(Massoud and Maryam Rajavi)

(Rajavi cult or MKO aslo known as Saddam's Private Army)

Freed from the pretended constraints of being listed as a terrorist entity in the USA, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) has stepped up its financial and money laundering activities in Western countries. The MEK have launched a 'basij' (all-out campaign) in their financial section. Firstly, all members and supporters have been instructed to make supervised contact with their family inside or outside Iran to try to get money from them (a tactic exposed by Al Jazeera's Cult of the Chameleon documentary in 2007).

In the 'charity' street collections in Western countries (called mali-ejtemai), the theme is Camp Liberty. The public is approached and the camp in Iraq is described as a refugee camp whose inhabitants have no access to food or medicine. The public are told that around 1000 women, mostly mothers, must be urgently transferred with their children to Europe. The money donated will be used to rescue the women and children first before then rescuing the men. (Of course, since enforced celibacy was imposed in 1989 there are no children in the MEK.) Sometimes the donor is told of cases in which refugees have been killed or maimed because of the lack of law and order in Iraq. Conveniently ignoring the fact that the MEK are confined to the camp by their own leaders.

It is no secret that the MEK have been funded for years via these bogus charities as large checks and even thousands in cash have been handed over to street collectors from mystery donors. An unusually high proportion of these donors are solicitors. MEK insiders have always known that this money is coming from other benefactors.

In addition to these activities, the MEK have also tasked as many of their supporters in the West who are able to do so to open a company or create spurious associations or societies claiming to support Iranian refugees or promote Iranian culture, etc. The aim of these groups is to target charities and local councils to get money under false pretenses. Again there is an element of money laundering as this is just one more way for MEK paymasters to dive under the radar to fund the terrorist group.

A more sinister activity is the expansion of information gathering and recruitment practices among the Iranian communities. Concerned Iranians in Europe who contacted me directly report that the MEK have opened two Persian language schools in London and Paris which they say is to target the children of Iranian refugees. Through such deceptive activities the MEK gathers lists of names and addresses to demonstrate support, and also to claim that these Iranians are making financial donations. The deeper purpose is to deceptively recruit new members and also -- now that the campaign to be delisted has ended -- to keep the supporters busy with new activities. It must not be forgotten that as a cult, the MEK thrives on the unpaid 'slave' labor of its followers.

Significantly, Massoud Rajavi, the beneficiary of all the MEK's wealth, has for three decades kept his financial dealings in the hands of only a few trusted individuals. In the atmosphere of defections and disturbing questioning which currently govern internal relations in the MEK, the unexpected death of one of Rajavi's key financial personnel in the West sparks deep suspicions among experts in the MEK. This is compounded when we discover that another accidental death has taken place in Paris of one of Maryam Rajavi's inner circle. (After some high ranking defectors exposed the cult nature of the MEK, Massoud Rajavi declared that such defections would never be allowed to happen again.)

In Iraq, the situation has scarcely changed for the members except they have changed location to a UN temporary transit camp Liberty -- a move which both the Government of Iraq and UNAMI had worked for to improve their conditions. Camp Ashraf itself is finished, closed, gone, although just under 100 MEK remain there, confined to Section 209 by the Iraqi army which is now in charge of the territory. Rajavi has declared they will not move until enough money is paid -- basically the last bit of ransom he can extract from the camp.

There continue on a weekly basis to be a small number of individuals who escape Liberty, either during the UNHCR interview process or by other means, and renounce any further involvement with the MEK. Last week two men escaped, each had spent over 20 years with the MEK (one being a former POW from the Iran-Iraq war). They describe a desperate situation inside Liberty as it is being recreated in the image of Ashraf. All the cult aspects are there -- isolation, indoctrination, manipulation, fear, punishments, etc -- in addition, barriers are built to separate the bungalows (ironically, the stretchers originally demanded for medical use are being used to move earth to build dykes). 'Visas' are issued to people if they need to move between separated locations. The Iraqis are not allowed inside the camp and again have no jurisdiction there. The MEK use every opportunity to try to provoke hostility in the Iraqis by throwing stones and swearing at them, and now the UN and other neutral bodies are suffering provocation as the MEK swear at them and insult them, too.

