Follow
ABANA, June 30 2021:… The ant-terror movement’s parade was held at a camp in Diyala that was once called Camp Ashraf and hosted anti-Iranian terrorist organization, Mujahideen Khalgh Organization (MKO) harbored by dictator Saddam Hussein. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Defense Minister Juma Anad, Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanemi, National Security Advisor Qassem al-A’araji, the Chief of General Staff Abdelamir Yarullah, and a number other senior army commanders. Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf
The Life of Camp Ashraf. Mojahedin-e Khalq – Victims of Many Masters. By Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton) and Massoud Khodabandeh
Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade . What Were Messages?
Analysis – Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces military parade: What were messages?
Marking the seventh anniversary of their foundation, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) held a military parade for the first time on June 26. The parade was covered massively by regional and international media, with many of them suggesting that it marked the PMF entry to a new era of its life.
The ant-terror movement’s parade was held at a camp in Diyala that was once called Camp Ashraf and hosted anti-Iranian terrorist organization, Mujahideen Khalgh Organization (MKO) harbored by dictator Saddam Hussein. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Defense Minister Juma Anad, Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanemi, National Security Advisor Qassem al-A’araji, the Chief of General Staff Abdelamir Yarullah, and a number other senior army commanders.
Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade
As mentioned, this parade enjoyed a very wide coverage from media and political observers. But the question is about the political, security, and symbolic messages that this event sent.
The interesting point is that the military procession of the PMF was held at a time when this force has been widely attacked by the enemies of the Axis of Resistance especially the US and some Arab countries in recent years. But the PMF’s demonstration of force showed that the enemies plots have gone nowhere and the voluntary units have emerged even stronger than before and continue their march towards their ideals.
PMF established in Iraq’s security and political stability
The massive parade marks the establishment of this popular force in the country’s power structure. Following ISIS attack on Mosul, the grand Shiite Cleric Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa for taking up arms against terrorism on June 13, 2014, at which point Iraqi Shiites mobilized in various units within the PMF. The popular forces’ entry to the anti-ISIS war of was game-changing to the battlegrounds.
Over 40 units constituted the PMF, with their role undeniable in obliteration of ISIS on the ground. It has around 120,000 fighters and the PM is its top commander-in-chief. Faleh Al-Fayyad is its commander and Sadegh al-Saadawi is its chief of general staff. Hadi al-Amiri is the deputy and field commander of the popular forces. The Fatah coalition represents the PMF in the Iraqi parliament. Currently, the force focuses on expulsion of illegitimate American troops from Iraq, as this agenda has legal backing provided by the parliament’s bill for the government to expel the foreign forces. Amid the home and foreign conspiracies against the PMF, the military parade has much to tell and vindicates establishment in the country’s security structure.
Legal and political establishment
It should be taken into account that since its foundation, the PMF faced internal and external opposition. The opponents call for disbanding of these forces and prevention of their activities. They argue that the PMF are parallel to the regular army. The opponents are extremely afraid of the PMF closeness to Iran, a country that provided unwavering support to the anti-terror operations. A Sunni political community, led by the former parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, is the main opponent of the PMF existence. Another opponent is the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masoud Barzani.
In a wider range, part of secular politicians, from both Shiites and Sunnis, are opposed to these forces. Outside the country, the US is the top actor calling for their disbanding. Saudi Arabia, the Israeli regime, the UAE, and the European countries also take hostile stances against the groups. All this opposition comes while the PMF was recognized as part of Iraqi armed forces in November 2016. In March 2018, the ten PM Haider al-Abadi ordered their merger into the armed forces. The recent parade shattered the speculations about their disbandment. The presence of political and military leaders bore witness to establishment of the PMF in the nation’s political and legal establishment.
PMF, a trans-religious force in Iraq
The Parade also demonstrated that the PMF is a trans-religious and trans-sectarian force. The reality is that Iraq has been mired in sectarian tensions since 2003, but the Popular Mobilization Forces showed that it is possible to transcend religious and ethno-sectarian boundaries. In fact, although the Shiites were at the core of the PMF, Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Christians, and Yazidis also joined it, and they are still at the top of decision-making process.
