U.S. supports U.N. plan to relocate group on terror list
(Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)
.
... the official said, with that location in "an accessible, not inaccessible part of the country." The plan would be administered by the Iraqi government. The U.N. high commissioner for refugees would process the MEK residents for refugee status, with the U.N. monitoring the entire process from beginning to end. The relocation facility would remain open until all residents are eventually relocated the official said. "It will not in effect be an MEK-run facility, this is an Iraqi facility," the official said, while stressing there would be U.N. monitors present to assure the facility does "not exist in the dark." ...
Jamie Crawford, National Security Producer, CNN, December 21 2011
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/19/world/meast
/iraq-camp-ashraf-relocation/index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Obama administration "welcomes" a United Nations-led effort in Iraq to relocate a group on the State Department terrorism list, before an end-of-the-year deadline that could see heavy violence and a large humanitarian disaster unfold, senior administration officials said Monday.
The Iraqi government has said it will close Camp Ashraf -- the home of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK -- by December 31, without offering clear assurances the refugees will be protected against attacks by Iraqi forces, or reprisals from neighboring Iran. MEK has been on the U.S. terrorism list since 1997 because of the killing of six Americans in Iran in the 1970s, and an attempted attack against the Iranian mission to the United Nations in 1992.
The administration is supporting a plan led by Ambassador Martin Kobler, the U.N. special representative to Iraq, that would allow for a peaceful transfer of the approximately 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf to a new facility in Iraq, one official said. The plan would also work to repatriate MEK members to Iran who go "voluntarily," or resettle to third countries under the auspices of the U.N., the official said.
"The good news here is that in the past two weeks, Ambassador Kobler and the Iraqi government have made significant progress on this plan," the official told reporter at a briefing. That official and another senior administration official declined to be named due to the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations between the U.N., the Iraqi government, and the MEK.
Under the plan being negotiated, a single "temporary relocation" facility for people now at Camp Ashraf would be established near the Baghdad International Airport, the official said, with that location in "an accessible, not inaccessible part of the country."
The plan would be administered by the Iraqi government. The U.N. high commissioner for refugees would process the MEK residents for refugee status, with the U.N. monitoring the entire process from beginning to end. The relocation facility would remain open until all residents are eventually relocated the official said.
"It will not in effect be an MEK-run facility, this is an Iraqi facility," the official said, while stressing there would be U.N. monitors present to assure the facility does "not exist in the dark."
A second administration official described the facility as one with a good deal of "infrastructure," and at a site that is "well known" to the United States. Neither official would confirm or deny whether the proposed facility is a former U.S. military base that was handed over to the Iraqi government when U.S. forces withdrew from the country.
Camp Ashraf was established in 1986 after Saddam Hussein invited members of the MEK to relocate to Iraq in an effort to undermine the Iranian government, which was at war with Iraq.
Up until "recent days," the administration official said the MEK had not engaged in a meaningful way with the government of Iraq and the U.N. in order to devise a way forward for the closure of Camp Ashraf.
"The Iraqi government has been constructive, and if they keep working with Ambassador Kolber as they have, that's quite good," the first official said. "The MEK having just recently engaged, needs to get in all the way in a constructive fashion," the official said adding the United States continues to support Kolber's efforts.
If the plan is implemented, the United States and Europe "will have to do whatever we can do within our laws to look at individuals whom the (U.N. high commissioner for refugees) has made eligible for refugee status, and we will have to consider what we can do to take them," working within U.S. immigration laws, the official said. That aspect of the plan will be tough to reconcile as the United States has been unable to definitively determine the entire makeup of Camp Ashraf, saying some residents are not MEK members, but probably came to the camp under different circumstances.
The official noted that although MEK is on the U.S. terrorist list, "we can look at individual refugee cases on an individual basis," as a matter of U.S. law.
The State Department is in the process of determining whether to remove MEK from the terror list. When asked for an update to that decision, both administration officials would only describe the process as "ongoing."
