Rajavis and Cult Leadership

Hunger strikers and absence of MKO leaders

The organizationally orchestrated hunger strike of MKO’s advocats and sympathizers in some European countries, and camp Ashraf in particular, in complaint to the presence of Iraqi police in camp Ashraf had to end somewhere. Lasting over 70 days, the strikes were raising suspicious that how these people, most over their mid-ages, were surviving such long-lasted hunger strikes! Fortunately for MKO, the Iraqi Government’s move to release the 36 detained members came to the organization’s help to grab at the opportunity to end the show. Since the events of June 2003, this has been the largest remonstrant reaction of Mojahedin to the enforcement of law in countries where they have managed to settle.

Mojahedin were desperate as they had two options before them. They had to either break the strikes midway on any unjustifiable excuse or enforce the strikers to continue which could lead to some victims even if nobody came to investigate and question the accuracy of the claimed strikes. In fact, it could be similar to the events of 17 June immolations in creating a human tragedy.

MKO leaders, those within Ashraf and those in their luxurious residences in European countries, are now bombarded with the questions that what decisive role did they play when Ashraf residents were facing challenges as they have trumpeted? If, according to the claims made by Rajavi, they are making their best to protect camp Ashraf and its residents, why the cost of defending MKO bastion is to be paid by the rank and files and not by the leaders and high rankings? As if nobody has noticed their absence from the scene of conflicts in camp Ashraf. As evidences show, many MKO high-rankings can leave Iraq and reside in another country if necessary. In other words, they are not at all worried about their own future and thus, there is no need to risk their life and line as human shields in protection of camp Ashraf. They are among the members of the Leadership Council but not all of them necessarily and some act as the scapegoats to carry out suicide attacks when demanded by the leadership.

However, Rajavi is well aware that he may need these scapegoats in long time and prefers to arrange a human shield for camp Ashraf based on the organizational hierarchy of MKO members. Evidently, the Leadership Council will be the last layer to be victimized. It is certain that Rajavi never entangles himself and his relatives and intimates in the conflicts of camp Ashraf like that of last June and nor in the cold war initiated in the Europe by MKO sympathizers. The history of the organization shows that MKO rank and files have no role but being victimized in the hands of Rajavi for furthering his totalitarian objectives. If hunger strike and complaint could solve the problems posed to Mojahedin, why MKO leaders and high rankings refrain to take part in these strikes themselves? If as claimed by MKO leaders, the present struggles aim at defending Ashraf residents, how those responsible for providing security for MKO members in Iraq evade it despite their presence under the focus of attention of western media and politicians?

In other words, what is the role of some well-known and effective MKO leaders like Abbas Davari, Mehdi Abrishamchi, Mohammad Hayati, Sedigheh Hosseini, Mahvash Sepehri, etc in the current critical situation of Mojahedin? None of them risked his/her life to be in front-line of the human resistance and human shields formed in camp Ashraf but stood far behind and pushed others against the gates to confront Iraqi forces. As in the terrorist activities of Mojahedin in 17 June, they were the main defendants of European courts accused of instigating MKO members to carry out suicide attacks. Although they were put on trial, the negligence of the concerned courts on the one hand and lobbying efforts of organization on the other veiled the reality. They are known to be the main instigators of clashes in camp Ashraf and Europe. They are not hew to international conventions and human rights yet try to achieve organizational objectives by victimizing a number of deceived individuals trapped in the cultic relations of a notorious terrorist organization.

If Mojahedin truly claim that Maryam Rajavi is recognized by European politicians and parliamentarians, she could have proved her concern and love for Ashraf residents and human rights by taking part in hunger strikes herself or at least one or two of her mentioned apostles. Maybe she thought the world failed to be attentive enough to ask why the leaders were absent from the scene of struggle!

October 22, 2009 0 comments

The MEK to launch Armed Struggle

Rajavi’s illusional strategies

In world of politics, there are various parameters that lead a politician to achieve his political objectives. One of the most essential factors in political success is realism. The more a politic man views political phenomenon realistically, the better he can deal with situations, never pretending the situation is different.

Therefore he is always prepared to present practical ideas of what can be done in that proper situation. A realistic, logical attitude will rarely end with failure or disappointment but this imperative attitude is one of those characteristics that MKO leaders fail to have. As the ideological leader of MKO cult, Massoud Rajavi has never had a realistic view on the world and especially Iranian political situation so he could never state a rational viewpoint about the political changes taking place around the world including Iran.

Since 1970s, following the execution of most MKO key leaders in Shah’s prison that left Rajavi as the main leader of Mujahedin, he has never made a realistic decision. The starting point of his illogical approach was the declaration of his armed struggle in June 20th, 1981 when he thought that he could defeat the Iranian Islamic Revolution that had succeeded the previous year due to the outstanding support of Iranian people for Ayatollah Khomeini’s leadership.

Then he fled to France where he found his so-called National Council of Resistance. Once more he dreams of the coalition of Iranian Opposition groups against IRI although the majority (about 95 %) of the council members are from Mujahedin Khalq Organization! The failure of his second step (foundation of NCRI) led him to take the third absurd step: going to Iraq and sheltering near the most hated Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In Iraq he based his organization’s structural system on cult-like practices. He used his illusions to deceive some revolutionary–minded individuals by manipulative indoctrination methods.

He founded his cult of personality based on worshiping the leader ( Massoud Rajavi) and absolute obedience of leader’s orders. He trained some devoted members who were always prepared to kill themselves for their “Ideological Leader”!

In camp Ashraf, Iraq, around the cult of Rajavi nothing seems realistic. The members are isolated in an unreal world that Massoud Rajavi has created for them due to his illogical ambitions.