#الكاظمي خلال حضوره الاستعراض العسكري للحشد الشعبي: “أحيي أبناء العراق أبناء #الحشد_الشعبي البطل، في عيد تأسيسه”، مؤكدا ان “أبناء الحشد هم أبناء الدولة، وهم مستمرون بتقديم كل ما يخدم شعبنا و وطننا”
*
العرض العسكري للحشد الشعبي | الجزء الكامل https://t.co/Kyh5bFcGXu via @YouTube— Massoud khodabandeh (@ma_khodabandeh) June 26, 2021
Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade . What Were Messages?
***
Also read:
https://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/ashraf-camp-massacre-revisited/
Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out
Iran Interlink, January 05 2021:… In 2011, Iraqi police tried to reclaim land that had been illegally gifted to the MEK by Saddam Hussein. MEK leaders sent unarmed rank and file members to ‘resist to the death’. Some threw themselves under armoured vehicles, others were shot attacking the police. Massoud and Maryam Rajavi are responsible for the violence that day. They are responsible for the deaths of these people. Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out
Diyala Governor: Human Rights, Deporting MEK, Imposing the Laws, non negotiable
Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out
In 2011, Iraqi police tried to reclaim land that had been illegally gifted to the MEK by Saddam Hussein. MEK leaders sent unarmed rank and file members to ‘resist to the death’. Some threw themselves under armoured vehicles, others were shot attacking the police. Massoud and Maryam Rajavi are responsible for the violence that day. They are responsible for the deaths of these people.
Message of Ms Mahniz Sepahpour, Nasser Sepahpour’s sister killed by the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), to Albanian government officials and the World Health Organization (WHO)
Transcript:
In the name of God
Hello, I am Mahnaz Sepahpour, siter of the late Nasser Sepahpour, killed by the MEK. I am from Iran, from the city of Urmia. In April 2011, my brother was killed by the MEK during clashes with Iraqi forces at Camp Ashraf. The MEK claimed him as a martyr. They wrote a will on his behalf and talked to us, and they abused his injured and then lifeless body.
We have tried for years by appealing to Human Rights Organisations to save Nasser (The body) from the clutches of this cult but unfortunately, we did not succeed. My parents passed away and they did not mange to see their only son. My brother was not political type, and he did not know the MEK at all. He was deceived by the MEK when he left the country and was taken to Camp Ashraf (In Iraq), but Nasser escaped from them and went to Turkey to achieve a better life. He planned to get to a European country from there where he could find a suitable job, earn enough money and then return home to his family.
Unfortunately, Massoud Rajavi and his collaborators ruined all his and my parents’ wishes. They got hold of Nasser again and using fake identities as staff of an employment agency in Europe, made false promises of a good job opportunity. He was put on a plane destined for Iraq. According to former members who have managed to escape from Camp Ashraf, Nasser had tried to escape from the camp several times but failed. According to his friends, Nasser was both ill and disturbed. Nasser had many dreams that were ruined by Rajavi and his collaborators, and they took his life like other young people in pursuit of their treacherous goals, and kept his parents waiting up to the last day of their lives until they departed longing to see their only son.
The MEK forced Nasser to give a compulsory interview on MEK TV which was the worst act of the cult against us and Nasser. Rajavi agents tried many times in their contacts with our family when Nasser was alive to extort money from us in his name and get money to pursue the dirty goals of betraying their homeland. For 20 years we were unaware that Nasser was in the MEK camp. We looked for him everywhere for 20 years without knowing where he is and what he is doing. Is this fair?
Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited
After he died, we asked for his body, which is the just right of every family as next of kin. We received nothing but insults and accusations from the Rajavi cult elements.
I am now addressing Albanian government officials as well as human rights bodies. Please do not let those who are trapped in the MEK camp in that country have the same destiny as my brother Nasser. Many families are now waiting for a call and a simple visit with their loved ones who are trapped in the cult in your country. Please help them.