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has close ties to Iran, has opposed MEK's presence in Iraq.
MEK has said Iraqi forces staged multiple attacks on Camp Ashraf earlier this year, killing nearly 50 people. Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described the attack as a "massacre."
Since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf "noncombatants" and "protected persons" under the Geneva Conventions. A United Nations commission on refugees has described those at Camp Ashraf as "formal asylum seekers" against persecution by the regime in Iran.
U.S. forces had handed security of Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi government before the departure of U.S. forces from Iraq last week.
------------
Also
http://www.iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=11233
Rajavi asset strips Camp Ashraf
Mojahedin-e Khalq may attack Iraqi and Iranian Embassies across the west
..jpg)
... Three other MEK loyalists have recently left Camp Ashraf and are now somewhere in Europe. The significance of this is that these three individuals are the MEK’s top explosives experts, trained by Saddam Hussein’s army. The three were tracked from Camp Ashraf until they reached Europe where the trail went cold. They are presumably now in one of the MEK’s many European bases. It is known that Massoud Rajavi is still considering whether to launch last ditch attacks on Iraqi and/or Iranian embassies worldwide. Massoud Rajavi is stuck in the bowels of Camp Ashraf. He is ...
(Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, cult leaders)
Iran Interlink, December 17 2011
http://iran-interlink.org
Only a few months ago there were 3400 residents in Camp Ashraf. Today there are 3200, and the missing 200 people are now surfacing in western countries.
Three weeks ago, nine MEK loyalists were sent to Canada where they have citizenship rights. The move was carried out with cooperation between Canada, UNAMI and Massoud Rajavi and his commanders in the camp. There are almost a hundred more residents in Camp Ashraf with links to Canada, but Massoud Rajavi has not released them at this stage.
Shortly after their arrival it was clear why they had been sent; Canadian political opinion had been manipulated by a propaganda campaign to misrepresent the situation at the camp with these MEK members as ‘witnesses’. On 16 December four of these MEK members from Camp Ashraf filed complaints against the Iraqi authorities in a Washington court while the Iraqis have opened cases against the MEK for violence in the camp long ago. It is now clear that the Obama administration could not prevent the CIA from bringing these MEK members from Canada, and they will not be able to stop others from coming. In the same way, France will not be able to prevent the MEK who are now in Washington from travelling to the MEK’s second base in Paris. Informed sources believe that their transfer via Frankfurt is due next week.
The MEK have been transferring members illegally around the world for three decades, there is nothing to suggest they cannot continue now. Indeed, with a little careful scrutiny we can now see what happened to every one of the missing 200 and why.
Three other MEK loyalists have recently left Camp Ashraf and are now somewhere in Europe. The significance of this is that these three individuals are the MEK’s top explosives experts, trained by Saddam Hussein’s army. The three were tracked from Camp Ashraf until they reached Europe where the trail went cold. They are presumably now in one of the MEK’s many European bases. It is known that Massoud Rajavi is still considering whether to launch last ditch attacks on Iraqi and/or Iranian embassies worldwide.
Massoud Rajavi is stuck in the bowels of Camp Ashraf. He is being forced to confront the probability that his plan to maintain Camp Ashraf against all odds will fail and he will, sooner rather than later, be forced to evacuate the camp.
In preparation for this second – and far more likely scenario – he has held indoctrination meetings with selected residents of Camp Ashraf. These in the main are the older, veteran members, the sick and the disaffected. He has told them that if the Iraqis “attack” the camp to remove them, they will be either massacred or, if they survive, sent to Iran and executed, therefore they must do all they can to resist such an outcome, even to die in the attempt to save him and the MEK. He has callously and cynically prepared them for martyrdom over a false cause. Of course they have no way of checking the reality of what Rajavi has told them.
