++ Among the reactions to Zahra Merrikhi\u2019s appointment as head of the MEK, some commentators remind us this is the fourth time a Secretary General has been announced. The first time was when Massoud Rajavi introduced Maryam as Secretary General of the MEK and everyone immediately asked, \u2018then who are you\u2019? He told everyone to shut up because it was never actually in question that he is in control of everything. In view of this, commentators say, this title means nothing. Nothing changes, just the names. The reality is that dead or alive the cult is based on him; there is no \u2018election\u2019 the whole group is based on his name. Some commentators scoffed \u2018with this ridiculous appointment they dare to criticise elections in Iran and other places!\u2019 Mehdi Khoshhal\u2019s article, titled \u2018The Albanian Zorba\u2019, compares the scene from the film in which the village women gather outside the brothel of Madame Hortense as she is dying in order to take her belongings. Now that Massoud Rajavi is dead, the women of the MEK are queuing like vultures, waiting to get something from him for themselves.<\/p>\n
++ In Albania, after the MEK said it would no longer pay UNHCR allowances to the former members, seventy people visited the UN office to demand their right to get their refugee allowances directly. Others have joined the protest to the point that Maryam Rajavi withdrew the threat and her lawyers have told the UN there had been a mistake and that the UN didn\u2019t need to do anything as the MEK would pay the money in full to the formers.<\/p>\n
Naturally the ex-members say they don\u2019t trust the MEK and they continue their demand to be paid directly. The formers planned a demonstration outside the RAMSA office, but the Interior Ministry refused permission. The formers \u2013 through their lawyer \u2013 told the ministry and Albanian newspapers that they would \u2018go ahead anyway and the police can arrest and imprison us\u2019. On the day of the planned demonstration, the UN told the formers\u2019 lawyer \u2018don\u2019t let them demonstrate, instead they should open bank accounts and we will pay them\u2019. The lawyer \u2013 who is working pro bono \u2013 responded that \u2018if the UNHCR does not do this, we will take them to court and they will have to pay the court fees and my fees on top of whatever allowances are owed to the former members.\u2019<\/p>\n
++ Meanwhile, since this situation developed, MEK henchmen have been stationed outside the UN office in Tirana supported by members of the Albanian security services. Their role is to intimidate any former MEK member who goes in and out of the building. However, in articles by ex-members, they say that the fear has spilled, they are no longer afraid. \u2018Tactics like taking our pictures, filming us and threatening us have no effect. We will not stop until we get our rights.\u2019<\/p>\n
++ Every several months, Radio France Culture has a ridiculous interview with Maryam Rajavi about feminism or women\u2019s rights etc, which everyone knows is paid advertising. After one such interview this week, some female ex-members wrote an open letter to the radio station asking them to respect the right to respond. They said, \u2018for every ten interviews with Maryam Rajavi could you please broadcast at least one line from the ex-members in answer to three or four questions about how Rajavi treated women members inside the MEK. Zahra Mirbagheri, who suffered massively inside the MEK, has accused Radio France Culture of destroying the reputation of French human rights advocacy just for a few pennies. \u2018You should not broadcast an advert without saying it is an advert\u2019, says Mirbagheri. \u2018And if you do, you still can\u2019t, by law, tell lies in adverts, there has to be some truth in what is said.\u2019<\/p>\n
++ It has just emerged that Maryam Rajavi has written personally to the UNHCR in Geneva about the issue of refugee allowances. In her letter, she mentioned \u2018a petition with 70 names\u2019. The lawyer of several former MEK members and Sahar Family Foundation responded, saying \u2018we must investigate how this petition, which was given directly to the UNHCR in Tirana, has been seen by Maryam Rajavi. This is a sign of corruption. The fact that immediately after the announcement of a demonstration by these formers, she did a 180 degree turn and now says there has been a mistake shows there are plots and collusion against the ex-members. The fact that the UN has now had to deal directly with the formers and couldn\u2019t work to her agenda has exposed the corruption within this system.<\/p>\n
In English:<\/p>\n
++ Iran Interlink marked the anniversary of the 9\/11 tragedy by reminding us of the MEK\u2019s reaction. Massoud Rajavi gathered his forces and celebrated the horrifying act of terrorism. He told his followers he believed they could do better!<\/p>\n
++ Sahar Family Foundation published a petition which had been presented to RAMSA \u2013 the department responsible for the former MEK members at the UNHCR office in Tirana. The demands are:<\/p>\n
++ A Nejat Society article says the MEK is losing support as those who lobby for them \u2013 such as John Bolton \u2013 are themselves losing traction in the political scene in America.<\/p>\n
++ Habilian Association has written an expose on the \u201cRepublicans\u2019 favourite Democrat\u2019, Joseph Lieberman. The article runs through his background, identifying him as a neocon associated with AIPAC and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Lieberman opposed the nuclear deal with Iran and has taken a staunchly anti-Iran stance on every issue including Syria and Iraq. The article points to Liberman\u2019s advocacy of the MEK but says \u201cWhile Lieberman, General Jones, and Colonel Martin all failed categorically to accurately describe the true nature of the MEK terrorists they seek to support in a proxy war with Iran, the US policy papers these three lobbyists are reading from have done so and in great detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
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