Abdulhalim al-Zahiri: Despite western backing for
Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) terrorists,
their presence illegal and they will be expelled
.
... A senior advisor to the Iraqi prime minister blasted the US and Europe's staunch support for the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), and said the terrorist group should be expelled from Iraq."Legally speaking, the presence of the MKO in Iraq under any title is against the law and they should be expelled from the country," Abdulhalim al-Zahiri said in a meeting with Seyed Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad. Stressing that the US and Europe consider the MKO as a terrorist group, he said that they support the group ...
Fars News, October 01 2011
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007090082
Advisor to Iraqi PM: MKO Presence in Iraq Illegal
A senior advisor to the Iraqi prime minister blasted the US and Europe's staunch support for the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), and said the terrorist group should be expelled from Iraq.
"Legally speaking, the presence of the MKO in Iraq under any title is against the law and they should be expelled from the country," Abdulhalim al-Zahiri said in a meeting with Seyed Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad, the secretary-general of Iran's Habilian Association - a human rights group formed by the families of 17,000 terror victims in Iran.
Stressing that the US and Europe consider the MKO as a terrorist group, he said that they support the group fervently in a bid to use it as a leverage to pressurize Iran.
He said the MKO have misused the status quo in Iraq to expand their illegal and terrorist activities despite the fact that their main camp in Diyala province is surrounded by the Iraqi troops.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran's new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.
The terrorist group joined Saddam's army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.
Meantime, earlier media report said that the US is trying to convince Iraqi officials to relocate MKO members within Iraq.
Under the US plan, the approximately 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf would be temporarily relocated within Iraq, farther from the border with Iran, a US State Department official announced.
The relocation would be temporary, the official said, with final settlement of the inhabitants in other countries.
That would not include the United States, the official said, "Since US law bars anyone associated with a terrorist organization from settling there".
Since the beginning of this year, the Baghdad government has repeatedly assured Iranian officials and people that it is determined to expel the MKO from Iraq by the end of 2011.
"Expulsion of the MKO from Iraq's soil and termination of its presence which has lasted for several years is a definite decision," Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbaq told FNA in April, adding, "The MKO will be expelled from Iraq by the end of the current year."
"The only option for the members of the MKO is leaving Iraq and they have no other choice," he reiterated.
Reminding to the black record of the terrorist group and its crimes against the Iraqi people, Dabbaq said, "Collaboration with the former Iraqi dictator and massacre of thousands of our people is just part of their crimes".
Dabbaq announced in early April that the cabinet is determined to shut down Camp Ashraf located North of the capital, Baghdad, and disband the terrorist group.
"The council of ministers is committed to the implementation of an earlier decision for disbanding the terrorist group by the end of this year at the latest, and is rigid about the necessity for getting it out of Iraq," the official noted.
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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10797
Al Jaafari: Illegal presence of Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) terror camp will end by December 2011
(No excuse to extend military presence of Americans)
.
... Jaafari announced that judicial rulings have been issued for a number of members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), who are based in Iraq. “Lawsuits have been filed against a number of the members of the terrorist MKO group, and rulings have been issued for them. And it has been emphasized that their presence in Iraq is illegal,” he stated. On September 20, Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Alzubaidi said that Baghdad will put the criminal leaders of the terrorist group on trial before expelling them. The Iraqi people will never overlook the atrocities that the members of this group have committed ...
(Washington backed Maryam Rajavi in terrorist cult's HQ in Paris)
Mehr News, September 26 2011
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1416481
Iraq-U.S. security agreement will not be extended: ex-PM
TEHRAN, Sept. 25 (MNA) – Former Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has said that the security agreement signed by Iraq and the United States will never be extended.
Jaafari, who is the leader of the Iraqi Shiite coalition, made the remarks during an interview with the Mehr News Agency. His remarks were later translated into English.
The U.S. has been left with no excuse to extend its military presence in the country beyond December 2011, and the security agreement will never be extended, he stated.