I recently heard that a large number of trapped members in the MEK camp in Albania have been infected with coronavirus and died, but the organisation hides their deaths and buries them covertly at night.
In this regard, I also ask the WHO not to let those people who have no access to the outside world and who are deprived of Albanian heath care, die. Their families are worried and are waiting for your concrete actions. Please do something before it is too late. God says that he breathed his soul into mankind’s body. Each of us was created for a purpose without exception, to be God’s successors on earth. Now ask yourself how many times have you acted like a successor? Now is the time to save the lives of people trapped in the MEK camp in Albania. Please help. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, spouses and children are waiting.
Link to the source, Rahenoo website (Persian)
Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out
***
Report on Baghdad Conference – Terrorist MEK to be expelled from Iraq
Open Minds – Explaining Radicalisation for Prevent and Channel
Also read:
http://iran-interlink.ca/?mod=view&id=9814
Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton) from Iran-Interlink visits Camp New Iraq (Formerly Ashraf) in wake of violence by loyalists of the Rajavi cult
Iran Interlink, Baghdad, April 17, 2011: … It is thought that up to 200 MEK members loyal to Massoud Rajavi took part in the violence. It is not known how many of the 3400 residents at the camp continue as members of the terrorist group. Singleton visited the camp at the start of a week of meetings with Iraqi officials to demand that the organisational infrastructure of the group be dismantled, and that the leaders are prosecuted under Iraqi and international law. The remaining residents should be enabled to determine their own futures without pressure from the MEK leaders. Their families should be involved to help in this process. Over 1000 Camp New Iraq (Formerly Ashraf) residents have residency or citizenship rights in Europe and North America …
http://www.iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=9772
Iran Interlink, Baghdad, April 17, 2011
https://iran-interlink.org
Anne khodabndeh (Singleton) from Iran-Interlink visited Camp New Iraq (Formerly Ashraf) in the wake of violent clashes between MEK loyalists and Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi commander in charge of the camp showed some of the pre-manufactured missiles used by the MEK as they attacked Iraqi soldiers at the base.
It is thought that up to 200 MEK members loyal to Massoud Rajavi took part in the violence. It is not known how many of the 3400 residents at the camp continue as members of the terrorist group.
Human Rights organisations have called for an independent investigation into events at the camp.
Singleton visited the camp at the start of a week of meetings with Iraqi officials to demand that the organisational infrastructure of the group be dismantled, and that the leaders are prosecuted under Iraqi and international law. The remaining residents should be enabled to determine their own futures without pressure from the MEK leaders. Their families should be involved to help in this process. Over 1000 Camp New Iraq (Formerly Ashraf) residents have residency or citizenship rights in Europe and North America. The embassies of these countries can facilitate their return.
Detailed reports will follow soon
Iran Interlink, Baghdad, April 17 2011
Large metal missiles pre-manufactured by MEK in readiness for violent clashes with Iraqi military
MEK used different coloured headgear to coordinate place and timing of pre-planned actions
Small metal missiles catapulted at soldiers and observers from inside the camp by Rajavi loyalists
***
Also
https://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=9842
MEK expert Anne Khodabndeh (Singleton) outlines plan to close Camp Ashraf
… Singleton explained that while there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that the MEK must be removed from Iraq by the end of 2011 – as three successive democratically elected governments have demanded since December 2003, as the Iraqi constitution demands and as the status of forces agreement (SOFA) dictates – it is becoming clear that the MEK is a unique phenomenon which cannot be treated as a normal political or military entity and therefore its removal will not be a straightforward mission. Evidence of this has already been seen in the violent resistance to attempts by Iraqi security forces to bring the MEK into line with Iraqi law both in July 2009 and on April 8 this year …
Al-Mostanseriah University Baghdad, April 2011
Reported by Sahar Family Foundation, Baghdad, April 25, 2011
http://www.saharngo.com/en/story/1433
Anne Singleton visited Iraq as representative of Iran-Interlink at the invitation of the Baladiyeh Foundation, a human rights NGO based in Baghdad. The Baladiyeh Foundation, headed by Mrs Ahlam al-Maliki, provides humanitarian assistance to a wide range of deprived sectors of Iraqi society arising directly from the invasion and occupation of Iraq by allied forces in 2003.