Although the MEK's advocates and lobbyists crassly claim that Liberty is no better than a "concentration camp" -- a description which seriously riles the German born UNAMI chief Martin Kobler -- the situation is not easy for the residents, but not for the reasons they state. There is no shortage of food or water or medicine -- let us remind ourselves this is a camp created by and supervised by the UN. In a country where a 24 hour electricity and water supply are not guaranteed to normal citizens, the MEK enjoy both these facilities. What is not being said is that Massoud Rajavi has decreed that the residents must work for these 'privileges.' Inside Camp Liberty anyone who needs medicine or has other requirements must work for it, that is, they must submit and do as they are told or else they will be punished by having medicine, etc refused or withheld. Again, the MEK don't let the Iraqis approach the people inside the camp to ascertain their welfare or needs.

Since the beginning of 2012 a disturbingly disproportionate number of residents have died because Rajavi has year on year denied them proper or timely medical treatment.

Rajavi's veteran translator Ghorban Ali Hossein Nejad escaped Camp Liberty two months ago. He is now in Baghdad and has exposed the relationship between Rajavi and the Saddam regime. He is also helping UN, EU, U.S. and Iraqi officials by exposing the lies which the MEK are telling them. He has two daughters, one in Iran and one still in Camp Liberty. Neither he nor anyone else has been able to contact his daughter in Liberty without the presence of MEK minders. (He reports that while he was inside the MEK, he had not seen his daughter anyway for twenty years due to the enforced separation of families and friends.) Instead, the MEK brought her on their television channel to swear at him and her sister, claiming they are agents of the Iranian regime. Given the sensitivity of the information being passed to the officials it is possible her life is in danger. (MEK experts have observed that 'accidents' happen to dissidents in Iraq and Europe on a fairly regular basis.)

In spite of rumors that Massoud Rajavi is dead, he is very much alive and keeping tight control over his cult on a daily basis. High ranking escapees say they have seen him in the leadership compound in Camp Ashraf until very recently. According to deserters, Rajavi frequently communicates his indoctrination and messages via audio -- no visuals. But it is clear he has not been stationed in Iraq since the U.S. army handed over responsibility for the MEK in 2009. Instead, based on unconfirmed reports, I belief he moves between safe houses in Jordan associated with Saddam's family and loyal Baathists, without the express permission of the Jordanian government. From his hideout, Rajavi issues his orders. He has told the people in Iraq they should only agree to talk to members of the UN or ICRC on condition that Camp Liberty is designated as a refugee camp (it is actually a UN temporary transit camp). Rajavi has said 'if we work on it we can be accepted to move to Europe collectively, but if not we will never leave Iraq.'

Rajavi has told everyone that 'the Americans will back us to the end because they need us'. However, Rajavi also said to every member that armed struggle is an unchangeable part of the MEK ideology and every Mojahed's belief system and that this, and the logo, will never change. (In other words, don't be worried or concerned by our external propaganda, inside we will never change).

As though to prove this point, the Iraqi authorities report that the MEK are desperate to have greater connections with al Qaeda and Saddamists in Iraq and beyond. The MEK especially want new connections, since their main backer was convicted of terrorism charges and escaped Iraq. The MEK leaders are demanding greater freedom of movement to come and go and to bring people into the camp. But then the Iraqis knew all about their former connections with these groups while they were protected by the U.S., and this was why they curtailed their activities after 2009. It remains to be seen whether the delisting of this known terrorist group in the USA will have the necessary reach to reverse for its backers what appears to be the rapid and inevitable demise of the group as its members are being rescued by humanitarian agencies.

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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=14037

Iran ties Reformists to Washington backed Mojahedin Khalq terrorists

(aka; MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)

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... However, the events of Khordad 60 [June 1981, when a major campaign started against the Mojahedin-e Khalq] put an end to the life of the Hypocrites and forced them to turn to the servitude of the ill-fated Saddam. The gang-leader of the Hypocrites mini-group officially admitted that his mini-group had been involved in inciting the riots on Ashura 88 in Tehran. Maryam Rajavi, the wife of the gang-leader of that terrorist mini-group, said: "This came about as the result of necessary coordination among all those who do not believe in the role of velayat-e faqih." She also claimed: "The Green Movement that was formed in protest...

