decision of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to end the presence of the MKO aka MEK/PMOI at the end of this year, noting that Iraq needs international support and expertise in the field of democracy, while a British parliamentary group wanted Najifi to intervene with the Iraqi government for approval of the British parliamentary delegation’s visit to Camp Ashraf.
The US still labels the anti-Iran Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) as a terrorist group, says U.S. State Department Persian spokesman Alan Eyre.When asked whether the United States considers MKO aka MEK/PMOI a viable opposition group, he said: “No. The U.S. considers the Mujahedin-e Khalq a terrorist organization. That’s it.”
The mayor of Khalis, Uday Alkhaddran revealed the names of those politicians and tribal leaders involved in supporting the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq based in Camp Ashraf garrison. he said he would”send all the names of politicians and tribal leaders involved in supporting the PMOI aka MKO/MEK to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, along with the smallest details about the organization and internal support for it”..
The government rejects the existence of any organization on its territory which works against the neighbouring countries, including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran aka MEK/MKO/PMOI, which stained its hands with the blood of the people,”stressing that”the Government was exerting pressure such as to remove the organization from the country…
“Whether the MEK should or should not be listed is one thing, but the law is very clear that third parties and intermediaries don’t insulate you,”says David Cole, a professor of law at Georgetown University.”Think about how the United States would respond if [American] citizens were actively working with a PR organization to support the legitimacy of Hamas in Gaza? Here, the only thing protecting the people involved is that they include the former homeland security secretary..
Robert Hunter, a retired ambassador now with the National Defense University, says the residents of Camp Ashraf ought to be protected. But, he adds,”getting into bed with these people, I think, would be a profound mistake.”Hunter describes the MEK aka MKO/PMOI as a Marxist cult, whose members have learned the ways of Western public relations.
Although UNHCR won’t require the dissidents to disassociate from the group, it said in a recent statement that refugee status could be granted only to individuals and not to the group as a whole. In effect, the MEK aka MKO/PMOI, as its known by its Farsi language initials, appears to be on the verge of accepting the demand by U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey in July to disband as a military formation.
Mr. Arango submitted questions by email, which elicited a lengthy response from the MEK.The problem was not cured, however, because so little of the MEK response was incorporated in the story. One simply does not learn from this story why the group seems so intransigent about its unwillingness to relocate, disband or accept an end to American protection. The MEK’s point of view on this was an essential, but missing, element in a story that so thoroughly reported on the ambassador’s perspective.
In the past, the MEK leadership has refused to allow most residents of Camp Ashraf to apply for refugee status or to speak with UNHCR representatives without MEK officials present.Former members of the group, who contend that the MEK is a cult that fosters blind obedience to its leaders, say that many Ashraf inhabitants have been held against their will and would eagerly leave the camp if they could. ..
The Minister expressed the reservation and objection of the Iraqi government to the request of the European Commission to designate a special representative to Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf) but stressed that the government of Iraq has consistently appealed to and asked European countries and other countries to receive and resettle residents of the camp in their countries. He also stressed that the government is committed to close the camp..