“The Iraqi people want foreign forces to leave Iraq, and the members of the parliament who represent the nation will never approve the extension of the security agreement or a new security agreement with Washington,” Jaafari noted. “This is a national demand, and we no longer want foreign forces to stay in Iraq.”
Judicial rulings issued for a number of MKO members
Elsewhere in the interview, Jaafari announced that judicial rulings have been issued for a number of members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), who are based in Iraq.
“Lawsuits have been filed against a number of the members of the terrorist MKO group, and rulings have been issued for them. And it has been emphasized that their presence in Iraq is illegal,” he stated.
“In our view, a political refugee in Iraq, no matter what country he has come from, should not be armed. As a matter of fact, if this person lays down arms, he can live peacefully in Iraq, otherwise he should leave Iraqi soil,” Jaafari added.
The Iraqi government “will never allow MKO members to take up arms against any country, particularly the neighboring countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey,” he said.
On the number of the Camp Ashraf residents, the Iraqi officials stated, “No accurate estimate of the number of these people is available since the number of them, their names, and their ranks keep changing. A number of MKO members have no option left but to continue cooperation with the organization. Some of them have even been killed after they broke away from the organization and stopped cooperating with it.”
On September 20, Iraqi Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Alzubaidi said that Baghdad will put the criminal leaders of the terrorist group on trial before expelling them.
The Iraqi people will never overlook the atrocities that the members of this group have committed, Alzubaidi stated.
Iraq has expressed concern over Bahrain crackdown
Asked about the crackdown on the people of Bahraini, Jaafari said, Iraq has expressed concern over the situation in Bahrain and have called for a compromise to be made between the government and protesters.
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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10786
Iraq objects to EU suggestion of interference in the issue of Camp Ashraf
EU countries always welcome to resettle residents
.
... The Minister expressed the reservation and objection of the Iraqi government to the request of the European Commission to designate a special representative to Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf) but stressed that the government of Iraq has consistently appealed to and asked European countries and other countries to receive and resettle residents of the camp in their countries. He also stressed that the government is committed to close the camp by the end of the year and it will take necessary measures to complete the plan while observing international humanitarian law in dealing with the inhabitants of the camp ...
Iraq Foreign Ministry, September 25 2011
(translated by Iran Interlink)
Link to the original report (Arabic)
http://www.mofa.gov.iq/arab/articles/display.aspx?gid=1&id=11016
Foreign Minister meets Ashton the coordinator of EU foreign policy
The Minister of Foreign Affairs [Hoshyar Zebari] met with Ms. Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy coordinator today 22/9/11, in New York.
During the meeting they discussed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Iraq and the importance of signing the agreement at the earliest opportunity, especially since the majority of European parliaments have ratified the Convention.
The Minister expressed the reservation and objection of the Iraqi government to the request of the European Commission to designate a special representative to Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf) but stressed that the government of Iraq has consistently appealed to and asked European countries and other countries to receive and resettle residents of the camp in their countries.
He also stressed that the government is committed to close the camp by the end of the year and it will take necessary measures to complete the plan while observing international humanitarian law in dealing with the inhabitants of the camp.
It was agreed to maintain dialogue and communication and mutual visits between the two sides in the coming period.
.
Undersecretary Receives UNHCR Delegation
Iraq Foreign Ministry, September 22 2011
http://www.mofa.gov.iq/eng/articles/display.aspx?gid=1&id=11001
Undersecretary Mr. Abawi received delegation of the UNHCR headed by, Claire Bourgeois, representative of the UNHCR in Iraq and her accompanying delegation .
He reviewed with the delegation the state of residents of Makhmor, Waleed and Ashraf camps, as explained Iraq's position stems from its commitment to the rules of the international and humanitarian law, and that Iraq is ready to cooperate with the Representative to find realistic and humanitarian solutions to the inhabitants of those camps.
