Mujahedin Khalq Organization

MEK controlling Iraqi parliament’s communication networks

The company providing communication networks to the Iraqi government, parliament and a number of key institutions in Iraq is actually a front company for the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq MEK controlling Iraqi parliament’s communication networks Organization (MKO, a.k.a. MEK and PMOI), says one source.

According to the Habilian Foundation website report, the source told the Arabic language al-Mustaqbal daily newspaper that the company also provided internet services to the government, parliament, and several key institutions in Iraq.

“Foreign companies are often entrusted with the provision of Internet services, but this company belongs to the MEK which has been incorporated in three countries, including Australia.

The source underlined that the company conspired with several authorities to infiltrate into the institutions and organizations over 5 years (2006 to 2011).

During the Iraq’s 2010 parliamentary elections, some informed sources announced that the Internet Service Provider to the country’s Independent High Electoral Commission was affiliated to terrorist MEK group.

July 11, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

Forever in Exile: The Iranian Mujahideen-e Khalq

The Mujahideen-e Khalq will never have the necessary popular grassroots to carry the banner of a future revolution against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

With the failure of yet another round of nuclear talks and the Islamic Republic of Iran remaining ever more defiant, sentiments in the West may once again shift to regime change and positioning opposition groups as alternatives to the current leadership. The Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian Islamic-leftist terrorist organization, is one of the major such opposition groups to the current regime in Iran.

Espousing a controversial blend of Islamic-Marxism and claimed secular outlook, the MEK originated from anti-Shah university students. It later adapted into the cultish militant group of the Forever in Exile: The Iranian Mujahideen-e Khalq 1990s and eventually into the self-described liberal-Islamic alternative to the regime that exists in Tehran today.

Continuing an apparent metamorphosis, the MEK and its associates claim to have shirked their original anti-Western roots and now seek recognition by the international system in their struggle to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran and to establish an apparent democratic society with secular ideals. From their current base of operations in Iraq and around the world, the MEK continue to fight a battle for legitimacy and identity through a well-funded lobbying campaign to gain the favor of the West and facilitate opposition to the Islamic Republic. Still, the MEK’s violent history and Iran’s long cultural memory do not bode well for its prospects of acceptance by Iranians as an alternative to the authoritarian state. Thus, while it will continue to expediently transform, it is unlikely that the MEK can effectively rebrand its image to suit the Iranian people. This can be attributed to its violent history, cultish overtones, and cooperation with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war.

Enemy of the State

The MEK’s ideology has been developing since the group emerged in 1963. Initially, the organization sought to antagonize what it perceived as a US–Shah dependent relationship. Violent undercurrents were evident in their efforts as some members underwent combat training with fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). By 1972 two failed attacks on the regime brought reprisals as the SAVAK — the Shah’s secret police — imprisoned half their members. The militant trend continued as the MEK’s terrorist attacks and street fighting, with Westerners also in the crosshairs, contributed to the overthrow of the Shah. In the consolidation of power after the Shah fell, the MEK positioned itself as ideologically antithetical to the proponents of an Islamic republic, and thus suffered additional retaliations.

The group eventually dissolved and its remaining leadership fled from the hostility of the Islamic regime. In 1981, the leaders escaped to Paris and completed the transition of the MEK from a grassroots peoples’ movement to a cultish organization focusing on an armed attrition. From their base of operations, the MEK fought a “tit for tat” with Hezbollah, engaging Iranian targets across the world.

From Terrorists to Traitors

While the MEK has an extensive public history of violence in Iran, the pinnacle of its repugnance in the eyes of many Iranians came during its cooperation with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Chased out of Iran, the MEK settled under the wing of the Ba’athist regime in the 1980s. From Iraq, the National Liberation Army (NLA), the paramilitary wing of the group, carried out military excursions and over the horizon attacks on Iran. Directly fighting against their countrymen while guests of Saddam, the MEK reached a new low for Iranians as it became allies with one of Iran’s most hated enemies in one of her bloodiest wars.

After the Iran-Iraq War, the counterstrike between Iran and the MEK continued well into the 1990s. Military incursions into Iran were met with an MEK base falling victim to Iranian airpower. In response, 13 Iranian embassies were targeted by the MEK. Other attacks inside Iran, such as bombings and assassinations, continued throughout the decade.

In 2002, the MEK released corroborated intelligence that Iran was covertly enriching uranium, seeking to gain the favor of the West and to undermine Tehran. Today, the MEK remains on the US State Department’s terrorism list, and its personnel in Iraq at Camp Ashraf remain in a dangerous state of flux while their fate is debated in a newly hostile Iraq. Despite the publically uneasy relations with Western governments, the MEK reportedly maintains a partnership with international intelligence agencies in a covert sabotage and espionage effort against Iran’s nuclear program.

As the MEK continues to weather hostility from the Iraqi government, it also fights a different kind of battle for legitimacy from the West. The MEK’s old hostility towards the West has been supplanted by a professional and well-funded public relations campaign to convince Western policy elites of a reformation from a violent past and of the MEK’s new status as a viable democratic opposition group to the Islamic Republic.

Regardless of whether these claims of rebirth are true, the MEK faces huge obstacles in its struggle for legitimacy in the hearts and minds of the Iranian people. Its violent history of political resistance and its treasonous relationship with Saddam has left a stubborn sense of loathing for the organization within Iranian consciousness. The animosity and mistrust for the MEK will be persistent as history shows that the proud Persian culture does not take such interference and hostility lightly.

For Iranians, past “insults” persist within their cultural memory; the Arab invasion of the Sassanid Empire in the 7th century is still lamented to this day in Iranian culture as a grand affront against Persian heritage. In modern times, Iranian’s have felt their sovereignty was being infringed upon due to the great game in Iran being played by Russia, Britain and the US. Indeed, this has not been forgotten either.

