Albania just for Albanians not for Rajavi Terrorists
International Affairs Editor on Channel 4, Lindsey Hilsum mistreated, authorities are silent about the event. Minister Fatmir Xhafaj, the highest police authorities, and the British Embassy in Tirana have become aware of this incident.
An attempt was made to keep secret an incident at the Iranian Mojahedin camp in Manzas, Durrës, in which a well-known British journalist and her film crew were beaten. But Shqiptarja.com has discovered all the details of this incident.
Sources from the State Intelligence and Anti-terrorism Services, speaking on terms of anonymity, indicate that the incident occurred on August 10. The whole event was not reported in the daily communiques of criminal events by the police, although it is a scandal, and not a small one.
The Event
At the beginning of August, a British television crew for Channel 4 arrived in Albania, along with the well-known Middle East affairs journalist Lindsey Hilsum. The purpose of their visit was to investigate the lives of the Iranian Mojahedin, who have been given refuge for some years in our country, and the mystery of the newly-built, giant and fortified camp, hosting 3,000 dissidents of the Iranian regime.
Shqiptarja.com learned that on the morning of August 10, Lindsey Hilsum, accompanied by her producer Darius Bazargan, travelled in the direction of Manza, in the Durrës Region, to film the camp. They were accompanied by an Albanian translator.
As Lindsey Hilsum was standing outside the camp’s fence, at the back, trying to look inside the camp, she was pushed, and she was subjected to force by the private security guards, as well as by some Iranians.
An eyewitness told Shqiptarja.com that the attack was immediate and that the journalist was frightened. “They tried to take the camera and break it. The journalist panicked and started screaming, while young man of short stature who accompanied her was grabbed by the throat”, he said.
After a few minutes, an emergency police patrol arrived, which protected the journalist and her crew. They were escorted to the police station where they reported the incident and explained that they were doing their job [as journalists]. After giving their statements, they were released.
The Incident
The entire incident has been filmed by the British film crew and will be broadcast in the next few days on Channel 4. A source aware of the content of the investigation told Shqiptarja.com that the film material provided by British television and the interviews taken show what happens inside the camp which is guarded fanatically so that nothing escapes outside the massive walls of this camp, lying on 26 hectares.
Minister Fatmir Xhafaj, the highest police authorities, and the British Embassy in Tirana have become aware of this incident.
Meanwhile, SHISH has sent Prime Minister Rama a detailed memo about the event. Shqiptarja.com sent an email to producer Darius Bazargan asking him to comment on the event to which he replied to contact his executive producers who would make a public statement later.
Albanianja.com requested a statement about this incident from the Mojahedin spokesman in the Manza camp, who claimed to believe that the TV crew was serving the interests of Iran’s regime’s secret police.
Full Reaction of MEK:
“On Friday, August 10, 2018, a television crew of three, secretly and without prior notice, filmed and photographed within the residence of members of the Mojahedin People’s Organization of Iran (PMOI-MEK), refugees in Albania, from an adjacent place. Local Albanian security agents, who pointed out this suspicious and unlawful act, asked not to film and surrender the footage. But team members, who were introduced as Britons working for British TV Channel 4 TV, disregarded this request and continued their work until the Albanian police came and escorted them to the police district.
“The next day, the news of their visit to the PMOI residence and photos taken there was featured on Facebook’s site by Massoud Khodabandeh, a notorious agent of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry (MOIS), as well as on Iran’s website -Interlink that is run by MOIS. Thus, it became clear that this audio-visual team from Channel 4 is in active communication with this Iranian intelligence agent and has taken the task of preparing a program to denigrate PMOI. But when MOIS realized that the publication of the news and photos had tarnished her conspiracy against Mojahedin, she ordered that they be removed on August 12th.
“On August 10, shortly after the release of the Channel 4 filming team, a PMOI press spokesman wrote an urgent letter to the television channel editor, telling the story and threats facing Mojahedin in Albania: “We are very worried that the filmed videos will fall into the hands of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, “but he did not receive any response. He sent another letter to the editor on August 13 about the release of photographs describing the story of MOIS agent Khodabandeh, and attached two reports from a parliamentary group of the United Kingdom and the Federal Library of Congress’s Library Division about his dependence on MOIS, as well as an explanation from the editor. The letter remains unanswered.
“The claims that the reporter is beaten are completely lied. For your information, the first person claiming the reporter was beaten was Massoud Khodabandeh, the Iranian intelligence agent. So the origin of this claim is the Iranian intelligence ministry. Moreover, if the security personnel who, based on the advice of the Albanian government, are there for protection, would have done something wrong, the police would have banned them, not the reporters. Lies and gathering information about the compound of the MeK are part of preparing the ground for terrorist attacks against Iranian refugees. Similarly, in March a terror plot against their residential complex was prevented and two Iranian “reporters” were arrested.”
It is not yet known whether the Durrës police and prosecutor’s office have investigated this serious incident after receiving the testimony of the British journalist and her crew, or questioned the security guards at the camp, the protagonists in beating the English media people.
This is not an isolated incident between the Mojahedin refugee camps and international media interested in reporting on their lives. Shqiptarja.com learned that some days ago there has been another clash with an English-speaking journalist, The Guardian reporter named Arron Merat.