(Rajavi from Saddam to AIPAC)

Resalat website, Tehran, in Persian 28 Nov 12
http://www.resalat-news.com
Translated by:
BBC Monitoring Middle East, 15 December 2012

Iran daily criticizes reformists for their alleged interest in system change

Text of commentary entitled: "The seditionists' melancholy delusion of participating in elections" by Iranian newspaper Resalat on 28 November.

One of the most important aspects of the philosophy of holding mourning ceremonies on an annual basis for Aba Abdullah al-Husayn [Imam Husayn] (peace be upon him) and his faithful friends and the members of his family (peace be upon them) is to engage in a careful pathology [analysis] of the political and social situation that resulted in bringing about the great tragedy of Ashura [the tenth day of Muharram, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn]. When we review those events it is in order to understand what really happened that only 50 years after the passing of the Great Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) the Islamic community reached a point that the son [the grandson] of the Prophet of Islam was sacrificed in the most tragic manner for the sake of the political and economic interests of a number of seemingly Muslim people.

After the passing of the Great Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), as the society had distanced itself from the Islamic values, the Muslims turned again to following their own base instincts and to distort religious values; and the attitudes of pride, racism, materialism, and love of luxury dominated the Islamic society. As a result, the wounds of the Age of Ignorance [Jahiliyya, the period prior to Islamic revelation], such as hypocrisy, ignorance, calumny, treachery and ... [ellipses as published] that had not yet fully healed opened up again. The sermon delivered by Her Holiness Zeynab [Imam Husayn's sister who allegedly when taken to Caliph Yazid bin-Mu'awiyya after Imam Husayn's martyrdom delivered a passionate sermon denouncing the caliph and defending Imam Husayn] (peace be upon her) in Kufa and the sermon of His Holiness Sajjad [Imam Husayn's son and the fourth Shi'a Imam] (peace be upon him) in the mosque in Damascus [Sham] acted as means of analyzing the revolutions that had been brought about by the Prophet and by Imam Ali.

The latter sermon was a reprimand to those who during the period of sedition [the battle against Imam Husayn, but also a reference to the protests and demonstrations that followed 2009 presidential election in Iran that is often referred to as Sedition] did not distinguish between truth and falsehood, who stood against truth, or who did not act in keeping with their historic responsibilities. In a quote from that sermon by His Holiness Ali Ibn al-Husayn [Imam Sajjad] (peace be upon him) that was delivered at the mosque in Damascus we read that he turned his face towards Yazid and said: "O Yazid! Is the Prophet my grandfather or yours? If you say that he was your grandfather, you are lying; but if you admit that he was my grandfather, then why did you kill my father in such a cruel way, why did you plunder his wealth and why did you take the members of his family as captives?"

After saying these words, he tore his shirt, wept and said: "I swear by God that if there is anyone on earth whose grandfather was the Prophet of God it is me, so why did he [Yazid] kill my father and took us captives as the Byzantines!" He continued: "O Yazid! You committed that crime and you still say that Muhammad is the Prophet of God, and you still turn towards the Qibla! [the black stone in Mecca towards which Muslims turn during prayers] Woe unto you! On the Day of Judgment, my grandfather and my father will be your enemies." At that point Yazid shouted and called on the Mu'adhin [the person who recites the Adhan [or azan, the call to prayer] to call for prayer! There was a great uproar among the people, and some of them left the mosque without saying their prayers.

The practices of Her Holiness Zeynab (peace be upon her) and His Holiness Ali Ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) in dissecting the reasons for various seditions provide a big lesson to Islamic societies in all ages. The pathology of the revolutions brought about by the Prophet and by Imam Ali carried out by His Holiness Sajjad (peace be upon him) and Her Holiness Zeynab (peace be upon her) shook the Shi'is and created a wave of hatred towards the government of the Umayyads among the people. It was after those events that a wave of Islamic awakening swept through the Islamic society and paved the way for the uprising of the Tawwabin [those who repented], the uprising of Hurrah [the so-called Free Ones who rose against the government], the revolt in Hejaz, the uprising in Iraq, and the uprising of Mukhtar Ibn Abi-Abdullah Thaqafi, and the uprising of Ali Ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) in Karbala. In fact, were it not for the sermons of the Great Zeynab (peace be upon her) and the enlightening speeches of Ali Ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him), Karbala would have remained in Karbala [would have been forgotten] and...