Baladiyeh Foundation is concerned by the humanitarian crisis at Camp Ashraf caused by the group’s leaders who are refusing to allow access to human rights organisations to verify the wellbeing of all of the camp’s residents.
Anne Singleton, a leading expert on the Mojahedin-e Khalq terrorist cult, was invited to speak at al-Mostanserieh University in Baghdad to address the problem of removing the group from Iraq.
Singleton outlined the problem which the Government of Iraq faces, telling the audience that the MEK has been used, particularly by neoconservatives and Zionists in the west, to interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq since 2003 when the group mistakenly came under the protection of US forces (the MEK is listed as a terrorist entity in the USA). Since that time, Camp Ashraf has remained the only part of the repressive infrastructure of the former dictator Saddam Hussein which has not been dismantled. In this respect, explained Singleton, the camp has been the locus for training and facilitating violent insurrectionists determined to derail the democratisation process of Iraq. The aim of the violence has been to create sectarian, tribal and religious divisions in Iraqi society which would prevent the unification and progression of the country under a freely elected government. The MEK have acted in conjunction with various Saddamists (Iraqis loyal to the beliefs of the former dictator) and elements in the west in this respect.
Since 2009 when the government of Iraq took over responsibility for protecting the camp from the US military, it has been possible to clamp down on this activity and the result has been a dramatic reduction in the amount of violent activity in the country. However, efforts to remove the group from Iraq as demanded by the Iraqi constitution have been hampered for several reasons.
Singleton explained that while there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that the MEK must be removed from Iraq by the end of 2011 – as three successive democratically elected governments have demanded since December 2003, as the Iraqi constitution demands and as the status of forces agreement (SOFA) dictates – it is becoming clear that the MEK is a unique phenomenon which cannot be treated as a normal political or military entity and therefore its removal will not be a straightforward mission. Evidence of this has already been seen in the violent resistance to attempts by Iraqi security forces to bring the MEK into line with Iraqi law both in July 2009 and on April 8 this year.
Negotiations with the MEK will not resolve the problem explained Anne Singleton, since these talks only address the interests of one person, that is, the MEK leader Massoud Rajavi who is still in hiding in Camp Ashraf. Although he has ordered his loyal followers to violently resist any attempts by the government of Iraq to impose Iraqi law on the camp, it has become clear that only a small number of the camp’s residents are involved in these violent activities. Tens of individuals who have escaped the camp since the 2009 handover all report that most of the camp’s residents are no longer willing or able to continue as members of the terrorist group. It is vital therefore, said Singleton, for an independent agency such as the United Nations Human Rights Commission, to be able to enter the camp without interference, and to conduct a survey of the camp’s residents. This can only be achieved if the MEK leaders are separated from the rank and file and each individual is given the freedom to choose their own future. In this way, the residents of the camp can be removed from Iraqi territory without the violence and bloodshed which is being threatened by Massoud Rajavi.
Iraq is a sovereign country and is capable of resolving this issue in a humanitarian way which will reflect well on this new democracy. The involvement of human rights groups like Baladiyeh Foundation, said Singleton, is a sure sign that the country of Iraq has the confidence and competence to deal with the problem of the MEK effectively and peacefully. The sticking point will be the reaction of western governments which can either help or hinder this process. Above all, it is vital that the UN and other international human rights agencies fully comprehend that the only legitimate human rights position in relation to Camp Ashraf and its residents it to demand the immediate and unconditional organisational disbandment of the group, and to deal with each of the residents as a separate person and not as a slave belonging to Rajavi’s terrorist group.
