Personal Rights of Members in the MEK

Our purpose in the present article is to briefly review the severe humanitarian problems of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) forces in Camp Liberty in Iraq. We intend to express our concerns, the obstacles in our way, and the possible practical solutions to this problem.

We believe that, for obvious political reasons, at the present time there is no will to solve the problem and rescue the inhabitants of Camp Liberty from the disaster they are trapped in. We also believe that we must not adopt a passive role. It is necessary to reveal the oppression going on inside the camp by the leaders of the MEK cult and more importantly to let everyone know that not only does the cult leader Massoud Rajavi not represent the inhabitants, he is the main threat to their safety and security.

Below we initially give a short summary of the main topics and then describe the matter in length:

Concerns:

•The suffering families of the members of the MEK present in Camp Liberty, despite more than three years of sit-in demonstration in Iraq, are still deprived from visiting their loved ones.

•The security, safety, welfare, medication, physical and mental situation of the residents is disastrous due to the prevention and obstacles enforced by the leaders.

•Most members have had severe phobias instilled in them through systematic mind manipulation practices which has continued for many years in their isolated location, and are being kept within the cult contrary to their own will.

Obstacles:

•Access to the residents, even by their relatives, is almost impossible due to prevention by the leaders and their appeasement by the authorities.

•10 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the harsh and absolute control over the residents imposed by the leaders is even more severe than ever.

•The UN monitors and the international observers do not have, or they do not wish to have, a clear image of the MEK internal cultic relationships and their methods of mind control practices.

Solutions:

•The families of the members of the Rajavi cult play the key role in rescuing and recovering their loved ones.

•Separation of the leaders from the rank and file of the cult is the most practical solution to start with.

•The international pressure and dissemination of information about the cult leaders by the families and former members can play a valuable role in resolving the situation.

One of the most basic internationally recognized human rights for every individual, even for the most dangerous prisoners, is the right to visit and be in contact with their next of kin. This obvious right has been denied to the members of the cult for many years since the cult leader Massoud Rajavi will not permit it.

The UN authorities and other international organizations do officially recognize this right, but on the other hand they say that the residents of Camp Liberty could not be forced to visit their parents or offspring or siblings when they do not wish to do so. Our question, which is still left unanswered, is what sort of internal atmosphere must be present inside the camp so that the residents who have had no access to the outside world for one, two, or even three decades unanimously have no desire to meet their next of kin of whom they have had no news for so many years.

No international official is willing to answer this question, of course for their own political reasons, but scientifically the answer is very simple. This is exactly a result of the application of destructive mind control techniques which is systematically imposed over the members who have lived in isolated, remote places such as Ashraf garrison and Camp Liberty (and even in the impenetrable collective residential bases in western countries such as in Auvers-sur-Oise, Maryam Rajavi’s base in Paris) for so many years.

The UN authorities in Iraq say that the residents of the camp and their relatives have the right to be in contact with each other, nevertheless the individuals are free to decide whether they wish to have such a relationship or not. This is entirely up to the person and it is the individual’s right to choose.

The problem is that what is described as ‘the right to choose’ does not exist inside the Rajavi cult. We must make sure that a truly free decision has been made and the mental elements, that we all know about and how they work, are not being applied.

UN officials admit that the residents of the camp become surprisingly hysterical when they hear the name of their relatives and react irrationally. It is obvious that since the brainwashing methods are applied they find the term ‘family’ equivalent to ‘Satan’ and react involuntarily and avoid the issue of family in a phobic reaction.

One UNAMI official once said: ‘even those who come to us and ask to leave, if the matter of visiting the family members is mentioned, they become angry and give up and accuse us of trying to link them to Iran’s ministry of intelligence.’

This is a common practice in cults. The minds of the people are filled with the phobia of ‘family’ using destructive mind control techniques. Therefore they immediately reject visiting them (just like refusing to visit Satan) and react irrationally. Rajavi knows full well that meeting with their families and restoring their emotional memories would take the minds of the persons out of the present situation and would overcome the effects of manipulation and their locked minds would find a link with the possibility of freedom.