Islamic societies have never been free from seditions, and the seditions in the Last Days [before the return of the Hidden Imam, which is allegedly near] will be even more complex. This is why, like Zeynab and Sajjad, we should constantly address the seditionists and ask them why they engaged in the sedition, why they lied, why they did not assist the front of truth, why they deceived the people, why they remained silent, why when the Imam [Imam Husayn famously asked "is there anyone who would help me", but here presumably the Imam also refers to Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i] raised his voice and asked if anyone would go to his assistance they all crept to their holes, and...

After the glorious [presidential] election on 22 Khordad 1388 [ 11 June 2009] a great sedition erupted against the Islamic system. In the course of that sedition, the front of hypocrisy with all its capabilities and resources and with material and political support by foreigners tried to initiate an innovation [bid'a, which is innovation but also blasphemy, presumably by questioning the validity of the election] and to prevent the people from distinguishing between truth and falsehood. By raising the call of O Husayn, in reality they waged war against the Husayn of the age [Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i]. By making use of the color [of green] that is associated with the Imams (peace be upon them) they started to fight against the true representative of the Lord of the Age (may God hasten his noble advent), and by claiming that they were the followers of the line of Imam [Khomeyni] they stood up against the virtuous successor of His Eminence Imam Khomeyni (may he rest in peace) [all references to Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i].

By copying the slogans of the revolution and by marginalizing the logic of Imam Khomeyni (may he rest in peace), in the words of the esteemed leader of the revolution, they "tried to set up a fraudulent republic" against the true Islamic Republic, which is the precious and true legacy of Imam Khomeyni (may he rest in peace); but of course their fraudulent republic did not possess any of the blessed characteristics of the Islamic system. It was only an empty facade, which was inclined towards the glitter of secular systems.

On the Ashura of the year 88, under the direct leadership of the Hypocrites, the Seditionists insulted Aba Abdullah al-Husayn's mourning groups, the [Koran] reciters and the mourners. The disturbing events of Ashura of the year 88 took place under the direct leadership of the Hypocrites, and they have also accepted responsibility for those events. The Hypocrites already had the experience of celebrating and dancing on the day of Ashura in their black file. However, the events of Khordad 60 [June 1981, when a major campaign started against the Mojahedin-e Khalq] put an end to the life of the Hypocrites and forced them to turn to the servitude of the ill-fated Saddam. The gang-leader of the Hypocrites mini-group officially admitted that his mini-group had been involved in inciting the riots on Ashura 88 in Tehran. Maryam Rajavi, the wife of the gang-leader of that terrorist mini-group, said: "This came about as the result of necessary coordination among all those who do not believe in the role of velayat-e faqih." She also claimed: "The Green Movement that was formed in protest against the cheating in the election is now being replaced with a dee per movement, which tries to bring about the downfall of the Iranian regime."

Musavi, the candidate of the 88 election, who has lost out both in this world and the next, in his statement not only did not condemn that insult, on the contrary, he even supported the disgusting behavior of those groups and called them "God-seeking people"! Of course, he was not prepared to condemn the impudence and the insult of that group of the Hypocrites regarding the Ashura mourning ceremonies. In his statement, he attacked the system, the revolution and the people even more boldly than he had done in the past. Many of those belonging to the reformist movement who today claim that they wish to take part in the next election, kept silent in the face of those ugly events, and the echo of their silence is still ringing in the ears of the mourners of Imam Husayn.

The actions of the Seditionists and their meaningful silence in the face of those clear violations of sanctities were the last nails in the coffin of their political life, and as the result of those actions they left the arc of the Islamic system forever. The events of 18 Tir 1378 [ 8 July 1999, student demonstrations that were brutally suppressed], the sit-in organized by the Second Khordad Majles deputies in the year 1382 [the year that started on 20 March 2003], the actions of the Seditionist Movement in 1388 [ 2009] are examples of two decades of activities for undermining the structures [of the regime]. How can they today take part in a system to which they are not committed and which they do not believe in! How could they take part in the elections and ask for people's votes, while they rejected people's votes in the year 88, and even rebelled against both the republicanism and the Islamism of the system?