Perhaps most salient is the American led coup d’état of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq in 1953, which resulted in a still seething animosity and blowback, which helped trigger the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Furthermore, Iranians are very nationalistic, and in dire straits, such as during the Iran-Iraq War, they have supported their country despite reservations towards the new Islamic Republic. It is thus unlikely that the proud Iranian public will forget the MEK’s violent, cultish and treasonous past.

Although clouded by the intense propaganda from both the Islamic Republic and the MEK, there appears to be very little love or sympathy for the MEK from Iranians. These sentiments are practical corroborators of the theoretical possibility that, despite its resistance to the hated Iranian regime, the MEK will continue to receive its share of animosity from Iranians.

If not mass popular appeal, the MEK does have impressive funding and apparent support from entities not well disposed to the Iranian regime. However, without a grassroots momentum, the MEK can never become the viable superstructure of an opposition movement that some in the West, who ignore the MEK’s failings for the potential prize of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, hope for.

In fact, it need not be.[..]
That is not to say that MEK has no role in Iran’s future. In the past, revolutionary scale resistance movements in Iran have been populist amalgamations of varied and diverse groups from both the right and the left. If the cauldron of popular dissent once more reaches a critical point in Iran, the MEK cannot hope to completely — ideologically and fundamentally — encompass what will surely be a larger and more diverse enterprise. Nonetheless, that reality does not preclude it from some role in fighting with their fellow Iranians, as they have in the past, for a free future.

Ari Katz, Fairobserver

July 9, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

High-ranking MKO terrorist dies in Iraqi capital

A high-ranking member of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) has died at a hospital in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

According to a Monday report by the Mehr news agency, Batoul Rajaei died of lung cancer several days ago after her health deteriorated. She had been transferred from Camp Liberty – a former US military base near Baghdad’s International Airport – to a medical center in Baghdad.

The report added that the MKO insisted on conducting her burial at Camp Liberty. Iraqi officials, however, opposed the request and buried Rajaei far off the camp.

According to the terrorist group, Rajaei joined the MKO in March 1984, and received terrorist training in Pakistan. She was elected to the so-called MKO leadership council in 1993.

Rajaei was reportedly responsible for brainwashing MKO members into carrying out acts of terror, and oversaw the torture of those who sought to quit the terrorist organization.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

The group is known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

The MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

July 3, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

The War of Words Against Iran’s MEK

For the last several months, articles about the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian dissident group, have spread like wildfire through the mainstream U.S. press. The firestorm began in early February 2012 after anonymous White House officials accused the group of assassinating several Iranian nuclear scientists with the help of the Israeli government. Media coverage gained further traction after reports surfaced about alleged payments made by the MEK to former, high-ranking U.S. officials in exchange for their work in lobbying to remove the group from the The War of Words Against Iran’s MEK State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.

While focused mainly on these issues, the MEK media frenzy has also reflected several notable tendencies. First, the coverage has overwhelmingly depicted the group as a cultish, terrorist organization. Second, with its single-minded focus on the group’s “terrorist” pedigree, reporting on the MEK has made short shrift of the its long, complex, and controversial history. Little background has been provided on the group’s origins as a popular political organization and transformation into a resistance movement in exile, and even less insight has been given about its current status as a cult-like group.

In order to evaluate competing claims about the MEK’s terrorist credentials and its current position vis a vis the United States, Iran, and Israel, an understanding of this history is critical.

The Political Organization

The MEK was established in 1965 by three young university-educated professionals, Mohammed Hanifnejad, who would become the group’s first leader, Saied Mohsen, and Ali Asghar Badi’zadegan. From its inception, the organization dedicated itself to the overthrow of Iran’s then-ruler, Reza Shah Pahlavi. While committed to armed struggle, the MEK’s work remained largely non-violent and focused on spreading its anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist message to students and factory workers, among others.

The MEK espoused a political ideology described as “Eslame Vaghee” or “True Islam,” which combined Islamic concepts with principles of social justice. While religious practices, like daily prayer, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and zakat (alms giving to the poor), formed an important part of its political philosophy, the MEK was far from a militant Islamic organization. Eschewing regressive and reactionary forms of Islam, the MEK’s religious philosophy developed out of a commitment to the progressive, liberating power of Islam and reflected Iranian society’s strong Islamic identity.

Over time, the MEK gained substantial support, particularly among students, religious clerics, and “bazaaris,” Iran’s powerful merchant class. In response to this growing popularity, the MEK’s leadership and many of its supporters were arrested in 1971 by the SAVAK, Iran’s notorious secret police. While the organization’s founders along with most of its leadership were executed in April-May 1972, a handful of MEK leaders were spared execution and sentenced to life imprisonment. Among this small group was Massoud Rajavi, who would go on to become the MEK’s primary leader in the decades to come.

After the Iranian Revolution began and MEK leaders were released from prison, the group formally joined forces with various organizations, including the followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Living as an exile in Paris during the lead up to the revolution, Khomeini had appreciated the value of working with the MEK, which enjoyed a strong support base inside the country.

This collaborative relationship substantially changed after the Ayatollah’s triumphant return to Iran in February 1979, following the ouster of Iran’s shah. Shortly after his arrival, the Ayatollah’s followers presented the MEK with an ultimatum – either unconditionally support Khomeini as Iran’s next ruler or face political isolation. Refusing to accept these terms, the group began publicly opposing Khomeini’s bid for power.