Profile / Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 journalist
Lindsey Hilsum is an international news editor on the prestigious British Channel 4 channel. During her career as a journalist, she has covered the world’s main conflicts over the last two decades, including the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2011, she reported on the ground the riots and unrest in Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. She has made numerous reports from Iran and Zimbabwe and was the Channel 4 Correspondent in China from 2006 to 2008. During the 2004 American attack on Fallujah, Iraq, she was on the front line of the attack alongside American Marines. She was the only foreign-language journalist who spoke English in Rwanda when the genocide began. Before engaging in journalism, she worked with relief missions in Latin America and Africa.
Her first book “Sand Storm: Libya at the Time of the Revolution” was published in Britain in April 2012 and May of that year in the US.
Hilsum was honored with an honorary doctorate from the English Essay University in 2004 and received awards such as television journalist of the year and was awarded medals by the Royal Geographic Society.
Dissidents
Three thousand opponents of the Tehran regime settled in Albania.
Since 1986, dissenters against the Iranian regime were sheltered in Ashraf camp, built by the United States on Iraqi land, on the border between Iraq and Iran. Their transfer to Albania began when the government of Berisha agreed to accommodate the first 210 Mojahedin who arrived in Tirana in May 2013. All of the Camp Ashraf residents came to Albania following an agreement between Prime Minister Rama and former Secretary of State John Kerry in 2016. The Iranian People’s Mojahedin Organization (MEK) is a movement that acts to overthrow the current regime in Iran.
The 3,000 Iranian Mojahedin who came to Albania previously lived in rented flats, but are now accommodated in the Manzas area, some kilometers from the city of Durres. It is understood that money for the land purchase and construction of new housing within the camp is funded by the community of Iranian dissidents living mainly in Europe. The new housing is surrounded by a security perimeter to avoid any potential risk. The protection of Iranian dissidents coming to Albania is guaranteed by intelligence agents. Meanwhile, the camp is guarded by private guards.
“We will stay in Manza until the end of the dictatorial regime in Iran. Our dream is to go back to our families in a free Iran”, one of them said off-camera for Report TV.
By Muhammad Veliu, Arsen Rusta,Shqiptarja.com, Translated by Iran Interlink
At the height of the tourist season, one of the most frequented beaches in Durres, Lalzi Bay, is not supplied with drinking water.
The news was announced by the journalist Andi Bejtja, who in a post on his social network, writes that the reason for this is because a special pipe has been added to the network which prioritises water for the Mojahedin camp at Maminas.
“Come on, come on, there is no water at all in Lalzi at the height of the tourist season, that a special pipe is inserted into the network and as a priority water goes to the Mojahedin camp in Maminas. It’s better to be a Mojahed than a tourist in the summer.”
CNA, by G.T., Albania, Translated by Iran Interlink,
Iran-Interlink – The following article is a critique by Samet Vata of a summer school organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) as part of the NATO Summit in London. The article is Google translated into English.
In relation to MEK, Vata criticises statements by interim American ambassador in Albania, David Muniz. Muniz first says that Iran was in breach of the JCPOA, which it wasn’t. He then blames Iran for ‘exporting radicalism which scares Europe and the Balkans’. Vata explains that US foreign policy “forced” Albania to host 3000 Mojahedin Khalq terrorist extremists, thus imposing a direct security risk on Albania. Thus, Albania should accept that MEK is a problem for Albania’s relations with Iran because MEK threatens the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Based on an announcement by National Coordinator of the Office for Violent Extremism, Agron Sojati, Vata believes this risk would be extended by the arrival in Albania of 6,000 ISIS terrorists from Syria. Participants in the summer school were confused when Sojati said the numbers were exaggerated but that Albania ‘should be prepared to shelter terrorists who come from the war in Syria’. Vata questions how they will be dealt with, asking ‘will they be left alone and given a camp as we have done with MEK?’
Gazeta Impakt
The Albanian Institute for International Studies is unilateral in the issue of radicalism
from Gazeta Impakt – By: Samet Vata – July 14, 2018
Within the NATO Summit in London, a summer school was organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies, AIIS, regarding the security environment in the Western Balkans, part of which I was also. The purpose of the school was to inform the strategy that the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) has in the Balkans region, especially Albania, and to build a tense reality of the “danger” of violent extremism.
So things are fine. But when you look at the articulations of the referral characters in this summer school, two ideas are built on the head. First, because of the internal problems the Atlantic Alliance does not have a unified policy for dealing with the Western Balkans. Second, these internal issues require to motivate them with extreme radicalism, which is attempting to undermine the order in the Balkans. This is like dictatorship, which sometimes failed in its ideology, blame for capitalism, but in this case the danger comes from the “dictators” and “imperialists” of the Near, Middle, and Far East. Briefly, Albania and NATO are facing three concrete dangers: Russian economic expansion, Turkish neo-Ottomanism, and “radicalism” in the breeding countries.
At the opening session of the school was the former Defense Minister, Mimi Kodheli, who in her opinion stated that Russia was a real danger for Albania, as her offensive geo-politics also enabled the election result to be changed in favor of the current president Trump. So, if the US that is superpower is vulnerable to Russia, this should make us more alert and cautious to the Albanians in the reports that we are building on the state level, but also in the ideological framework with such countries. Being vigilant and caring will serve to preserve the current stability in the Balkans, she said. Kodheli. We can do this by talking to one another, sharing our thoughts, treating these things together. So united to withstand the risk. She closed her conversation with an expression of John Lennon “Give Peace a Chance”. But I have the impression that such a risk is more cluttered than real and all this story is nothing more than an excuse to justify the sanctions against Russia. The head of Russian diplomacy Lavrov recently said that Russia is not an enemy, but a friend of Europe, and the latter must leave the spirit that has remained since the Cold War. It is true that peace should be given an opportunity, but objectively treated who is hindering this.