Today, the Seditionists are suffering from some kind of melancholic delusion. As they are afraid of being held accountable for their record during the past two decades, they are constantly speaking of their wish to take part in the next election. Their false assumptions and their fear of confronting their indefensible past have forced them to feel anxious and to ask for some form of political involvement. The leaders of the reformist movement know very well that both the people and the system have moved beyond the Green Movement, because the Green Movement had moved beyond them. They have travelled on the same path that the Freedom Movement [a reformist movement prior and during the revolution led by Mehdi Bazargan, the first prime minister in the transitional government after the revolution] had travelled on, but today their position is much more serious than that of the Freedom Movement.

The Seditionists and all those who kept quiet during the Sedition of the year 88 are politically and socially isolated. They know better than anyone else that they cannot agree over a single candidate, because they have destroyed the foundations of the reformist movement due to their ineptitude, silence and treachery. The fact that the Seditionists have left the arc of the system gives us the glad-tidings of the start of a new era in political and electoral fields in Iran, when the true voices of the people could be heard from the mouths of their genuine parties and representatives. The voices of the people are not represented by Westoxicated [gharbzadeh, or afflicted by the West] intellectualism that is in awe of America and Europe. People's leanings are not towards liberal capitalism. People's voices are not represented by compromising murmurs and whispers with the West. People's voices are not represented by the hesitant stuttering of some Western educated intellectuals. People's voices can only be raised from the loudspeakers of a civil society that has emerged from among the people.

The fourth decade of the revolution will be represented by political competitions that go beyond the bipolar system of principlism or the rejection of the system. It will be a new age for dealing with the genuine demands of the people, and for establishing justi ce and development in the country. The election of the ninth Majles with the participation of 60 per cent of the people showed that there would emerge new dualities that can represent people's views much better than in the past. This duality [competition] will be between Ayatollah [Mohammad Reza] Mahdavi-Kani, and Ayatollah [Mohammad Taqi] Mesbah [-Yazdi], with the same political and ideological duality that exists between Imam Sadeq (peace be upon him) University [led by Ayatollah Mahdavi-Kani] and Imam Khomeyni (may he rest in peace) Institute [led by Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi], or the same duality that exists today between the two Majles fractions of the Followers [Rahrovan] of Velayat, and Steadfastness [Front, Paydari], which compete with one another over the most important issues that concern the people and which are the most satisfactory forms of duality for competition.

Today, no advanced democracy in the world holds elections over its own life or death. During the past two decades the reformists have shown that their only aim is to bring about the downfall of the system. If they imagine that the system is on its way down and will tolerate their participation in the next election, they are suffering from a big delusion that only serves to keep them occupied.

Source: Resalat website, Tehran, in Persian 28 Nov 12

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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=13422

Kaleme: Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK); The symbol of Treason, Violence and Terror in Iran

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... In the modern history of Iran, there is no organization, no party and no cult more infamous than the MEK amongst the Iranian nation. The Iranian people are yet to forget how their beloved children were terrorized and martyred in the worst ways possible. And, thousands of family members and children of those murdered are still alive and witnesses to these crimes. The Iranian nation does not forget how this organization, along with Saddam Hussein, craved for the lives and honor of Iranians and assisted him in the suppression and massacre of the people of Iran and Iraq ...

Kaleme, September 22 2012
http://www.kaleme.com/1391/07/01/klm-113334/

I am saying, as someone who cares, the MEK with betrayals and crimes committed are considered dead. You, [the leaders of the government] don’t bring them back to life for the sake of scoring points and taking revenge.” – Mir Hossein Mousavi, Statement no.17

In the modern history of Iran, there is no organization, no party and no cult more infamous than the MEK amongst the Iranian nation. The Iranian people are yet to forget how their beloved children were terrorized and martyred in the worst ways possible. And, thousands of family members and children of those murdered are still alive and witnesses to these crimes. The Iranian nation does not forget how this organization, along with Saddam Hussein, craved for the lives and honor of Iranians and assisted him in the suppression and massacre of the people of Iran and Iraq. Iranians are proud of the years they stood against the MEK and Saddam and on any opportunity possible they praise the hundred thousand martyrs of the Iraq-Iran war. Iranian people know very well that this organization used unlawful and illegal sources, which initially belonged to the Iranian and Iraqi people. They are well aware that the MEK owes its remaining financial power and its limited existence to the support which Saddam Hussein provided them during the war against our country.