An outright war quickly developed between the two sides, with the new government arresting and killing countless MEK followers. The group responded with armed attacks against government installations and officials. By mid to late 1981, most MEK members who had not been arrested or killed fled the country, in what would become permanent exile for most.

Armed Resistance in Exile

Now focused on toppling the Islamic Republic, the MEK continued its work abroad. It established political headquarters in Paris and operated a series of “kanoons”, or community centers, around the world, including in several U.S. cities. A kanoon, which was typically an apartment or house owned or rented by a MEK supporter, served as a gathering place, center for grassroots organizing, and venue for community celebrations. In the early 1980s, most MEK members living outside of Iran were overwhelmingly young, recent émigrés. For these displaced individuals, the kanoons represented a safe haven, where they could live rent-free, speak Farsi, socialize, and meet other like-minded individuals.

Despite the civic and political work happening in these venues, armed resistance was at the heart of the MEK’s struggle against the Islamic Republic. In 1986, with the blessing of Saddam Hussein, the group established Camp Ashraf, a military base in Iraq near the Iran-Iraq border. Here, the MEK transformed its most committed supporters, both male and female, into a conventional fighting force. Periodically, this small but fervent group of soldiers would stage incursions into Iran [and only Iran], the most notable coming after the 1988 ceasefire ending the Iran-Iraq war.

While Saddam had provided the MEK with the vast majority of its arms, by the end of the 1991 Gulf War, this financial and logistical support had started to dwindle, an unintended victim of UN sanctions against Iraq. While the MEK continued to stage minor assaults into Iran, armed incursions became less and less feasible, and less and less frequent throughout the 1990s.

To add insult to injury, the MEK was also becoming increasingly irrelevant as an opposition group, having lost substantial support among the Iranian public. Many MEK supporters still inside Iran had been executed in 1988, in an infamous purge of the notorious Evin Prison. The decision to center MEK operations in Iraq was, however, the most damaging to the group’s reputation. Despite the clear practical and strategic reasons for this move, many Iranians saw the establishment of Camp Ashraf as an act of national betrayal, coming as it did during the height of the Iran-Iraq war.

The Cult

With prospects of toppling the Islamic Republic increasingly slim, the MEK focused on perpetuating its ideology and maintaining the devotion of its remaining members. Massoud Rajavi was presented as the organization’s god-like ideological father, while his wife, Maryam Rajavi, became the figurehead and public face of MEK leadership. Despite an avowed commitment to democratic ideals, the MEK intensified its already regimented system of internal governance, quashing dissent and rewarding only those blindly obedient to the group’s leadership.

Although these tendencies had existed before the post-Gulf War period, panic and desperation took these practices into overdrive. In the hopes of developing a devoted cadre of followers, the MEK divided families, separating husbands from wives and parents from children. Many of the organization’s most fervent members, who had willingly given up family and career, became wholly dependent upon the MEK. For these individuals, daily life was largely restricted to the confines of Camp Ashraf, the Paris headquarters, or the kanoons. These institutions functioned as echo chambers in which the organization’s philosophy was repeatedly emphasized. To feed this propaganda machine, the MEK, which already published its own books and newspaper, created a satellite television network, began producing its own music, and, eventually, had its own boy band to boot.

While this strategy helped forge a deeply committed, though small, group of MEK supporters, for many the intolerance and subjugation was unbearable. Unsurprisingly, throughout the 1990s, the group lost scores of supporters.

The United States, Israel, and Iran

With its armed activities curtailed, its support within Iran virtually non-existent, and its membership abroad dwindling, in the 1990s, the MEK increased efforts to build support among Western government officials. While the results were tepid at best, the Presidency of George W. Bush, September 11, 2011, and the 2003 Iraq invasion changed the rules of the game. Suddenly, prominent American politicians of the neo-conservative strain were ready to speak with the MEK. And the MEK was more willing than ever to join these conversations.

In 1997, the group had been placed on the State Department’s terrorism list, in response to pressure from Iranian President Mahmoud Khatami. In the hopes that Khatami, a reformer, would soften Iran’s stance towards the United States, the Clinton Administration acquiesced to the request. Although the State Department designation initially had little affect on the MEK, after September 11th, the group’s activities in the United States were significantly curtailed, coming to a near standstill.

Desperation makes strange bedfellows. Facing virtual annihilation, in 2002-2003, the MEK solidified its now notorious relationship with certain neo-conservative elements of the Bush Administration, as well as with the Israeli government. In the short-term, the MEK focused on removing its name from the State Department list and protecting its military base in Iraq, which was threatened by talks of an impending U.S. invasion of the country. In the long-term, the group saw its dreams of toppling the Iranian government align perfectly (for the first time) with the goals of a sitting U.S. President. Israeli support for the MEK was welcomed for similar reasons, although the assistance was deeper both ideologically and logistically. The MEK’s leadership threw itself head on into cultivating these relationships and the rest, as they say, is history.

Conclusion

As it stands today, the MEK is a broken and largely irrelevant group. Concerned only with generating support among a narrow segment of the U.S. political elite, it has engaged in a bitter rivalry with a number of Iranian-American leaders and groups, such as the National Iranian American Council. While this bad blood partly explains the recent negative publicity about the MEK, at base, the group remains very insular and secretive, with little interest in cultivating public opinion within Iran or the diaspora.

Given its past relationships and strategic-interests, rumors about the MEK’s role in assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists may be true, and, if so, raise serious concerns about removing the group from the State Department’s list. Putting these allegations aside, however, the MEK’s reach and impact, whether inside or outside Iran, has dwindled to a trickle. With its Iraqi military base virtually lost and its credibility with most Iranians permanently destroyed, the group has come far from its roots as a popular political organization. Regardless of the power and influence of its new friends, the MEK stands little chance of ever coming to power in Iran.

