Report on the situation of remaining
members of Mojahedin Khalq Organisation in Camp
Ashraf after Consultation with Iraqi Government
officials
Iran-Interlink,
February, 2008
Link to the pdf file
(printable)
In January through February, Iran-Interlink
representative Massoud Khodabandeh was invited by
the Iraqi Government for a series of consultation
meetings on Camp Ashraf. His report has now been
published.
Camp Ashraf is home
to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Grizzly, but also
contains 3,400 foreign terrorist fighters from the
Iranian Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MKO or MEK)
who were corralled and disarmed by US Special Forces
in 2003. The fighters have been under US military
police protection for five years and now the Iraqi
Government wants them removed from the country.
MKO leader Massoud Rajavi has told his group to stay
in Iraq at all costs until they can be re-armed, but
human rights organisations agree that Iraq is
extremely dangerous place for the Iranian group and
that any who do not wish to be voluntarily
repatriated must be taken to third countries as
refugees.
While in Baghdad, Massoud Khodabandeh met with
officials from Iraq's Ministries of Human Rights,
Defence, National Security as well as
non-governmental agencies to formulate a two part
solution. He reported Iraq's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs position that 'both the MKO and PKK are
foreign terrorist organisations. They are especially
harmful to the relations between Iraq and its
neighbouring countries at this point of time. Iraq
cannot accept nor afford further problems by
accommodating international terrorist organizations
whether as a group or as individuals.'
An interim plan was immediately agreed by Iraq's
Ministry of Human Rights to permit the establishment
of Sahar Family Foundation. Organised by former
members of the MKO and families of people still
trapped in the camp, Sahar now provides short-term
rescue facilities for ex-MKO who are no longer being
protected by US forces in Iraq before they are taken
to third countries.
SFF can be contacted directly in Iraq on Tel: +964 -
7808481650 (Arabic and Farsi), and outside Iraq at
Sahar, BM 2632, London WC1N 3XX, U.K., Tel: +44 -
2076935044 (English only).
In his conclusion to the report Mr Khodabandeh
outlined a longer term plan which will enable
western governments to protect the human rights of
the MKO members by taking the whole group out of
Iraq to safety.
In an interview with Alaraghieh television, Massoud
Khodabandeh said he fully endorsed "the right of the
Iraqi people to enjoy security and have justice
served against the perpetrators of violent acts in
their country…" In January the Criminal Court of
Baghdad issued additional arrest warrants for three
leading MKO members in Camp Ashraf. It is believed
that the handling of members of the foreign
terrorist group which American soldiers are
protecting will be a test of US-Iraqi relations over
the coming months.
The report can be obtained online at
www.iran-interlink.org or hard copy from editor@iran-interlink.org.
END
Contact:
Anne Singleton
Iran-Interlink
Tel: +44 (0) 113 278 0503
Mob: +44 (0) 787 654 1150
Link to: Al Araghiah TV reports on the
Symposium in Baghdad
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=4101
--------------------------------
Full Report:
.
Iran Interlink Special Report from Baghdad
Camp Ashraf and the
Mojahedin-e Khalq
.
Massoud
Khodabandeh,Iran Interlink, February 2008
link
to pdf file (printable)
---------
Contents:
Introduction – What is the problem with Camp Ashraf?
Why the MKO must leave Iraq
What is Camp Ashraf
What is happening at TIPF
TIPF to close in six months
Humanitarian intervention
Consultation meetings
Results of consultation in Iraq
Families of MKO members
Sahar Family Foundation statement
Conclusion
.
Introduction – What is the problem with Camp Ashraf?
The Mojahedin-e
Khalq (MKO) came into existence in 1965 to conduct
armed opposition against the Shah of Iran. Among
those killed during its first armed campaign the
group were 6 American contractors in Iran. Most of
its members were imprisoned during the 1970s. After
the Shah was ousted in 1979, the MKO prisoners were
released and after initially supporting the
revolution for two years, then began to challenge
Ayatollah Khomeini for more power. This led to exile
first in France and subsequently in Iraq. Saddam
Hussein gave financial, military and logistical
support to the group and used it during his war with
Iran and then to suppress Kurdish and Shiite
uprisings in March 1991, thereby guaranteeing his
grip on power.
