TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi officials have issued warrants for arresting three members of an anti-Iranian terrorist group called the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), and the court order is viewed by observers as to be testing the United States’ honesty in restoring calm and security in Iraq. The Iraqi criminal court issued warrants for the arrest of Mozhgan Parsayee,
Abbas Davari and Sediqeh Hosseini, who are deemed to be among leaders of the terrorist group, following the several complaints lodged by the relatives of a number of MKO members. While different peace-seeking groups and the plaintiffs are demanding implementation of the court ruling, the arrest warrants will produce no results unless the US troops show cooperation, and this has faced the US with a new challenge to prove its allegations about the fight against terrorism in Iraq. Despite the slogans frequently chanted by the US about a so-called tough campaign against terrorism, ever since the US invasion of Iraq and the fall of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Washington has always shielded the MKO and provided backup and support for the terrorist group in a bid to use them for materializing its goals. The Bulgarian military commander in Iraq admitted in May 2006 that his forces are protecting the MKO at the request of the US central command in Iraq. Bulgaria had withdrawn most of its forces from the occupied Iraq by the end of 2005, but 154 of its soldiers still remain as security guards for the Ashraf camp where 3500 MKO terrorists are based. MKO terrorists have martyred many innocent Iranians over the past 25 years and had supported Saddam’s tyrannical Ba’th minority regime during the 8-year Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s. Fars News Agancy-10 Feb.2008
British Foreign Office announced on Tuesday that the British government still considers the banned MKO a terrorist organization. Mark Mallon Brown, British deputy foreign secretary for Asia and the United Nations, protested a recent verdict by the Commission for Reviewing the Status of Banned Organization. He noted that until the final verdict is issued about the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), the organization will be considered to be a terrorist organization. Lord Malloch Brown, a member of British House of Lords, pointed out that terrorism is something unacceptable; it does not matter who commits such offense. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said earlier that the MKO has not changed its behavior, which makes it inelligible to be removed from the list of terrorist organizations. The UK has banned the MKO in line with a decision made by the European Union and another by the US, which is widely known to be cooperating with the terrorist organization, despite officially having it on its list terrorist entities.
PressTV- 06 Feb 2008
Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights: NGO should facilitate safe MKO exit from Iraq As concerted moves are getting underway in Iraq to deal with the foreign terrorist organisation Mojahedin-e Khalq in that country, Iran-Interlink was invited to attend a meeting at the Ministry of Human Rights in Iraq today. In a visit to Iraq this weekend, Massoud Khodabandeh from Iran-Interlink met with senior officials at the Ministry to talk about the future of the Iranian Mojahedin-e Khalq cult in that country.
During the three hour meeting, Massoud Khodabandeh expressed concern for the human rights situation of people involved in the Mojahedin cult. The American Forces in Iraq have been given notice to evacuate Camp Ashraf and its surrounds before the land is returned to its rightful owner by a court. This means that over 3,000 people must be urgently re-located. American Military Police have already begun to empty the Temporary International Presence Facility (TIPF) which had been established adjacent to Camp Ashraf to house individuals wishing to dissociate from the terrorist group. Around 800 former MKO members have been processed through TIPF. Over 500 have successfully accepted voluntary repatriation to Iran. Those who rejected this option were granted UN refugee status.
In December last year the American Military Police began to remove the remaining individuals from TIPF, driving them in small groups to nearby residential locations to make their own way. Mr Khodabandeh told the Iraqi Human Rights officials that although more difficult to achieve it would have been more effective to have removed the MKO members from Camp Ashraf first. This would allow anyone who wished to leave the cult to find a place of safety in TIPF and to seek refuge under US protection.
Mr Khodabandeh requested that the individuals involved in the evacuation of TIPF be provided immediate help. They must be afforded a safety net and not allowed to fall through the system to fend for themselves, he said. This would include around 100 people who remain at TIPF as well as those who have already left – some of these individuals are now in Iraqi prison, some in Turkish prisons and the remainder are fugitives whose whereabouts are unknown.
It was suggested that a NGO be established under the patronage of personalities and human rights charities in Europe and the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry. This would offer the US military appropriate help in dealing with the evacuation of TIPF and also Camp Ashraf within the framework of Iraqi law.
The officials at the Ministry of Human Rights gave a very clear answer saying that under no circumstances whatsoever would any member or former member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation be allowed to remain on Iraqi soil. They gave two main reasons for this decisive position. Firstly, that the MKO have been responsible for the murder of many Iraqi citizens. Respect for the rights and memories of the families of these victims make it impossible for the MKO to continue any presence in the country.
Secondly, and perhaps more urgently, the MKO remains directly attached to the Baath Party and former members of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Should amnesty by given to any MKO and they escape, they would pose a danger to Iraq. They have been trained by Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards and maintain the potential to perform terrorist acts anywhere in Iraq.
To compound this decision, officials pointed out that the case of the Mojahedin has now been moved from the jurisdiction of the Government of Iraq to the Iraqi Judiciary which now has the task of making ruling judgements on the group and its members.