Of particular importance in the summer school was the speech of the interim American ambassador in Albania, David Muniz, who replaces the ambassador to fleeing LU until the appointment of the new ambassador. Muniz said Trump’s coming to power has caused little fear because of statements and controversial behavior that the latter had on his domestic and foreign policies. He said that despite these strong statements that Trump has given about withdrawing US from NATO, it is certain that the role of the United States in the alliance is definitely unchanged and there is no discussion of a second case in Brex. Alongside this, the ambassador said that two of the factors that, apart from Russia, are extending their influence on the Balkans, are Turkey and Iran. Turkey, Muniz said, is pursuing a controversial policy with regard to the Alliance and its heart seems to be no longer beheaded by NATO. It has never happened that a NATO member country has bought sophisticated weapons from a non-member country and this has caused a major debate within member states that Turkey does not have to sell more NATO armaments. The case is about buying the Russian S-400 anti-tank system. But I think the ambassador’s word is somewhere else. The US finds it hard to accept Turkey as a self-determining factor in domestic politics and the region as Turkey has been knocking on EU gates for a long time and has been inferior to US supremacy in the region. I say this because another member of the alliance, Greece, has its anti-missile S-300 system in its arsenal, which is an older version of these weapons that Turkey wants to buy. Western powers find it difficult to admit that Turkey, which has always been used as a flesh in the Middle East conflicts, is fleeing from your hands and pursuing a policy that is in line with its domestic interests in the first place, but on the other hand increases the influence and dominance of the Muslim factor in the region.
With regard to Iran, Mr. Muniz said that the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the nuclear pact with Iran was a move to a certain extent, though the deal was very good. That is because Iran has repeatedly violated certain points of the deal by expanding its nuclear activity and producing dangerous weapons for the stability of the region. He also said that Iran is a country that is exporting radicalism and this scares much Europe, but also the Balkans, which are below its range of action. For this reason, Albanian politics and citizens must also give up relations with such dangerous places.
The ambassador is right when he says Iran is exporting radicalism, but not by his will. The ambassador must know very well that his country’s foreign policy “forced” the Albanian state to import over 3000 Iranian mujahideen of the terrorist organization MEK. So, Albania is really endangered by Iranian radicalism, but this is not to blame for the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Balkans, but as a consequence of the US mid-term interests and as a consequence of the government of Albania’s handling of security issues. Perhaps we should be given a fair share of our country’s interest in the Islamic Republic of Iran, because this Albanian-dominated military group (MEK) directly risks the security of their country.
Seminars were also discussed about the Syrian refugee crisis. National Coordinator of the Office for Violent Extremism Agron Sojati launched his announcement saying that “a rumor is circulating as if 600,000 terrorists are expected to come alive in Albania” and immediately after that made the interpretation of this rumor saying that the numbers are in fact little hyperbolized, though their number will be reduced. According to Agron Soyati, we should be prepared to shelter terrorists who come from the war in Syria in our country that may be the cause of destabilization in the country. But this sentence of Mr. Sojate in some ways confused the participants in the summer school. On one side, Albania seeks to fight the violent radicalism, but on the other hand do we radical shelter? How will Albania behave with the radicals of ISIS going to Albania? Will we leave it in the camp as if we have left the MEK radicals?
Another element I would like to mention from the summer school discussions is the conversation of the executive director of the Albanian Media Institute, Remzi Lani. Among other things Lani said Russia is one of the third factors that are seeking influence in the Balkans not for geo-strategic purposes, but with the sole purpose of alerting and breaking the tranquility of the EU and NATO, while China has only economic intent on its part. He said that the EU’s last EU summit noted a weak will for further enlargement of the Union and that the Berlin process is nearing the end. Regarding Turkey, Lani used tougher and extremist tones. He said Turkey is not a country from which we should take the example of democracy or state leadership, as democracy has died in Turkey. Erdogan with his policy carries a dangerous Islamic agenda that affects the security of our country. However, Turkish investment and their success in the economy should welcome and take the lead – he says. In short, Mr. Lani says that the bread we eat is turkey, and the duet we have. I do not know why Mr. Lani says Turkey has no democracy when in the last election the turnout was much higher than in many EU countries or even the US. In addition, it has not been seen in any dictatorial country to become a democratic election, and the opposition mayor accepts the defeat and welts the winner, as Muharrem Ince did a month ago. In addition, Mr. Lani should be well aware that in the Western ambience there is a great debate about liberal democracy as a model of governance, as it has shown a lack of stability and security of its citizens. This is also noted in the electoral elections of EU countries, which are seeing an increase in left and right extremist electorates. Hungary and Austria are increasingly applying strong politics, the first refusing refugees because they are Muslims, and the second is closing the mosque with the justification that they endanger stability in the country. On the other hand, Trump raises walls with neighboring countries and forbids the entry of citizens of some Muslim countries and this is not seen as a violation of democratic principles, but as security issues. Also, Mr. Lani must bear in mind that we Albanians are a Muslim majority, and the stability that Turkey has shown in its model of regulating religious life should be taken as an example of us, which was also highlighted by Ergys Muzhaqi- expert on security in the country. The Albanian government and civil society must understand that religion (in this case Islam) is auxiliary and contributory to the secularity of the country and to give up once and for all from an atheistic mindset that sees religion as a danger.