Concerning Ashraf camp Mr. Abawi has said that MKO is a terrorist organization as classified by the United States and Europe since it has committed crimes against the Iraqi people through its cooperation with the dictatorial regime, for that reason Iraq determined to shut down Ashraf camp at the end of this year to re-resettlement its population and can cooperate with the Organization in order to facilitate their exit from Iraq.
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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10775
Iraqi Minister Stresses Trial of Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) Ringleader before Expulsion from Iraq
.
... "Expulsion of the MKO from Iraq's soil and termination of its presence which has lasted for several years is a definite decision," Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbaq told FNA in April, adding, "The MKO will be expelled from Iraq by the end of the current year." "The only option for the members of the MKO is leaving Iraq and they have no other choice," he reiterated. Reminding the black record of the terrorist group and its crimes against the Iraqi people, Dabbaq said, "Collaboration with the former Iraqi dictator and massacre of thousands of our people is just part of their crimes." ...
Thai News Service, September 22 2011
http://www.einnews.com/
Section: General News - Iraqi Minister of Finance Baqir al-Zubaidi strongly condemned the crimes committed by the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) against his nation, and stressed that the group's ringleaders should stand trial before being expelled from Iraq's soil.
"The MKO has committed many crimes in Iraq and for that reason the criminal leaders of this group should be tried before being expelled from Iraq," Zubaidi said at a meeting with Seyed Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad, the Secretary-General of Iran's Habilian Association - a human rights group formed by the families of 17,000 terror victims in Iran.
"Before the process starts for their expulsion, Iraqi officials are required to take action on behalf of the Iraqi nation to swiftly probe and verify the crimes committed by this cult," the minister reiterated.
He pointed to Iraq's move towards prosperity and freedom, and stated that the Iraqi nation is resolved to remove all terrorist groups from the country in a bid to continue its victories.
Since the beginning of this year, the Baghdad government has repeatedly assured Iranian officials and people that it is determined to expel the MKO from Iraq by the end of 2011.
Meantime, earlier media reports said that the US is trying to convince Iraqi officials to relocate MKO members within Iraq.
Under the US plan, the approximately 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf would be temporarily relocated within Iraq, farther from the border with Iran, a US State Department official announced.
The relocation would be temporary, the official said, with final settlement of the inhabitants in other countries.
That would not include the United States, the official said, "since US law bars anyone associated with a terrorist organization from settling there".
"Expulsion of the MKO from Iraq's soil and termination of its presence which has lasted for several years is a definite decision," Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbaq told FNA in April, adding, "The MKO will be expelled from Iraq by the end of the current year."
"The only option for the members of the MKO is leaving Iraq and they have no other choice," he reiterated.
Reminding the black record of the terrorist group and its crimes against the Iraqi people, Dabbaq said, "Collaboration with the former Iraqi dictator and massacre of thousands of our people is just part of their crimes."
Dabbaq announced in early April that the cabinet is determined to shut down Camp Ashraf located North of the capital, Baghdad, and disband the terrorist group.
"The council of ministers is committed to implement its earlier decision for disbanding the terrorist group by the end of this year at the latest and get it out of Iraq," the official noted.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran's new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.
The terrorist group joined Saddam's army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list. - FNA
Thai News Service Co. Ltd.
Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)continued terror campain
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Also:
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10758
Deputy Foreign Minister Abawi emphasizes Iraqi government to close Camp Ashraf by end of year
.
... A statement issued by the Ministry quotes him as saying, "Iraq's position stems from its commitment to the rules of international law and humanitarian law. Iraq is ready to cooperate with the [UNHCR] Representative to find realistic and humanitarian solutions for the inhabitants of the camp". Concerning Camp Ashraf, Abawi said, "The [Mojahedin] organization is a terrorist organization as classified by the United States and Europe, as it is here also because of its crimes against the Iraqi people through its cooperation with the former dictatorial regime," the statement said ...