First welcomed in the early 1980s by western
governments for its opposition to the revolutionary
government of Iran, the MKO's violent and mercenary
behaviour, which led to thousands of civilian deaths
in Iran during its terrorist campaigns, led to its
proscription as a terrorist entity. Following a
report commissioned by the US State Department in
1994 the group was added to the US terror list in
1997. The UK proscribed the group in 2000, the EU in
2002, and Canada in 2005. In May 2005 Human Rights
Watch published a report titled ‘No Exit’ detailing
human rights abuses carried out by the organization
against its own members. The incarceration of
dissenters in Abu Ghraib prison was made possible by
the full integration of the MKO in Saddam Hussein’s
security apparatus; well before 1991 the MKO had
become Saddam’s private army.
In anticipation of the 2003 invasion of Iraq,
Massoud Rajavi told MKO combatants they would launch
an all-out attack on Iran. An operation announced as
‘the black phase’. Instead, he escaped into hiding
and in April 2003 agreed a ceasefire with US Special
Forces. By June, Rajavi submitted to the US demand
that his fighters completely disarm. All MKO members
in Iraq were corralled into Camp Ashraf and have
remained there since that time as prisoners under
the protection of US military police aided by a
Bulgarian unit.
The MKO remain at risk of revenge attacks by Iraqis.
In spite of this threat, Massoud Rajavi has insisted
that the active MKO members remain in uniform in
Camp Ashraf and has resisted all humanitarian
efforts to help them move or even to have members
with residence rights in western countries brought
to safety. Rajavi’s perverse insistence that the MKO
be treated only as a whole entity and not as
individuals and the fact that, ostensibly, the group
presented no trouble, discouraged the American army
from disturbing the status quo. American soldiers
continue to protect a group which its own State
Department has proscribed as a foreign terrorist
entity, but which some in the west regard as a
possible bargaining chip against Iran.
Currently, according to US figures, there are around
3,360 active MKO members remaining at Camp Ashraf in
Iraq's Diyali province. There are now 109 people in
the Temporary International Protection Facility (TIPF)
adjacent to Camp Ashraf who have left the MKO and
are seeking refugee status and removal to third
countries. Over 100 were turned out of TIPF in
December 2007 and have met with an uncertain
situation described later in this report. The US-led
MNF also says 380 former MKO have accepted voluntary
repatriation and have been helped by the ICRC and
Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights to return to their
families in Iran.
Now however, after five years, the Iraqi Government
is insistent that the MKO be removed in totality
from Iraqi territory. In spite of claims by the MKO
in western circles that it has renounced violence,
Iraq's Ministry of Defence says there is no doubt
the group is involved in ongoing violence in the
country. A solution to deal with the group has
become more urgent.
The legal status of the MKO combatants in Camp
Ashraf is somewhat unclear. In 2004 the American
army granted the MKO 'protected persons' status
under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
According to a report by Robert Karniol, Defence
Writer of the Straits Times, on February 4, the UN
Fourth Convention Article 133 states that
"'internment shall cease as soon as possible after
the close of hostilities'."
"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
maintains that the Iraq war ended with the transfer
of sovereignty to the country's interim government
in June 2004, with the fighting since then
characterised as 'an internal conflict
internationalised by the presence of multilateral
forces'."
"'Neither the active MEK members nor the former MEK
refugees are being detained,' said Major Danielson [MNF
spokesman]. 'The Ashraf refugee camp refugees have
every right to depart and travel in Iraq using an
Iraqi-issued laissez-passer. They can also
repatriate to Iran if they desire, or they may stay
in the camp."
However, it is not only Massoud Rajavi's insistence
that his combatants wait in Camp Ashraf to be
re-armed which blocks moves to deal with them. Since
every major western country has proscribed the MKO
as a terrorist group, it is virtually impossible to
find a safe haven for the group outside Iraq.