At the present time, condemnatory and accusing letters are sent from the residents to the UN monitors. According to them, anyone on the other side of the camp’s walls is working for the Iranian regime, and people like the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Maliki and the Special Representative of the UN General Secretary Martin Kobler and even the German Ambassador to Baghdad are all taking instructions from Tehran and their mission is not to help but rather to capture them and hand them over to Iran where they would be tortured and executed.

We know that any time the UN monitors enter the camp they face the hostile attitude of the residents, spitting at them and chanting “death to Maliki” and “death to Kobler”. This is quite natural and they should not be expected to behave in a normal, rational manner. They have been programmed for such actions in  mind manipulation processes. In such a case a person can just as easily, on receiving the order from the leaders, commit self-immolation for no rational reason.

Behaving like this is to the advantage of Rajavi since it prevents legitimate observers from entering the camp and having free access to the residents. The missile attack on the camp was also beneficial for Rajavi and gave him the excuse he wanted to prevent anyone getting into the camp and helping the residents.

Massoud Rajavi knows full well what sort of tricks must be used to reach his goals. He is like all other cult leaders. Although he is so imprudent in strategy, he is quite a genius in tactics. Illogically the cult has stopped cooperating with UNHCR interviews with the residents claiming lack of security as the reason and insistently demanding to return to Ashraf garrison.

The cult leaders prevent meetings between UN officials and the residents of Camp Liberty using all sorts of excuses. Even the wrong people were sent in place of other people to be interviewed. Such people when meeting with the UN monitors claim that they have no ID card which is not true. They would even present western passports if needed. There have been cases that the MEK used the passports of dead people in Ashraf to relocate other people to Liberty.

The entire population of Liberty was previously officially registered and biometric information taken when the US Department of Defense granted them protected person’s status. Now when UN monitors try to do the same – finger printing or taking photos of the residents – the cult sends its thugs to threaten violent protest in order to prevent them doing so.

According to international norms, the ICRC is responsible for delivering letters from their families to the residents. But there is never any chance to find them without the observation of the MEK officials inside the camp. In some case the residents treat the letters as if they contain anthrax bacteria since they are even afraid to touch them. That is because they fear the aftermath of consequences inside the cult. The reaction of the residents is always a mixture of hatred and fear.

Our problem is that at the present time only a few number of people amongst the international officials are aware of the true nature of this cult, and of course those who do know do not wish to express it for their own reasons. As far as we know, this degree of pacification and appeasement against a cult leader is quite unique.

What is clearly known to everyone is that Rajavi has drawn a red line between the residents of Camp Liberty and the outside world, in particular the family members. This by itself proves that the MEK is a destructive mind control cult which tries to isolate its member in order to systematically manipulate them. It is obvious to everyone that Rajavi’s fear of family members meeting each other is extraordinary. The reason is evident. As all cult experts have stated, this would result in the person leaving the cult and even turning against it; therefore Rajavi prefers to leave his followers under the daily threat of bombing attacks rather than letting them visit their relatives.

Nevertheless this is the basic right of the individuals captured inside camp Liberty to have constant contact with their next of kin; and our goal is to struggle for this right although it seems quite unreachable and although there are so many obstacles, the main one of which is the cult leader Massoud Rajavi who prevents any outsiders from getting in touch with the residents.

Rajavi claims that the families are not genuine and they are all agents of Iran’s ministry of intelligence sent to harm the members. The families present here in Iraq have documents showing their relationship with the inhabitants inside the camp. The residents themselves have all been registered with the UN and some have been Iran-Iraq war POWs registered with the ICRC. At the present time up to 100 family members from all over the world with ID cards and other documents are ready to visit their loved ones in Iraq. In the past ten years since the fall of Saddam Hussein they have been struggling to gain some news of their relatives. What should we do? Should we sit and watch Rajavi let them all die one by one?