This is a highly significant step as it takes the MKO out of the political arena and places the future of the group in a legal framework. In this framework judgement has already been reached by several judges which has resulted in indictment papers and arrest warrants being issued against the three leading MKO members in Iraq, Abbas Davari, the MKO’s political liaison official in Camp Ashraf, Mozhgan Parsaii, the Commander of Rajavi’s army in Iraq and Sediqeh Hoseini, the Secretary General of the MKO, in three separate courts including the Baghdad Criminal Court.
The Human Rights Ministry officials said Iraq’s Government will demand the US hand over these individuals, stressing that US refusal to comply with Iraqi law will not reflect positively on the US presence in that country. This would not be a political decision but is based on the separate findings of three Iraqi judges. The Judiciary will send police to arrest the individuals concerned.
The meeting concluded with the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry again stressing that the Iraqi Government would under no circumstances have any direct contact with anyone from the MKO or even former members of the MKO in Iraq. All of these people must leave Iraq. However, Ministry officials conceded that they are willing to work with appropriate human rights organisations as well as Iran-Interlink and its representatives to provide temporary help and to facilitate the safe removal of these people.
The officials gave permission for an NGO to be established to offer humanitarian emergency aid to those who will be evacuated from the camps. The Ministry of Human Rights would work with the NGO to de-brief individuals from the MKO and to help reunite them with their families. Temporary places of refuge will be established to help these people. For any who request repatriation to Iran, the Ministry and the International Committee of the Red Cross would jointly guarantee that their human rights would not be violated. However, if third countries were sought, the NGO must find these itself.
January 27, 2008
Al-Araghiya TV documnetary on Rajavi’s Canadian Hostage Alaraghiay TV broadcasted a documentary about two Canadian sitizens, Mostafa and Mahboobeh Mohammady, who have gone to Iraq in an attempt to rescue their daughter from Mojahedin Khalq Organisation terrorist cult currently under protection of US army in Ashraf camp North of Baghdad.
The full translation of this film will be posted shortly.
Download Al-Araghiah TV documentary on Rajavi’s Canadian Hostage
TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (MNA) — In a letter released on Saturday, Iran’s Union of Islamic Students Association (UISA) in Europe has thanked the European Union for its decision to keep the terrorist Mojahedin Kalq Organization (MKO) on the blacklist of terrorist organizations.
The letter, a copy of which provided to Mehr News Agency, is addressed to Francisco Javier Solana Madariaga, the European Union foreign policy chief, EU countries, and members of the European Parliament.
“We would like to convey our seasonal greetings on the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ, a messenger much revered by both Christians and Muslims who is a propagator of peace and unity for both our Abrahamic religions. Furthermore we wish you all a great start to 2008 and a blessed year to come. We hope that 2008 bears witness to substantial strides towards strengthening worldwide peace via measures taken by influential international bodies.
“The recent decision by the EU to preserve the MKO on its terrorist organization blacklist, which demonstrates the intellectual and humane standards of this Union, is a move fully appreciated by the UISA, the most reputable Iranian student body within Europe.
"The 28 year old history of the Islamic revolution in Iran is tainted by the violent victimization of a sovereign nation via organized terrorist factions aiming to inflict an immobilizing blow to the dignity and morale of the Iranian people. Through a doctrine of fear and assassination such terror attacks have claimed the lives of some of the greatest and most admirable people of this nation, from religious scholars to university lecturers and from distinguished public servants elected by the people to ordinary members of society pursuing their daily lives. The use of highly sophisticated weapons including chemical armaments in assaulting the peaceful people of Iran is so horrifying in nature that the bitter memory of these losses will forever be engrained in the minds of every Iranian.
“One must ask why a unique democratic movement such as the Iranian revolution has been the target of a continuous wave of organized terrorist attacks for the past 28 years. Hitherto the query of how these terrorist groups are supported both speculatively and financially for their inhumane conduct still remains unanswered for the Iranian nation.
“We believe that, in concordance with section 3 of resolution 1483 issued by the United Nations (approved in the 4761 UN general session, on May 22, 2003), it is time for the leaders of MKO — which is an inherently criminal group — to be prosecuted in international courts for cooperating with the Ba’thist regime and performing criminal acts against the two oppressed nations of Iran and Iraq. Furthermore, we express our gratitude towards the EU for their appropriate stance on the enforcement of this ruling across all the European countries so that none of the members of this terrorist group are authorized to seek refuge anywhere within Europe and exert their inhumane terrorist acts.
“Considering the aforesaid group is known as one of the most abhorrent terrorist groups by the Iranian nation, undoubtedly any strides from the respected union to prevent their terrorist activities can be alleged as an evident support of conforming the human rights, human dignity, and admiration at the threshold of honoring the sixtieth anniversary of the issuance of the worlds human right manifesto which with no doubt resides in peoples minds as a worthwhile memento.
“Since a court in the United Kingdom has recently eradicated this criminal terrorist group from the terrorist blacklist, it has offended the Iranians public opinion as the rights of hundreds of innocent people who were martyred by this group is neglected.”
The statement says that the union is expected to make arrangements to have the British government respecting the decision made by the EU in order to include and preserve the MKO on its terrorist organization blacklist.