The Straits Times report continues, "'They are
definitely in a legal limbo. No one wants them,'
said Mr Said Boumedouha, a researcher at Amnesty
International in London."
"The US State Department's 2007 report said the MKO
maintains "the capacity and will to commit terrorist
acts in Europe, the Middle East, the United States,
Canada and beyond."
"The report notes the MKO's "cult-like
characteristics," such that "new members are
indoctrinated in MEK ideology and revisionist
Iranian history [and] required to ... participate in
weekly 'ideological cleansings.' "Children are
separated from their parents, it adds, and Mrs.
Rajavi "has established a 'cult of personality.'."
"According to Said Boumedouha of Amnesty
International, 'Our position is that they shouldn't
be returned to Iran due to the fear of torture and
the death penalty. And they shouldn't be handed over
to Iraq for the same reason. Their immediate future
looks bleak.'"
However, events in Iraq are unfolding which make it
imperative for western countries to address this
issue.
Why the MKO must leave Iraq
In December 2007
unconfirmed reports arose indicating uncertainty
over the future of Camp Ashraf. It is understood
that the original owner on whose land the camp is
sited, who fled Iraq under Saddam Hussein, has
returned to Iraq with title deeds and has now
achieved a court order demanding that his land, part
of which was illegally gifted to the MKO by the
former Iraqi dictator to build their military base,
be evacuated and returned to him in its entirety.
Although this has not been confirmed, subsequent
events appear to verify this news. In December US
military police began removing people from the
Temporary International Protection Facility.
Visitors to the camp were also told by military
police that the TIPF would be closing in six months'
time.
In January 2008 officials of the Iraqi Government
invited Massoud Khodabandeh of Iran-Interlink to a
series of meetings in Baghdad where the issue of how
to deal with foreign terrorist groups in Iraq was
being addressed by various agencies.
As a result of these meetings Mr Khodabandeh has
reported that the Iraqi Government is united and
determined in its demand that the MKO be removed in
its entirety from Iraqi territory. In this respect,
no differentiation is made between active or former
members of the group. The Iraqi Government regards
the MKO as a terrorist entity which is still
attached to the Ba'athist remnants of Saddam
Hussein's regime. Requests to the Americans since
2004 to remove the group have not produced any
result. The government is now taking the matter into
its own hands and will deal with the group on its
own terms.
Major Danielson has said that 'they [the MKO] are
not charged with criminal offences', however this
situation has now changed. The Iraqi Government has
passed the case of the MKO to the Judiciary which is
pursuing legal action against the whole group. Three
separate judges have already issued arrest warrants
against three leading members in Camp Ashraf. As the
sovereign government of the country it is expected
that American forces will comply with its legal
rulings in relation to the MKO.
Mr Khodabandeh said, 'In each of the meetings I
attended, I put to the Iraqis a proposal which I
believe is the only realistic and humanitarian way
forward for the people trapped in Camp Ashraf, and
this was universally welcomed. It is time now for
all security and humanitarian agencies in Iraq to
stop prevaricating, to work together and to adopt a
realistic plan in order to act on this situation and
resolve it to the advantage of all parties.'
This report seeks to describe the situation and
offer what can be the only possible workable
solution which will assure a safe and secure future
for the people in Camp Ashraf.
What is Camp Ashraf
Camp Ashraf is
situated northeast of the Iraqi town of Khalis in
Diyali province, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad and
about 20 kilometers west of the border with Iran.
Along with at least six other sites in Iraq, Camp
Ashraf was given to the MKO as a headquarters and
training site by Saddam Hussein. From this base, the
Iraqi military equipped the MKO with tanks,
artillery and armored personnel carriers. Since
1983, the group has conducted operations against
Iran during the Iran-Iraq War and later conducted
operations against Iraqi Kurds during the 1991
uprising against Saddam. Before 2003 it was the base
from which terrorist operations against Iran and
inside Iraq have been planned and directed.