Mojahedin-e Khalq is the symbol of “violence and terror” in Iran and the slightest mention of this word [MEK] and the remembrance of this organization is needed to remind the Iranian audience of the violence, terror, and treason they caused. As long as the groundwork of this organization is cult-like behavior, the only solution for them is to submit to foreigners in order to stab its own people in the back. Any country that supports this organization defames itself among the Iranian people and remains infamous for defending violence and betrayal.

Leaders who are deceived into supporting the MEK are only making the wall of mistrust between the nations taller and are bringing back to life the bitter memories of anti-Iranian policies, such as 1953 coup.

Mojahedin-e Khalq are outcasts of the Iranian people; even before being the outcast of the government. To invigorate the ominous name of the MEK is only the wish of sinister enemies of democracy and rule of the people in Iran. Seekers of violence whether by MEK’s side or against them would be happy to see them empowered since violence creates violence.

The presence of this terrorist group in any part of the world could become an excuse for those in power in Iran to have unlawful confrontations with critics and protesters. They [those in power] would be the only group welcoming the official presence, even if they pretend to be their enemies.

Mojahedin-e Khalq is the symbol of violence, animosity, submission, and reliance on foreign powers. Thus, the organization is illegal and is the reminder of the most bitter of betrayals. Today, Iranian people who have become the example for nonviolent resistance, anti-dictatorship and independence for other countries, do not accept “violence and submission” and do not look kindly on the support of any government that relies on violence and submission.

In supporting the great Green Movement, we continue to consider Mojahedin-e Khalq hypocrites who “with betrayals and crimes committed are considered dead.” And we repeat Mir Hossein Mousavi’s warning by saying “No nation should bring them back to life for the sake of rewards and if they do so, they will remain infamous in the memory of the Iranian people

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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=10709

Don't be fooled: Mojahedin Khalq (MKO,MEK, Rajavi cult) is a terrorist group

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... Kaleme, a publication closely associated with Iran's true "main opposition," the Green Movement, warned last week that delisting the MEK would be devastating to Iran's democracy and human rights movement. Such a move would bring back "bitter memories of anti-Iran policies, such as the 1953 coup" that toppled Iran's first democratically elected prime minister. A U.S. delisting of the MEK would also send a signal that we have turned our backs on the nonviolent democratic movement in order to back a violent group.Many fear that a delisted MEK would help the regime taint the Green Movement while ...

Jamal Abdi, CNN, September 13, 2011
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/09/12/abdi.dont.delist.mek/?is_LR=1

Editor's note: Jamal Abdi is the policy director of the National Iranian American Council, the largest grassroots organization representing the Iranian-American community in the United States. He previously worked in Congress as a policy adviser on foreign affairs issues. He is based in Washington.

(CNN) -- Is it possible that a terrorist organization that has killed Americans and tortures its own members could organize a massive lobbying campaign to manipulate U.S. national security decisions?

It's happening before our very eyes.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to decide soon whether the Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) should remain on the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations or be delisted and free to raise taxpayer support for their operations.

The State Department says that throughout the 1970s, the MEK staged terrorist attacks inside Iran, and killed several U.S. military personnel and civilians working on defense projects in Tehran. It also says MEK members participated in the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

But while the MEK remains designated as a terrorist group, it has managed to leverage a caustic political environment in the United States, a humanitarian crisis in Iraq for which it bears significant responsibility and bundles of cash to pull off one of the most insidious pressure campaigns Washington has seen.

Recently, it came to light that many of about 33 former U.S. officials who have advocated delisting the MEK have been paid to speak at events sponsored by Iranian groups that want it off the list. Some of the officials have since quietly backed away, professing ignorance about the group that had presented itself innocuously as an "Iranian opposition movement."

Others, like Michael Mukasey and Howard Dean, have redoubled their efforts in the midst of criticism and recalibrated their message to urge for delisting on humanitarian grounds. But while there is certainly a humanitarian crisis for MEK members, the organization's leadership is directly culpable.

Opposing view: MEK is not a terror group and must be delisted

While the MEK's core leadership is based comfortably in Paris, some 3,400 of its rank-and-file members are based in the organization's Iraq compound, Camp Ashraf, along the Iranian border. There, they are held hostage to the MEK leadership's efforts to gain international support.

