USA

Background Briefing on an Announcement Regarding the MEK

Special Briefing Background Briefing on an Announcement Regarding the Mujahedin-e Khalq
Senior State Department Officials
Via Teleconference

MODERATOR: Thank you, Gwen. Welcome, and thanks to all of you for calling in on a Friday afternoon. I know it’s been a long week for many of you who’ve been at UNGA.

Let me just begin by reading a short statement on background, one that you already should have in your Blackberries or on your computers, and then we’ll open it up to your questions.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL THREE: The Secretary of State has decided, consistent with the law, to revoke the designation of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, better known by the acronym the MEK and its aliases, as a foreign terrorist organization under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The Secretary of State has also decided to de-list the MEK as a specially designated global terrorist under the Executive Order 13224. These actions are effective today. Property and interest in property in the United States or within the possession or control of U.S. persons will no longer be blocked, and U.S. entities may engage in transactions with the MEK without obtaining a license. These actions will be published in the Federal Register.

With today’s actions, the Department does not overlook or forget the MEK’s past acts of terrorism, including its involvement in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992. The Department also has serious concerns about the MEK as an organization, particularly with regard to allegations of abuse committed against its own members. The Secretary’s decision today took into account the MEK’s public renunciation of violence, the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism by the MEK for more than a decade, and their cooperation in the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf, their historic paramilitary base.

The United States has consistently maintained a humanitarian interest in seeking the safe, secure, and humane resolution of the situation at Camp Ashraf, as well as in supporting the United Nations-led effort to relocate eligible former Ashraf residents outside of Iraq.

MODERATOR: Again, that statement’s on background from a Senior State Department Official. And I’d now like to move on to the Q&A portion of our call. We do have with us today to answer your questions, two additional Senior State Department Officials, [Senior State Department Official One] and [Senior State Department Official Two] . From now on, they’ll be referred to as Senior State Department Officials Number One and Number Two respectively.

And just a reminder again of the ground rules, this is an on background call. So with that, Gwen, we’ll go ahead and take journalists’ questions.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And if you do have a question, please press * then 1. You’ll hear a tone indicating you have been placed in queue, and you may remove yourself from queue at any time by pressing the # key. If you’re using a speaker phone, please pick up the handset before pressing the numbers. Once again, if you do have a question, please press * then 1 at this time. And one moment please for our first question.

And we have a question from (inaudible), BBC, please go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. Just if I could get a sense of how the State Department came to this conclusion that they have not acted as a terrorist group or violated U.S. laws as far as terrorism is concerned, because the laws are very clear – it’s both about intent and also the act itself. How did you come to the conclusion that they do not have the intent to commit another violent act in the future? We know that NBC has reported back in February that a U.S. Government official had said that MEK was involved in killing the scientist – nuclear scientist – in Iran as a (inaudible) for Israel.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Right, number one here. The judgment – and it is a judgment – was made on the basis of those criteria that are enunciated by the Secretary: the public renunciation of violence, the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism over more than a decade, and cooperation in the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf, their military base. And I should add that the United States Government has not claimed that the MEK was involved in the assassination of scientists in Iran. And that’s really all we’re going to have to say on that.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Ashish Sen, Washington Times. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you so much for doing this. Just to follow up on that question. The review that was done of the MEK’s intents and actions, did that also include the group’s activities in Iran? I know you talked about there was no sign that it’s been involved in terrorist activities, but does that also include the group’s activities within Iran? And the second question is, do you anticipate any kind of change in provision of – are the countries now to accept members of the MEK now that the U.S. has delisted the group?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Well, why don’t I take the first question and then I’ll hand it to Senior Official Number Two for the second one.

Our decision is based on an evaluation – a global evaluation – of the group’s activities. There are no exceptions. We believe that terrorism is terrorism no matter what country on earth it may be practiced in or against any party that it may be practiced against. So we do not distinguish between actions in or against Iran or in or against any other country.

And let me then turn it over to my colleague.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Number Two here. I can’t speak with authority as to how foreign governments will react, but it is certainly plausible to assume that this action will assist in our efforts to support the UNHCR in its efforts to find homes for these people outside of Iraq.

Certainly, now with Camp Ashraf effectively closed, only a residual group remaining, and with over 3,000 of its – Camp Ashraf’s former residents peacefully relocated to Camp Hurriya, the major task in our humanitarian efforts with respect to this organization’s members is their peaceful, orderly resettlement outside of Iraq. If this decision assists in those efforts, so much the better. I will be working intensely in the days and weeks to come with European Governments and other governments bilaterally and with the UNHCR to advance this process.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Once again, if you do have a question, please press * then 1 at this time. And our next question comes from Spencer Ackerman, Wired Magazine. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks. Can you talk about the timing of this episode for the de-listing? I’m having a hard time understanding why only now it would seem to be appropriate to deal with the MEK. Are you concerned about the appearance that a designated terrorist group can engage in a high-profile lobbying campaign and then get off the State Department’s terrorist designation list?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Spencer, can you repeat the first part of your question? Because I couldn’t really hear it.