Another example of Rajavi’s illusionist personality is his so-called Eternal Light Operation in which Mujahedin were supposed (according to Rajavi) to reach Tehran in three days. In a crazy operation, Mujahedin drove their armored vehicles toward Iranian border in the vain dream of moving on Iranian cities one after the other and reaching Tehran. Of course, the operation failed and left thousands of casualties for MKO.

Once again Rajavi’s illusive mind lost the game.

After the defeat of Eternal Light, he launched stricter cult jargons to keep the members in the illusional atmosphere he had made for them. Celibacy became obligatory under his order, sexual relations were forbidden, and children were separated from parents. And all this was because of the struggle that he always convinced the members to win soon. But the truth is that his so-called struggle has had no outcome except the victimization of thousands individuals and families.

Massoud Rajavi even continued his delusional attitude in the incidents after the Iranian presidential election in June. He saw himself as an influential leader in Iranian political scene, published a message suggesting solutions for critical situation of Iran. Imagining to have public support, he followed his dream of power in Iran but the clear fact is that today the least minority of Iranians know a little about MKO.

During the 3 decades that Massoud Rajavi was dreaming of power in Iran, and trying to capture some people for his cause, no significant change has happened to MEK. Their only skill and trick as well is launching propaganda against Iranian regime on its nuclear program. As another misfortune for MEK leaders, the West pays no significant attention to MKO’s show-off about Iranian nuclear program since their claims could not be verified due to the ambiguity.

The world Rajavi has created is far from wisdom and logic. Nowadays, in the era of democratic changes, in the world of civil behaviors and negotiations, the crisis mongers of Rajavi’s cult seem so amazing. They are actually fighting the reality and this fight will definitely end with failure.
By Mazda Parsi

October 22, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Hierarchical administration of information within MKO

An interview with Batool Soltani on MKO self-immolations – Part 30

none of the information would be circulated among the rank and file and there was a strict hierarchical discipline with no leak Sahar Family Foundation: Ms. Soltani, you have put your finger on an issue worthy of note, that is, victimizing insiders and sending them to their death. Did they really theorize such issues for the insiders with concretized exemplars from the outside?

Batool Soltani: As for the subjects I mentioned, I have to underline that none of the information would be circulated among the rank and file and there was a strict hierarchical discipline with no leak to the lower ranks. The reactions concerning Zamani’s execution that I mentioned were limited to the members of the Leadership Council. On the surface and among the rank and file you could see what was commonly seen outside of the organization; they were in tears and mourned his death. Massoud and Maryam always insisted on the exigent priority of the Leadership Council and were of the opinion that information had to be restrained within the council. The lower ranks had to only carry out the orders of the top even if the day came when a mass suicide was inevitable.

Rajavi believed there was no need to let the lower body be enlightened about the matters discussed in top levels which could mount unnecessary tensions. It was enough to move on a slow path or effusive acts like that of the June 17 immolations. What was of the significance and vital for the organization was to keep rank and file in readiness and ripe for suicide operations through justifications that could be embedded in them from the top. I tell you for sure that if the subordinate members knew the truth and what they plotted at top layers, half of them would detach from the organization; their role was to materialize the chimeras of the leaders. In contrast to them, the higher echelons had the responsibility of constantly testing the inferiors’ loyalty and readiness and lay the groundwork. Even they would be equipped with the prerequisite means of suicide in a practical test to calculate reactions.

SFF: At the present, what means they have ready at hand in Camp Ashraf for committing mass suicides?

BS: I do not now just now, but when I was there any member of the Leadership Council carried at least two cyanide capsules. Wherever they were present, you could find equal quantity of cyanides. Or there were always supplies of fuel, the alcohols reserved for medical uses, and incendiary substances and devices mainly used in celebrations which could all be utilized easily for self-immolations. In general, the organization is potential enough to access to any type of substance and means needed for suicide and immolation operations. Even if you could detect noting kept by the organization, you will be surprised to see how ready they would be when the right time came.

SFF: Does it mean that the organization has still amounts of weapons secretly stored for a day to come?

BS: As far as I was involved, there was no possession of stored weapons because Americans were so sensitive and had sophisticated instruments that could easily detect hidden arms. Besides, the organization had no intention to give any excuse to Americans which could make them suspect the organization in other grounds that required a reciprocal trust following the disarmament. The organization tried to show straightforward which could ease the way to achieve a comprehensive collaboration. Possession of arms completely spoiled the martyred expression the organization tried to wear.

To be continued

October 19, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Primacy of death and violence in the ideology of MKO

An interview with Batool Soltani on MKO self-immolations – Part 29

Sahar Family Foundation: Ms. Soltani, before going on, let’s open a parenthesis to clarify why the organization is primarily motivated by holding at violence as a working strategy; it is either killing others or prompting suicide operations. In fact, a permanent leg among its pillars of relation with the outside is violence and death. Of course, it has been innate from its very beginning and they even believed that when arrested, they had to behave in a way to provoke the Pahlavi’s regime to execute them. A proven fact is its leaders’ fervently presented offensive defenses in the course of their trials. In contrast to the mainstream of the political and struggling groups, the organization has hardly cared about the individuality of its members as the militants definitely framing the main pillars of its structure and to take the decisive precautionary measures to save their lives.

The members of the organization are encouraged to either kill or be killed and there has to be necessarily justifications to convince them choose the either way. Your experience may illuminate some dark aspects of the organization’s resorting to violence. Of course, the organization’s early booklets explicitly chart its worldviews but you are not old enough to be familiar with these early ideological mentalities unless they have been referred to in their ideological instructions. Do you have any perception of the founded innate strategy that can be proved through your personal experiences?