We have information in many cases that the residents are deprived from accessing necessary medication. The members have so many illnesses but the MEK officials prevent them from travelling to hospitals in Baghdad. This is done because the cult leader Massoud Rajavi wants to intentionally kill them through negligence and blame the Iraqi government for their deaths and in this way uses them as ransom to blackmail the international political community. Many kinds of violation of basic human rights are practiced daily inside the camp. We have informed the authorities and unfortunately we did not get any response. During our meetings with the Iraqi ministry of human rights they showed their deep concern about the situation inside the camp under the absolute control of Massoud Rajavi, but they cannot work in isolation.

Each former member in the hotel in Baghdad has so many stories of maltreatment by the MEK officials of the camp. They all say that they did not have the slightest idea about the situation in the outside world and found it quite contrary to what they have been told. Some escaped even while accepting the threat of being torture and executed. They all say that every move inside the camp is seriously controlled and all sorts of harsh limitations are imposed over the residents. They say they are systematically subjected to insults and accusations by the MEK officials. According to their descriptions such tight regulations over the members are not practiced in any normal army or garrison. Some even wish God to bring their death sooner to end their misery.

There is a critical concern about the situation of the residents as far as their basic rights are concerned. Most of these people are kept under such circumstances against their will. Although they talk about free choice but the meaning of this inside a cult is different. This fact has been discussed in an article in New York Times titled “The Cult of Rajavi”[1] and also mentioned in the US RAND report titled “The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq, a policy conundrum”[2].

Some people inside the camp did not wish to attend UN interviews in person and instead wrote letters objecting to going to a third country. What does this show? Can anyone give assurances that these people made a free and informed choice? Aren’t these individuals exactly those whom Rajavi fears most and does not wish the UN officials to meet?

When someone is sent to be interviewed by the authorities they are told beforehand what to say and what not to say. These people who are under severe mind manipulation do not dare to say what they actually want to say. Rajavi’s main concern is that more and more people will leave his cult and eventually the MEK be dismantled. Since the missile attack on February 9, 2013, Rajavi has prevented UN monitors from entering the camp and has even organized hostile demonstrations against them. Isn’t this a hint, marking the attack as quite suspiciously to the advantage of Rajavi?

Lately we received reports that Massoud Rajavi, despite his bravado, has lost control over a considerable part of his forces. He has clearly emphasized in his internal audio-conference with the inhabitants of Camp Liberty that he would not allow anyone to leave Iraq. So far he has blocked all possibilities of moving to third countries and this has resulted in more and more dissatisfaction inside the camp.

There are also reports that members of the Rajavi cult in western countries are sent to approach the UN offices as well as the parliaments in the guise of family members. They claim that they are the relatives of those in Camp Liberty and are concerned about their security and in the end they make the demand that they be returned to Ashraf garrison. Would the genuine families demand their relatives be moved out of Iraq for their own safety or would they ask for them to return to Ashraf where they would be at greater risk of further attack?

Several former female members of the cult have spoken out in European communities and revealed the severe mind control practices going on inside the cult. Who can have any doubt that the MEK led by Massoud Rajavi is a destructive mind control cult? Is there any doubt that the most basic human rights are violated inside the cult? Ten years of dealing with the MEK by the UN and other international organizations has certainly exposed the true nature of this cult to these and other authorities.

There have been many cases in which an individual has asked the UN monitors to help them leave but in the next meeting the person has denied making such request and has even become angry over the ‘accusation’ they did such a thing. We know that there have been cases when the UN monitors did not immediately take steps to remove the person from the camp and have left the matter to be dealt with in future. This shows that they either do not have the slightest idea about cults or do not wish the people to leave the camp. Even when Ashraf garrison was protected by American forces we had the same experience. The American military officers would leave the matter for later and send the individual back to the camp thereby placing the person in even greater jeopardy.