Iraq Centre for Studies website, September 19, 2011
Translated by Iran Interlink
link to the original (Arabic)
http://www.markazaliraq.net/?state=news&viewId=7909
Iraq’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Labid Abawi met today with a delegation headed by UNHCR Claire Bourgeois, UNHCR representative in Iraq and her entourage to discuss Camp Ashraf.
A statement issued by the Ministry quotes him as saying, "Iraq's position stems from its commitment to the rules of international law and humanitarian law. Iraq is ready to cooperate with the [UNHCR] Representative to find realistic and humanitarian solutions for the inhabitants of the camp".
Concerning Camp Ashraf, Abawi said, "The [Mojahedin] organization is a terrorist organization as classified by the United States and Europe, as it is here also because of its crimes against the Iraqi people through its cooperation with the former dictatorial regime," the statement said.
He continued: "Therefore, Iraq is determined to shut down Camp Ashraf at the end of this year and the residents will be resettled, and Iraq will collaborate with the WHO in order to facilitate their exit from Iraq.
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عباوي يؤكد تصميم الحكومة العراقية على غلق اشرف نهاية العام
مركز العراق للدراسات
20:05-2011-09-19
http://www.markazaliraq.net/?state=news&viewId=7909
لبيد عباوي يؤكد تصميم الحكومة العراقية على غلق معسكر اشرف نهاية العام الحالي
بحث وكيل وزارة الخارجية لبيد عباوي اليوم مع وفد مفوضية شؤون اللاجئين برئاسة كلير بورجوا ممثلة المفوضية في العراق والوفد المرافق لها وضع سكان مخيم مخمور ومخيم الوليد ومعسكر اشرف.
ونقل بيان لوزارة الخارجية عنه القول :" ان موقف العراق ينطلق من التزامه بقواعد القانون الدولي والانساني وان العراق مستعد للتعاون مع الممثلية لايجاد حلول واقعية وانسانية لسكان تلك المخيمات "ا
وبالنسبة لمعسكر اشرف ، قال عباوي :" ان منظمة خلق هي منظمة ارهابية كما تم تصنيفها من قبل الولايات المتحدة الامريكية واوربا ، كما انها قامت بجرائم ضد ابناء الشعب العراقي من خلال تعاونها مع النظام الدكتاتوري البائد " بحسب البيان.
وتابع :" وعليه فان العراق مصمم على غلق معسكر اشرف في نهاية هذا العام واعادة توطين سكانه ، ويمكنه التعاون مع المنظمة من اجل تسهيل عملية خروجهم من العراق
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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=10684
Zebari confirms Iraq will resolve the [Camp Ashraf] file by end of the year
(HQ of Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)
.
... that the presence of an Iranian opposition group in Iraqi territory is in contradiction to the terms of the Iraqi constitution and most political communities, but that some in the United Nations and the European Union and U.S. forces are demanding the survival of the organization and provide support and stability to it. "After clashes earlier between Iraqi security forces and members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (aka PMOI) led to the injury of a number of employees of the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi government decided to close the camp by the end of this year and called on the Iranian government to issue amnesty for the members of this organization." ...
All Iraq News, Baghdad, September 09, 2011
Translated by Iran Interlink
link to the original report (Arabic)
http://alliraqnews.com/index.php?option=com
_content&task=view&id=11916&Itemid=86
Thursday, 8 September 2011
During a meeting of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Dutch parliament, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari iterated Iraq's decision to end the crucial file [Camp Ashraf] by the end of the year.
A copy of the Foreign Ministry statement received by AllIraqNews on Thursday said, "Zebari met yesterday at the headquarters of the Dutch Parliament Foreign Relations Committee in which meeting the developments of the internal situation and the continuous improvement of the security situation in Iraq were reviewed."
"Interactive dialogue also took place to assess the level of bilateral relations and areas of cooperation between the two countries based on political and diplomatic relations developed between them," noting that "the need to promote this cooperation to the level of the historical relations between the two countries on the one hand and to the position of the Netherlands’ outstanding support of the process of Iraq's political and democratic transformation that took place on the other was stressed.