MEK advocates who claim support for the group on humanitarian grounds have not answered key questions about the group's inhumane practices, outlined by Human Rights Watch, including MEK's repeated threats of suicide as a negotiating tactic, according to a RAND Corp. study.

The study, commissioned for the Pentagon, says that 70% of the people at Camp Ashraf joined after the group moved to Iraq, and a "substantial number of these MEK members were lured to Iraq under false pretenses or did not have a clear understanding of the group's goals and methods of operation -- particularly with respect to its cult behavior -- and many have been forced to remain against their will."

Human Rights Watch has documented torture by MEK of members who have tried to flee. Those who have managed to escape report that the MEK prevents those in Ashraf from accessing telephones, television, Internet or any form of outside communication .

But the MEK leadership has cleverly leveraged its antagonism with the Iranian regime to exploit U.S.-Iran enmity and convince policymakers that the "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." In so doing, they have largely managed to deflect attention away from the MEK's shadowy practices and human rights abuses in Ashraf.

The MEK leadership in Paris has seized on deplorable actions by the Iraqi government, which views the MEK warily because of its close ties it had with Saddam Hussein, to argue for delisting.

Under pressure from Iran, Iraq has waged incursions into Ashraf that have resulted in shameful losses of life -- up to 34 killed. But instead of pursuing a true humanitarian solution, MEK leadership cynically used these events as public relations tools while obstructing serious proposals, because they would likely address MEK's own abuses.

The MEK has argued against any proposal that would let its members to leave the group. The New York Times reports that U.S. efforts to facilitate a humanitarian solution have been blocked by residents refusing to leave. The U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees has publicly offered to facilitate a refugee resettlement process but has stated that individuals at Ashraf have refused to renounce violence, a prerequisite to participating.

Ultimately, the driving force behind the MEK's campaign in the U.S. has come from the same circles that championed supposed dissidents such as Ahmad Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress to build a groundswell of support for the U.S. to invade Iraq. Like those Iraqi exiles, the MEK enjoys no domestic legitimacy, yet claims to be Iran's "main opposition." Most of the officials who repeat this have no idea that the MEK is among the most reviled groups in Iran.

Kaleme, a publication closely associated with Iran's true "main opposition," the Green Movement, warned last week that delisting the MEK would be devastating to Iran's democracy and human rights movement. Such a move would bring back "bitter memories of anti-Iran policies, such as the 1953 coup" that toppled Iran's first democratically elected prime minister. A U.S. delisting of the MEK would also send a signal that we have turned our backs on the nonviolent democratic movement in order to back a violent group.

Many fear that a delisted MEK would help the regime taint the Green Movement while shifting competition with Iran's government from one of popular legitimacy -- where the nonviolent democracy movement is strong -- into a competition of violence, where the MEK prefers to operate but where the regime is strongest.

Any doubts about this violent agenda were dispelled last week at a pro-MEK conference that revealed in starkest terms yet how a delisted MEK would be used. "We need a very active tit-for-tat policy," said Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney. "So every time they kill Americans, they have an accident in Iran."

"I know that may sound too militaristic," agreed former CIA official John Sano, "but you have to go with what your enemy understands."

Clearly, delisting the MEK has little to do with humanitarian concern or support for a democratic Iran but is instead a push for another disastrous war of choice in the Middle East.

The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Jamal Abdi.

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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=9639

Hillary Clinton's crucial choice on Iran

"Supporting Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, NCRI ,Rajavi cult), kiss of death for Green Movement"

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... First and foremost among such groups is Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an organization that has been designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). But despite its obvious threat to global security, the MEK could be taken off the State Department's Terror List within the next week. If this happens, it promises to spell disaster for the pro-democracy movement in Iran, and will be a devastating setback in the country's attempts to move forward... It is highly unlikely that other U.S.-designated FTOs, such as al-Qaida, would enjoy this astonishing degree of latitude in the corridors of the U.S. military, and within its executive and legislative branches ...

