The Council has made up its mind a few months ago. A letter written by Christoph Heusgen, advisor to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Vice President of European Parliament Vidal-Quatras, states that there has been an unanimous agreement on this issue since last February. In February 2007, the Council reached an agreement that the reasons for the inclusion of Mojahedin in the list still apply.
The fall of Saddam Hussein soon after Mrs. Rajavi’s hasty escape to Paris triggered perhaps the most intense period of propaganda activity in the group’s history. As a destructive cult, with its main terrorist forces disarmed and captive in Iraq, this burst of activity to keep its other members in western countries busy without time for questioning or reflection …
The EU has argued that the court’s ruling focused on procedural problems and did not imply that the group had to be removed from the list and that it has complied with the judgment by supplying documents explaining its decision. The EU even granted MKO an opportunity to present counter arguments. MKO has so far failed to adequately explain why it should be taken off the EU list of terrorist organizations.
The EU claims it has secret evidence that justifies keeping Iran opposition group PMOI on its terrorist register but cannot reveal the content for security reasons, in a situation stoking anger among some MEPs. “The council [EU states secretariat] is not in a position to give you access to other documents in the file, since
Calling it a continuation of appeasement of Iranian regime, MKO condemned the decision taken by the EU and said: “In defiance of EU Court ruling, the EU Council intends to maintain the PMOI on the terror list”. The Council intends to designate MKO because the group has failed to provide any convincing document that would justify its deproscription. Although MKO claims it has forsworn terrorism since June 2001, there are countless evidences that the group was actively plotting and carrying out terrorist operations until 2003 when it was disarmed by the coalition forces in Iraq
At a news conference Thursday in Brussels, lawyers representing the People’s Mujahadeen Organization of Iran complained that the EU continued to list the group as a terrorist organization, despite a court ruling annulling that designation.
“The only people that can say a word on the legality of this situation is the court of justice itself,”an EU official said, adding that the latest MKO legal action is”premature”before the comprehensive July review.
The State Department Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism on April 30 released the list of designated terrorist organizations. Once again Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) continues to occupy the status it has been designated since 1997. MEK is also active under a variety of other pseudonyms known as MKO;..
Mr Araghchi, a career diplomat seen as a potential interlocutor with Washington, insisted the US presence was part of Iraq’s problem. “Iraq is suffering a vicious cycle. There are foreign forces who have occupied Iraq and justify their presence under the pretext of the ‘war on terror’ and there are terrorists who claim they are fighting occupiers.”
The following report has been prepared at the request of congress. Section 525 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, public Law No. 103-256, requires the president to submit”a report detailing the structure, current activities, external support, and history of the people’s Mojahedin of Iran .