Lastly, I would like to conclude with a critique linked to an AIIS study on religious radicalism. In the study that was presented at the seminar, it was noted that although the topic was related to the problems brought by extremist and religiously rooted radicalism, the study represented only “Islamic radicalism” and methods to prevent or cure it. After a replica made with the preparers of the study where I suggested that here the risks of Catholic extremists or other missionaries of the other religions are of a higher degree, I realized that the studies made a portion of their information hold confidential and only specific sections of the studies are presented.
I have also felt this problem in seminars organized by other institutes who are willing to present the risk of “Islamic radicalism” at all costs and present it as a present fact among our society. Europeans should have a standard of extremism and radicalism if they want to establish stability. When speaking of anti-extremism measures, all kinds of extremism must be taken into account, starting with the mass-propagating Catholic in Europe and all other types. When Turkey as a NATO member states that terrorist organizations like FETO operate in Albania, or when our government hosts the MEK, this should be looked at with seriousness and work to resolve these issues, unlike the way in which the word of the Turkish state has fallen into the deaf ears, believe that we have double standards. When Catholic radicalism violates the public sphere, serious measures must be taken to cure this problem. If double policies are to continue, balances will break down in the region and credibility with the international factor will come down.
I think that this policy will have a boomerang effect, which instead of solving it will create unresolved problems in our public sphere. Building a tense environment that feeds fear, xenophobia, Islamophobia and religious radicalism makes society feel less secure and more in panic. Albania is a European country with Ottoman culture and heritage and this should be taken into account in order to maintain the balance and the current fragile peace.
Iran Interlink reporting from Gazeta Impakt, Tirana Albania,
Mr. Davood Arshad’s letter to the Albanian Government handed over to Albanian embassy officials in Germany on the participation of the Minister of Immigration of Albania Mr. Pandeli Mijko in Mujahidin-e-Khagq’s (Mek) gathering in Villepin-Paris
Dear Albanian Government
I am Mr. Davood Baghervand Arshad a senior and high ranking officials of the Mek (Rajavi Sect) and members of the National Council for Resistance who has been defected from this sect because of its totalitarianism and terrorism.
I was deeply saddened by the news of Mr. Pandeli Mijko, the Minister of immigration affairs of Albania taking part in Mek’s gathering show in Paris.
It is most unfortunate that a terrorist group with well-known mafia tricks can deceive a Minister of a European Government to participate in the showcase of diverse population of refugees gathered from different refugee camps in Europe plus homeless Eastern Europeans, which have been bussed in return for an all-inclusive free three day trip to Paris plus pocket money in order to pretend to have Iranians supporting their gathering with the aim of deceiving and influencing their audience and some already deceived politicians in the gathering as a strongly supported Iranian opposition.
It is also unfortunate to see the extent that Mek if prepared to deceive the Iranians and their audience by insulting their conscience. This is despite the fact that Mek’s dirty trick has been disclosed by the Western media for hundreds of times. One of the last but not least, was the Guardian newspaper Mon 2 Jul 2018, that wrote:
Many in the crowd of about 4,000 that Giuliani was addressing were eastern Europeans bussed in to attend the event in return for a weekend trip to Paris
I would like to add that Mr. Pandeli Mijko took part in its gathering, committed a terrorist act by beating up two of its critics in front of EU Parliament in Brussels in December 2017 during which Mr. Denis MacShane a former Labour MP was also beaten up by Maryam Rajavi’s agents.
The incident raised the EU Parliamentarian’s serious concerns to the point that MEP Ana Gomes raised the issue as a barbaric act and a treat to EU and EU MEP members and asked Ms. Mogerini to expel all the MEK’s agents from EU Parliament.
English Standard newspaper mentioned the incident as:
DON’T mess with Denis MacShane! The former Labor MP, author and Good Samaritan is in Brussels, and says that he stepped in to help a man in a street attack yesterday, only to get a beating himself. “Outside European Parliament thugs from People’s Mujahedin of Iran violently attacking elderly man, hitting with sticks, kicks etc,” he tweeted yesterday. “I told them to stop it, so they started attacking me with sticks, fists etc. And we weren’t even discussing Brexit!”
With regards to the above case and the methods Mek deals with its dissident members in broad day light in front of EU Parliament, would it be difficult to imagine MEK’s reaction to the opposition of its members inside their close cult?
Let me also add that the situation of human right abuse in Mek is so grave that even the son of Masoud Rajavi, Mohammad Rajvi one of the victims of this organization having defected MEK announced that will disclose all his father’s atrocities.
Does this raise enough concern not to take part in the empty shows of strength of Mek?
If the above said is not enough, as an ex-high ranking member of Mek and it National Council of Resistance, may I bring to the attention of the honorable Minister of immigration Mr. Pandeli Majko that:
Masoud and Maryam Rajavi hired about 2000 young Iraqis and trained them militarily and ideologically to be utilized throughout Iraq to collect information about coalition forces movements resulting in many deathly attacks on them, also to destabilize Iraq in order to topple the Iraqi government, so the Ex-Baath party leaders active in ISIS could take power in Iraq again, giving Masoud and Maryam Rajavi a free hand as before at the Saddam’s time? Mek officers who have been involved in training the 2000 terrorists are present for testimony.
