a partial transcript of the debate in the House of Lords on Monday on the terrorist listing of MKO..Asked By Lord Waddington:To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to observe the latest judgment of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities concerning the People’s Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran
… The US announcement comes amid Iraqi government efforts to expel members of the terrorist group. Baghdad assumed control of the security of Camp Ashraf, the main MKO/PMOI/MEK military base in Iraq’s Diyala province, on January 1, 2009 …The Mujahedin Khalq Organization is blacklisted by many countries, including EU member states and the United States as a terrorist organization. It relocated to Camp Ashraf from Iran after the Islamic Revolution.
The U.S. State Department reaffirmed its designation of the anti-Iran Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization as a terrorist organization. The presence in Iraq of the MKO/PMOI/MEK has long been a source of friction between Washington and Baghdad, which intends to expel the terrorist group. The MKO/PMOI had filed a petition for revocation of its designation as a terrorist organization. But U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in a notice published Monday in the Federal Register that after reviewing the case she determined that the designation is still valid and appropriate.
Despite its recent widespread campaign and arranged rallies even in subfreezing temperatures of some European countries calling to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organizations, Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO, MEK, PMOI, NCRI, NLA) can never abandon the extremely violent strategy of armed struggle that is intermingled with its ideology. In fact, the militant infrastructure constituted the group’s started struggle against the Pahlavis monarch.
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker pointed out the Americans have designated the People’s Mujahedeen as a terrorist organization, and he understands the Iraqi government wants the group removed from its territory.But he said the Iraqis have promised to respect the human rights of the group’s members…”The Iraqi government’s position is that members of the Mujahedeen Khalq are unwanted here and they should leave Iraq and their camp should be closed, but Iraq will not make them leave forcibly,”Iraq’s deputy Foreign Minister told The Associated Press.
Reported by Iranian Fars News Agency originally in Persian, a man riding a bike hurled grenade toward a line of civilians who were moving as mourners of Ashura rituals in the Iranian eastern city of Torbat Jam on January 7, leaving a dead and a number of people wounded…Covering the report of the incident, the MKO-run media is taking the side of the attacker putting the blame on Iranian regime. It is not at all important that a man has been killed and many injured but what is of significance for them is that the regime is claimed to be “plotting to execute prisoners and dissidents”. Is it actually a granted permission to dissidents and opponents to kill people as a justified means to achieve their ends as MKO has followed the line itself?
Although never announced publically, the group[PMOI/MKO/MEK] claims that it has denounced terrorism since 2003. Neither the US nor the EU are convinced that it is sincere in its claims since the group is still running with its military platform in Camp Ashraf in Iraq where nearly 3500 members are held against their will. Furthermore, the demonstrators are reported to have been carrying a banner reading: “France has to apply the four verdicts of the European justice court and remove the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran from the European Union’s list of terrorism”.
Iran divides French parliamentarians, in their political disagreement, to right as well as left…A group called “coordination Parliamentary”, solicited by Jean-Philippe Maurer the deputy of UMP, and Jean-Pierre Brard, the communist representative are working for the removal of the name of the movement from the list of terrorist organizations of the European Union. ..Among the same ranks of the French Assembly, other deputies of UMP totally disagree.” The parliamentarians who singed this call for support do not know the situation in Iran well.” Says Didier Julia, vice-president of the France-Iran group
In Iran’s contemporary history, Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO,MEK, PMOI, NCRI, NLA) is the exact illustration of a political movement that strongly advocated a strategy of armed struggle that has proved defeated and unproductive…The armed move that MKO announced against the will of nation to overthrow the Islamic Republic proved to be a total failure; the outcome was a bloodbath targeting many innocent civilians and officials.
Maliki said Iraq”will not let any terrorist party harm its relations with neighboring governments”and named the Mjahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK,PMOI,Rajavi cult). Iraq’s government said on Wednesday it wanted 3,500 members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO/PMOI) in Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, to leave the country.