Follow
Mazda Parsi, Nejat Society, March 18 2021:… While the Iranians consider Nowruz as their biggest celebration of the year, members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization of Iran (the MEK/ MKO/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi ) miss all the above-mentioned celebrations and traditions and eventually the delight it spreads among the participants. In fact, the MEK knows itself as part of the Iranian population in exile but the Persian New Year’s celebration is a taboo in the group. Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
MEK Base In Albania – They Gave Us a Tour
Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Nowruz is the national New Year festivity celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey and Syria, and throughout Central Asia. It is a springtime celebration of which the activities symbolize rebirth and the link between humans and nature. It is part of Zoroastrianism, a Persian religion that predates Christianity and Islam to the first millennium BC.
The two-week celebrations of Nowruz include seeing relatives, picnicking, travelling, and eating traditional food. The arrival of Nowruz is announced by street singers, known as Haji Firooz, who wear colourful outfits and play the tambourine. So happiness is in the air in the Persian territories.
While the Iranians consider Nowruz as their biggest celebration of the year, members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization of Iran (the MEK/ MKO/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi ) miss all the above-mentioned celebrations and traditions and eventually the delight it spreads among the participants. In fact, the MEK knows itself as part of the Iranian population in exile but the Persian New Year’s celebration is a taboo in the group. The entire festivities are limited to the leader Maryam Rajavi’s New Year massage and a Haftseen table in front of her in her luxurious headquarters.
The rank and file of the group take part in certain group marches and gatherings and some paramilitary events empty of emotions and joy. Members of the group are not allowed to meet their relatives even if they are all inside the camp. They may accidentally visit each other in the gatherings but the visits are completely under the control of the commanders.
Ali Hosseinnejad, a former member of the MEK, on March 9, 2020, in the Paris suburb of Vincennes, France.
GhorbanAli HosseinNezhad and his daughter Zeinab were both in Camp Ashraf before defecting the group. “When my daughter Zeinab was only seventeen years old, the MEK leaders brought her from France to the military unit at Camp Ashraf,” Hosseinnezhad says in an interview. “While we were both in Camp Ashraf, we were not allowed to visit each other except for an hour or two in Nowruz events in which we were under severe supervision. However, I have not been able to meet my daughter since three years ago because they did not even let meet visit her in the last Noruz that I was in Camp Ashraf.” Fortunately, GhorbanAli and Zeinab are both in the free world right now and have access to contact each other freely.
Ali Sorkhian is another defector who writes of his memories in the so-called celebration of Nowruz in the MEK. “I was a war prisoner that the MEK propaganda agents recruited me to join them,” he writes. “The first Nowruz that I was in the MEK, the group leaders wanted to show off a happy event before the eyes of me and some other war prisoners who have been deceived to join the group. The group’s music band played a very happy track and very naturally many members stood up and started dancing. Immediately, the scene turned out to be a horrific one for the commanders, particularly for Mehdi Abrishamchi. He began crying angrily at the cheered up crowd. “Sit down”, Abrishamchi shouted, “We are here to fight not to dance.” !
Women In MEK Camps
Sorkhian believes that the memory turned out to be a dark experience. “Since then we were never eager for Nowruz celebrations,” he writes. “Nowruz made us sad because we had to work harder and we had no happy time, we were not even allowed to contact our family.”
“Nowruz celebration was the saddest time for us because it reminded us of Iran, our family and the passion we had for the new year in Iran ,” Jaber Majdian, an MEK defector, writes. “The group leaders did not want us to think of our past, Iran and our family. Eventually the agenda for Nowruz, was to work harder, to redesign and repaint buildings. They wanted to make members exhausted and drained of energy. Thus, on the very day of Nowruz, the rank and file were so tired that they all hated to take part in the marches and ceremonies. Everyone’s mind was obsessed with the enthusiasm of Nowruz celebrations at home.”
As a cult-like establishment, the MEK have changed the meaning of any cultural heritage and any tradition to a notion along with the ambitions of power. Every year, Maryam Rajavi’s Nowruz message is actually an opportunistic act to boast her position as the leader of the MEK’s rank and file and to repeat the very promise she has every year: the overthrow of the regime”. No matter that the promise has been repeated for over forty years.