QUESTION: Sure. I’m wondering about the timing. Can you explain the timing? Because it seems like there was a high profile lobbying campaign for de-listing, and then they’re delisted. Are you at all worried about that appearance of setting a precedent?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Well, let’s be clear. The timing of the de-listing has to do with the deadline given by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. That court had set this deadline of October 1 as a date when there had to be a decision on the MEK’s petition to have its FTO status revoked. That was the condition that led to this timing and this decision was taken on the merits for the reasons that I explained before and not for any other reasons.

MODERATOR: Great. Do we have any additional questions, Gwen?

OPERATOR: And we’ll (inaudible). Once more, if you have a question, please press * then 1. Yes, and at this time, we have a question from Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah, I – just to follow up on one of the questions that was presented earlier. Does the U.S. Government have a position with respect to whether the assassination of scientists in Iran constitutes terrorism?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: If we had information on that and could pursue it, we would, but as I said, we have never said that this group was involved in those assassinations.

QUESTION: No, I understand, but if I could just follow up, I just wanted to find out whether the USG considered that the assassination, regardless of who it is by, of Iranian scientists, would constitute an act of terrorism.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Well, that would be my understanding, but I think you’d have to have the lawyers take a look at that.

QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And our next question comes from Indira Lakshmanan, Bloomberg News. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you. Can you hear me?

PARTICIPANT: Yep.

QUESTION: Okay, this is Indira. Thanks for taking the question. I just wanted to understand; in your statement, you say that the Department is not overlooking or forgetting the MEK’s past acts of terrorism. But it doesn’t specifically say, other than saying that you’re taking into account their public renunciation of violence, whether you believe that they have completely given up any current terrorism. So can you clarify that? Do you believe – does the U.S. Government believe that they are no longer involved in any kind of terrorism?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I think that the phrase, “the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism by the MEK for more than a decade” is meant to indicate that we consider that public renunciation to be credible.

QUESTION: Okay. And just following up on Spencer’s earlier question, the high-priced lobbying campaign that they’ve engaged in for several years now, which has been widely written about, did that not play any role in the decision making process or the pressure involved?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I can tell you that these decisions are made on the merits. They’re not made to appease any group of lobbyists, no matter how famous they are. The United States Government is not going to take anyone off the list if it genuinely believes that they pose an imminent threat, that they are going to commit terrorist acts again, or that they are somehow wedded to violence. I think that that is the key desideratum, and that’s how we do this.

QUESTION: Thanks so much, and just last follow-up: What is the actual impact of this now? Does this mean that U.S. citizens can support them through groups that are registered in the United States, support groups, they can financially or in other way give them material support now?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yes, it does.

MODERATOR: Thanks, Ros – or, thanks, Indira. I think we have probably time for just one more question. I think [Senior State Department Official One] has to go, so go ahead, operator.

OPERATOR: Okay. And that comes from Rosiland Jordan, Al Jazeera English TV. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for taking the call. In terms of the relationship now between the U.S. Government and the MEK, can either of you speak to what kind of engagement there might be, what kind of discussions, does the U.S. now look at the MEK as a party to what happens or what doesn’t happen with the Iranian Government from this point on?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I’ll take a first shot at that, and then Number Two can take it on, and he may have things to say regarding the issue of resettlement. But I want to be very clear about this. We do not see the MEK as a viable opposition or democratic opposition movement. We have no evidence and we have no confidence that the MEK is an organization that could promote the democratic values that we would like to see in Iran.

There is nothing in the way they govern themselves that would suggest they’re interested in adopting democratic principles, and there is a long and fairly rich set of documentation on how they treat their own personnel that really does suggest to the contrary. So we continue to have serious concerns about the group with regard to allegations of abuse that’s committed against its own members. They are not part of our picture in terms of the future of Iran.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: This is Number Two. The U.S. Government has had and will continue to have contacts with the MEK with respect to their movement from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya, which is largely complete. We have had and will continue to have contacts with them with respect to their resettlement abroad. Limited to that, we have had direct contacts usually by telephone and email. Those, as I said, will continue. On these issues, those contacts have been constructive and have – and I believe have contributed to the peaceful relocation of these people out of Camp Ashraf and to Camp Hurriya. Those contacts are irrespective of any of the issues that Number One has raised. We’re obviously mindful of the organization’s history, but because we have an overriding humanitarian interest in a peaceful and orderly and humane relocation effort, we have been in contact with them, and we will continue to be to this end.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Gwen, I think we do have time for just one final question, short question, so thank you.

