Mujahedin Khalq in the List of terrorist Organizations

UK mindful on MEK history

David Lidington (Shadow Minister, Foreign Affairs; Aylesbury, Conservative) To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government’s policy towards the People’s Mojahedin of Iran is in the light of we remain mindful of the MeK's history as an organisation responsible for a number of serious terrorist attacks—it claimed responsibility for large numbers of violent attacks inside Iran the recent judgment by the European Court of First Instance.

Bill Rammell (Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Harlow, Labour) | Hansard source

On 26 January 2009, taking account of the judgment by the Court of First Instance on 4 December 2008, the General Affairs and External Relations Council adopted a list which did not include the MeK (Mojahedin-e-Khalq, also known as the People’s Mojaheddin of Iran).

However, we remain mindful of the MeK’s history as an organisation responsible for a number of serious terrorist attacks—it claimed responsibility for large numbers of violent attacks inside Iran for a number of years, including 96 in a three-month period in early 2001. We do not agree with its claim that it represents a credible democratic opposition in exile.
10 Feb 2009 : Column 1846W
Written answers | Hansard source
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

February 14, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq stands by anti-MKO drive

Iraq says it is standing by a decision to shut down Camp Ashraf and end the terrorist Mujehedin Khalq Organization’s presence on Iraqi soil.
"MKO members who are residing in Camp Ashraf (inside Iraq) should either leave Iraq for Iran or a third country because they won’t be granted permission to stay in Iraq," Iraq’s National security Advisor, Mowaffak Al-Rubaie said in a televised interview with Al-Alam TV network on Sunday.
"The expulsion of MKO members would be conducted in accordance with human and Islamic criteria as well as Iraqi and International law," he added.
The Iraqi government took over the security of the Camp Ashraf following the finalization of the Iraqi-US security agreement. Under the agreement, the security of the MKO headquarter, was put under Iraqi control as of Jan 1, 2009.
Baghdad holds MKO responsible for instigating violence and acts of terror inside Iraq. The government has decided to extradite the MKO members from the Islamic Republic should they decline to leave Iraq.
The Mujahedin Khalq Organization was blacklisted across the Europe. However, on January 26, 2009 the European Union voted to remover the MKO terrorist group from its black list. The MKO is still considered as terror-sponsoring group in the United States.
According to Al-Rubaie Iraq has so far issued arrest warrants for 14 MKO members over criminal charges inside or outside Iraq.
"According to Iraq’s constitution MKO is considered as a terrorist group due to the crimes it committed against the Iraqi people in 1991, no matter how hard the European countries or other states try to strike the organization off the list of terrorist groups," the Iraqi official maintained.

February 11, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

PMOI crows … but probably not for long!

The People’s Mujahideen of Iran (PMOI alias, aka MKO, alias or NRCI) have been removed from the list of organizations considered terrorist by the European Union. Just when the U.S. confirmed on their own … who can understand.

It is true that the decision to withdraw from the European list is motivated solely on technical issues and form such aspects of rights of defense.

But now, France has appealed this decision and the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated that for it, PMOI did have its place on this list.

Moreover, the text that was adopted makes it clear that several countries among the 27 "are not convinced that the Mujahedin were away from terrorism". It will be recalled that the process of withdrawal, the Swiss and the French had launched new accusations against PMOI.

It is therefore likely that PMOI will return to this famous list in July. Unfortunately, in the meantime, it has had time to recover the many assets it owns and those it had received from Saddam Hussein as a salary for being executive of his dirty works …

February 7, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq 's Function

Pulling out the fangs of a viper

Pulling out the fangs of a viper is much safer than pressing the venom out of it every day. But even the vendors of the venom that keep and feed it to make fortune out of it are cautious enough to protect against its mortal bite by keeping it away in a safe box. A deadly viper pretending to be lying dormant, Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) suddenly went rampant just when the Iranian people tried to recover from the wreaks of a revolution and had just engaged in fending off the invasion of a greedy neighbor. It emptied all its venom into the nation and inflicted irreparable damages to the same people who had feed it.
And just when it was being hunted for to pull out its fangs, it escaped away to be cared by the advocates of democracy who were, of course, concerned a lot about the rights of animals. Soon it was passed to anther monster that provided for its shelter and food to extract voluminous amounts of venom to be used against both Iranian and Iraqi people. Nobody doubts how dangerously the viper has been crawling about after its escape from Iran inflicting harm by ejecting out its venom while taking shelter in the arms of its protectors who know well that it can neither be tamed nor controlled as it is a matter of nature rather than training and instruction.
The list of terrorist organizations that for some time worked as a secure cage to repulse its possible offenses against themselves was suddenly opened to take it out. Does it mean that they intend to pull out its fangs or use it to bully Iranian regime to achieve their own interests? At least they have come to know that Iranian people are waiting with shovels at the door for the vipers unless they are fangless. It is a rule that old and harmless creatures are pitied everywhere in the world.
It is best recommended that they draw the fangs out of the adders to let them free; for sure it will make the world more secure. Some believe that the howl of a toothless wolf has the magic of lullaby causing a calm, deep sleep. It won’t take long to see how wise the viper-keepers have been!
by Mahin Tajimalek