So what of the other residents of Camp Ashraf who are not being indoctrinated for martyrdom? Quite simply they are part of a process of asset stripping the camp. Anyone for whom Rajavi has any use whatsoever, of any rank or any ability, will be removed from the camp and sent to Europe and North America. Indeed, this process has already begun. This is why 200 are missing. They have already been smuggled out of the camp.
Some of those sent to the west are people who can make problems if they get arrested in Iraq. MEK loyalists like Keshmiri and Kolahi who were responsible for exploding the Hizb-e Jomhouri HQ and the Prime Minister’s office in the early 1980s. Both have been seen recently in the suburbs of Cologne in Germany.
More will be coming as Rajavi asset strips the camp before handover.
An agreement was struck during the last week between the US and the Iraqi secret services to remove Massoud Rajavi from Camp Ashraf so the Iraqi plan to close the camp can start. The only place Rajavi will be safe is in the MEK’s second base at Auvers sur Oise near Paris. The Americans will facilitate his transfer and then surface him as a signal to begin the closure of the camp.
Preparations are underway to re-launch Massoud Rajavi after nearly nine years in hiding. One plan which is being considered right now in Paris is to coordinate attacks on Iraqi and Iranian embassies as elements in America are really hurt by Iraq’s refusal to grant US citizens immunity from prosecution, and by Iran’s refusal to compromise its nuclear programme – not to mention the downing of a CIA drone plane. It would appear that the CIA backed mission to transfer Camp Ashraf residents to Canada, America and Europe is only a preliminary to further activities.
Then will it be clear how rewarding Rajavi’s asset stripping will be to the MEK’s backers.
-------------
--------
Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10330
Congressional Leaders Voice Support for Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) Violence
.
... But Rohrabacher was adamant in his support for MEK. “I will have to admit the thing that attracts me to this movement is that it is willing to fight," he responded. “It won’t just be pacifists," Rohrabacher said, referring dismissively to the Green Movement, "it will be people with courage and people who stand up.” Mukasey, in addition to calling for the MEK to be removed from the terrorism list, urged that MEK members be allowed to resettle in the United States. Mukasey acknowledged that members of terrorist organizations are legally barred from entering the U.S., and suggested legislation be introduced to change the law for MEK members ...
NIAC, July 11, 2011
http://www.niacouncil.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7527&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=-1
NIAC Staff - News
Ali Safavi, a senior member of the MEK's political wing, the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), coached witnesses before and during the hearing. The NCRI is designated as a terrorist affiliate of the MEK.
Washington, DC - Congressional supporters of the drive to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from the U.S. terrorism list defended the organization’s use of violence while dismissing Iran’s nonviolent Green Movement at a hearing on Capitol Hill last week. The hearing was also remarkable in that senior leaders of the designated foreign terrorist organization were caught counseling some of the witnesses before the hearing. It is illegal to coordinate with a foreign terrorist organization to advocate on behalf of the terrorist group.
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, compared the use of terrorism by MEK to violence employed during the American Revolutionary War. He justified the “cult-like” behavior of the MEK, saying American revolutionaries included "religious fanatics and Christian cults.”
Alireza Jafarzadeh, who has served as NCRI spokesman, counseled former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey prior to his testimony
Rohrabacher called for the MEK to be removed from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list, which prevents the group from receiving government funding and makes it illegal for MEK to operate in the U.S. "Any group that chooses to use violence to resist doesn’t make them right or wrong,” Rohrabacher stated. “Backing people who fight against tyranny is also something the U.S. should be doing.”
Despite the terrorist listing, Ali Safavi, a senior member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, was at the hearing, where he openly counseled witnesses before and during their testimony. The NCRI is the MEK’s political wing and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
The hearing’s witnesses included three former U.S. officials who have actively participated in pro-MEK conferences, including former Bush Administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
All three witnesses who previously appeared at MEK conferences unanimously called for the MEK to be removed from the terror list, though none were asked to disclose whether they had received money to support the organization, as have other officials who have advocated for delisting the group.