The statement continued, "There was a focus on the importance of this cooperation to expand the area of investment in energy to other issues of economics, trade and in particular management of water resources, as well as the importance of working for the creation of better relations between the Iraqi Council of Representatives and the Dutch parliament."
Zebari addressed "the developments and changes taking place in the Arab region, and that what Iraq has accomplished in its changes towards democracy has now become one of the most important demands of the peoples of the region who seek reform and change."
It is noteworthy that the presence of an Iranian opposition group in Iraqi territory is in contradiction to the terms of the Iraqi constitution and most political communities, but that some in the United Nations and the European Union and U.S. forces are demanding the survival of the organization and provide support and stability to it.
"After clashes earlier between Iraqi security forces and members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (aka PMOI) led to the injury of a number of employees of the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi government decided to close the camp by the end of this year and called on the Iranian government to issue amnesty for the members of this organization. "
“Referred to as the ‘Camp Ashraf fighters of the Mojahedin-e Khalq on Iraqi soil’, it is well known that this organization is classified as a terrorist organization and that it is prohibited to have dealings with it.”
Camp Ashraf.March 2011
(Mojahedin Khalq Rajavi cult)
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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=10200
Zebari: Iraqi committee will decide for Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) / US troops have to leave by end of the year
.
... Zabari also said a committee is to be formed in Baghdad soon to determine ways for MKO members' exit. As to Iraq-US Security Pact, Zebari said, "the US troops need to leave Iraqi soil by the end of 2011." The MKO is listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community. Founded in the 1960s, the group has masterminded many terrorist operations in Iran and Iraq. The group is especially notorious in Iran for having sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. The MKO has been in Iraq's Diyala province since the 1980s ...
The Camp Ashraf , home to more than 3,000 members of the Mujahedeen Khalgh Organization (MKO) has been under spotlight once more
ISNA, June 21, 2011
http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1792104&Lang=E
An Iraqi committee is to specify ways for terrorist MKO exit, said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zabari on Tuesday.
He made the remarks in a press briefing with Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi and said, "Iraqi regime's stance for future of the group is clear. We have agreed that members of the group, now residing in Camp Ashraf, go to other countries. We have called for European parliaments and organizations to assist us and host some members of the group."
Zabari also said a committee is to be formed in Baghdad soon to determine ways for MKO members' exit.
As to Iraq-US Security Pact, Zebari said, "the US troops need to leave Iraqi soil by the end of 2011."
Also Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi is to visit Iraq on June 6 to join economic commission meeting.
The two sides also stressed expansion of mutual economic and political cooperation as well.
The MKO is listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community.
Founded in the 1960s, the group has masterminded many terrorist operations in Iran and Iraq.
The group is especially notorious in Iran for having sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
The MKO has been in Iraq's Diyala province since the 1980s.
(Washington backed Maryam Rajavi in terrorist cult's HQ in Paris)
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Also
http://www.iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=9968
Zibari: Time is ripe to solve the question of foreign orgaizations that defy Iraqi sovereignty and jurisdiction
(Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)
.
... In a statement by Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Minister Ashton said " the European Union is keen to develop and activate its relations with Iraq according to the agreement signed between the two sides, which reached its final stages for ratification". "The EU is keen to cooperate in the fields of oil and gas", Ashton added in the statement. Zebari expressed the stand and decision of the Iraqi government "to close the camp by the end of this year" and to demand from European countries "to accept the residents of the camp in their countries." "The Iraqi government will abide by its humanistic obligations towards the inhabitants of the camp," Zebari added ...
(Alejo Vidal-Quadras , Mojahedin Khalq logo, Struan stevenson )
(Maryam Rajavi directly ordered the massacre of Kurdish people)
Aswat al Iraq, May 11, 2011
http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=142491&l=1
EU expresses concern over Iranian residents in Ashraf Camp
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton had a telephone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zebari (Tuesday night) during which bilateral relations were discussed.