February 2, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Iran Group in Iraq Poses Thorny Issue for U.S.

many years, the roughly 3,500 members of the Iranian dissident group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) living quietly in Iraq drew little attention. But now the relatively obscure group is at the center of an increasingly contentious argument among leaders in Baghdad, Tehran and Washington, where decisions the new White House makes about the rebels will probably set the tone for U.S. relations with Iran in the near term.

The simmering issue of the MEK’s fate flashed into the open earlier this month when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki unexpectedly declared that the group would no longer be allowed to remain in Iraq. Shortly after that, Maliki’s national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, said the MEK’s camp roughly 40 miles north of Baghdad would be disbanded within two months, declaring during an appearance in Tehran that Iraq would not play host to threats toward its neighbor.

The issue grew more complicated on Jan. 26, when the European Union removed the MEK from its list of terrorist organizations, a roster that includes organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The E.U. move, which came after a long lobbying campaign by the MEK’s supporters in Europe, sparked an outcry in Tehran. About 300 people were gathered around noon on Wednesday in front of the British Embassy in Tehran to protest the E.U. decision. Some in the crowd threw stones at the embassy, while others held up shoes on sticks in a show of deep disrespect in the Middle East.

"What people side with the enemy and kill their own people in a war?" said demonstrator Sina Zamanian, 17, referring to the MEK’s alliance with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, which led them to settle in Iraq. "They are the worst kind of opportunistic terrorists and should be forever marked as such."

Nevertheless, some in Baghdad are calling for the group to be allowed to remain in Iraq, or at least to not be turned over to Iran, for political reasons. "We have to deal with this issue very delicately," says Ayad Jamal al-Deen, an Iraqi parliamentarian aligned with Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. "I’m not here to defend this organization. I have no interest in them. But I am looking out for the Iraqi national interest." Al-Deen and other Iraqi political figures see the group essentially as a bargaining chip with Iran, one of the few Iraq holds against its powerful neighbor. They argue that simply shuttering the MEK camp as Iran demands squanders what precious little leverage Iraq has against Iran. Al-Deen adds, "In my opinion, Iraq has only this card, MEK, to pressure Iran."

At the moment, however, the MEK’s ability to remain in Iraq depends on the will of the Americans. The Bush White House continued to use the military to protect the MEK at Camp Ashraf despite its current status as a terrorist organization on the U.S. list and periodic complaints by the emerging Iraqi government and Tehran, which says the group is still involved in subversive activity inside Iran. Outwardly, U.S. officials have said disbanding the camp would be in contravention of international humanitarian law because the group’s members are likely to face persecution in Iran or Iraq. But many Iraqis and Iranians suspect that the U.S. keeps the camp open for intelligence purposes, since the MEK’s spy network played a key role in uncovering Iran’s secret uranium-enrichment program in 2002.

Maliki appears intent on pressing the issue anew with the Obama Administration, which will have to decide soon whether to keep offering U.S. protection to the group or to yield to Iraqi demands to close Camp Ashraf. If the White House allows the Iraqi government to close the camp, the Iranian leadership is likely to see the move as a sign that the new Administration is eager to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. A continuation of the status quo, however, could chill Obama’s early outreach efforts.

At Camp Ashraf, MEK members simply wait for word on what may happen to them as discussions continue in Baghdad, Tehran and Washington. Shahriar Kia, a spokesman for the group, says a closure of the camp would be a disaster for those living in what amounts to a protective quarantine for roughly the past seven years. "Closing down Camp Ashraf and the displacement of its residents, who are protected by the Geneva Conventions, against their will is a war crime," says Kia. "This will cause a humanitarian catastrophe."
— With reporting by Tariq Anmar in Baghdad
By Mark Kukis / Baghdad