The lone dissenting voice among the witnesses, former Obama Administration advisor Ray Takeyh, was subjected to an intense back and forth with Representatives on the panel.
Takeyh warned panelists who viewed MEK as a viable alternative to the Iranian regime that the organization has no support in Iran.
“I don’t agree," responded Representative Bob Filner (D-CA). "Even if you’re right, so what?”
Filner laughed off evidence that MEK President Maryam Rajavi is a cult leader, despite reports from the State Department and FBI of “cult-like” practices by MEK that include indoctrination rituals and torture. "She is as intelligent, humorous, humane and humble as anyone I’ve ever met," Filner observed, recounting what he said have been numerous meetings he has held in Paris with Rajavi.
Filner accused Takeyh of justifying violence against the MEK by highlighting the group's history of terrorism, and said the U.S. should be supporting the organization as a “third way” alternative in Iran because it opposes the Iranian regime.
“These are our friends! We should be getting out of their way and de-list them,” Filner exclaimed. “Let them do what they can! Why are we helping Iran by not helping the MEK?”
Rohrabacher defended the MEK's history of violence, saying, “This is a territory that’s filled with violence—I would be surprised if there wasn’t any organization that wasn’t in some way involved with using force to protect themselves.”
"Oh I would disagree with that," responded Takeyh. "Within Iran there are many opposition movements, such as the Green Movement, that explicitly reject violence.”
But Rohrabacher was adamant in his support for MEK. “I will have to admit the thing that attracts me to this movement is that it is willing to fight," he responded. “It won’t just be pacifists," Rohrabacher said, referring dismissively to the Green Movement, "it will be people with courage and people who stand up.”
Mukasey, in addition to calling for the MEK to be removed from the terrorism list, urged that MEK members be allowed to resettle in the United States. Mukasey acknowledged that members of terrorist organizations are legally barred from entering the U.S., and suggested legislation be introduced to change the law for MEK members.
Prior to the hearing, Mukasey was witnessed receiving coaching from Alireza Jafarzadeh, who served as the official spokesman for the NCRI before it was declared a terrorist group and its offices raided by the FBI in 2003.
Meanwhile, many were turned away from the hearing or sent to the overflow room to watch the proceedings because the hearing room was at capacity. It was filled with individuals in yellow jerseys emblazoned with the slogans, “De-list the MEK,” “Protect Ashraf,” and “Ramp up sanctions.”
Jafarzadeh representing terrorist organisation NCRI
(Picture form MKO/ NCRI clandestine television)
(Daniel Zucker, Maryam Rajavi and ALi Safavi)
(Ali Safavi as the commander of Saddam's Private Army in Iraq)
(massacre of Kurdish people)
(Abdolmalek Rigi on Voice of America, presented as a democratic alternative)
(Mojahedin's Maryam Rajavi and Jondollah's Abdolmalek Rigi)
------------
Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=10352
RT: Lobbyist in Capital Hill with pockets stuffed with MEK’s money
(aka; Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, Rajavi cult)
.
... The Alyona Show on RT – Russian English –Language news Channel suggests the US media focus on the “Lobbyist in Capital Hill with pockets stuffed with MEK’s money”, on July 9th. The show criticizes US officials’ hypocrisy and double-standard sell the cause of terrorists. Comparing MEK with Al-Qaida the show poses the question that how a terrorist designated organization can be debated in a hearing held in the US congress ...
Alyona show, Russia Today, July 16 2011
http://rt.com/programs/alyona-show/
us-jobs-pentagon-paychecks/
Link to the full program on RT
http://rt.com/programs/alyona-show
/us-jobs-pentagon-paychecks/
same video on you tube (Alyona Show)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DqMK4Ehjs
Royals V. MEK
The Alyona Show on RT – Russian English –Language news Channel suggests the US media focus on the “Lobbyist in Capital Hill with pockets stuffed with MEK’s money”, on July 9th. The show criticizes US officials’ hypocrisy and double-standard sell the cause of terrorists. Comparing MEK with Al-Qaida the show poses the question that how a terrorist designated organization can be debated in a hearing held in the US congress.