By Mohsen Kadivar and Ahmad Sadri, March 27, 2011
http://www.salon.com/news/iran/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/26/iran_green_movement

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Right: supporters of opposition
leader Mir Hossein Mousavi listen to his speech
at a demonstration in Tehran on Thursday June, 18, 2009

(Mohsen Kadivar, left and Ahmad Sadri, right)

As Tunisians and Egyptians work through their respective political transitions, the Iranian government increasingly detaches itself from the realities of its restive population. The longer it resists meeting public demands, the shorter its lifespan becomes.

At the same time, within the Iranian Diaspora, some have sought to usurp leadership of Iran's indigenous pro-democracy movement. This has alarmed the leaders of the Green Movement in Iran. Mir Hossein Mousavi warned against "international surfers" seeking to wield their own axe in the furnace of the Green movement in his last communiqué that was issued before he was put under house arrest on Feb. 29.

First and foremost among such groups is Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an organization that has been designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). But despite its obvious threat to global security, the MEK could be taken off the State Department's Terror List within the next week. If this happens, it promises to spell disaster for the pro-democracy movement in Iran, and will be a devastating setback in the country's attempts to move forward.

The MEK has no political base inside Iran and no genuine support on the Iranian street because it was long based in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's patronage. It lost any semblance of credibility it might have had inside Iran due to its opposition to the Shah's regime when its troops fought on behalf of Iraq toward the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Hence, it would behoove U.S. policymakers to be skeptical of the boasts of MEK lobbyists regarding the extent of this group's popularity inside Iran.

Since Saddam Hussein's ouster in 2003, the MEK has been depending almost entirely on the uneven enforcement of existing U.S. laws concerning designated foreign terrorist organizations. Surprisingly, the MEK military compound in Iraq enjoys de-facto "protected persons" status, and its activities at the U.S. congress have long been unchecked. It is highly unlikely that other U.S.-designated FTOs, such as al-Qaida, would enjoy this astonishing degree of latitude in the corridors of the U.S. military, and within its executive and legislative branches.

Countless first-rate analysts, scholars and human rights organizations -- including Human Rights Watch -- have determined that the MEK is an undemocratic, cultlike organization whose modus operandi vitiates its claim to be a vehicle for democratic change.

Most importantly, MEK activities in Washington could be causing irreparable damage to Iran's home-grown opposition. When post-election turbulence commenced inside Iran, the MEK quickly sought to join the frenzy of brewing opposition to the current government. The Ahmadinejad government promptly connected the Green Movement to the MEK in an effort to discredit the pro-democracy movement. Opposition leaders such as Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karrubi immediately pushed back. Rahnavard pointedly said, "the Green Movement is a people's movement that is alive and dynamic and holds a wall between itself and the MEK." Opposition leaders in Iran have good reason to erect and maintain such a wall. They see the MEK as an organization capitalizing on U.S.-Iran enmity to shed its terrorist designation and subsequently receive U.S. government funding -- effectively becoming the Iranian version of Ahmed Chalabi's infamous Iraqi National Congress.

As Washington policymakers seek new ways to pressure their counterparts in Tehran to yield on nuclear developments, they must refrain from actions that would harm the long-term prospects of trust and friendship between the two peoples.

Removing the MEK from the FTO at this juncture would embolden Iran's hardliners to intensify their repression and discredit the Green Movement by implying that it is somehow connected to the widely detested MEK terror group. Furthermore, supporting the MEK would provide the Iranian government with the specter of a foreign-based threat that could be exploited to heal key fractures within the system, increase the number of Iranians who would rally around the flag, and facilitate the suppression of the indigenous political opposition.

For all of its mistakes in the Middle East, the Bush administration -- even at the height of its aggressive foreign policy -- understood that delisting the MEK from the State Department's terrorist list would be a dangerous gambit. It would trigger a huge loss of U.S. soft power in Iran, damage Iran's democratic progress and help Iranian hardliners cement a long-term dictatorship. The Iranian people won't forgive or forget such cynical moves. Bitter memories associated with U.S. policies toward the Shah and Mohammad Mossadegh, the prime minister overthrown with covert American assistance in 1953, continue to linger and poison U.S.-Iran relations to this day. We urge the U.S. government to avoid committing this critical mistake at a time when the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people hang in the balance.

Mohsen Kadivar, a leading figure in the Green Movement, is visiting professor of religion at Duke University. Ahmad Sadri is professor of sociology and James P. Gorter chair of Islamic world studies at Lake Forest College.