“Ultimately we would like to once more express our greetings for the arrival of the New Year and inform you that as Iranian students abroad we appreciate your prudent and judicious decisions and will reflect your positive conducts to the Iranian nation. We hope that the collective efforts of politicians, parliamentary representatives, and intellectuals amount to the obliteration of terrorism in all shapes and forms resulting in a state of harmony and global security. Surely even the smallest stride towards this humanitarian goal is in itself a significant achievement and shall leave behind a distinguished mark on the pathway to international safekeeping.”
On Thursday, December20nd, the European Union updated the Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism and repeated Common Position 2007/448/CFSP.
The document published the official Journal of the European Union on Dec 22nd included the list of persons, groups and entities referred to in Article 1 of the document.
On page 113 of Legislation 340, you can consider Muajhedin-e-Khalq listed as a proscribed Organization by the EU. However on Dec.18th Maryam Rajavi addressed the European Parliament urging on the removal of her terror cult from the EU terror list. The EU listed MKO as a terrorist entity once more.
Following Iran’s immediate reacted, declaring it invalid and illegal, to the UN Security Council vote to impose restrictions on Tehran if its uranium enrichment program did not halted immediately, BBC Radio, Five Live, on December 24 arranged a phone interview with Ali Safavi, a member of MKO. The interview aimed to obtain some first hand information, disappointed the reporter as Mr. Safavi had nothing to tell but unrelated answers to clear questions and the same old blathers.
For instance, when he was questioned “Where is the Tehran as far as the nuclear program is concerned? How far is Tehran in their enrichment program?”, he referred to the same previously stated claims concluding with an unrelated comment saying:
I would have to say that in order to meet the increasing threats posed by the Iranian regime not only with respect to its nuclear weapons program, but also its meddling in Iraq and its bellicose attitude to the rest of the Middle East, including in Lebanon, the ultimate solution is democratic change by the Iranian people and their organized resistance movement.
But the reporter’s immediate remark stating “That probably would be a bit of a journey before that is actually likely to happen” reminded him that the group’s “the ultimate solution” is something of the past. You might awake a sleeping man but impossible if one pretends.
mojahedin.ws – 26/12/2006
Tehran, Dec 16, IRNA Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here Sunday that Tehran and Cairo currently enjoy better understanding regarding the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation. Referring to the recent visit to Tehran of the Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Dirar, he said, "The two countries held good and constructive talks." "We expect Cairo to study the outcome of the talks and take further steps," he told reporters. He reiterated that settlement of marginal issues will depend on political resolve of the two countries officials. On the visit to Iraq of an Iranian delegation, Hosseini said the Iranian delegation to Iraq comprises Foreign Ministry officials as well as officials from the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). The main objective of this trip is for the two sides to review issues which would yield more outcomes and make the American side fulfill its commitments, he added. Asked if the issue of terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) would be included in the Iran-US talks on Iraq, Hosseini said activities of terrorist groups will be among issues to be discussed by the two sides.
Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies, December 16, 2007
A senior member of the European Parliament, Angelika Beer, condemns the invitation of the MKO terrorist group to a parliament session.
Beer slammed the Greens Alliance in the European Parliament for providing the outlawed Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) with an opportunity to attend a parliament session. The European legislator said ignoring the terrorist group’s violation of human rights and inviting it by Struan Stevenson would undermine the European Parliament’s efforts to promote democratic values.
Beer expressed strong opposition to lifting the ban on the outlawed group. The MKO has carried out countless terrorist acts against the Iranian nation, including the assassination of a president, a prime minister, 80 senior officials as well as thousands of defenseless civilians.
EU lawmaker, Emma Nicholson has proclaimed that a British court, not government, believes in lifting the ban on MKO terrorist group. In an exclusive interview with Press TV, member of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament, Emma Nicholson, said that a special new court has been convened and decided that the British government acted in haste in putting the Mujahedin Khalq Organization on the terrorist list. Nicholson said the findings were that the British government’s actions on putting the MKO on the list had not been carried out properly.”But the British government does not agree. The British government is appealing and is against that judgment,”she added. Concerning the MKO presence and operations in Iraq, Nicholson said the sovereign nation of Iraq has to decide about this terrorist group’s presence in the country. The situation requires a dialogue between the Iranian and Iraqi governments, adding that the expulsion of MKO members has nothing to do with the US or UK forces in Iraq. When asked why Britain still supports tougher sanctions against Iran with respect to IAEA and NIE reports proving that Iran is not involved in a military program, Nicholson stated that Iran did not fully explore the European Union’s offer in 2006 which suggested Iran stop its uranium enrichment and in return, the European Union would lift sanctions. In response to a question regarding the West’s increasing pressure on Iran to stop nuclear enrichment which is completely in line with IAEA regulations, Nicholson answered,”There has been a loss of confidence on both sides – a loss of trust.”When asked if Britain is following US policy and not making independent choices, Nicholson replied that Britain, Germany and France began negotiations with Iran from “a specifically European Union position”. Asked if the International Atomic Energy Agency is not the legal referee in decisions about Iran’s nuclear case rather than the UN Security Council, she replied,”Because the nuclear issue is so important, it has gone up to the Security Council level.”