Almostanserieh paper on Mojahedin Khalq (Anne Singleton)2011
Link to download video file (61 MB)
* * *
***
Also read:
Massoud Khodabandeh, Lobe Log, August 23 2019:… So, when Giuliani says we should be “comfortable” with this group, right-minded people the world over can honestly and unequivocally answer, “No, we are not comfortable ignoring this harsh reality just because the MEK amplifies an anti-Iran message to the world, and no, we don’t believe the MEK have any kind of future… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Nejat Society, August 13 2019:… This year’s so-called “grand gathering” of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ the Cult of Rajavi) was held in Albania, instead of holding it near the group’s headquarters in Paris. The group held a five day ceremony to inaugurate its lavish headquarters in a rural region in Albania. The newly built camp is… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Zeng Ziyi, CGTN, August 07 2019:… Over the years, the self-described “pro-American” John Bolton has fostered a close relationship with the MEK, which the U.S. designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization partially for assassinating six American citizens during the Iranian Revolution. For the uber-hawk, almost any means is justified for waging war. John Bolton MEK Desperate Attempt to Awaken the U.S.… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Robert Fantina, Counter Punch, August 02 2019:… The oddly named People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (known as the MKO or MEK), whose sole purpose is the overthrow of the people’s government of Iran, has been busy. Some of their members, who seem to be mainly elderly, are technologically savvy, and use social media to further their disgraceful cause. But they… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Al Masdar and Asharq Al-Ausat, July 31 2019:… Asharq Al-Aswat then referenced an alleged attack by the Israeli Air Force on Hashd Al-Shaabi’s Ashraf base, which was previously used by the dissident People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) The base lies 80 kilometers from the border with Iran and 40 kilometers northeast of Baghdad. Last week, Syria’s Tal al-Hara was struck… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Tehran Times, July 28 2019:… Government spokesman Ali Rabiei draws a parallel between the MEK’s false belief that it had popular support in Iran when it launched attack on Iran in late July 1988, and the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement, which President Rouhani has attributed to Washington’s false belief that the Iranian people were fed-up with the… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Balkans Post, Tirana, Albania, July 18 2019:… On the last Saturday, 13 July 2019, the annual “Free Iran” conference was held for the first time at Ashraf 3 in Albania, the headquarters of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK or MKO), a notorious terrorist cult known by several other different names and acronyms, including People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), National Liberation Army… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Daniel Larison, July 10 2019:… Ilan-Berman does not address much of the relevant criticism of the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) in this article, and he takes the superficial “democratic” rhetoric and agenda of a totalitarian cult at face value. The article is titled “Making Sense of The MeK,” but a previously uninformed reader would come away from reading this with a… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Habilian Association, Tehran, July 04 2019:… For decades, and based on U.S. intelligence, the United States government has blamed the MEK for killing three U.S. Army colonels and three U.S. contractors, bombing the facilities of numerous U.S. companies and killing innocent Iranians. Multiple administrations have rejected efforts by the MEK and its surrogates to claim that any bad acts were… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Alexander Rubinstein, Mint Press News, June 25 2019:… Virtually every investigation into the so-called “People’s Mujahedeen” — whether by think tanks, NGOs, or the media — concludes that their support inside of Iran is virtually non-existent. The group participated in the revolution against the Shah but was not invited to the table as a new government was being formed. And… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Philip Giraldi, Global Research, June 21 2019:… MEK, which is financially supported by Saudi Arabia, stages events in the United States in Europe where it generously pays politicians like John Bolton, Rudy Giuliani and Elaine Chao to make fifteen-minute speeches praising the organization and everything it does. Maryam Rajavi MEK Cult Fake Journalists MEK Impunity Undermining Democracy Maryam Rajavi MEK… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
Massoud Khodabandeh, Lobe Log, June 18 2019:… This is the tip of the iceberg. MEK interference in the internal affairs of America goes well beyond online attacks on Iran. In 2016, the Organization of Iranian American Communities in the US—a front for the MEK—announced a “General Elections Mobilization Effort,” publicly urging its members to “fulfill their civic duty through active… Ashraf Camp Massacre Revisited – Victim’s family speak out Popular Mobilization Forces PMF Parade In Ashraf Camp