Minister Ashton expressed the concern of the European Union for the future of Ashraf camp residents.
In a statement by Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Minister Ashton said " the European Union is keen to develop and activate its relations with Iraq according to the agreement signed between the two sides, which reached its final stages for ratification".
"The EU is keen to cooperate in the fields of oil and gas", Ashton added in the statement.
Zebari expressed the stand and decision of the Iraqi government "to close the camp by the end of this year" and to demand from European countries "to accept the residents of the camp in their countries."
"The Iraqi government will abide by its humanistic obligations towards the inhabitants of the camp," Zebari added.
The "time is ripe to solve the question of Ashraf camp residents, particularly when considered that the Iraqi constitution does not accept any foreign organizations that defy its sovereignty and jurisdictions," he added.
Zebari extended an invitation to Minister Ashton to visit Iraq, the statement noted.
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Also
http://www.iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10020
European lawmakers: TryPMOI (Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) members for 'crimes against humanity'
.
... In their most recent statement, the MEPs called for a fair trial for the fifty people in the camp wanted by the Iraqi authorities for alleged “crimes against humanity.” “Instead of boosting the PMOI, with all its criminal activities, we should urge the High Representative and the member states to help to find a humanitarian solution for the remaining camp residents (screening by the UNHCR and individual resettlement) and a fair trial for the approximately 50 persons in the camp wanted by the Iraqi authorities for alleged crimes against humanity.” The letter was signed by members from the parliament’s ...
(Maryam Rajavi directly ordered the massacre of Kurdish people)
The Green Voice of Freedom, May 18, 2011
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2011/may/17/3122
GVF — In a statement, legislators from various factions in the European Parliament have called for the trial of approximately fifty MKO terrorists in camp Ashraf in Iraq for “crimes against humanity.”
The statement was issued in response to comments made by MKO sympathiser and Vice-President of the European Parliament Alejo Vidal-Quadras, who accused Barbara Lochbihler, the Chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Iran, of making “unfounded accusations against” Ashraf residents and the MKO, referring to her comments as “a disgraceful attempt to attack this democratic opposition movement at a crucial time”.
The PMOI is known by a number of different names including Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organisation (MEK) or (MKO), The National Liberation Army of Iran (the group's armed wing) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a front group for the PMOI.
In April 2011, the Iraqi military raided terrorist group's headquarters at Camp Ashraf, sixty kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The United Nations says 34 people were killed during the raid on the camp at which some 3,000 cult members are stationed.
Shortly after this raid, German MEP Barbara Lochbihler wrote a letter to fellow MEPs arguing the PMOI had “no link to opposition forces active in Iran today” and maintaining “the claim by Ashraf residents to be cut off from water supplies was incorrect.” She stated that the “inhabitants of the camp [were] themselves victims of this totalitarian cult”.
In their most recent statement, the MEPs called for a fair trial for the fifty people in the camp wanted by the Iraqi authorities for alleged “crimes against humanity.” “Instead of boosting the PMOI, with all its criminal activities, we should urge the High Representative and the member states to help to find a humanitarian solution for the remaining camp residents (screening by the UNHCR and individual resettlement) and a fair trial for the approximately 50 persons in the camp wanted by the Iraqi authorities for alleged crimes against humanity.”
The letter was signed by members from the parliament’s European People’s Party (EPP); Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D); Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE); the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) and European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL).
The statement added: “The PMOI was protected by Saddam Hussein who hosted them from the mid-1980s until his demise. They collaborated in his internal repression against the Kurds and Shiites and have since that time had a military camp known as Camp Ashraf. When the US disarmed the camp in 2003 it housed over 3000 PMOI fighters.”
The MEPs also cautioned fellow legislators that the terrorist group had “developed a very strong lobby in the European Parliament over the last couple of years claiming to be the only serious Iranian opposition group.”