Batool Soltani: It is so sensitive an issue you are referring to. It could have been talked about at the beginning or the end of our discourse about self-immolations. But it is crucial to know why the organization, unlike other similar political or armed groups, cultivates homicidal tendencies with an emphasis on suicidal ones in a struggle to counter its adversaries and exclusively invest on the tactics that highly risk the lives of the insiders. It has to be pointed that when the organization is on a stand to advance with a heavy hand the first priority is an aggressive militarism but it recoils to a defensive suicidal stand when some bottleneck blocks its advance. It can take the form of self-immolations, imposing human shield or any other form and have been adopted as a working strategy from its very formation days.

As a vindication of its rightness in its struggle path, the organization has always boasted about the counts of its killed and imprisoned members believing that these martyrs substantiate its hegemonic legitimacy over all other opposition groups antagonizing the regime. Rajavi is of the opinion that the rightness of any ideology is maintained by the number of its victims and martyrs; in the sphere of his political and ideological imagery, the life and death of man is so simple an issue like drinking water. I remember reading some related sources in the organization but I fail to remind them clearly to give exact details.

Being a product of Rajavi’s own mind-set than a methodological study, I think Rajavi has deduced that when man can so easily sacrifice his life, so he is capable of achieving distant, inaccessible goals. When it is politically and morally, from a certain ideological point of view, acceptable to use unconventional tactics such as violence and fear to achieve certain goals, then why should one waste time to stick to others that fail to be productive at all. The recruited members of the organization that are trained to invoke fear in the opponents and exploit the vulnerability of the victims are themselves the victims that victimize adversaries for certain ambitions. In fact, whether a member kills or is killed it is the organization that profits from all these bloodshed.

I remember my first days in the organization when Rajavi repeatedly highlighted the counts of the casualties the organization had inflicted on the regime, which had been widely covered by the media, as a proof of his organization’s legitimacy and his authoritative hegemony among other opponent groups. Connecting his organization’s terrorist activities with legitimate political struggle, Rajavi played a double-faced role before the Western world; he presented the statistics of his terrorist deeds against the regime as a proof of legitimacy while he exaggerated about the organization’s martyrs as the instances of human rights violation by the regime. Rajavi is not the least concerned about the life of people, either the insiders or outsiders, and even the organization’s press coverage of the executions by the IR is a cunning manipulation of the dynamics of violence to demonize the opponent side.

I have seen plain examples of the glorification of violence and death-seeking attitude within the organization, an experience that can better than any other theoretical sources of ideology lead you to fathom why the organization delights in the martyrdom of its own members. One instance was when the news of the execution of Hojjat Zamani broke inside the organization. I have nothing to do with Zamani’s extent of cooperation and organizational career, the only thing I know is that he was arrested when dispatched on an operational mission. Sentenced to imprisonment, he escaped while he was on leave but was recaptured and at last his antagonistic attitudes led to his execution. My stress on his execution is only to illustrate the organization’s internal reaction after his death. You may be surprised to know that the news of his execution was the cause for a real celebration within Camp Ashraf, I mean a real festivity in which they sang and danced.

Nothing could have pleased them more than Zamani’s execution by the regime since it was a good excuse to appeal to human rights organizations and to condemn the regime for oppressing Mojahedin. Nobody was grieved or became furious about his death as naturally they had to and they openly congratulated his execution as it could influentially fuel the organization’s propaganda machine particularly to array human rights defenders against the regime and to help recruit new forces. Although the organization appealed to a variety of human rights defenders and organizations to bring Zamani’s execution to a halt to advertise a pro-democratic profile, it was also anxious not to have overdone to impede his execution. It will be not wrong to say that the organization prayed the regime would accelerate the process of his execution since it was one way it could boast its position as the sole active alternative the Iranian regime still cared to counter as a trouble-maker.

In a message addressed to the Leadership Council after Zamani’s execution, Rajavi asserted that his execution was equal to one thousand feats accomplished by the council because his death could muster new recruits and scatter seeds of hatred in the hearts of his family and relatives. In general, the organization craved for the execution of all those members in the prisons of the IR regime, people like Saeed Mansouri, Jamil Bassam and Ibrahim Khodabandeh. Hearing no news of their execution against the organization’s expectation, it elicited anger among us in the Leadership Council and we began criticizing and disparaging them for failing to commit suicide as we did when Arash Sametipour was arrested. We would revile them for not provoking the regime to execute them. Massoud and Maryam had reiterated that the IR Ministry of Information had adopted a new policy not to execute any member of the organization; now the organization was resolute to do its best to inflame the regime to spur executions.

Besides, the organization had contrived ways that led to the demise of the members. When, for example, Beheshteh Shadroo was at the charge of the operation teams sent to Iran, after the frequent successful return of a team, she would order the head of the team to take the forces under his/her command to a non-reconnoitered region where they could be easily hit and killed. In this way, the imposed death begot martyrs from among the forces whose date of practical competency had expired and could best serve the organization by their martyrdom. The organization hoped and prayed that the IR would kill so it had an open hand for propaganda.

There were also suggestions of arranging to club a woman to bleeding and to record the scene to use against the regime in abroad propagandas. The organization presumed that such scenes of violence and flow of blood could beget rebellion and social disturbance that could finally lead to the regime’s collapse. Benefitting the organization in its best use, the news of members killed and executed in Iran carried the menace of what destiny could be awaiting other members if they ever dreamed to return to Iran.