Muftah.org

June 27, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

What is the MKO dreaming of?

After the relocation of about 2000 people of camp Ashraf to the new Temporary Transit Location (Camp Liberty /Hurriya) the relocation process has been seemingly ceased by the MKO. The What the MKO is dreaming of? leaders of the group do not cooperate with Iraqi government , the UN and the US State Department any more.

The group leaders –apparently mad with the attorney for the US State Department who said that the US army has never been able to inspect Camp Ashraf to make sure it was disarmed — issued a statement and “invited” the State Department to inspect the camp.[1]

Besides, the MKO took a strong stance against the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Iraq, Martin Kobler. As usual, the group accused him of serving Islamic Republic of Iran and the government of Nouri al-Maliki.[2]

In its turn the US State Department issued a statement on June18, urging “immediate cooperation of Mujahidin Khalq with the Iraqi Government and UN”. The statement reads that the DOS remains concerned about the situation at camp Ashraf. Victoria Nuland, the spokesperson of the DOS, about the MKO’s recent “invitation for inspection”, said:”Constructive offers must be met with constructive spirit, and not with refusals or preconditions to engage in Dialogue.”She calls the group’s new pretext to stay in Ashraf as “an unnecessary distraction”.[3]

Why such reluctance again by the side of the MKO?

While the State Department believes that the Camp residents and their leadership – both in Iraq and in Paris – should recognize this path as a safe and humane resolution to this situation, the MKO leaders seem to oppose the complete closure of Ashraf and eventually their expulsion from Iraq. And, while the US Secretary of State has said that the camp closure is “a key factor in determining whether the organization remains invested in its violent past” [3] the MKO shows no sign of cooperation in order to comply with Iraqi government’s legal right — that is to sweep foreign forces off its territory.

Since the last convoy of Ashraf residents on May 5th there has been no convoy, according to senior US administration officials who attended a Special Briefing on June18, 2012. “Since that time, the MEK has curtailed its contacts both with the Iraqi Government but even with the UN, refusing to meet with Ambassador Martin Kobler, the head of the UN mission in Iraq.”[4]

The official believes that two probable reasons may have led the MKO to slow down its cooperation with the UN and the Iraq Government. “…there are two issues that have occurred to us. One, the MEK may have over-interpreted Iraqi politics and the possibility of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Maliki. That vote appears to be receding,.” he said.” A second reason is it may be an MEK over-interpretation and misunderstanding of the recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling with respect to delisting.”[5]

However, the other official clarifies that the court has not told Secretary Clinton to delist the group and its leaders are “quite plainly, wrong”. the official concludes,” So it is time for the MEK to recognize that Ashraf is not going to remain an MEK base in Iraq.”[6]

What does the MKO propaganda do to fulfill the dream?

A delegation of Iraqi senior officials traveled to Europe to mobilize support for Camp Ashraf evacuation and secure transfer of the residents to Camp Liberty [TTL]. The delegation attended the meeting of the Relationship with Iraq Committee at the European Parliament. [7]
Iraqi Foreign Minister Undersecretary, Labid Abbawi proposed a statement about the meeting.”The meeting focused on the efforts made by the Iraqi Government in order to secure the transfer of Camp Ashraf residents to Camp Liberty in a peaceful manner and in accordance with international standards and in respect to human rights and international humanitarian law,” the statement said.[8]

Meanwhile the MKO’s propaganda arm, National Council of Resistance broadcasts the same event in a completely opposite way, claiming that the delegation is charged “to justify inhumane and suppressive behavior towards residents of Ashraf and Liberty.”[9]

The US administration official denounces the group’s propaganda by saying “We support the government considering people for refugee or otherwise bringing them in. Now, the United States is prepared to do its part. We take this obligation seriously. [10]

The MKO propaganda is all the time complaining of the “terrible “conditions of life at TTL. American officials, on the other hand, say that they follow condition at camp liberty in detail: ” We follow conditions at Camp Liberty in detail. We receive daily reports from the United Nations. We have an exact notion of the daily water supply. We know that it is – that each resident now receives about 200 liters per person per day of water. We follow the issues – we follow issues of electricity generation, problems with air conditioners, problems with sewage, that sort of thing. Medical treatment is available. The residents who need it are escorted to Baghdad hospitals. They’re allowed back. They’re given treatment. We follow this in great detail. “[11]

About complexities of MKO leaders’ approach towards the relocation issue, a US senior Official said,” We do not understand why, for example, they consider it in their interest to refuse contact with Martin Kobler, the head of the UN mission in Iraq, who, more than any other person, has – is responsible for the relative success of these relocations so far.” Of-course the official seems to find the answer- which is originated in the cult-like substance of the MKO. “They seem to be concerned with their organizational integrity”, he says.[12]

In order to maintain their integrity, the MKO resort to any probable pretext. The current political situation of Iraq appears to be a very little hope for the group to stay in its Iraqi headquarters Camp Ashraf where the forces are totally isolated from the world, obedient to their leaders. In response to a question posed by National Journal correspondent about the MKO’s possible strategy for the time being, the official said,” there is some evidence, and we – I would say that as an informed speculation, we believe the MEK may indeed calculate that a change of government in Iraq could rebound to their advantage, and they may be able – and they might be able to stay.