They said the recent bloodshed at Camp Ashraf “should not … distract us from an objective and level-headed analysis of the the PMOI's track record,” urging “all members [of parliament] to seriously consider the history, actions and behaviour of the PMOI before signing any declarations or letters of support in favour of this group in the future.”
“Their method is very simple: they mobilise MEPs' justified outrage at the nuclear issue, the human rights violations and they very character of the Iranian regime, but instrumentalised such opinion for a different purpose – the political legitimation of the Mudjahedin organisation itself.”
In their letter, the lawmakers criticise the lack of attention to the “massive human rights violations inside” the terrorist group. “According to overwhelming evidence the former militant group has turned into a repressive sect far removed from the respectable image the representatives of this group display when visiting the European Parliament.”
“The human rights violations the leaders are committing against the group’s members are amply documented, starting with Human Rights Watch (HRW) and many witness reports of ex-members who were able to flee (including testimonies in the European Parliament).”
In a serious blow to the European Union’s credibility and standing in the eyes of Iranians, in 2009, the union removed the death cult from its list of terrorist groups and lifted restrictions on the group's funds.
However, according the statement by MEPs, the European Court of Justice’s decision to remove the PMOI from the EU terrorist list in 2009 was based “on a formality,” taking note of the fact that “Member States who asked them to be included on the list refused to transmit the evidence on which their request was based to the court.”
“This ruling does not make any statement as to the group’s practice of internal repression.”
The MEPs voiced their concern over how PMOI sympathisers within the parliament had developed an “infatuation” with the cult, arguing, “The support the PMOI receives from members of Parliament allows its leadership to perpetuate their absolute power over the rank and file, of which most are believed to want to desperately leave the group. The hundreds of members who have managed to escape from Ashraf and have been screened by the UNHCR bear witness of their plight.”
“This infatuation with the PMOI also diverts our energy and attention away from the civil society movement known as the ‘Green Movement’ whose leaders have rejected any link with the PMOI.”
The statement maintains the cult “lost all its credibility with the Iranian people when they formed an alliance with the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.”
“The only actor inside Iran who nowadays accords any importance to the group,” the MEPs say, “is the Iranian government: they have accused some of the arrested protesters from the demonstrations since the presidential election in 2009 of collaborating with the PMOI in order to discredit the pro-democracy movement in the eyes of the population.”
In the 80s, the group joined forces with the invading army of Saddam Hussein and developed an intimate relationship with the Iraqi dictator during Iran's eight-year war with Iraq. The MKO’s grisly crimes against the Kurds and Marsh Arabs in Iraq, as well as their traitorous alliance with one of Iran’s greatest enemies, have turned them into one of the most despised groups in the country.
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Mr. Atighi asks authorites to retrieve the body of his murdered son from the Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) for burial
MEK using unburied bodies as a bargaining tool
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Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=9964
MEPs warned not to fall victim to misleading Mojahedin Khalq (MKO,MEK, Rajavi cult) lobby in European Parliament
Massive human rights violations inside the MEK must be investigated: individual screening and resettlement by UNHCR needed
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... This infatuation with the PMOI also diverts our energy and attention away from the civil society movement known as the ‘green movement’ whose leaders have rejected any link with the PMOI. The PMOI lost all its credibility with the Iranian people when they formed an alliance with the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The only actor inside Iran who nowadays accords any importance to the group is the Iranian government: they have accused some of the arrested protestors from the demonstrations since the Presidential elections of 2009 of collaborating with the PMOI in order to discredit the pro-democracy movement ...
(Alejo Vidal-Quadras , Mojahedin Khalq logo, Struan stevenson )
Iran Interlink, European Parliament, May 11, 2011
http://iran-interlink.org
MEPs from five political groups have sent a letter to their colleagues to brief them about the PMOI lobby in the European Parliament. The letter, copied below, says that while the deaths at Camp Ashraf were uncacceptable, MEPs should not ignore the MEKs history in Iraq and the overwhelming evidence of human rights abuses inside the MEK. The letter called for screeing and resettlement of individual camp residents and fair trials for members which Iraq alleges have committed crimes against humanity in their country.