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1875917,00.html

February 1, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

EU Responsible for MKO Terror Acts

A former member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MKO), who abandoned the outlawed group in protest at its terrorist operations, said the European Union should take responsibility of supporting the MKO in its terrorist acts.
Masoud Khodabandeh said deproscribing the MKO by the EU is a politically-motivated move which leads to support for the terrorism spread by the MKO.
He told the Islamic republic news agency that Europeans should take the responsibility of future measures by MKO terrorists who are going to be allowed to enter Europian countries.
"You [the Europeans] cannot defend terrorists [by deproscribing the MKO] and at the same time claim you are countering terrorism," he said.
Khodabandeh, who is now the spokesman of a non-governmental organisation dedicated to help members abandoning the MKO, said European leaders have adopted a double-standard policy towards the issue of terrorism.
"The MKO case proves that the European Union behaves in a discriminatory manner," he said, adding that Europeans are well-aware that MKO members have conducted many terrorist operations in the past three decades.
He said the MKO bears "no significance" in international developments as "it has now expired".
Khodabandeh added that MKO members, if released from the Ashraf Camp in Iraq and admitted to European countries, would spread insecurity and terrorism across Europe.
He said the terrorist nature of the MKO has never changed as its members are wearing uniforms and taking military drills in the Ashraf Camp.
He added that Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation has not only slaughtered many Iranians but also "has been directly engaged in killing Iraqi Shiites and Kurds and suppressing even its own members".
Out of around 3,000 MKO members, he suggested, some 2,000 are in critical health conditions "and are willing to leave the Ashraf Camp."
Khodabandeh said if Europeans do really want to extend their help to these people trapped by the MKO, they should welcome them to Europe–a move he said his organisation will favour.

February 1, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

EU turning blind eye on MKO terrorism

EU turning blind eye on MKO terrorism, says Iranian Embassy
London – Iran’s Embassy in Norway announced on Thursday that the European Union has turned a blind eye on terrorist activities of Mojahedin Khalq Organisation by deproscribing it from its terror list. In a statement, the embassy said the MKO has conducted many assassination and terror operations inside Iran and Iraq, claiming thousands of innocent lives.
“The EU’s move to take MKO out of its terror list is in contradiction with its decision several years ago to announce the grouplet a terrorist organisation,” the statement reads.
The embassy also said there is enough evidence that the MKO is a terrorist organisation and its leaders collaborated with Saddam Hussein in his war against Iran and suppression of his own nation.
“Based on verifiable documents and footages from Saddam’s intelligence unit, MKO leaders had met him and other Iraqi officials and briefed them on their involvement in the massacre of Iraqi people, especially the Kurds.”
The Iranian Embassy in Norway further expressed regret that the EU has isolated itself from the global community in its campaign against terrorism.
“The EU instead extended a hand for friendship and cooperation with MKO terrorists,” it said, adding that the EU’s move is in contradiction with the international laws and rights, as well as its commitments towards international anti-terrorism treaties.

zawya.com

February 1, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Iranian asks France’s independence on MKO group

An Iranian lawmaker today urged France to relinquish any political pressure to remove name of the Iraq based – Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) out of the terrorist groups’ list and keep up its independent position. Iran considers the group to be terrorist.
Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Ala’eddin Boroujerdi said in a meeting with French parliamentary delegation that the decision to bring MKO out of the terrorist groups’ list runs counter to anti-terrorist claims of European states and will have negative impact on Iranian nation’s public opinion.
Boroujerdi briefed the delegation on chronology of terrorist activities of the MKO as its leaders have confessed to that and also assassination of hundreds of innocent women, children and people in Iran.
He said, “French government is expected to maintain its independent position in that connection.”
Head of MKO Maryam Rajavi is expected to remain excluded from the UK despite the EU dropping the previously outlawed group from its proscribed list.
British Foreign Office said that although it does not discuss individual cases of exclusion, the government continues to believe that the MKO or MeK, as it prefers to call it, was “responsible for vile acts of terrorism over a long period.”
“If an individual has made public statements in the past supporting or condoning terrorism, and has not publicly and unambiguously apologized and refuted such statements, then this would constitute grounds for not admitting an individual into the UK,” Foreign Office spokesman Barry Marston said.
“We are not satisfied that the MeK has done enough to distance itself from its past. There is no dispute about its previous terrorist activity: it claimed responsibility for a large number of violent attacks inside Iran for a number of years,” Marston told IRNA.
Rajavi was subject to an exclusion order back in October 1997, which banned her entry to the UK on the grounds that the organization contained a large faction of terrorists. The Foreign Office at the time said her presence was ‘not conducive to the public good’.
The British government insists that the deproscription of the MKO was ‘a judicial and not a political decision’ both in the EU as it was earlier in the UK and that it opposed its removal.
“We have made it clear that we were disappointed by the verdict of the Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission and of the Court of Appeal, but we had to comply with their decisions,” Marston said about the British decision last July.
“Equally, given the clear judgment of the Court of First Instance on December 4, 2008, annulling the MeK’s listing in the EU, the EU had no choice but to observe and respect the court’s judgment,” he added.
Asked whether the UK government still considered the MKO as a terrorist organization, he said that there were still ‘serious reservations about the MeK’s assertion that it represents a democratic opposition in exile’.
“We see no evidence of popular support for the MeK in Iran, because of its responsibility for terrorist attacks which resulted in the deaths of many Iranian citizens, and because it fought alongside Iraqi forces against Iran during the Iran-Iraq war,” Marston said.
Regarding the potential that the controversial decision could have an adverse effect on Iran’s relations with the UK and the EU as a whole, he stressed that it should ‘not be seen as a political decision’.
“We would not hesitate to re-proscribe the MeK if circumstances changed and evidence emerged that it was concerned in terrorism,” the spokesman said.
He also quoted Home Office Minister Tony McNulty insisting last June during the debate on the MKO that the UK government have “no plans to meet its representatives.”
An Iraqi politician said the recent decision of the European Union to remove the terrorist Mojahedeen Khalq Organization from the list of terrorist groups benefits only European countries and as such did not concern Iraq.
In an exclusive interview with the Iranian news agency IRNA, Spokesman for Iraqi National Congress Mohammad Hassan al-Mousawi said both the Iraqi nation and government strictly considered the group as terrorists and were opposed their presence on their soil.
He pointed out that the Iraqi Constitution has banned engagement of any group in terrorist activities against one of nation’s neighbors.
He stressed that Iraq was strongly in favor of expelling the group from its soil.
Pointing out that his party, led by Ahmad Chalabi, was working on a plan to set up a strong regional union to include Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria, he said the presence of such terrorist groups as the MKO and the PKK in Iraq prevented materialization of the plan.
arabicnews.com