They do have some support among the Sunni politicians, but we believe that they are gravely mistaken to think that any Iraq – conceivable Iraqi government would, in fact, allow them to remain as a paramilitary organization in Iraq. We think that their time in Iraq is over.” [13]

By Mazda Parsi

References:
[1]The MKO Website. Nejat bloggers are either former MKO members or have a family member who is currently held in Camp Ashraf. They have suffered deeply because of Massoud Rajavi’s crimes. While the Nejat Bloggers recognize that citing sources of information is essential ,we, as a society feel so strongly against the MKO that we have agreed to not include the group’s websites or links in our articles because we consider it as kind of publicity for the cult.
[2]ibid
[3] US State Department, State Department urges immediate full cooperation of MEK, June18,2012
[4] US State Department, Press Release, Senior Administration officials on Camp Ashraf,June19,2012
[5]ibid
[6]ibid
[7] allIraqnews.com, FM Undersecretary participates in European Parliament session, June 2o, 2012
[8]ibid
[9] The MKO Website. Nejat bloggers are either former MKO members or have a family member who is currently held in Camp Ashraf. They have suffered deeply because of Massoud Rajavi’s crimes. While the Nejat Bloggers recognize that citing sources of information is essential ,we, as a society feel so strongly against the MKO that we have agreed to not include the group’s websites or links in our articles because we consider it as kind of publicity for the cult.
[10] US State Department, Press Release, Senior Administration officials on Camp Ashraf, June19, 2012
[11]ibid
[12]ibid
[13]ibid

June 21, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

Hidden sources of MKO funds revealed

Qorban Ali Husseini Nezhad, a former high ranking member of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) on foreign affairs escaped the group after 30 years of organizational membership. Mr. Husseini Nezhad declared his defection from the MKO after he ran away from Temporary Transit Location (Camp Liberty) on Wednesday April25, 2012. It is worth mentioning that he had been terribly condemned by Massoud Rajavi in the group’s brainwashing meetings because he had written a criticizing paper against Massoud. Massoud in his turn accused him of distributing announcements against the organization. And this was a crime, according to Rajavi!!!
Mr. Husseini Nezhad declares his separation from the MKO in a letter:

I am Qorban Ali Husseini Nezhad, nicknamed Qolam in the MKO. I declare my defection from the traitor criminal Cult of Rajavi known as Mujahedin Khalq Organization. As a top Arabic interpreter, I was in fact imprisoned in the cult for over 30 years.

I used to translate all the MKO’s books, journals, announcements, letters, statements and websites to Arabic, and to teach many others in my field. I have a long record of involvement with the MKO as a sympathizer, activist and an exiled member. When I saw the MKO’s deviation from true Islam and the first founders’ ideals of 40 years ago, I decided to leave the group. I attempted to escape the organizational prison of the cult several times inside Iran, abroad and even when I was kept in Ashraf garrison in Iraq but because of the severe oppressive control over the members and my family problems I couldn’t leave it. Finally, at mid-day of Wednesday April25, 2011 I succeeded to leave the cult by the help of human rights monitoring delegation of UNAMI who were visiting Camp liberty. They could break through serious supervision and intelligence control by the cult leaders over Camp Ashraf and Liberty.

In the early days of Iranian Revolution, I didn’t admit to the call by some of my friends and ex-commanders in Shah’s prison who urged me to professionally join the MKO. Instead, I cooperated with transitional government of Mehdi Bazargan so I became the governor of my town (Mianeh in North Western of Iran). I opposed the MKO riot and crisis mongering actions. I declared my independence candidacy for the first parliament election after the revolution. All religious intellectuals and even the MKO supported my candidacy in my town. I failed to be elected in the parliament.

So I got back to my own job as a teacher in Karaj.

In the summer of 1981, the MKO had created a horrible condition in Iran, committing acts of terror. The authorities of the MKO urged me to go into hiding. So I entered the organization. They sent me and my wife and my only child abroad. I worked for the MKO in Europe for a few years and then they sent me and my family to Iraq in 1987 after the group leadership moved to Iraq.
In Iraq, I worked for the cult for over twenty years. I was the assistant of a battalion commander – although I haven’t accepted the so-called ideological revolution. I was working as an interpreter and because of my job, I witnessed Rajavi’s services and spying acts for Saddam Hussein and his regime and even for American occupiers.

Rajavi’s entire leadership structure was a part of Iraqi intelligence service and his so-called National Liberation army (NLA) was a part of Iraqi military. In his last visit with Saddam Hussein in August 2000, he asked Hussein to increase his oil share up to 100 thousand barrels a day (3 million barrels a month), according to the documents and letters I translated or reports composed by his closest comrades that I was able to read. Rajavi received his oil share in coupons which were then sent to Europe to be changed into dollars. Rajavi’s quota from Iraqi oil was 50 to 70 thousand barrels before the visit. This amount was not included in many other million barrels of oil that was offered to him out of oil for food program.
This is the multi-million financial source of the MKO. Rajavi has invested these large amounts in Western countries under the cover of front companies. Today the outcomes of such investment are spent for Maryam’s expenses in her Parisian Palace and her various fashionable clothes, as well as the group’s conferences and luxurious parties in Europe and the US. The money is also used to pay their speakers including former American intelligence, military and security officials. The MKO also spends it to buy lobbying firms and to run expensive advertisements in American, Iraqi and European newspapers as well as their TV channels.

They have bought thousands of Western attorneys and dozens of Iraqi mercenaries in order to maintain their hostages in their cult and to prevent the collapse of the cult. They spent their money to suppress, torture, kill and ruin the lives of a large number of youth of the Iranian nation and to beg United States to delist them. “Their overthrow Strategy is stuck behind the list”!

As we see, Rajavi’s claims of Iranians’ financial support for the group and all his tricks in fundraising programs are shallow and just like a cover to hide the oil resources they plundered from Iraqi people; like a justification to whiten their multi-million operating cost. Besides, they received dozens of thousands of arms and thousands of tons of munitions from Iraq. A few months before the American invasion in 2003, they took their oil quota for the next 6 months (18 million barrels) in advance due to the probability of American invasion .After the invasion they handed the arms and munitions to American occupiers.