To be continued

October 17, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

MKO leaders prevent the repatriation of MKO members

Senior deputy of Iraqi Interior Ministry: Many individuals imprisoned at Camp Ashraf are willing to return to Iran including 70 of them who have announced their willingness to return but the leaders of this group prevent them.

Hadi Adnan Alasadi in an interview with governmental newspaper Al-Sabah expressed that: MEK’s presence in Iraq is illegal because of its terrorist nature organization and its violent history.
Declaring that the nature of groups such as MEK and the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey is the same, he added: “According to security Convention between Iraq and Washington the responsibility of Camp ashraf is under Iraqi government’s authority and the Camp’s name has been changed to “New Iraq”.

"As long as the organization maintains its terrorist nature in Iraq it has no right to claim asylum” he said,

“The presence of this organization in Iraq is illegal and violates international law.”

October 17, 2009 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Terrorism transformed

In the past eight years of the post-911 terrorist attacks, the US and the international community have been unanimous to find a decisive solution to overcome the phenomenon of terrorism and its various forms and to fully eradicate it. Meanwhile, the Americans have learned many lessons and have been aware of the inevitable costs of interacting with terrorist groups yet there have remained many more lessons to be learned. The first lesson to be learned by the US is the fact that terrorism cannot be used as a lever and threat for establishing democracy in other countries.

The dual and paradoxical policy of the US toward MKO in recent years confirms this fact. This approach has provoked heated discussions among the government layers of the US. The report of RAND on MKO, regardless of unexpected events due to the hidden aspects of the true nature of Mojahedin, can be considered an evidence of conservative and ambiguous behavior of the US toward MKO. The lack of a defined relationship between the US and Mojahedin is the main mistake made by the Americans.

According to this report, Americans failed to annihilate the organization intentionally or for any reason and also refrained to encourage MKO members to leave camp Ashraf. Although this is considered the main mistake made by the US in dealing with Mojahedin, it has to be pointed out that the US was unfamiliar with the cultic nature of Mojahedin and their intra-organizational mechanisms and potentials. After the disaster of 911 and its feedbacks inside nations and governments, terrorist groups were inevitably influenced. In other words, the terrorist activities of terrorist groups, including MKO, underwent a qualitative and quantitative shift. The public hatred of terrorism made Mojahedin to make effort to be removed from the terrorist list claiming to have denounced armed struggle. However, this claim and the removal of the name of MKO from the terrorist list of the EU failed to be accepted by those European countries that were well acquainted with the nature of the organization. And it did not take long to prove that they had been right in their judgment as Mojahedin practically proved that they could not make any change in their past policy and indoctrinations.

The innate violence has only changed in the application of the approaches. They have just concealed themselves from the global attentions resorting to other forms of cultic-terrorist activities like self-immolation for furthering their totalitarian objectives. The suicide attacks of Mojahedin in 17 June in France, 2003 occurred only two years after the terrorist attacks of 911 and was an inevitable consequence of their critical situation resulting from their presence in global interactions as well their indoctrinations based on which the ideological and strategic solution for all barriers and challenges is considered to be violence and terrorism. The suicide attack of 911 and that of 17 June have the same background and theory yet have different external manifestations. They enjoy the same ideology and mechanisms too yet the former is considered an action on the part of a reactionary and barbaric group and the latter comes from a scientific-evolutionary philosophy.

There is no doubt that despite the superficial differences, the shared point of al-Qaeda and MKO is their internal mechanisms and techniques. However, after the events of 911, Mojahedin came to the belief that resorting to blind terrors and suicide attacks could no more solve their problems but also may lead to the intensification of their tensions and public hatred. Its registration as a terrorist organization on the very same list that recognized al-Qaeda made Mojahedin do whatever necessary to be removed from terrorist list just due to evading the negative and hostile viewpoint of the global society and western governments. Consequently, Mojahedin were enforced to stop their blind terrorist activities for a while. The insistence of Rajavi on the peaceful approach of MKO on the one hand and the critical situation of the organization in Iraq has enforced him to focus on the possibility of a human disaster in the form of self-immolations in case of the intensification of tensions and constraints in camp Ashraf.

This is the reason why Rajavi has resorted to cultic levers like hunger strike and using human shields in camp Ashraf and it is simple-mindedness to dismiss the possibility of Mojahedin’s committing other terrorist activities. The fact is that there is no guarantee for other countries to be secure from the intrinsic violence of such a cultic group unless Mojahedin would abandon their cultic activities like self-immolation, hunger strike, human shields, etc. As it was pointed out, this is the shared point linking Mojahedin and al-Qaeda together as well as to other cultic trends. The only difference is in their power of adoption to conditions at which Rajavi looks with pride.

According to many MKO former members, Rajavi has repeatedly referred to the point that Mojahedin can remove all barriers as long as they have no fear of death and take part in regular inter-organizational cleansing sessions. The present position of Mojahedin can be considered in this regard not as a tactical retreat but a newly adopted form of employing violence. It seems that Americans need to be notified about the dangers of terrorism, its ideology and how it may operate under a variety of disguises and cults.

October 15, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Human shield in defense of Ashraf

An interview with Batool Soltani on MKO self-immolations – a précis of parts 27-28

Sahar Family Foundation: Ms. Soltani, if you will, let’s have a discussion on the issue of human shield and mass suicides and what necessitated its application. What are the parameters that influence the operations and to what degree and under what circumstances they extend?