The UN monitors know better than anyone else that from the moment they enter the camp to the time they leave it they are escorted by MEK officials and they know full well that the cult leaders do not allow the residents to approach them. In the circumstance that the MEK produces virulent propaganda in western political circles accusing the UN of all kinds of imaginary mistreatment, the UN authorities appear to be satisfied by those residents who say how wonderful it is being with the MEK and how content they are with their situation and how much they hate their mercenary relatives. The minimum study of the practices of destructive mind control cults would show the reasons for such behavior.

The residents of the camp live under strict physical and mental control. Any contact between them is severely limited. They have no access to independent information. Some are kept in solitary confinement as punishment or are watched day and night by one or two appointed persons. The peer pressure meetings known as the “current operations” are held daily to mentally suppress discontented people. In these sessions the person chosen is subjected to every sort of harassment, insult, accusations and humiliation.

UN officials admit that those who come for interviews are obviously under psychological pressure and are by no means relaxed. It is obvious that they talk and act as they are told and nearly all use the same clichéd phrases (cult jargon). In some cases, after receiving a letter from their relatives, the person will become happy after reading it, but afterwards when they return to the camp they write condemnation letters and complain why the UN tried to give the letters of the spies of the Iranian regime to them.

One common mistake made is the illusion that the Rajavi cult has a defined belief system and that members adhere to a certain ideology. However, cult experts are clear that cults do not have any ideology except the cruel and slave like relationship between the leader and the followers. Members are enthralled, or rather enslaved, through mind manipulation techniques and physical and mental methods used to isolate them from the outside world.

A victim of a cult loses all their normal former relationships with family and friends once becoming a member and adopts the special cultic relationship with the leader. It is truly what is called “the new slavery”. Therefore once their former emotions and relationships are restored, the effects of brainwashing begin to fade away and the victim can eventually decide rationally. That is why all cult leaders wish to separate their followers from their loved ones. That is why Rajavi calls the family the “nest of corruption” and the “worst enemy” and “devastating bomb”. Family emotions would certainly disturb the reactionary cultic relationship he has imposed. So Rajavi, by no means and under no circumstances, will allow his followers to get even near to their family members.

Unfortunately the UN officials ignore the inhabitants’ total unawareness about the outside would. Most of them have been in absolute isolation for so many years and have had no access to the news of what is happening outside the cult. Their information has always passed through the cult’s filters. Many have been away from free thinking for so long that they are incapable of analyzing their surroundings and made sensible decisions. They are made to believe that they are superior to the others and they are the chosen ones in having the benefit of Rajavi as their leader and they should always be thankful of him. These and similar thoughts are cultivated in the minds of the followers in daily routines.

We have always said and we will always repeat that neither the UN nor the government of Iraq can make any progress in dealing with the MEK unless the families of the victims are given an active role as the key figures. We will also emphasize that the victims should be brought out from the control of the leaders and be placed in a situation in which they can truly decide for themselves. This solution was mentioned at length in the US RAND report. The report clearly emphasizes that the only solution to this conundrum is to separate the leaders from the rank and file. (This is, of course, if there is a will to solve the problem).

Anyway, at the present time there are many family members stationed in Iraq who wish to visit their loved ones no matter what the cost might be. They insist that they must be allowed to enter the camp and search for their loved ones for themselves. So far, for security reasons, the Iraqi authorities have not allowed this. They say that they cannot guarantee the safety of the families once they enter the camp. The families insist on their right to enter the camp voluntarily while accepting full responsibility for their actions in order to rescue their loved ones.

As far as we are concerned there is no other peaceful solution. It is quite obvious that Rajavi wants to drag the matter into violence and provoke further clashes in order to gain political advantages. We believe that the way everyone has tried to tiptoe around or hammer on this locked gate so far will not work at all. If there is any intention to resolve this severe humanitarian problem there should be a change of policy now; put the families first.