Text of the letter:
European Parliament
Strasbourg, 10 May 2011
Dear colleagues,
Before Easter vacation, Vice-President Vidal Quadras has addressed a letter to all members of the European Parliament accusing the Chair of the Iran delegation, Ms. Lochbihler, of diffusing false information about the Iranian People’s Mujahedin, also known as Mujahedin e Khalq (MEK), PMOI, MKO or National Council of Resistance. For your information we attach the two letters.
The PMOI was protected by Saddam Hussein who hosted them from the mid-1980s until his demise. They collaborated in his internal repression against Kurds and Shiites and have since that time had a military camp known as Camp Ashraf. When the US disarmed the camp in 2003 it housed over 3000 PMOI fighters. The group has developed a very strong lobby in the European Parliament over the last couple of years claiming to be the only serious Iranian opposition group.
The events of April 8, when the Iraqi security forces tried to force their way into the camp with armoured vehicles brought the existence of this group into the lime light again. We fully support the serious concern and condemnation expressed by Ms Lochbihler over the killing of some 30 camp residents and the injury of many more. While the main responsibility for the incident seems to be with the Iraqi security forces, they have so far only acknowledged responsibility for the death of three inmates. We therefore fully support the call of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for an independent investigation into the incident.
This unacceptable blood shed should not, however, distract us from an objective and level headed analysis of the track record of the PMOI. We urge all members to seriously consider the history, actions and behaviour of the PMOI before signing any declarations or letters of support in favour of this group in the future. Their method is very simple: they mobilise MEPs justified outrage at the nuclear issue, the human rights violations and the very character of the Iranian regime, but instrumentalised such opinion for a different purpose – the political legitimation of the Mujahedin organisation itself.
Surprisingly, the allegations of massive human rights violations inside the Mujahedin organisation are never subject of debate. According to overwhelming evidence the former militant group has turned into a repressive sect far removed from the respectable image the representatives of this group display when visiting the European Parliament. The human rights violations the leaders are committing against the group’s members are amply documented, starting with Human Rights Watch (HRW) and many witness reports of ex-members who were able to flee (including testimonies in the European Parliament).
The European Court of Justice removed the PMOI from the EU terrorist list in 2009 on a formality – the Member States who asked them to be included on the list refused to transmit the evidence on which their request was based to the court. This ruling does not make any statement as to the group’s practice of internal repression.
The support the PMOI receives from members of Parliament allows its leadership to perpetuate their absolute power over the rank and file, of which most are believed to want to desperately leave the group. The hundreds of members who have managed to escape from Ashraf and have been screened by the UNHCR bear witness of their plight.
This infatuation with the PMOI also diverts our energy and attention away from the civil society movement known as the ‘green movement’ whose leaders have rejected any link with the PMOI. The PMOI lost all its credibility with the Iranian people when they formed an alliance with the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The only actor inside Iran who nowadays accords any importance to the group is the Iranian government: they have accused some of the arrested protestors from the demonstrations since the Presidential elections of 2009 of collaborating with the PMOI in order to discredit the pro-democracy movement in the eyes of the population.
Instead of boosting the PMOI, with all its criminal activities, we should urge the High Representative and the member states to help to find a humanitarian solution for the remaining camp residents (screening by the UNHCR and individual resettlement) and a fair trial for the approximately 50 persons in the camp wanted by the Iraqi authorities for alleged crimes against humanity.
Sincerely Yours,
Michael Gahler, Elmar Brok (EPP), Kurt Lechner (EPP), Maria Muniz, Ana Gomes, Hannes Swoboda (S&D), Marietje Schaake, Annemie Neyts, Jelko Kacin (ALDE), Isabelle Durant, Ulrike Lunacek (Greens/EFA), Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL)