Batool Soltani: At the threshold of the US invasion against Iraq and when threats were nearing the action, Rajavi was sensitive on two things; defending Ashraf against external threats including closing the camp and expulsion from Iraq and second, adopting an appropriate means to defend Ashraf and resist. He specifically reiterated that Ashraf had to be defended tooth and nail. But the premise developed into more objective form of defense when Saddam collapsed and the suggestion of human shield turned to be a serious option on the agenda of Rajavi. Of course, at the time the organization was busy preparing passports for high ranking members including the members of the Leadership Council to relocate when the right time came.

The option was first brought to attention in a session where Massoud Rajavi addressed the audience through a satellite broadcasted videoconference. Of the subjects he focused on were Ashraf and Auvers, stating that Auvers and Maryam were believed to be the brain of the organization while Camp Ashraf was the beating heart of the resistance against Iran. For sure the brain kept working until the heart beat. Ashraf was the heart that pumped the blood to brain and had to be protected by any means; the two were interconnected and one failed to operate without the other. It was what he talked about from a theoretical point of view.

Following the incidents of the June 17, it was broached that the members of the Leadership Council had to be prepared to protect Ashraf. It was the first time the human shield tactic was implicitly touched on in general. In one of his messages to Mozhgan (Parsai) Rajavi recapitulated that we would stay, die and bury here in Ashraf but never move. It was a question of resisting or dying if the Iraqis decided to repatriate members to Iran or evict from Ashraf to another location. Of course, repatriation to Iran was out of question because of the internationally guaranteed IDs issued for the members under the article four of the Geneva Convention. To tell the truth, it was not at all important for the organization to make any attempt for the safety of the members; all it cared about was survival of the organization and preserving Camp Ashraf and protect it against external threats. Then, the focal point was to think of means to accomplish the end.

The human shield was one of the opted options; mass suicides could effectively frustrate any effort that aimed at dismantling the integrity of Ashraf. It included any other threat like forced entry of American or coalition forces to temporarily close or deactivate the camp. Our first choice to resist against intruders had to be using non-firing weapons; needless to say that the organization actually made no resistance against the American forces and succeeded to take the control and hegemony of the camp in its own hands.

However, the human shield tactic was temporally removed from the agenda since Ashraf continued to be under the organization’s control and there was no need to make use of the ploy.

As Rajavi stated, he preferred the ‘arms carriers’, meaning the disarmed members, to the arms themselves; an incorporated armless army could be much functional and appropriate than the arms. The question of suicide operations and human shield were all directed at safeguarding the entity of the organization and its hierarchical order; it was the red line that could not be crossed and all members had to preserve. It was the policy adopted until 2006 when I left the organization. The deployment of the American forces at Ashraf made no change in the organizational structure and it took the liberty of acting according to its ironbound disciplinary.

The regular commute of individuals into Ashraf followed its routine and they brought anybody into the camp under the cover of the visiting families and they were even present when American forces inspected visitors at the check points.

There is a statement issued by the National Council of Resistance that specifically warns against the outbreak of what the organization refers to as human tragedy in the case of any possible attack against the camp by the IR forces or missile attack. It is what the organization expresses for the outsiders but its real definition for the insiders is the use of human shield to thwart any threat of eviction or expulsion enforced by the Iraqi government. The statement explicitly clarifies the responsibility of members in defense of Ashraf; any member has to become a human shield to impede disintegration of Mojahedin’s main bastion and heart. I remember a time when there came the news of Badr’s 9th army and groups of local Shi’its nearing the gates of Ashraf.

The organization announced full alert and all the members of the Leadership Council began preparations for mass suicide. Some brought arms and cyanides were checked and distributed. So serious were they in carrying out their mission that two members of the council, Marzieh Ali-Ahmadi and Darz Beigi, committed suicide when in their returning to camp they got an impression of being challenged.

SFF: What were the more highlighted factors about mass suicides, the manners, conditions or their reflection in the media?

BS: They were much sensitive to record the scenes of the immolations for immediate and widespread media coverage. In fact, the priority was having the control of media and resources in hands. To air first hand reports, the organization had positioned equips of photography in the vicinity of the scenes of operations.

SFF: How the suicides were planned to be launched and what conditions caused their materialization?

BS: the suicides had to be carried out first individually and one by one. In the next stage, if threatening forces behind the gates of Ashraf were resolute to break into the camp, the members had the order of committing suicides in groups. In the case of a widespread military intrusion that could lead to the fall of camp, all the members were to commit a mass suicide. The Leadership Council had clearly delineated anything to counter threats against the heart of the organization and to coerce a line of human shield before Ashraf.

To be continued

October 12, 2009 0 comments

Human Rights Abuse in the MEK

Let’s emancipate women enslaved in Rajavi’s cult

In the contemporary history, no cult has overexposed women using them instrumentally as much as MKO. Although Mojahedin have adopted the false ideological and strategic slogan of setting women free form social, conventional, religious, and historical bonds, yet in practice women have been subject to a kind of modern slavery under the cover of freedom through mental and physical convincing mechanisms.

Rajavi has focused all his efforts in recent years to misuse various social, cultural, religious, and ethical backgrounds to submit women. In this regard, he has exploited the emotional attachments and nature of women as well as their ethical, religious, and traditional constraints to increase their dependence on the organization preventing their leaving from the organization.

Meanwhile, promoting women in leadership cadre of the organization is one of the tricks for intensifying the various aspects of this slavery. In this regard and up to the time when the well-founded documents of these misuses are revealed publicly, we will discuss the open aspects of these misuses and ask all human rights organizations to do their best to save these victims from Rajavi’s slave-house and revive their lost soul.

What is of utmost significance at the time being is setting thousands of women free from the bonds of MKO. As MKO leaders acknowledge, the main role of MKO female members as silent hostages is to be used as human shields for protecting leadership.