After the fall of Saddam as I was a translator I closely witnessed the MKO’s systematic intervention in Iraqi affairs and their spying acts in side of American forces against Iraqi people aiming to maintain their cult in Iraq. I eye witnessed preparation and translation of a large number of fake statements, letters, speeches, interviews with so-called Iraqi tribe leaders, authorities and communities.

Some people were paid to sign the so-called letters and fill out the so-called forms millions of times! They made efforts to instigate crisis and division among ethnic groups and political parties in Iraq particularly in Diala Province where Camp Ashraf was located. Ultimatey they failed in their extended campaign to overthrow the Iraqi government!
They formed an operation chamber for Iraqi election in order to influence the election result.

Inside the cult, suppression and excessive control over members, their relation and even their thoughts were increased. Daily criticism meetings and weekly sexual torture meeting were held to brainwash the members.

Two individuals were forbidden to talk to each other. They were totally isolated, cut from the outside world, deprived from any contact with family, friends and even media. Members were imprisoned inside units. I myself was imprisoned in a prison called “Exit” because I had individually talked to Iraqis. I was accused of immoral acts that I will explain in details in my further interviews.

After I left Camp liberty, I visited Mr. Kobler, UN special representative in Iraq. I described the conditions at camp Liberty where the group leaders created another “Ashraf”. There, they have started their strict supervision system, they continued brainwashing sessions. I told Mr. Kobler that most members were willing to leave the cult. I asked him to facilitate necessary possibilities for their exit from TTL. Mr. Kobler promised to pursue their case, saying that my testimonies confirmed what other former members of the MKO have revealed about the group.

I send congratulations to all survivors released from the terrorist inhumane cult of Rajavi.

I ask my other colleagues who left the group to denounce it in a united challenging effort by the help of media, Iraqi government and international bodies, particularly UNAMI in order to release our imprisoned brothers and sisters in the cult of Rajavi.

Translated by Nejat Society

June 2, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?

How do you get a group described by the US government as a cult and an officially designated foreign terrorist organisation to be viewed by many congressmen and parliamentarians as champions of human rights and secular democracy?

It would challenge even the most talented PR executive.

The starkly differing perceptions of the MEK or People’s Mujahideen of Iran could be a case study in the power of image management – of what can be achieved not with guns but by the way information is disseminated.

The organisation has a history of ideological and tactical flexibility.

Since the 1970s, its rhetoric has changed from Islamist to secular; from socialist to capitalist; from pro-Iranian-revolution to anti-Iranian-revolution; from pro-Saddam to pro-American; from violent to peaceful.

Former members consistently describe participating in regular public confessions of their sexual fantasies”

And there is another dichotomy – it has admiring supporters and ardent critics.

Take, for example, the US military officers who had to deal with the MEK after they invaded Iraq in 2003.

Not only was the MEK heavily armed and designated as terrorist by the US government, it also had some very striking internal social policies.

For example, it required its members in Iraq to divorce. Why? Because love was distracting them from their struggle against the regime in Iran.

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former UN ambassador John Bolton and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge have spoken in favour of the MEK

Gen James Jones, President Obama’s first National Security Adviser, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani have called for the MEK to be removed from the list of terrorist organisations

Howard Dean, a former Democratic presidential hopeful, has called on the US government to recognise Maryam Rajavi as the legitimate president of Iran.

And the trouble is that people love their children too.

So the MEK leadership asked its members to send their children away to foster families in Europe. Europe would be safer, the group explained.

Some parents have not seen their children for 20 years and more.

And just to add to the mix, former members consistently describe participating in regular public confessions of their sexual fantasies.

You might think that would set alarm bells ringing – and for some US officers it did.

One colonel I spoke to, who had daily contact with the MEK leadership for six months in 2004, said that the organisation was a cult, and that some of the members who wanted to get out had to run away.

And yet another officer, who was there at precisely the same time and is now a retired general, has become an active lobbyist on the MEK’s behalf.

With his open smile and earnest friendly manner, he is a good advocate. "Cult? How about admirably focused group?" he says. "And I never heard of anyone being held against their will."

We later emailed him about a former member who claimed to have told the general to his face that people were held against their will. "He’s lying," the general replied.

You just have to decide which side to believe.

Ex-MEK member Eduard Termado is now living in Germany.
His face is scarred to the point of being misshapen. His complexion is grey, his skin blotched and waxy, and his forehead constantly covered in dribbling beads of sweat – but then he spent nine years as a prisoner of war in Iraq.

He joined the MEK hoping to help Iranian democracy and did not like what he saw.

He says that after three years he asked to leave, but was told he couldn’t. He stayed for 12 years.

He now says joining the MEK was the biggest mistake of his life and he has expressed that feeling in an unusual way.

Founded in 1965, began armed struggle against the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1971
Massoud Rajavi has been leader since 1972 – but has not been seen in public since 2003
His wife, Maryam Rajavi, is the public face of the MEK in her role as president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
3,400 members now based at Camp Ashraf in Iraq, but the Iraqi government wants them to leave
The MEK killed six US armed officers and civilian contractors in Iran in the 1970s
The group remains on the US terrorist list but has been removed from the EU list

He has married and produced three children. "My family is my protest against the MEK," he says.

There are many other stories.

Children who never forgave their parents for abandoning them. Children who did forgive and are now joyously reunited. Divorcees who have got out of the organisation saying they still love their former spouses who are still in.

In over 25 years of reporting, I have been lied to often enough but, as successive former MEK members told what they had been through, their tears seemed real enough to me.