OPERATOR: One moment please. Okay. And that question comes from Scott Shane, New York Times. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. I got in a little bit late, and I hope this hasn’t been asked and answered, but previously it was reported by some of the supporters of the MEK that their speaker’s bureaus had been contacted, had received subpoenas in fact as part of a Treasury Department investigation, presumably for material support of a designated terrorist group. Can either of you say anything about what became of that or at least whether there is any such continuing investigation going on now of people who supported the MEK?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I think you’ll have to ask Treasury, if they wish.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: I agree. I have – I can’t say. Not aware of it.

MODERATOR: All right. Thank you very much and thanks to all of you for joining us on a Friday afternoon, especially to our two Senior State Department Officials, but also to the many journalists as well. I hope you all have a good weekend. This concludes our background call.

October 2, 2012 0 comment

USA

U.S. welcomes safe transfer of the remaining residents of Ashraf

Camp Ashraf

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC

Today, the seventh convoy of approximately 680 Camp Ashraf residents arrived safely at Camp Hurriya. This convoy represents the last major relocation of residents from former Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya and marks a significant milestone in efforts to achieve a sustainable humanitarian solution to this issue. Over the coming weeks, the small group temporarily remaining at former Camp Ashraf will address residual issues and then also move to Camp Hurriya.

The United States appreciates the efforts of the Government of Iraq to accommodate both security and humanitarian concerns throughout this process, including the peaceful and orderly closure of former Camp Ashraf and relocation of its residents to Camp Hurriya. We count on Iraq’s continued adherence to the December 25, 2011 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Nations that provides a path for the safe relocation of former Ashraf residents out of Iraq.

We welcome the cooperation by the former Ashraf residents in this relocation and look forward to their continued participation in the process set forth in the MOU. Additionally, we are grateful for the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, whose personnel have achieved much under challenging circumstances.

The United States will continue to support those efforts and, working with the United Nations and our partners in the international community, turn our attention to supporting the permanent relocation of the residents from Iraq.

September 18, 2012 0 comment

USA

Resumed Progress toward Camp Ashraf’s Peaceful Closure

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 29, 2012

The United States welcomes today’s safe arrival of the sixth convoy of approximately 400 Ashraf residents to Camp Hurriya, the first such convoy in over three months. We welcome and are encouraged by this resumption of cooperation by the Ashraf residents in the relocation process as set forth in the December 25, 2011 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of Iraq and the United Nations. We call on the Camp Ashraf leadership to continue this progress by cooperating with the expeditious relocation of the approximately 800 remaining residents at Camp Ashraf.

The Government of Iraq has made considerable efforts to achieve a peaceful and secure resolution for the residents of Camp Ashraf, and we urge continued steps to address humanitarian concerns raised at Camp Hurriya by the residents. Recent progress includes the commencement of construction on a water purification station linked to an outside water source. The United States encourages these efforts and reiterates its commitment to work towards resolution of humanitarian issues at Hurriya, including sustainable means for the continued supply of water and electricity. The United States also reiterates its commitment to support the safety and security of the residents throughout the process of their relocation outside of Iraq.
As the Secretary of State said on February 29, 2012, “given the ongoing efforts to relocate the residents, the Mujahedin-e Khalq’s (MEK’s) cooperation in the successful and peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf, the MEK’s main paramilitary base, will be a key factor in any decision regarding the MEK’s [Foreign Terrorist Organization] status.”

August 30, 2012 0 comment

USA

MKO remains on the list Foreign Terrorist Organizations in U.S.

Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations
MKO remains on the list Foreign Terrorist Organizations in U.S.
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism

Country Reports on Terrorism 2011

Report

July 31, 2012

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Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). FTO designations play a critical role in the fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities.

Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended:
1. It must be a foreign organization.
2. The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.
3. The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.

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U.S. Government Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB)
Ansar al-Islam (AAI)
Army of Islam (AOI)
Asbat al-Ansar (AAA)
Aum Shinrikyo (AUM)
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Communist Party of Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA)
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Gama’a al-Islamiyya (IG)
Hamas
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI)
Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B)
Harakat ul-Mujahideen (HUM)
Hizballah
Indian Mujahideen (IM)
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Jemaah Islamiya (JI)
Jundallah
Kahane Chai
Kata’ib Hizballah (KH)
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LT)
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
Mujahadin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Liberation Army (ELN)
Palestine Islamic Jihad – Shaqaqi Faction (PIJ)
Palestine Liberation Front – Abu Abbas Faction (PLF)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)
Al-Qa’ida (AQ)
Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
Al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI)
Al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
Real IRA (RIRA)
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N)
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Revolutionary Struggle (RS)
Al-Shabaab (AS)
Shining Path (SL)
Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)

(…)