However, the difference between these hostages and their reactionary and seemingly outdated counterparts is that the former are captive in invisible and cultic bonds of Rajavis rather than visible chains and bonds. The statements made by the separated members indicate that these women in MKO are used as more than anything accessible instruments and levers in the hands of Rajavi to be victimized whenever necessary. Up to that time their role is securing camp Ashraf as the ideological and strategic container of Mojahedin.

Mojahedin media has recently called the world for supporting these women in order to sidetrack the reality. MKO leadership is aware that according to an unspoken consensus, the main efforts of western intelligentsia and the focus of public opinion at the time being is on defending the rights of women hence concentrates all his efforts to win the sympathy of outsiders toward female members of Mojahedin.

However, the issue of misusing MKO female members has been ignored due to Rajavi’s covering it under the banner of the emancipation of women. The former members have repeatedly referred to the significance of women for Rajavi. He is well aware that the special characteristics of these women like their emotional attachments, lack of support and ethical and religious constraints has excluded the possibility of their leaving from the organization.

The affairs of Rajavi with the female members of leadership council in the form of ideological marriages revealed by Mrs. Batool Soltani, a member of MKO leadership council who has recently managed to escape camp Ashraf, as well as flattering them have been levers at the hands of Rajavi for keeping them in the organization.

Parallel to the exposure of these issues, Rajavi has focused on these women insisting on the existence of a potential threat for them through an extensive propaganda blitz to sidetrack the public opinion. Evidently, the life of tens of female members of MKO leadership council as well as other Ashraf residents is in danger yet here the question arises that who poses this threat?

During the recent events and conflicts in camp Ashraf, it was observed that these women were used as human shields to prevent the entrance of Iraqi police to camp Ashraf and also to win the sympathy of the world toward Ashraf residents.

Regardless of the achievements of Mojahedin in recent days, what is of significance is the full-scale propaganda blitz of MKO on the necessity of saving the life of thousands of women living in camp Ashraf. Although the efforts of Mojahedin media were focused on MKO leaders, Masoud and Maryam Rajavi, now they have been concentrated on the issue of MKO female members and their security. It is for the first time that Mojahedin dare to put the members of their leadership council in attention.

The reason of this turnabout is to be investigated. Surprisingly enough, these women’s photos have been published and worries for their safety has been expressed. What are the objectives of this approach? The statements of Mrs. Soltani on the role and position of women in leadership council as human shields for defending camp Ashraf may be problem solving. According to the events of June and warnings given by Rajavi, the challenges inside camp tend to be intensified.

However, Rajavi makes his utmost efforts to determine the destiny of Mojahedin in either remaining or leaving camp Ashraf once forever. According to the above reasons, female MKO members are of a high potential to be victimized, therefore, Rajavi has decided to use them as human shields for defending Ashraf. In this regard, taking necessary measures for setting Rajavi’s victims free from cultic relations is of highest priority for Iraqi government and international bodies.

Our main responsibility is making the public opinion and the concerned bodies aware of this imminent disaster. As it was said before, MKO female members have been the most ill-fated and vulnerable stratum of the cult of Mojahedin in recent years and now after years of suffering pain and misuse, they are supposed to be used as Rajavi’s scapegoat of Rajavi.

The fact is that the lack of support and hope has led many of them to submit to Rajavi. Arriving at an international consensus, the world is to provide these women with reliable guarantee and support, let them govern their own destiny and breathe new life into their captive soul.

October 11, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Neda had been tutored from the childhood

An interview with Batool Soltani on MKO self-immolations – Part 26

Sahar Family Foundation: Ms. Soltani, you know better that the organization had highly invested Neda Hassani,had been tutored from the childhood to become a devoted MKO memebr on Neda who was hardly of any weight and importance within and without the organization until she was burned to death, an anonymous girl who had suddenly become the focal attention of the media in a week. I believe she achieved preeminence in public and it can be said that she had great impact on the whole situation. Of course, that was exactly what the organization expected. As Neda’s case is sensitive, let’s talk about her and her life and struggle background and I will pose further question if necessary.

Batool Soltani: You are right. Neda was not a preeminent among the members before her immolation. It was possible that in the higher echelons they had given her some attention but nothing amongst the rank and file. Her popularity is considered to be for a variety of reasons especially her age. To talk of my acquaintance with her, we were once on the same team-work in Camp Ashraf before the US invasion of Iraq and when Maryam (Rajavi) was still in Ashraf. the organization had highly invested on Neda who was hardly of any weight and importance within and without the organization until she was burned to death, However, Neda left for the Europe simultaneous with Maryam’s relocation to France. Of course, Neda had been raised and living in Europe and came to Ashraf after she was graduated.

SFF: Pardon me, Ms. Soltani, I prefer to pose questions on the spot. Was Neda an active member of the organization abroad?

BS: Not from the very beginning. The organization first worked on Neda’s family and they became sympathizers through participation in rallies and protest meetings. Gradually, the organization succeeded to recruit Neda and her brother to transfer them to Ashraf. The family, however, remained just sympathizers. You know, it is one of the approaches through which the organization recruits members. There are countless instances of the families that ceased their support for the organization while their children are still enthusiastic cadres who gainsay their own families. There are also instances of the parents detached from the organization while their children are active members or vice-versa; a real tragedy that has been going on all these years within the organization.

SFF: There is a photo of Neda in her seven or eight busy fundraising for the organization. Have you seen the photo?

