it does not work!” said Rama. “Of course, they [the MEK] have every right to fight for their freedom, but to do so they must leave Albania.”

By Devin Haas – Emerging Europe

July 8, 2023 0 comment

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