MUJAHADIN-E KHALQ ORGANIZATION (MEK)

aka MEK; MKO; Mujahadin-e Khalq; Muslim Iranian Students’ Society; National Council of Resistance; NCR; Organization of the People’s Holy Warriors of Iran; the National Liberation Army of Iran; NLA; People’s Mujahadin Organization of Iran; PMOI; National Council of Resistance of Iran; NCRI; Sazeman-e Mujahadin-e Khalq-e Iran

Description: Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997, the Mujahadin-E Khalq Organization ( MEK) is a Marxist-Islamic Organization that seeks the overthrow of the Iranian regime through its military wing, the National Liberation Army (NLA), and its political front, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The MEK was founded in 1963 by a group of college-educated Iranian Marxists who opposed the country’s pro-western ruler, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The group participated in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that replaced the Shah with a Shiite Islamist regime led by Ayatollah Khomeini. However, the MEK’s ideology – a blend of Marxism, feminism, and Islamism – was at odds with the post-revolutionary government, and its original leadership was soon executed by the Khomeini regime. In 1981, the group was driven from its bases on the Iran-Iraq border and resettled in Paris, where it began supporting Iraq in its eight-year war against Khomeini’s Iran. In 1986, after France recognized the Iranian regime, the MEK moved its headquarters to Iraq, which facilitated its terrorist activities in Iran. From 2003 through the end of 2011, roughly 3,400 MEK members were encamped at Ashraf in Iraq.

Activities: The group’s worldwide campaign against the Iranian government uses propaganda and terrorism to achieve its objectives. During the 1970s, the MEK staged terrorist attacks inside Iran and killed several U.S. military personnel and civilians working on defense projects in Tehran. In 1972, the MEK set off bombs in Tehran at the U.S. Information Service office (part of the U.S. Embassy), the Iran-American Society, and the offices of several U.S. companies to protest the visit of President Nixon to Iran. In 1973, the MEK assassinated the deputy chief of the U.S. Military Mission in Tehran and bombed several businesses, including Shell Oil. In 1974, the MEK set off bombs in Tehran at the offices of U.S. companies to protest the visit of then U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger. In 1975, the MEK assassinated two U.S. military officers who were members of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in Tehran. In 1976, the MEK assassinated two U.S. citizens who were employees of Rockwell International in Tehran. In 1979, the group claimed responsibility for the murder of an American Texaco executive. Alhough denied by the MEK, analysis based on eyewitness accounts and MEK documents demonstrates that MEK members participated in and supported the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and that the MEK later argued against the early release of the American hostages. The MEK also provided personnel to guard and defend the site of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, following the takeover of the Embassy.

In 1981, MEK leadership attempted to overthrow the newly installed Islamic regime; Iranian security forces subsequently initiated a crackdown on the group. The MEK instigated a bombing campaign, including an attack against the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Prime Minister’s office, which killed some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. These attacks resulted in an expanded Iranian government crackdown that forced MEK leaders to flee to France. For five years, the MEK continued to wage its terrorist campaign from its Paris headquarters. Expelled by France in 1986, MEK leaders turned to Saddam Hussein’s regime for basing, financial support, and training. Near the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, Baghdad armed the MEK with heavy military equipment and deployed thousands of MEK fighters in suicidal, waves of attacks against Iranian forces.

The MEK’s relationship with the former Iraqi regime continued through the 1990s. In 1991, the group reportedly assisted the Iraqi Republican Guard’s bloody crackdown on Iraqi Shia and Kurds who rose up against Saddam Hussein’s regime. In April 1992, the MEK conducted near-simultaneous attacks on Iranian embassies and consular missions in 13 countries, including against the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York, demonstrating the group’s ability to mount large-scale operations overseas. In June 1998, the MEK was implicated in a series of bombing and mortar attacks in Iran that killed at least 15 and injured several others. The MEK also assassinated the former Iranian Minister of Prisons in 1998. In April 1999, the MEK targeted key Iranian military officers and assassinated the deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Ali Sayyaad Shirazi.

In April 2000, the MEK attempted to assassinate the commander of the Nasr Headquarters, Tehran’s interagency board responsible for coordinating policies on Iraq. The pace of anti-Iranian operations increased during “Operation Great Bahman” in February 2000, when the group launched a dozen attacks against Iran. One attack included a mortar attack against a major Iranian leadership complex in Tehran that housed the offices of the Supreme Leader and the President. The attack killed one person and injured six other individuals. In March 2000, the MEK launched mortars into a residential district in Tehran, injuring four people and damaging property. In 2000 and 2001, the MEK was involved in regular mortar attacks and hit-and-run raids against Iranian military and law enforcement personnel, as well as government buildings near the Iran-Iraq border. Following an initial Coalition bombardment of the MEK’s facilities in Iraq at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, MEK leadership negotiated a cease-fire with Coalition Forces and surrendered their heavy-arms to Coalition control. From 2003 through the end of 2011, roughly 3,400 MEK members were encamped at Ashraf in Iraq.