And yet a significant number of politicians in the US and UK would say I was tricked because the former MEK members who spread these kind of stories are, in fact, Iranian agents.

Again, who to believe?

In the US in particular, an impressive array of public figures have spoken in defence of the MEK.

There are more than 30 big names – people like Rudy Giuliani former mayor of New York, Howard Dean at one time the democratic presidential hopeful, a retired governor, a former head of the FBI.

Many get paid. Of those who have declared their earnings, the going rate for a pro-MEK speech seems to be $20,000 (£12,500) for 10 minutes. But then many other prominent MEK supporters act without payment.

Why do people take such strong positions on the MEK?

After a month talking to people on both sides of the argument, I am left thinking this. Some supporters are paid, others see the MEK through the prism of Iran – they will just support anything that offers hope of change there. Many are well motivated but some are naive.

And the former members?

Some are embittered, others just seem broken.

Which is when it occurred to me – the perception people have of the MEK may say more about them than about the organisation itself.

It is so difficult to pin down you can see your own reflection in it.

By Owen Bennett Jones

April 16, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

MKO Stalling Further Relocation

The anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO also known as the MEK, NCR and PMOI) announced that it will not allow the remaining residents of its Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq to be transferred to Camp Liberty, where they are to be settled temporarily before being expelled from Iraq.

The terrorist group announced that no additional transfer will take place until "the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and the Iraqi government declare their approval of the minimum assurances, particularly departure of Iraqi police from inside Camp Liberty".

According to the Habilian Association (families of Iranian terror victims), the National Council of Resistance of Iran – the so-called political wing of the MKO, which United States still designates as a terrorist organization – in a statement underlined that no additional transfer will take place until "the Special Representative of Secretary General and the Iraqi government declare their approval of the minimum assurances, particularly departure of Iraqi police from inside Camp Liberty".

This inappropriate demand is an affront to Iraq’s sovereignty and in contrast to UN Secretary-General’s statement released on Thursday in which Ban Ki Moon reiterated that "the Government of Iraq bears the primary responsibility for the security and the welfare of the residents of Camp Ashraf."

"At the same time, the residents of Camp Ashraf also bear a responsibility to abide by the laws of Iraq. Any provocation or violence must be avoided and would be unacceptable," Ban Ki Moon added.

Earlier last month, the special adviser for Camp Ashraf in Iraq, Ambassador Daniel Fried, said that Camp Liberty will be an Iraqi facility, adding, "It’s not going to be a kind of independent, self-governed, autonomous, extraterritorial facility, which is what Camp Ashraf has been for many years."

Three hundred and ninety seven MKO members on Friday started relocating from Camp Ashraf, North of Baghdad, to a temporary home near the Iraqi capital’s international airport.

The United Nations has welcomed safe relocation of about 400 residents of the Iraqi settlement formerly known as Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty, calling it "the first step towards a better future."

Kobler commended Iraqi authorities "for having ensured a safe and secure relocation of the first group of residents. I urge them to pursue the relocation of the remaining residents in a manner that continues to guarantee the human rights, safety and welfare of all residents."

The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country. The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

February 21, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

Former U.S. base opened to MEK terrorist group

Camp Liberty, which housed U.S. troops in Iraq up until a few months ago, is now open to house members of the State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization known as the Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK). But MEK leaders haven’t decided they’re ready to move in just yet.

"The U.S. has and continues to welcome and support the peaceful temporary relocation and eventual permanent resettlement of the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq," said Ambassador Dan Fried, the State Department’s special advisor on Camp Ashraf, currently home to several thousand MEK members. "Our purpose is humanitarian. We welcomed the signing of the [Memorandum of Understanding] last Christmas Day between the Iraqi government and the U.N. This MOU charts a peaceful way forward."

The document set into writing the Iraqi government’s decision to delay the closure of Camp Ashraf, where up to 3,200 members of the MEK have been living for years. The Iraqi government had promised to close Camp Ashraf in December but agreed to push back that date for six months.

Baghdad also agreed to ensure the safe treatment of the MEK members, who fear and distrust the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"At this new location, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees will be able to conduct refugee status determinations for the residents of Ashraf — a necessary first step toward resettlement to third countries," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Dec. 25. "We are encouraged by the Iraqi government’s willingness to commit to this plan, and expect it to fulfill all its responsibilities, especially the elements of the MOU that provide for the safety and security of Ashraf’s residents."

The facility has now been officially renamed Camp Hurriya (Arabic for "freedom") and the first MEK members can now go there, Fried said. The United Nations announced on Jan. 31 that the facilities at Camp Liberty now meet international humanitarian standards and are ready to receive Camp Ashraf’s residents.

"In any move of this kind and in the early days, once people are settling into Hurriya, problems may arise, of course," he said. "Patience, goodwill, and willingness to resolve logistical issues in a practical way will be critical."

But no members of the MEK have yet made the move, despite the extensive efforts of the United States and the United Nations to get their new home ready and to convince the Iraqi government to support the move.

"The residents of Camp Ashraf must make the decision to start this relocation process. Camp Ashraf is no longer a viable home for them. They have no secure future there," said Fried.

The Marxist-Islamist group, which was formed in 1965, was used by deposed Iraqi autocrat Saddam Hussein to attack the Iranian government during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and has been implicated in the deaths of U.S. military personnel and civilians.

The new Iraqi government has been trying to evict them from Camp Ashraf since the United States toppled Saddam in 2003. The U.S. military guarded the outside of the camp until handing over external security to the Iraqis in 2009. The Iraqi Army has since tried twice to enter Camp Ashraf, resulting in bloody clashes with the MEK.