Mazda Parsi
Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
***
Also read:
https://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/mek-and-persian-culture/
MEK and Persian Culture
Mazda Parsi, Nejat Society, February 10 2020:… Members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization are sort of immigrants; exiles who have founded their own colony under the rule of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi’s cult of personality. They are considered as an opposition against the Iranian government by western states and so a bargaining chip or a proxy force in their policies towards Iran. The role of the MEK in the hostile policies against Iran changes from time to time. Sometimes the shift in policies is spontaneous. At lightning speed, the State Department overturns an order prohibiting US diplomats from meeting controversial Iranian dissident groups including the MEK. But now the note is cancelled. MEK and Persian Culture
The Life of Camp Ashraf. Mojahedin-e Khalq – Victims of Many Masters
By Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton) and Massoud Khodabandeh
MEK and Persian Culture
Persian culture is one of the World’s oldest and richest cultures. The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group that make up over half the population of Iran. The Iranian nation inherited the tangible and intangible heritage of Persian culture. They cherish this culture and protect its symbols. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language. According to Wikipedia, the term Persian is still historically used to designate the predominant population of the Iranian peoples living in the Iranian cultural continent.
However, Persian culture is even appreciated and practised by Iranian immigrants all over the world. Most Iranians living abroad grow their children under the new culture while trying to keep them alert about their homeland culture.
Members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization are sort of immigrants; exiles who have founded their own colony under the rule of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi’s cult of personality. They are considered as an opposition against the Iranian government by western states and so a bargaining chip or a proxy force in their policies towards Iran. The role of the MEK in the hostile policies against Iran changes from time to time.
Sometimes the shift in policies is spontaneous. At lightning speed, the State Department overturns an order prohibiting US diplomats from meeting controversial Iranian dissident groups including the MEK. But now the note is cancelled. A directive sent to American diplomats on Sunday January 12th, was replaced the week-old directive. “The posts should welcome the opportunities to meet and learn from members of the Iranian diaspora community,” said the new directive. [1]
The cable went on to say that American diplomats should consider hosting members of the diaspora for “Persian cultural events”, while noting that “not all of the interests and objectives of Iranian opposition groups align with American political priorities”. [2] It seems that Iranian cultures matters a lot to the US politicians as Donald Trump also threated Iranians to attack their cultural sites!
“There are at least two problems with this reversal,” said Jarrett Blanc, a former Obama administration official who worked on Iranian politics. “The first is that the policy is wrong. American diplomats should not meet with MEK or its affiliates. They represent a dangerous cult. We must avoid all the mistakes of the Iraq war, including being deceived by so-called diaspora opposition unrelated to it. The second problem is that it reflects the utter incompetence and chaos of this administration’s policy making – send out an instruction and less than a week later cancel it. They just don’t know what they are doing. “. [3]
Let us believe that the US government considers the MEK’s interests and objectives against its political priorities, it should also consider that the MEK is not an appropriate representative for Persian Culture. The capacity of the group for representing the Persian culture is often limited to the events hold under the cover of Persian New Year’s celebration in which paid political figures together with Maryam Rajavi call for the overthrow of the Iranian government.
MEK Terrorist Cult Members In Albania Who Mustn’t Think About Sex
Speaking of Persian culture, it should not be forgotten that there is also another Persian Cultural tradition which is very important to the MEK leaders: Chaharshanbe Suri. It is an Iranian festival celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz. Festival of Fire (Chaharshanbe Suri) is held on the last Wednesday of a year marking the arrival of spring. It is widely believed that Chaharshanbe Soori is a Zoroastrian celebration. People jump over the fire, sing, dance, play fireworks, eat sweets and nuts together with family, friends and neighbors. It is actually a national celebration before the great celebration of Nowruz. According to the Persian culture, on this day, the good prevails the evil and that is why people dance happily in their private gardens or in the streets.
In contrast, the last Wednesday of Persian year is an opportunity for the MEK to launch propaganda on its media outlets showing pictures of people’s celebrations around fire propagate them as acts of protest by Iranians against the government. Fire Festival in Iran, turns in to a protest against the regime in entire Iran. This is the caption of a photo of an ordinary fire festival on the last year’s Chaharshanbeh Suri in Iran: “Fire Festival in Iran, turns in to a protest against the regime in entire Iran”.