In 2003, French authorities arrested 160 MEK members at operational bases they believed the MEK was using to coordinate financing and planning for terrorist attacks. Upon the arrest of MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, MEK members took to Paris’ streets and engaged in self-immolation. French authorities eventually released Rajavi.

Strength: Estimates place MEK’s worldwide membership at between 5,000 and 10,000 members, with large pockets in Paris and other major European capitals. In Iraq, roughly 3,400 MEK members were gathered at Camp Ashraf, the MEK’s main compound north of Baghdad, at the end of 2011.

As a condition of the 2003 cease-fire agreement, the MEK relinquished more than 2,000 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy artillery.

Location/Area of Operation: The MEK’s global support structure remains in place, with associates and supporters scattered throughout Europe and North America. Operations have targeted Iranian government elements across the globe, including in Europe and Iran. The MEK’s political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has a global support network with active lobbying and propaganda efforts in major Western capitals. NCRI also has a well-developed media communications strategy.

External Aid: Before Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003, the MEK received all of its military assistance and most of its financial support from Saddam Hussein. The fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime has led the MEK increasingly to rely on front organizations to solicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.
(….)

August 2, 2012 0 comment

USA

U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force MEK from Ashraf

The United States expressed concern on Wednesday over Iraqi threats to force an Iranian U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force MEK from Ashraf dissident group out of a camp in Iraq, but also urged members of the group to relocate voluntarily to a large former U.S. military base in Baghdad.

Iraqi authorities have been locked in a protracted dispute with the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) over plans to move 3,000 MEK members from Camp Ashraf, where they have lived for years, to a former U.S. base near Baghdad’s airport – a step toward their ultimate expulsion from Iraq.

The Iranian group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical leaders and was supported by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shiite-led government that came to power after Saddam’s downfall in 2003. Clashes between Ashraf residents and Iraqi security forces last year killed 34 people.

“The United States is concerned by the government of Iraq’s reference on July 31 to the possible closure of Camp Ashraf by involuntary relocation of its residents,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

“We urge the government of Iraq to remain patient and flexible in seeking a voluntary arrangement for continued relocations, as only a peaceful resolution to the situation at Camp Ashraf is acceptable,” he said in a statement.

“We also call on the Ashraf leadership to immediately resume cooperation with the relocation,” Ventrell added.

The MEK has complained of poor conditions at the former U.S. base, known as Camp Liberty. Only about two-thirds of the group have moved there. The others, around 1,200 people, are refusing to leave Camp Ashraf. None have moved since May, U.S. officials say.

Iraq on Tuesday told them they have to move or it would be free to transfer them “to where we find appropriate,” as Iraq’s National Security Advisor Falih al-Fayadh put it.

Ventrell said U.S. government officials who have recently visited Camp Liberty did not find the “dire humanitarian conditions” that MEK members had alleged. He noted that Iraq had delivered goods demanded by Liberty’s residents two weeks ago. These included air conditioners, generators, food and water tanks.

“It is clear that the quality of life (at Camp Liberty) exceeds accepted humanitarian standards,” Ventrell said.

“The continued intransigence of the residents’ leadership in placing preconditions and making demands prior to any agreement to relocate further Ashraf residents is unacceptable,” he said, adding that finally closing Ashraf would let the United Nations, the United States and others focus on a “durable solution for the residents’ relocation outside of Iraq.”

The United Nations has been interviewing members of the Iranian group and approaching foreign governments to ask that they accept them for resettlement.

The United States has warned the MEK that its cooperation in moving from Camp Ashraf would be a key factor as the United States weighs whether to remove it from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Also known as the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the group led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s, including attacks on U.S. targets. Some Iranians vilify the group for allying itself with Iraq’s Saddam during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Will Dunham)
Reuters, August 01 2012
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/1605664-us-
concerned-over-iraqi-threats-to-force-iran-dissidents-from-camp/

August 2, 2012 0 comment

USA

Maryam Rajavi, Leader of MKO Cult Is Lying

Open letter of Mr. Karim Gholami to Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton

I ,as one of the former officials and authorities of the people’s mujahedin organization of Iran who Karim Gholami have 25 years record of heavy injuries in this organization and for more than 24 years I have been forcibly using the wheelchair , would like to draw your attention to the situation of the patients as well as injured people in this organization , because recently , Maryam Rajavi and the people’s mujahedin organization by announcements and attending to the security officials of the camp Liberty and by creating different pretexts and excuses like building roads for the patients and injured people and the ridiculous plan of planting trees , are looking for creating more excuses to buy time to convert the Liberty camp to a new Ashraf camp. Truly , you specified a deadline for the closure and evacuation of Ashraf camp because according to the leaders of the people’s mujahedin organization ¨any logic word and cooperation is a sign of weakness¨ for that reason , they do not cooperate by no means , the only logic that the leaders of this organization understand is the language of power.
Becoming more informed about the situation of the captives specially the patients and the injured people in people’s mujahedin organization , I would like to draw your attention to the following topics :