----------
Also
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=11069
Diyala Governor: Human Rights, Deporting MEK, Imposing the Laws, non negotiable
.
... Massoud Khodabandeh heading the delegation thanked the Government of Iraq and asked the Governor of Diyala and the General to help inform the people trapped inside about their rights and to counter the lies given to them by the hostage takers and cult leaders. Ms Abdollahi on behalf of the families asked for help and for care to be taken when dismantling the camp to institute particular safeguards to protect the relatives of the picketing families. Ms Sanjabi, (formerly a member of the MEK Leadership Council), who managed to escape some months ago, explained ...
Iran Interlink, Diyala, Iraq, November 23 2011
http://iran-interlink.org
A meeting was held on Monday 21 November between officials of the Diyala province and family representatives of the people trapped in Camp Ashraf.
The Governor of Diyala, Dr Abdul–Nasser Al-Mahdwe stated clearly that:
1- There will be no compromise on the decision to deport the MEK.
2 - There will be no compromise on imposing national and international laws
3 - There will be no compromise on respect for human rights laws and agreements and therefore they will not be forcefully returned to Iran.
He said that the overall decisions will rest with central government but as far as Diyala is concerned there is no room for the MKO anywhere inside the province. This has been announced repeatedly by practically all the leaders of tribes and local officials. Dr Al-Mahdwe dismissed completely the MEK propaganda in which they claim they have some support and said that to claim, after what they have done, that the MEK have even a small percentage of support in the province is simply a lie and is purely fictitious.
General Abdol Amir Al-Zeidi, is the commander of the regional army and responsible for the protection of the camp. He said that he has met many escapees from the camp. The last one was a woman who had to drag herself out and crawl for about half a kilometer before reaching the Iraqis. He said the leaders are the problem not the trapped people and if given order we are prepared to transfer them out of the camp with the utmost dignity and care and respect for their wellbeing. He said this can be checked by reporters and human rights organisation who wish to observe the operation.
The General said that in the event they receive the order to evacuate the camp, they will try their utmost to stop the leaders killing the hostages and the disaffected members as they did before. According to the General most of the people who were killed in April 2011 were in opposition to the leadership and had been shot in the heart or in the head. But the leaders tried to cover up such facts even though the evidence is unequivocal. He said reports will be handed over to the authorities to deal with the cases of murder of these people at the hands of the hostage takers.
Massoud Khodabandeh heading the delegation thanked the Government of Iraq and asked the Governor of Diyala and the General to help inform the people trapped inside about their rights and to counter the lies given to them by the hostage takers and cult leaders.
Ms Abdollahi on behalf of the families asked for help and for care to be taken when dismantling the camp to institute particular safeguards to protect the relatives of the picketing families.
Ms Sanjabi, (formerly a member of the MEK Leadership Council), who managed to escape some months ago, explained the latest developments inside the camp and gave some ideas about how the leaders may try to plan and execute violent resistance.
Mr and Mrs Mohammady from Canada who have been trying since before 2003 to rescue their daughter from the camp, presented some documents including copies of the arrest warrants for some leading members of the MKO inside the camp which the General received and promised to follow up.
Other delegation members including Mr. Azizi a Human rights activist from Netherlands Mr Sadeghi, one of the few people who managed to escaped from the camp during the time of Saddam Hussein, Mr Ghashghavi who spent years in Abu Ghraib, where he was sent by Rajavi, Mr. Ferydouni who managed to escape a few weeks ago and Ms Mahdian whose husband, a registered POW, is trapped inside the camp also participated in the meeting.
Press and media were present and the Governor and the General gave a media briefing following the meeting which was broadcast live through official and national media.