Furthermore Mek created false Arab-Iraqi organizations by paying some villagers anxious for money under total embargo and aftermath of Golf war, to issue and release support communiques about MEK. All these atrocities were of course later disclosed by Iraqi Government officials in the media.
In this regards may I also share with you some of the experience of only two governments that have been very closely dealing with Mek for four decades such as Saudi Arabia and Franc, may that prevent the future backlash of overlooking the nature of MEK in your country by their host country.
The first document is how Saudi Arabia that is a strong financial and political supporter of MEK evaluates Mek.
The translation of the Arabic WikiLiks document is as follows:
In the Name of God the Merciful
The Head Saudi Intelligence
Ref No. 2113/510-18/12/35
Date: Jan 9, 2012; 15/02/1433
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Head of Saudi Intelligence (101)
Confidential Letter
Subject: About Maryam Rajavi
His Royal Highness the Prince, the of Secretary of State
Peace, mercy and blessings be upon you
With regards to the letter of the Prince ref, 51173/2/7 , on 13/02/1433 AH 7/2/50173 (equivalent to the January 7, 2012 AD – Translator),with regards to the message you received from Dr. Amer al-Tamimi, which in that message, he suggested to arrange a private meeting with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian head of MKO in Paris, and following that your Highness demanding the view point of the head of information Organization with regards to this request, we would like to inform His Highness as follows:
With regards to His Highness’s question and surprise in relation to the request letter of Dr. Amer Al Tamaimi stating that he is prepared to arrange a meeting with Maryam Rajavi apart from Dr. Saleh AL Motlaq and without his knowledge; the Head of Saudi Intelligence believes that, Dr. Al Tamimi’s request means that he is prepared to arrange an independent meeting without the knowledge of Dr. Al Motlaq, because he wishes to keep this meeting a secret and he also bears the responsibility for the meeting, also stating that Dr. Al Motlaq has no knowledge about it.
All the existing information tells us that, the Iranian Intelligence Services has infiltrated the Iranian Mojahedine Khalq Organization (MKO). Also this organization (MKO) has no role and effect in Iranian affairs and has no acceptance within Iran.
The second document is how French government considers Mek.
At the end my main concern are our family members and friends still enslaved by Mek in Tirana as the basic human rights to be facilitated the basic needs of free choice, free communications, and contact with parents and family members.
Sincerely yours
Davood Baghervand Arshad
Copy to:
Albanian Embassy
Albanian Embassy France,
Albanian Embassy Belgium
Albanian Embassy Holland
Albanian Embassy England
Albanian Embassy Italy
Albanian Embassy USA
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR Geneva
(End)
Baghervand Arshad, Ali Hossein Nejad and Homayoun Kohzadi
Mojahed’s disappearance is shrouded in mystery, the body is not in the reservoir
After ten days have elapsed since the “drowning” of the Iranian inhabitant at the MEK camp at Golan, the authorities cannot find any trace of him.
Three days of searching by the diving team in the reservoir where it was reported that the 47-year-old was drowned failed.
These circumstances reinforce the suspicions of the investigative group that they are dealing with a staging because it is suspected that they are dealing with an escape or murder of an Iranian citizen.
Sources from the investigative group told Ora News that there are suspicions that the Iranian’s drowning was staged as the entire reservoir has been searched by divers and the 47-year-old’s body has not been found yet.
The same sources point out that the 47-year-old, who has family in Iran, is suspected of escaping from the camp for still unclear reasons and his compatriots covered it by saying he had drowned.
According to them, on June 19, an Iranian citizen M.Sh. 47, resident in Golan, got into the reservoir of Rrotull village in Durrës, a few kilometers from their camp, to wash himself.
The Ora News film crew closely followed the searches that the divers and police conducted in the Rrotull village of the Manëz administrative department.
At the venue there were the forces of RENEA, a team of divers, Durrës police, and a representative of the Iranian community.
Off camera, Iranian expatriates said the 47-year-old had come along with three other compatriots to explore the area and drowned in the reservoir.
By: Leonidha Musaj , Ora News, Tirana, Albania
On June 19, 2018 Albanian police were officially informed by the Iranian Mojahedin (MEK), stationed at Camp Ashraf 3 in the Administrative Department of Manze, that a 47-year-old Mojahed named Malek Shara’i was drowned in the Rrotull village reservoir. According to the 4 Iranian Mojahedin who were with Malek, he got into the reservoir to help a friend of his who was at risk of drowning. Fortunately, the friend had escaped, but Malek was drowned in the irrigation channel. Albanian police sent divers of the special police unit RENEA as well as Durrës Port Authority divers to search for his body.
This is a possible assassination which raises a series of questions that create reasonable suspicion of at least one extrajudicial murder and also possibly, terrorist acts in Europe. Police initially reported finding clothes belonging to the missing victim on the shore of the reservoir, while the Iranian MEK of Camp Ashraf 3 officially insist that Malek jumped into the water fully clothed to save his companion (Sic!). Though for a week the search for his body engaged 5 trained and experienced divers of European standards, the body was not found. The searches have already been called off and for the Albanian police, the Iranian is officially considered a missing person.