1. The people’s mujahedin organization is a cultic organization which its members do not have any option and authority to make decision . the Iranian people who are captive in this organization , have been deprived of having any access to the media and the press for many years. The members of this organization have been deprived of having any access to the preliminary facilities like Radio , Television , Telephone, Internet, and newspaper . the news which is given to these members , are all censored and chosen by the cult leadership ,for this reason the members of this cult do not have any knowledge about their rights and international laws to decide deliberately and freely .

2. The leaders of this cult by political strangulation and severe suppression inside of the organization and by insult and threat against all the separated members has created severe fear inside the organization so the members of the cult ,by the fear of the separating punishment , do not dare to leave the organization. the members who want to separate will be confronted with the severe punishments like holding the brainwashing sessions for them and beating them up in those sessions and in continuation ,prison and torture and even in some cases the dissidents were disappeared and executed .

3. This cult brainwashes its members by different methods . one of these methods is the long brainwashing sessions . this cult during many years and by repetitive sessions has filled its members’ brains with lots of lies and rumors , the lies like this ¨any person who separate from the organization , he or she will be followed and chased by the Iranian intelligence service as well as the Iraqi government and will be incarcerated, tortured , and executed , for this reason the members of this cult because of their fear for their lives , do not dare to leave this cult .

4. From 2003 to 2009 the Ashraf camp was under the supervision and control of the American army and they were helping them by giving medication, medical facilities and fuel and foodstuff, but none of those items mentioned above reached to the hands of the members of this cult . those items either were sold in the Iraq black market or was in monopolization of the cult leaders. For instance I programmed a database for the Ashraf garrison’s pharmacy . during one year I was supposed to work on this database in the mentioned pharmacy . I witnessed many times that the big boxes in 2-cubic meter full of medicine and medication were delivered to this pharmacy by the US army , but during all these years I had not seen any of those medicines and medications in the hands of the members of this cult and the leaders of this cult were telling to their sick members that ¨the Iraqi government does not allow us to receive those medicines and medications and for that reason we do not have any medicine to give you !¨

5. The death of the patients and the wounded of this cult as a result of the lack of treatment : I would like to draw your attention to the health situation of the two of my friends , the first one Mr. Abbas Haj Husseini who in one of the cult military operations in 1988 got wounded by a bullet in his Cervical Spinal Cord and he got paralyzed , Abbas always wanted to go to Europe to be treated and cured but the leaders of this cult not only did not pay attention to his request , but also as I saw twice he was threatened by the leader of this cult ,Massoud Rajavi , to be handed over to the Iranian government. The first time was in 1995 and the second time was in 2002 , but unfortunately as a result of the lack of attention and treatment , he died and was buried in pmoi cemetery called Ghatayeh Morvarid( The Pearl) in Ashraf.
My second friend , Mr. Farhad……… who in one of the pmoi military operations in 1986 got wounded by a bullet in his Lumbar Spinal Cord and he got paralyzed . Farhad always wanted to leave this cult but the leaders of this cult rejected his request every time and finally in 2008 as a result of the foot bone fracture and the lack of treatment ,his foot got infected and he died.

6. In all the announcements ,the pmoi leaders have claimed that their members are forced to evacuate their properties in the hot weather of Iraq by their hands and they have requested the appropriate tools such as lift-truck and……etc ,all those requests are just excuses and pretexts, because you do not see any lift-truck in Ashraf camp , the members of this cult were moving the goods and heavy stuffs by their hands for years. Under the hot weather of Iraq , the members of this cult had to work all day long ,and even the patients were not allowed to rest and each person had to work 18 hours a day . one of the forced labors was making the containers . working inside those containers which were made of metal during the hot summers of Iraq , was like working in the hell itself. The leaders of this cult do not care and do not pay attention to the well being and the health of their members specially the patients and injured by no means ,and the only thing which is important for them is to keep this cult alive as long as possible ,and convert the liberty camp to another prison like Ashraf .

According to the facts mentioned above , I am urging you to pay special attention to those patients and wounded ,and their juridical situation be prioritized ,so they can be able to have access to the doctor and medicine as soon as possible to prevent the death of many more.
The liberty camp is a temporary transit location and the people who are residing in there are not supposed to stay there for ever so planting trees , making new buildings ,and tools and the machinery requests are just to postpone the dismantling of this cult . I am urging you not to retreat vis a vis the pressures of the mujahedin’s leaders and put them under severe pressures to dismantle this retarded and religious cult , mujahidin organization, as soon as possible and for ever.
To help these people , first you should take them out of the cult perimeter ,so they can meet their medical needs and get familiar with their rights to make a decision for their future and life freely and consciously . in this regard I am ready to cooperate with you voluntarily and even, if it is necessary , I am ready to go to Iraq to help those people .