January 31, 2009 0 comments

Iran

MKO terror legitimization prompts protests

The family members of victims of MKO terrorist attacks have cautioned the EU against becoming the organization’s “partner in crime”.
“As victims of MKO terrorism, we advise the European Union not to turn into the group’s collaborator in their atrocities against the Iranian nation,” reads a statement from the family members.
The victims had gathered in front of the British embassy in Tehran in protest at a recent decision to remove the group known as the ‘Rajavi cult’ from a list of banned terrorist groups in the EU.
“When Masoud Rajavi and his group launched their terrorist attacks in Iran in 1981, European counties not only did not condemn their atrocities but also gave them refuge in their countries,” adds the statement.
The Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), which identifies itself as a Marxist-Islamist guerilla army, was founded in Iran in the 1960s but was exiled some twenty years later for carrying out numerous acts of terrorism inside the country.
The terrorist group is especially notorious for the help it extended to former dictator Saddam Hussein during the war Iraq imposed on Iran (1980-1988).
The group masterminded a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, one of which was the 1981 bombing of the offices of the Islamic Republic Party, in which more than 72 Iranian officials were killed, including then Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.
“The Rajavi cult has conducted its campaign of terror in Iran with the support of the European governments and from their safe havens inside the European capitals,” the families said.
In recent months, high-ranking MKO members have been lobbying governments around the world to acknowledge the dissidents as those of a legitimate opposition group.
During the revolution in Iran, the group criticized Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for releasing the American diplomats, arguing that they should have been executed instead.
The United States and Canada have refused to drop the MKO from their lists of terrorist organizations.
The group has also been engaged in cult-like activities such as psychological coercion techniques and physical abuse.
The group has also resorted to ‘forced sterilization’ as a strategy to prevent members from leaving the group.

January 31, 2009 0 comments

USA

US not to follow EU on MKO

A State Department Spokesman says the US administration will not change the terrorist status of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).

“We’ve already done a review and it was determined that there would not be a revocation of that status for the Mujahedin-e Khalq, so nothing has changed from our standpoint,” Robert Wood said at a briefing on Monday, when asked if Washington would follow the action taken by the European Union.

The EU removed the MKO from its list of terrorist organizations on Monday. The move outraged the Iranian Foreign Ministry, which in a statement, called the decision incomprehensible.

Wood added that there had not been ‘any change at this point’ in the status of the MKO, suggesting that the new administration was unlikely to alter its stance on the outlawed group.
The US announced on Jan. 12 that labeling the MKO as a terrorist group was an appropriate act and that the group had to remain on the blacklist.

The MKO, blacklisted as a terrorist organization by many international entities and countries including the US, is responsible for numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
The group also attempted an unsuccessful invasion of Iran in the last days of the Iraq-Iran war in 1988.The MKO was involved in the massacre of Iraqis under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

January 31, 2009 0 comments

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