BS: Yes, I have seen. The very same year Neda set herself on fire, it was one of the many photos they publicized in a biography of her. It is an indication of the organization’s impact on her family to have convinced them to let their daughter to engage in fundraising activities because of her low age. So she was somehow a sympathizer from the childhood. She was naive and emotionally sensitive and could be easily impressed. I think such photos talk enough to condemn the organization of abusing the sympathizer’s children.
SFF: Were Neda’s family political refugees?

BS: I do not know. But it was typical of the organization to establish contacts particularly with the political refugees since a cause of sympathy could easily convince them to cooperate with the organization especially when the families were on the fence or were facing problems. Because of its influence abroad, the organization could attract some of these families under its umbrella to exploit them for its political aims. Noteworthy, many of these families that had been granted political asylum through mediation of the organization faced troubles after they announced their detachment.

SFF: Was Neda born in Europe?

BS: I do not know, but I know she was raised in abroad.

SFF: What about her education?

BS: I have no exact information but I have seen a videotaped celebration of her graduation as well as her photos.

SFF: I think there is something ambiguous about her academic education because of her age. How old was she when she committed suicide?

BS: I think she was twenty-one.

SFF: Naturally, she could not have possibly been a university graduate. Beside her age, she was on a continuous process of moving and relocation.

BS: I may have seen a videotaped party of her becoming a high school graduate. So she must have been nineteen when she came to Ashraf. (Here Ms. Soltany pressed some keys on the laptop at her hands to make sure) Yes, it is here, she was nineteen. However, she was in Ashraf for a year and then left for the Europe accompanying Maryam; she came in 2001 and left in 2002.

SFF: How did she behave in Ashraf?

BS: She was a kind of friendly, I mean, she was warm and intimate and very active.

SFF: What organizational rank did she carry?

BS: She was a K2, the lowest organizational rank. But she caught their attention because of her active potentiality and they were satisfied with her activeness. At the time, they hardly sent anybody abroad and they were sensitive to select one if one had to be sent to Europe. But they selected Neda to send abroad and she was one of the few who accompanied Maryam.

SFF: Did not it raise question when they decided to send someone in her eighteens abroad especially after she had just arrived at Ashraf?

BS: She was too close to organizational standards and was well melted in the relations. These parameters were influentially decisive.

SFF: How is it possible that a young, europeanized girl who had just detached from a common, bourgeoisie world to join a remote camp and whose only distinctiveness was to have been recruited from a sympathizer family could so fast become the main focus of the organization’s attention. Could she in a one-year span reach a practically ideological maturity?

BS: You know, a great drawback that disputed sending members abroad was a risk of sticking to the tastes of the bourgeoisie life there. In contrast to what you think, the age and
struggle background were not the fixed canons to pick a member for a mission abroad.

There were members with a forty-year record of struggle who the organization never consented to send abroad because they could be easily enticed by the threats of the bourgeoisie life. Nasrin Asadi, for example, was a real expert in accounting who had long lived in abroad. Then, she could be a suitable choice to be sent abroad since she was well acquainted with the social atmosphere there to play an influential role but they opposed her dispatch.

Even I, who had been already sent to England for some time to receive computer trainings, had failed to win their trust since there was a possibility of making contacts with my family and children. In general, they never selected exhausted, questionable members to dispatch to abroad where they could be probably magnetized by the bourgeoisie life. It was of great importance for the organization to learn that the selected members had truly despised the bourgeoisie life and abhorred returning to it in the same way that they loathed the imperialism and the regime.

SFF: How is it logically acceptable that a girl in Neda’s age had reached a point to despise such a life? Of course by logic I mean the very logic that rules within the organization. Possibly that is because the organization had worked on Neda from her childhood when values deeply form in man. It can be said that Neda received her ideological trainings from the very childhood which precisely differentiated her with the adults who received their trainings in their young and mid-ages. Besides, Neda voluntarily came to Ashraf while the organization insisted her stay in Europe. She had reiterated many times that she preferred a militia life to political activities and she was absolutely opposed to her transfer to Europe and even cried and begged to stay in Ashraf while others like Laleh Tariqi and Zelal Habibi who had been picked to be sent abroad submitted to orders with pocketed pleasure. I want to know how Neda could overcome the threats of being melted in bourgeoisie life while the more experienced, old members had failed?

BS: Neda was selected for abroad because she felt no attraction for the bourgeoisie life. There was no doubt and the organization had been convinced. She had no craving to return to the world she had divorced. As a rule, the organization dispatched recruits to Ashraf to caulk their bourgeoisie appeals and to obviate threats of returning to it. Talking about Neda, it is different. She was young and standing at the beginning of a long path full of costs and threats and she lacked the organizational maturity to understand these facts in a theoretic, political and ideological framework. Her sympathy for the organization was the result of her childhood enthusiast and the information the organization had instilled into her in a one way relation. Above all, she was so young to face any challenge and adversary.

She was different with those who had been tied in with the organization at least from its post-revolution phase and had long been witnessing repeated losses and Rajavi’s promises that never came true. They had surmounted a tortuous path that had raised further doubts in each step; they had been broken many times but remodeled through Rajavi’s justifications and promises. They know how Rajavi dealt with the dissidents and they were well aware of the costs they had to pay to defect; they have long been engaged in a never-ceasing battle with the past and future and the organization has to devise approaches to monitor them and to discover what passes in their mind. How busy is the young mind of Neda to know anything of these wrestling?

Unlike Neda, these members have lost a precious life with no hope to refurbish. At least they try to take advantage of any possible opportunity to rebuild the remaining days of an unsecure future, let them call it threats of reunion with the bourgeoisie life or anything, for them it is closeness to freedom. They have long been filled with promises but nothing has ever changed. That is the reason why the young Neda is selected while the old veterans are kept behind the closed doors.