Respectfully
Karim Gholami, Iran Pen Association, Germay,

July 22, 2012 0 comment

USA

MKO cheered Twin Towers collapse

Open letter to the US secretary of state, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult

Greetings MKO cheered Twin Towers collapse

These days, we are watching the unbridled endeavors of the members of the Rajavi terrorist-religious cult and their lobbies in USA and Europe to force you to delist their organization from the US state department terrorist list. the pmoi or Rajavi’s terrorist-religious cult always intends to reach to its goals by using force , pressure and imposition . we congratulate you because of your resistance and persistence for the continuation of the US state department research and investigation about this notorious organization. we as the former members of Rajavi’s national liberation army and the veterans of pmoi with more than 2 decades record of service in this organization besides our appreciation for your resistance and US state department , we are ready to fully cooperate with you and US state department as reliable sources and witnesses to show you the reality of this cult and its real essence whenever and wherever is suitable . the reason that we want to cooperate with you is because we believe the silence of the people like us who have witnessed the terrorist essence of this cult is a treason to the future generations and Iranian people as well as other countries specially USA.

Mrs. Clinton , everyday we follow the news about this cult and unfortunately we usually see that the members of this cult unilaterally in your country by the support of their American lobbies(former politicians and prominent figures) participate in variety of sessions , meetings in Washington and unilaterally they define and admire themselves without any objections because the scene is full of their supporters and lobbies so the reality of their essence is not revealed utterly because there is no dissident and witness in that meeting to stand up and show his or her complaint against the lies which the representatives of this cult says about the content of this cult .
Mrs. Clinton, as you have already heard that the pmoi threw a big party and banquet in Bagherzadeh garrison in Baghdad exactly in the same day that the Al Qaeda terrorists pounded the American airplanes to the twin towers and killed more than 3000 innocent people on 9/11. we were in that banquet and we saw by our own eyes that the leadership of pmoi, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi and the pmoi leadership council were forcing the members to show their appreciation of such terrorist act against innocent people . on that day , pmoi leadership threw a party in that garrison and they showed us the horrible scenes of 9/11 over and over again on the wide screens and they were forcing the members to clap their hands and admire such horrible human catastrophe and by the order of the pmoi leaders they distributed pastry and cookie among the members for the death of 3000 people. We are really sorry for the pmoi American lobbies who are supporting a terrorist organization which celebrated for the death of 3000 American citizens.

Mrs. Clinton , the Rajavi’s cult has been trying its best to delist itself from the US state department terrorist list by spending millions of dollars and by throwing glamorous and extravagant meetings and gatherings in Europe specially in France to deceive and delude the minds of the politicians specially the US state department to delist them from the terrorist list, but we the former members of this cult , emphasize the following facts:

1-The people’s Mujahedin organization is a terrorist religious cult and a dangerous one.

2-The Rajavi’s cult has not renounced the violence and terrorism substantially and basically and they will begin the violence and terrorism in the appropriate time again.

3-The Rajavi’s cult is an undemocratic cult and they do not believe substantially in the freedom of speech and the freedom of thoughts.

4-The Rajavi’s cult does not have any popularity whatsoever among the Iranian people for this reason they are isolated and segregated from the rest of the Iranian population.

Mrs. Clinton , we believe that the pmoi is a terrorist organization and they should remain in your terrorist list . if you need our testimony about this terrorist religious cult , we would be more than happy to submit more facts about this organization whenever and wherever you need. Do not forget , we are the eyewitnesses who are capable of dissecting the real content and essence of this horrible organization. we believe the honesty in telling the truths is the most precious element in determination of the pmoi fate.

Respectfully

A group of the former members of pmoi
Ex members of MEK, Fryade Azadi Paris

July 16, 2012 0 comment

USA

US: MEK Must Vacate Iraqi Base or Jeopardize Bid to Change Status

The Iranian group has been lobbying to be taken of the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations

The US has again warned the Iranian dissident group Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) that they must vacate vacate the Iraqi base Camp Ashraf and said if they don’t leave it will harm their chances of being delisted from the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.

Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism, said the MEK must move out by the Iraqi government’s deadline on July 20.

The MEK has a long history of terrorist activity going back to the 1970′s and it remains on America’s official list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and has the goal of overthrowing the Iranian government. Because of this goal, there has been a big money push by many influential people in Washington to get the group removed from the State Department’s terrorist list, presumably to make it eligible for US funding to act against the Iranian regime.