This lack of shame raises many questions. The reservoir in the village has a small surface area and its maximum depth when full does not exceed 3 meters. In such a reservoir, small, not deep, with few or no reeds along the shore, our divers would have already found the body. Divers at the Durres Port Authority on Wednesday, as they were carrying out training activities at the Port of Durmitor, confirmed to me that they had not found the body and had stopped searching the reservoir.
Another question is the haste with which the Iran MEK declared Malek Shara’i a martyr [without finding a body]. Just as the President of the Republic, Ilir Meta, might decide to decorate Naim Frashëri after his death with the decoration of the Golden Eagle, the Trimestral Order. There are also similar precedents, for example, when Haxhi Lleshi awarded the late Zeliha Allmetaj with the high prize of the heroine of Socialist Work.
Leaving aside sarcasm, let’s ask the question publicly: If the Iranian’s body was not found in the reservoir, what really happened to it? Due to previous cases in Iraq in Ashraf and Liberty camps, Malek’s “martyrdom” is likely to have been executed by Madam Rajavi’s organization itself. Such executions without a trial or “partisan” trials, or as the English say, “Kangaroo Courts”, have often occurred in the ranks of the MEK. If such dirty work is true, it would be a scandal for Albania and should attract the attention of international media. We do not know the secret agreement of Prime Minister Rama about the transfer of these three thousand Mujahideen MEK to Albania, but I, as an Albanian patriot, cannot believe that the Prime Minister of my country, who portrays himself as a descendant of our rebels, would grant to Madam Rajavi’s people the right to extraterritoriality on Albanian soil. The April 1961 Vienna Convention on Immunities and Diplomatic Privileges did not accord to foreign diplomatic missions such rights over the life and death of their staff as these Iranian Mojahedin MEK, were officially offered when they were given shelter for humanitarian reasons on Albanian soil…
…Albania, my homeland, a NATO member country, and a candidate for becoming a member of the EU, is failing by being labelled the “Sick man of the Adriatic”. If Madam Rajavi’s men in Manzas have been murdered without trial or after a “partisan trial”, it is up to the Albanian prosecutors to open a criminal case for deliberate murder (first-degree murder). If Prime Minister Rama, in the agreement he has signed, has also given the Iranian Mujahideen MEK the right to extraterritoriality, then we are dealing not only with a violation of the law by the Prime Minister, but with national treason which under the Albanian Penal Code carries a sentence of 15 years imprisonment to life imprisonment! We hope that the Prosecutor General’s Office and the President of the Republic will pay due attention to this case, which is the question of the sovereignty of the Republic of Albania in its national territory!
In the case that Malek is still alive, we are dealing with a series of offenses ranging from human trafficking (as a light criminal offense) to terrorism. For such criminal acts, Madam Rajavi’s organization has precedents in Iraq. Malek, if alive, could be equipped with a biometric Albanian passport falsely provided by the system. With such a passport, the holder enjoys visa-free travel in all EU countries and the Schengen area. As a minimum we have human trafficking in this case. If Malek, equipped with such a passport, is sent to Europe to commit terrorist acts, then my homeland is stained, due to the irresponsibility of the current government, with supporting terrorism. Even worse, if Malek is provided with an Italian identity card for between 600-800 pounds sterling, then human trafficking or terrorist infiltration can also be carried out in the United Kingdom; the cost of such a document is completely sufficient to enter the United Kingdom (England) as well. As revealed by an investigation by the UK’s Daily Mail, such counterfeit Italian ID cards are easily purchased on the black market in Albania. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5889915/Forged-EU-identity-cards-used-enter-UK-illegally-order-just-THREE-DAYS.html
The above assumptions are not an Agatha Christie style fantasy. Until the body of Mojahed Malek Shara’i has been found, they are quite probably a reality. It is the professional and patriotic duty of Albanian journalists, that Malek’s case is not passed over according to the ‘three-day wonder’ principle. Whether a case of extrajudicial murder, or a case of trafficking or, God forbid, a case of attempted terrorism, the consequences fall on Albania, its name, its nationals and not the Government Rama as a signatory to the mysterious agreement for transferring over 3000 Iranian MEK to Albania for humanitarian reasons.
Gazeta Impakt , By Gjergji Thanasi/ Impact Newspaper
NATO and the United States, which, together, claim to be fighting some sort of amorphous “global war on terrorism,” have enabled a terrorist group to establish bases in two NATO member states.
NATO and the United States, which, together, claim to be fighting some sort of amorphous “global war on terrorism,” have enabled a terrorist group to establish bases in two NATO member states – France and Albania – and one NATO protectorate, Kosovo. After evacuating forces of the anti-Iranian terrorist group Mojahedin-e-Khalq from their former bases in Iraq, the United States and NATO facilitated the group’s establishment of a well-guarded military base in Manez, Albania, near Tirana. In addition to hosting MEK members, NATO has convinced Albania to accept members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who surrendered to Western special forces in Syria and Iraq.
The MEK was founded in 1965 and it has the unusual distinction of taking action to overthrow both the former government of the Shah of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Iran by relying on terrorist actions. In the early 1970s, the MEK embarked on a program of assassinating Iranian officials and U.S. personnel in Iran. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 saw the MEK’s program of bombings and shootings increase in intensity. The MEK is led by the husband-wife team of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, who opponents and ex-members of the MEK describe as leaders of what has become known as the “Rajavi Cult.” The Rajavis abhor criticism and have been known to silence former MEK members-turned-critics by having them constantly harassed or worse, assassinated.