How about Persian cultural events inside Camp Ashraf 3? Will the US politicians be able to get to know about Persian culture in the MEK headquarters? The answer can be found in the testimonies of former members. Persian culture is definitely a family-oriented culture. In the Persian culture, the family values are given a lot of prominence. All these celebrations are cherished in the center of family or with the company of friends. Happiness and peace are the mementos of these celebrations. But, in the MEK, family, friends and any other emotional relationships are forbidden. If the rank and file do have any family members inside the group, on the occasion of Nowruz, they are allowed to meet each other for a few minutes under the control of the group commanders in a public celebration organized by the group. Those who have no one inside the camp are never allowed to contact their families out of the group. Family is considered as enemy. The so-called celebration is overwhelmed with political and anti-Iran slogans, desires for the overthrow of the regime and speeches by the group leaders and their paid speakers to cheer up the crowd of manipulated individuals with their aggressive litterateur against Iranian nation.
The background of the links between the MEK and the US and Israel indicate that this relationship will mostly remain political and operational. The evidence is the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientists that was carried out by the Israeli Mossad with the cooperation of the MEK operators. [4] [5]
The recent killing of the Iranian officials was done by the US government a few weeks ago. General Soleimani was bombed by the US drones under the direct order of Donald Trump who eventually promised to target the Persian cultural sites. The latest assassination took place last week. A commander of Iran’s revolutionary guard has been shot dead by masked assailants in front of his house in southwestern Iran.
“Of course, this latest killing also brings up the possibility of a foreign or external intelligence agency operation, though it remains speculation,” writes Tyler Durden of the Zerohedge. “One likely candidate alleged to enjoy US and Israeli covert backing is Mujahideen e Khalq (MEK), considered by Iran and many other countries as an active terrorist organization. Groups in Iran linked to the MEK have been previously known to be involved in political assassinations.” [6]
“Essentially a paramilitary cult devoted to overthrowing the Iranian government, the MEK is under the tight control and leadership of the charismatic opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, and is suspected of previously conducting brazen targeted killings of high level Iranian figures, especially nuclear scientists and engineers for years, likely at the bidding of foreign intelligence services,” he continues. “Until a few years ago the MEK was a designated terror group by the US State Department, though delisted under the Obama administration.” [7]
The US warmongers are more likely to be eager for the MEK’s violent background rather than its cultural aptitudes. As professional assassins brainwashed under a cult-like structure, the group is absolutely more useful in terrorist operations than in cultural events and eventually a favorable proxy force for the warmongers.
Mazda Parsi
References:
[1] Swan, Betsy & Banco, Erin & Suebsaeng, Asawin, Trump Admin Walks Back Anti-MEK Memo, the Daily Beast, January 13th , 2020.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-administration-walks-back-anti-mek-memo
[2] ibid
[3] ibid
[4] Cockburn, Patrick, Just who has been killing Iran’s nuclear scientists? , Independent, October 6th, 2013.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/just-who-has-been-killing-irans-nuclear-scientists-8861232.html
[5] M. Hersh, Seymour, Our Men in Iran? , the New Yorker, April 5th , 2012
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/our-men-in-iran
[6] Durden, Tyler, IRGC Commander & “Soleimani Ally” Shot Dead by Masked Assassins on Motorcycle, zerohedge.com, January 22nd, 2020.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/key-soleimani-ally-irgc-commander-shot-dead-my-masked-assassins-motorcycle
MEK and Persian Culture
***
The MEK’s man inside the White House (Maryam Rajavi cult, Mojahedin Khalq)
The Many Faces of the MEK, Explained By Its Former Top Spy Massoud Khodabandeh
MEK Terrorists in Albania Complicating Edi Rama’s EU Accession Talks
MEPs discuss Mojahedine-E Khalq (MEK) Threat in #Albania
The shadowy cult Trump advisors tout as an alternative to the Iranian government
BBC: The Strange World of the People’s Mujahedin(aka; MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult)
Nobody Can Be “Comfortable” With Regime Change Involving MEK
Remember.Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) was one of the excuses of US attacking Iraq
BBC: Who are the Iranian dissident group MEK? (Mojahedin Khalq, MKO, PMOI, …)
***
Also read:
Tom Porter, Business Insider, January 10 2020:… The MEK — officially the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or the People’s Mujahideen of Iran in English — has waged war against the Islamist regime in Iran since it seized power in 1979. Formerly based in Iraq, the group is believed to have killed thousands of Iranians in terror attacks. But far away from the battlefields… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Ramin Mazaheri, Press TV, January 10 2020:… If Washington assassinated Soleimani because he was a “terrorist”, then logically they should now de-list ISIL as a terrorist group. Why not just come clean, finally? The entire world acknowledges that Soleimani fought terrorism, but if he must be rebranded as a “terrorist” in the West – in Orwellian fashion – then the… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg, January 08 2020:… The directive about Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, its offshoot, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and five other groups was delivered in a cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic outposts on Tuesday and obtained by Bloomberg News. It says meetings with the groups could jeopardize U.S. diplomacy with Iran. “Direct U.S. government engagement with these groups… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Julian Pecquet, Al-Monitor, January 08 2020:… The disclosure raises new questions about ties between United Against Nuclear Iran CEO Mark Wallace and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based umbrella group dominated by the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq. The council also met twice with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani around the time of the UN General Assembly, drawing renewed… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Massoud Khodanbandeh, Responsible Statecraft, January 09 2020:… In another reckless act of overturning Obama’s legacy, the new Trump administration halted Hillary Clinton’s plan to de-radicalise the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in Albania. Since then, American anti-Iran politicians have stuffed the MEK down the throats of the international community as the regime change opposition that will bring freedom and democracy to Iran. Since Iranians hate… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Gjergji Thanasi, Gazeta Impakt, Tirana, Albania, January 07 2020:… First: we are not dealing with 3 (three) Iranians, but only with 2 (two) Iranians, namely: Mr. Seyed Mohammad Alavi Gonabadi and Mr. Firouz Baghernezhad Zenjanabi. The reader can view copies of the passports of the 2 Iranians at the link above. I challenge journalist Arsen to check the Passenger List… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Massoud Khodabandeh, Iranian.com, January 07 2020:… American actions are consolidating people around their own hated governments instead of helping them express their legitimate demands. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s response to the anti-government fuel protests in Iran in November was to repeat false information published by the Mojahedin Khalq (MEK) about the death toll. When the U.S. foreign secretary retweets MEK… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Larry Kummer, Fabius Maximus website, January 05 2020:… Go back to the beginning. In 1953 the CIA’s Operation Ajax helped overthrow Iran’s elected government (Wikipedia) and installed a tyrant. The US government long denied it, admitting it in 2017. Of course, the people of Iran already knew; only Americans were still ignorant. That tyrant remained in power with our support and… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Reza Alghurabi, American Herald Tribune, January 05 2020:… MEK and Persian Culture Early on December 31, Iranian news sources, as well as some anti-Iran groups, reported an explosion in front of the building of a construction institute affiliated with the IRGC. A few hours later, a spokesperson for the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization (MEK, a.k.a MKO, NCRI, PMOI, etc.) claimed responsibility for the attack in… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Matt Novak, Gizmondon UK, January 04 2020:… MEK and Persian Culture What is even more mysterious is the person or people behind Alavi’s Twitter account. The Intercept reported in June that Alavi, who has been used as a source by the White House, does not appear to be a real person. A former member of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an anti-Iranian organization, told the Intercept that… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Inside Over, Tirana, Albania, January 01 2020:… MEK and Persian Culture The headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran A further problem on Albanian soil is linked to the presence of the headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (MEK), established in Manez (near Durres) since 2016, after years of activity in Iraq. A presence that has created many headaches for the institutions of… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
Mazda parsi, Nejat Society, December 31 2019:… MEK and Persian Culture For absolutists, there is nothing more than two possible positions. They do not admit that a person or group can have a neutral stance or could disagree in part with their position without entirely opposing them. In the cults of personality such as the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK, MKO, PMOI, Cult of Rajavi), the… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
The Statesman, December 29 2019:… MEK and Persian Culture Earlier this month, the US said that Iranian authorities may have killed more than 1,000 people in a crackdown on demonstrations in mid-November. In his series of tweets, Pompeo cites to a much higher death toll that has already been listed by certain media outlets, as well as the exiled Mujahedin-e-Khalq, the formerly armed opposition… MEK and Persian Culture Persian New Year in the MEK Camps