As recently as 2007, a State Department report warned that the MEK, retains “the capacity and will” to attack “Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, and beyond.” In 2002, the Bush administration claimed Saddam Hussein’s support for the MEK ”terrorist” group justified a US invasion of Iraq.

After an extended and expensive lobbying effort on the part of the MEK, a congressional resolution was recently signed by 99 members of Congress asking the State Department to change the status of the group.

And as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told US lawmakers earlier this year, “Given the ongoing efforts to relocate the residents, MEK cooperation in the successful and peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf, the MeK’s main paramilitary base, will be a key factor in any decision regarding the MEK’s FTO status.”

by John Glaser,

July 8, 2012 0 comment

USA

“Plainly wrong” to conclude US must remove MEK from terror list

American diplomats firmly pushed back Friday on reports suggesting that the U.S. must remove a controversial Iranian anti-regime group, the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq (MEK), from a U.S. list of US diplomats: “Plainly wrong” to conclude US must remove MEK from terror list designated terrorist organizations.

“MEK leaders appear to believe that the Secretary has no choice now but to delist them,” the State Department’s counter-terrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin said in a call with reporters Friday. “That conclusion is quite plainly wrong.”

“In short, the court did not order the Secretary of State to revoke the MEK designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” Benjamin continued. “The court has told the State Department that it must act by October 1, but it did not mandate a particular result. I think that’s very important to underscore. The Secretary thus retains the discretion to either maintain or revoke the designation in accordance with the law.

The State Department call was prompted by an impasse in efforts by the United States and United Nations to persuade members of the cultish group to leave their former paramilitary base in Iraq, Camp Ashraf.

To date, about 2,000 MEK members have been persuaded to leave Ashraf for the former U.S. Camp Liberty military base in Iraq, where they can be interviewed for possible relocation to third countries. But the last relocation convoy occurred in early May, and some 1,200-1,300 MEK members remain in Ashraf, and are apparently issuing new demands, emboldened by the perception the group’s terror designation may soon be revoked.

American officials have sought to encourage the relocation from Ashraf by indicating that cooperation in doing so will be a key factor in determining whether the group remains on the U.S. terror list. But a US court decision last month has interfered with that message.

In June, the US court of appeals ordered Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to issue a determination by October whether the MEK should be taken off the US terror list or its terror designation should be reissued.

Meantime, the Iraqi government is threatening to forcibly close the camp, and the United States is concerned about possible violence and a potential humanitarian disaster should relocation efforts continue to stall.

Despite the group’s terrorist designation, several prominent former senior American officials have taken large speaking fees to lobby for delisting the MEK. Among them, former FBI director Louis Freeh, former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, former DHS chief Tom Ridge, former UN ambassador and top Mitt Romney foreign policy adviser John Bolton, former UN ambassador Bill Richardson, and former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani. The Treasury Department issued subpoenas this past spring to determine who is paying for the massive lobbying effort on behalf of a designated terrorist group, and whether US criminal laws have been violated.

But American diplomats said Friday such lobbying will not impact the Secretary’s decision on the MEK’s designation.

“I do just want to underscore that when it comes to the designation itself, we have not met with any lobbyists or others,” Benjamin told reporters. “There was, in fact, one gentleman who came into my office under false pretenses from a foreign country to lobby for the MEK, and he was promptly thrown out.”

“Again, to underscore, we’re just looking at the merits of the particular case,” Benjamin added.

July 7, 2012 0 comment

USA

State Department urges immediate full cooperation of MKO

State Department urges immediate full cooperation of Mojahedin Khalq with the Iraqi Govenment and U.N.

Concern about Camp Ashraf

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
June 18, 2012

The United States remains concerned about the situation at Camp Ashraf and urges the residents of Camp Ashraf to resume full cooperation immediately with the Iraqi Government and United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The United States also urges the Iraqi Government to intensify its efforts to fulfill its commitments to provide for the safety, security, and humanitarian treatment of the residents.

With almost 2,000 former Camp Ashraf residents now relocated to Camp Hurriya, the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf is achievable, but requires continued patience and practical engagement to be realized. Constructive offers must be met with a constructive spirit, and not with refusals or preconditions to engage in dialogue. Recent publicly-declared conditions for cooperation, including calls for the Department to inspect Camp Ashraf as a precondition for further relocations to Camp Hurriya, are an unnecessary distraction.

The United States has made clear that cooperation in the closure of Camp Ashraf, the Mujahedin-e Khalq’s (MEK’s) main paramilitary base, is a key factor in determining whether the organization remains invested in its violent past or is committed to leaving that past behind. We fully support the path laid out by the United Nations for the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf along with sustainable solutions for its former residents. 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. Only a peaceful implementation of the Iraqi government’s decision to close the Camp is acceptable, and the Iraqi government bears the responsibility for the security and humane treatment of the individuals at Camp Ashraf.

June 19, 2012 0 comment

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