The MEK’s most notable terrorist actions included:
the attempted kidnapping in 1970 of the U.S. ambassador to Iran, Douglas MacArthur II, the nephew of the famed World War II general.
the attempted assassination in 1972 of U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Harold Price with an improvised explosive device (IED).
the assassination in 1973 of U.S. Army officer Louis Lee Hawkins in Tehran. That same year, the MEK assassinated U.S. Air Force officers Col. Paul Shaffer and Lt. Col. Jack Turner.
the 1973 bombings of Pan-American World Airlines and Shell Oil offices in Tehran.
the assassination in Tehran in 1976 of three American employees of Rockwell International — William Cottrell, Donald Smith, and Robert Krongard. U.S. President Gerald Ford said he hoped that “the murderers will be brought to justice.” Instead, they are treated as heroes and the future government of Iran by bi-partisan leaders in Washington.
MEK threats to kill Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter during their respective May 1972 and December 1977 visits to Iran.
the 1978 assassination of Texaco oil executive Paul Grimm in Ahwaz, Iran.
assisting in the 1979 takeover by Iranian militants of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
the 1979 bombing in Tehran that killed the democratically-elected Iranian President, Mohammad Ali-Rajai, and Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar.
During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein permitted the MEK, also known as the “People’s Mojahedin,” to establish bases inside Iraq. Saddam armed the MEK and provided them with financial and logistical support to carry out terrorist attacks inside Iran. In 1988, the MEK, with Saddam’s assistance, launched a ground invasion of Iran.
In Operation Mersad, Iranian forces defeated the MEK, which had hoped to establish control over Iranian territory to establish a rival Iranian government. Had the MEK succeeded, the Middle East would have seen its first genuine terrorist state. Establishment of a terrorist state would have to wait until the Syrian civil war, when ISIL proclaimed an independent caliphate in occupied territory in Syria and Iraq.
After the United States ousted Saddam in the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, the MEK forces were confined to U.S.-protected compounds in Iraq, the most prominent being Camp Ashraf, the former U.S. military’s Camp Liberty. The new Iraqi government demanded the MEK forces leave Iraq. Acceding to Iraqi demands, the United States re-located 3,000 MEK members to the Manez base in Albania, which the MEK calls “Ashraf 3.” The MEK, which reportedly receives support from Israel’s Mossad, is said to be involved in money laundering and sex trafficking through the intensive use of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin.
Not surprisingly, MEK forces joined with ISIL forces in battling against Syrian and Iraqi government forces. The MEK saw ISIL as a natural ally in fighting pro-Iranian governments in Baghdad and Damascus. It was well-known to Western intelligence agencies that the MEK and ISIL had established an alliance, but, nevertheless, the Barack Obama administration removed the MEK from the U.S. State Department’s terrorist list in 2012. From 1997 to 2012, the United States officially designated the MEK as a foreign terrorist organization.
After ISIL forces were routed in Syria and Iraq, the United States pressured Albania to allow the Islamist terrorists to join their MEK allies in Albania. ISIL terrorists and their families have reportedly been housed in buildings in Tirana that were formerly occupied by MEK members prior to their transfer to the Manez base. From their Albanian base, MEK operatives have easily entered Kosovo, the location of another major NATO military base at Camp Bondsteel, near Ferizaj in eastern Kosovo. MEK terrorists, allied with sympathizers in Albania and Kosovo, have targeted Shi’a and Sufi Islamic institutions. It is also believed by some Albanian journalists, who have been intimidated by the Albanian government and MEK, that Ashraf 3 and Camp Bondsteel are being used to train MEK and other Middle Eastern mercenaries for a war against Iran to effect a NATO-led regime change operation.
The Albanian and Kosovo governments enjoy top-level access to the Trump administration. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, himself a one-time terrorist leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, are represented in Washington by Brian Ballard, a former Trump presidential campaign official who runs Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm based in Tallahassee, Florida.
Thanks to the political influence of the Rajavis, Rama, and Thaci, an unholy troika of the MEK, Albania, and Kosovo has blossomed under NATO’s nose in the Balkans. This troika’s tentacles extend throughout the Balkans and into Western Europe, particularly France, Italy, and Germany.
In June 2003, the Rajavi-operated MEK compound in the Paris suburb of Auvers-sur-Oise was raided by French police on the orders of anti-terrorist magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière. Maryam Rajavi was arrested, along with over 100 other MEK members. Intense political pressure from Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress resulted in criminal charges, including those involving money laundering, being dropped by the French government.
The Office for the Protection of the German Constitution (DPA) has accused the MEK of not only money laundering but receiving charitable donations in return for “assisting” refugees. The Germans charges that the MEK’s charitable donations were spent on terrorist operations.
In 2004, a U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation report stated that the MEK financed its operations “through a complex international money laundering operation that uses accounts in Turkey, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.”