Camp Hurriya is only meant to be a temporary home for the MEK. From there, its members could elect to go back to Iran or move on to a third country, if they have residency there. The United States will help certain MEK members apply for refugee status on a case by case basis.

Fried urged the MEK to make the decision to move to Camp Hurriya, and he asked the group’s many supporters in Washington to convey that message directly to the MEK.

The MEK’s list of advocates, most who have admitted being paid, includes Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, former Sen. Robert Torricelli, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, former CIA Deputy Director of Clandestine Operations John Sano, former National Security Advisor James Jones, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers, former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, Gen. Wesley Clark, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, former CIA Director Porter Goss, senior advisor to the Romney campaign Mitchell Reiss, Gen. Anthony Zinni, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, former Sen. Evan Bayh, and many others.

"All those who wish the residents of Ashraf a peaceful future outside of Iraq can help by encouraging the MEK to make the decision it needs to make," Fried said. "The responsibility for the next decision rests with the MEK… A peaceful solution is at hand, but they’ve got to take it."

February 9, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization

MKO hanging in a vague future and past !!!! (Part2)

The followings are some methods used by the MKO to cope with dissident members who opposed the MKO’s move to Iraq:

They were killed under the scenario designated by some of their extremist comrades
They were shot by their own comrades who had no idea who they were shooting at.(like what happened in Al-Shaabania Operation)
They were sent on armed mission inside Iran and then the group leaders would betray their haven to the Iranian government.
They were imprisoned in prisons in Camp Ashraf, where they were tortured to give up their disagreement with the group otherwise they would be transfered to abu Quraib prison.

Most of the defectors of the group who had first joined it before Islamic Revolution, stated that they were shocked by the deviations took place in the organization after its leadership was excluded to Massoud Rajavi.

This man has highly obsessive ideas against males. He replaced all male members of their Elite Council with female members. At the present time the top number two and three of the organization are two women respectively Maryam Rajavi and Mahvash Sepehri. Even the commander of Camp Ashraf is a woman called Mozhgan Parsaiee. One of the female defectors of the group, Batoul Soltani says:” when Massoud Rajavi had a meeting with a woman, no man was allowed to enter. Men became Minor to women after the ideological revolution. This woman-holic is so smart; he has a deep insight that has so far helped him maintain his activities.”

About Massoud Rajavi, she says:”all dictators around the world believe in at least a few limitations for themselves. For example, some dictators try to preserve their dignity and pride and say,’ I don’t make relations with America or Soviet Union’. But Massoud Rajavi had links with the US and other Western countries while he claimed to struggle against Imperialism, at the same time he was connected to the Soviet Union too. No ideological limits prevented him from working with either of them.”

One can accurately grant Massoud Rajavi the title “political genius” because of his methods of controlling bodies and minds of his group members hence no one is found in the organization, who is not afraid of him, even if members hate him whole-heartedly.

Before going to his manipulation methods to control bodies and soles, let’s have a look on his recruitment methods:

They recruit the 17 to 22 year-old youth by chanting slogans , they claim that they struggle against religious extremism and reactionary Islam and for freedom of Iranian nation.
They trap young Iranians under the pretext of transferring to Europe. A large number of human smugglers who worked for the MKO in Turkey and Pakistan had been cooperating with two travel agencies called Nabtia and Delta, according to a document obtained from Intelligence Service of former Iraqi Baath regime. Based on the document, when an Iranian young wanted to immigrate to Europe, the smuggler would convince him to go there via Baghdad and Jordan. They would be transferred to Iraq through Jordan without having any official document, just with the help of both countries’ security services.

However, keeping these individuals in the organization required some procedures and tactics used by the group.

1 – Exhausting Labour
All members work (physically active) 16 to 18 hours a day so that they find no time to think. I refer to one of Rajavi’s quotes in a meeting with his Elite Council:” I ask you to turn them into skinny and boney guys in order that they are not able to oppose."

2 – Physical and mental surveillance
In Camp Ashraf nobody is allowed to traverse alone. Every member has to be in company with a superior or inferior comrade. In Auver sur d’Oise the MKO base in France, the number reaches three.
a. Individual exercising is forbidden.
b. Thinking is forbidden. Everyone who sits somewhere alone for a few moments has to then confess all his thoughts to his superior official.
c. Everyone has to supervise his or her comrades
d. No family contact is allowed
e. Government forces: in former Iraqi regime, security forces used to arrest those members who wanted to escape the camp. After the fall of that regime, such a thing didn’t happen anymore. About Auver Sur d’Oise, the police have the responsibility.

3 – Hostage taking
Holding children as hostages: before 1991, organizational marriages took place in the organization. Members had to marry the spouse that was assigned for them by the group leaders. In 1991 when the first gulf war started the children who were the fruit of those marriages, were transferred to Europe. Seven hundred children were sent to European countries under the pretext of “dangerous war situation". The kids were moved there under the cover of human rights organization that were actually front organization of the MKO with fake passports, then they would be delivered to European mothers. After the gulf war ended, all spouses were ordered to divorce under the title” Ideological Revolution”. The organization held their children as hostages in order that members did not dare to escape.

4 – Fear and intimidation
a. Every member who attempts to leave or escape the base will be tortured and imposed severe peer pressure. Tens of his comrades will verbally and physically abuse him.
b. The members are all the time inculcated that if they escape the camp. They will be arrested and executed by Iranian forces. Here, I would cite a famous quote from Rajavi that is a significant proof of his notorious ideas:”we should all the time implement axe, bullet and pistol on the members.”

By Mohammad Saad / Almurakeb-al-Iraqi

to be continued

January 11, 2012 0 comments

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