To be continued

October 10, 2009 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

The members were coerced into dedicating themselves to Massoud and Maryam

An interview with Batool Soltani on MKO self-immolations – Part 24

Sahar Family Foundation: Ms. Soltani, in our last session, you pointed to instances of the The members were coerced into dedicating themselves to Massoud and Maryam organization’s persuasive approaches in its contact with the victims’ families with particular emphasis on Neda’s family. Did not such dual behavior raise any suspicion when the family saw that on the one hand the organization eulogized Neda as a holy martyr but on the other hand claimed her immolation as an impulsive and willful act? Did the organization or Maryam have any other scenario to justify the dual deal?

Batool Soltani: it is a good point. In General, the organization had adopted a dual position concerning the immolations. You could easily make out two images of the victims; an image was to demonstrate them as holy individuals to fuel its propaganda machine and encourage others to take the same line, and the other, to put the responsibility of immolations on the victim themselves to dodge any charges against the organization. But, as you pointed out, the organization is clever enough not to err and prepares an exact scenario before stepping into action. To make Neda’s family to believe, for example, the organization forged a journal that it claimed belonged to Neda.

It contained some personal photos and some recollections from her family and friends and especially notes indicating her enthusiastic devotion and commitment to Maryam. Neda’s parents were simple people who could simply believe as if their daughter’s life was tied to Maryam and finally, they appeared to be convinced to show no reaction even if they could not believe it all at the bottom of their hearts.

At the end, they came to be persuaded that their daughter had committed suicide and they could change nothing for her loss. Then, the organization put two choices before them; to move in parallel with the organization’s scenario in glorification of their daughter’s death or take an opposite side and spoil everything and sully their daughter’s name. Facing such a dilemma, of course they preferred to consent to the organization’s will and follow its scenario. Thus, in spite of the fact that they might have discerned the contradiction in the organization’s manner, they faced the bitter truth that they could in no way change anything. Of course, I am not sure if Neda’s parents or other victims’ families had ever become aware of such contradiction. In any case, the organization had thought of a plan to ward off any criticism or charge. The first priority was to make them reconcile themselves to the organization through a variety of offers, threatening, deception and smearing the reputation. Each can be a different subject to talk about.

SFF: In relation to the approaches you pointed out, what could have been the reaction of the organization if Neda’s family took a different turn against it?

BS: Naturally, the organization would face a rocky road to ride but not impossible. It always had a trick up its sleeve and the best working one would be to classify them as the opponents. Everything would be clear then and the organization did to the family whatever it would do vis-à-vis its opponents. To mention, remember Reza Asadi the father of Zohreh Asdi. The father separated from the organization while his daughter is still a member. Or the case of Somayeh Muhammadi whose father strives to get his daughter out of Camp Ashraf. The least charge against them is that the organization has labeled them the agents of IR regime. The organization does everything to spoil their characters and indicting them for a variety of baseless charges of theft, immorality and the like.

Imagine a defector in its worst become the agent of the regime, it might be possible. But being so scoundrel an individual was impossible especially when he had served the organization for some time and they had disclosed nothing about such a rogue. Anything for the organization is either black or white, nothing in the middle. You have to be either on its side or the opposite against whom it has adopted an antagonist attitude to the end. Even if a defector had once been exalted as a hero, nothing can save him from the wrath of the organization by joining the opposite side.

I mean to say that it could be the same thing with the families if they failed to compromise with the organization. Only if it happened that Neda’s family had taken an antagonistic route against the organization, the first person who stood against the family would be their own son living in Ashraf. And only God knows what charge would be posed against them and they would be accused of what untold scandals; and it was enough to mobilize the sympathizers against them to disturb and annoy them and turn their life into a real hell.

The organization had always a coin with two sides at hand; a brilliant, alluring side and a hell of a bad side and I have seen the bad side abroad when it decided to treat the opponents. The simplest approach was to instigate hatred among the sympathizers and the opponents; there was nothing more to do but to sit and watch them finish the job themselves. For sure, the organization had shown the other side of the coin to Neda’s family and what it was capable of doing to change things completely; they could choose to become wretched, dejected people who could not even dare to visit their daughter’s tomb.

It is a tactic for the organization not to open a war front at the first stage and to arrive at a compromise through other approaches and promises. That is because it may inflict much cost on the organization and a longer process to follow if it shows an antagonistic attitude from the very beginning. Of course, there is a red line nobody should ever transgress; the sanctity of leadership, Maryam and organizational principles should never be violated. Now imagine Neda’s family had taken a different path and had fallen with the organization; their very first move to make preparation for their daughter’s burial and mourning would turn as a backlash against themselves and they would face accusations of being provisioned and provided for by Iranian regime and more.

An odd but common approach was to coerce members to endorse in their own handwriting that they had entrusted whatever they had to Massoud and Maryam, as I did myself. We put it in writing to announce we were possessions of the two and had willingly chosen our path of struggle and devotion. We also stated that our emotional communion with family and relatives was not a superficially common and limited but relatively ‘pardakhtgar’ (an organizational jargon meaning sacrificing all love and emotion for a greater cause).

Our real love and devotion all had to be spent for the accomplishment of higher and dearer causes and for Massoud and Maryam; they were the central integrity of all love and devotion and all families had to be grateful of entrusting the life of their children into the hands of the two. I am sure Neda too had signed such papers before committing immolation and had conceded her life and love to Maryam which could be used as a winning card before her family.

To be continued

October 5, 2009 0 comments

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