The MEK enjoys widespread support in the Trump White House, as well as in the U.S. Congress. One of the MEK’s biggest boosters is Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton. On April 1, 2017, Bolton addressed an MEK Nowruz (Persian New Year) conference in Albania and declared that the MEK would be celebrating taking power in Tehran before 2019. Bolton added, “I have believed for over a decade now that the declared policy of the United States should be regime change in Iran. And the sooner the better, for the sake of international peace and security.” Over many years, Bolton has repeatedly spoken at MEK events in Paris and New York and has reportedly accepted a total of $180,000 in speaker’s fees from the organization. The MEK primarily receives financial backing from Saudi Arabia and Israel. Some of the funds are funneled to Western politicians as honoraria in return for their speeches at MEK events in venues like Paris, Tirana, and New York.
In addition to Bolton, a frequent recipient of MEK speakers’ honoraria is former New York Mayor and Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, a person who is so corrupt, the Italian mafia wanted to have him “eliminated.” Two former CIA directors, James Woolsey and Porter Goss, have spoken at MEK events, along with one former FBI director, Louis Freeh, Jr.
The MEK is represented in Washington by the law firm of Joseph diGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing. DiGenova almost became Trump’s personal attorney. However, diGenova took his name out of consideration due to conflicts of interest and Giuliani accepted the job.
In June 2017, the MEK and ISIL coordinated a terrorist attack on the Iranian parliament in Tehran and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The terrorists were armed with AK-47s, hand grenades, and explosive-laden suicide vests. At least 12 people were killed in the attacks. The Trump White House defended the MEK/ISIL attack in stating, “We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the White House statement “repugnant.”
The Trump administration’s neocons, notably Bolton and Giuliani, are hell-bent on regime change in Iran. They are ramping up their terrorist army in the Balkans for such a future war.
Wayne Madsen, Mint Press,
In the framework of the Conference Against Violent Extremism, held in Tirana a couple of days ago, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov stated that Albania will become a coordination centre for former ISIS fighters, who have deserted and want to return to their countries in the Balkans.
In the relative silence of Albanian Prime Minister Rama, who during the press conference offered no additional details on such plan or any negotiated terms, there is a lot of speculation, mostly by online media.
Unfortunately, it seems that is not just a rumour. Recently there have been declarations from European leaders that the EU is considering the possibility of establishing a refugee camp outside its territory. Two days ago, regarding the same issue, the French newspaper “Le Monde” wrote that two countries that desire to join EU, Albania and Kosovo, have been discussed.
Even before, Albania has been used as a place that has sheltered unwanted people. In 2005, the US sent to Albania a group of prisoners from Guantanamo. From 2013-2016, Washington delivered MEK extremists to Albania from Iraq. It was the time when the State Secretary Hillary Clinton left MEK fighters off the US terrorist list, to allow members be sent to third countries. The EU did not accept them. At that time, the Albanian government agreed to set up a de-radicalization institute, to reintegrate extremists into society. But, the plan was not completed and it is said that the budget remained untouched in the US Embassy in Tirana. With the election of Trump as US President, following a new policy, now MEK is said to be allowed to re-organize, as a useful means to weaken Iran.
The same trajectory will be followed by former ISIS fighters originated from the Western Balkans, to be rehabilitated. With the right training, the former ISIS fighters will become a similar force against other radical countries in the Middle East.
Until now, the Albanian government has denied such reports. They say the topic regards the Centre of Coordination against Violent Extremism, which organized the international conference in Tirana a couple of days ago. In the conference, the Albanian government proposed to make it a regional centre that will carry out analysis, assessments, studies, information exchange and common programs against violent extremism.
The Albanian government has always been reserved and has not accepted publicly at once such controversial issues. Of course, Albanians would not be willing to accept terrorists in their country, even if they are penitent. Albania is considered a safe place regarding terrorism. But now many things are going to change. It is expected that there will be a greater flux of refugees from the Middle East through Albania, now that Turkey has closed its doors and Italy as well, with the election of the new government. Refugees may use Albania as a corridor to the West. The EU has already signed a cheque of 28 million euros with Serbia, to help the country set up shelter centres for emigrants. It remains to be seen if they will do the same thing with Albania.
Kozeta ÇikaKozeta Çika, Tsarizm, Tiranan, Albania
Kozeta Çika
KOZETA (ÇUADARI) ÇIKA KOZETA ÇIKA is an English teacher and translator from Tirana, Albania. She has graduated English Language and Literature at the Faculty of History and Philology, Tirana University. She has been a professional English teacher at the Foreign Languages School and Tirana University for many years, as well as teaching private courses in her own Teaching&Translating office since 1998. Currently, she runs her private Info&Consulting Office, in the field of news and educational issues. She has also worked for various translation projects with ACER (Albanian Centre for Economic Research), since 1998. Since 2001 she has been Albanian Rep for Liberty International. She has reported for various online newsletters and has translated and published libertarian and artistic literature into Albanian (20 books). She is the organizer of WalkForCapitalism (2001) and LI World Conference (2014) in Tirana. She was honoured with the Liberty Award at the Libertarian International World Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland 2013, for her work in favour of freedom in the Western Balkans.
Albanian Police arrested several people on money laundry charges, Sahar Family Foundation cited from Albanian media.
The arrested men including two Jewish Albanians, laundered thousands of euros by the aid of an NGO named FARA. The money was funneled to Albania from Israel.
The construction permit was issued by the Albanian National Territorial Council for the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/MEK/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi) to construct their new Camp Ashraf 3 in Manze in Durres region in North of Albania. However, the permit was officially granted to FARA, (an extremely problematic issue for Albania and Albanians).
The relation between the arrestees and the confiscated money with the MKO and its third camp is under investigation.