Named after Ashraf Rabiee a leading political
prisoner under the Shah, the camp's vital function
since 1986 has been as the main ideological training
base for both members and supporters of the Iranian
Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MKO). The base is
still used for the MKO's military and ideological
training.
Following the March 2003 invasion of Iraq the base
came under bombardment by American forces. After
some initial resistance, with fifty fatalities on
the MKO side, all MKO personnel were rounded up and
corralled in Camp Ashraf. Over 3800 members were
recorded. The MKO leader, Massoud Rajavi fled and
went into hiding as American Special Forces
attacked. He now issues his directives to the MKO
members in Iraq and in western countries from a
secret hideaway. In the months leading up to the
invasion, a few hundred MKO members had been hastily
transferred to Europe where they remain today. Among
them was Massoud Rajavi's lieutenant, Maryam Rajavi,
who was arrested in France in June 2003 and is
awaiting trial on terrorism related charges. Maryam
Rajavi provides the MKO's acceptable western front.
She heads Rajavi's deception campaigns in western
political and media circles.
At present, within the boundaries of Camp Ashraf is
Forward Operating Base Grizzly (formerly FOB
Spartan, FOB Red Lion and FOB Barbarian). The FOB is
where the Coalition forces reside. The Bulgarian
Army is currently running the Temporary
International Presence Facility, where refugees who
defect from the PMOI are held.
Inside Camp Ashraf itself the MKO leadership
continues to maintain control through its harsh cult
methodology which denies all the members their basic
human rights. The group retains its military
structure with uniformed members undergoing both
military and ideological training regimes.
Organisationally the chief characteristics of the
Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation are that:
• it uses psychological coercion and manipulation to
recruit, indoctrinate and retain its members
• it forms an elitist totalitarian society
• its leader is self-appointed, autocratic,
messianic, not accountable and has charisma
• it believes 'the end justifies the means' in order
to solicit funds, recruit people, deceive potential
supporters and to achieve political power
• its wealth does not benefit either the members or
society
Even though he is in hiding, Massoud Rajavi
continues as the sole decision maker for the group.
He continues to espouse the use of violence to
achieve his political aims. The MKO's stated aim is
to overthrow the Iranian regime in its entirety
(that is removal of the system of Velayat Faghi) and
replace it with Rajavi's system of government with
him as the country's leader.
MKO personnel are indoctrinated at Camp Ashraf in
the group's ideology which involves submitting to
the total, lifelong leadership of Massoud Rajavi.
The MKO accept no other legal or moral law than that
determined by Massoud Rajavi, and they submit
without question to his dictates. According to
Rajavi's ideology he demands total obedience,
members must forswear marriage and children, they
must be willing to die or kill on demand. Under
these conditions the only reasonable deduction which
can be made is that anyone who has been
indoctrinated in Camp Ashraf is owned by Massoud
Rajavi. He has devised the term 'living martyrs' to
describe the relationship of members to him. It
means that members have effectively handed their
'life' to Rajavi to use and dispose of as he will.
The absolute value of Camp Ashraf to Massoud Rajavi
is its guaranteed isolation. Members in the camp
have no contact with the outside world. The camp is
an essential element in controlling the behaviour
and beliefs of the members. For this reason Rajavi
has resisted any and all efforts to have the MKO
re-located on any grounds, whether security or
humanitarian. Individuals who have residence rights
in western countries were instructed by Rajavi to
refuse help and to demand that the group be treated
as a whole entity and not as individual members. The
continued wearing of military uniform reinforces
this group identity.
Although the MKO combatants in Camp Ashraf enjoy
some of the highest living standards in Iraq, the
health, morale and wellbeing of camp residents has
deteriorated progressively over the past five years.
People who left the camp via TIPF have reported
rape, fighting, murder and suspicious suicides
taking place as residents struggle with the severe
restrictions imposed by the MKO leaders. The head of
Military Intelligence of Bulgaria was quoted by Fars
News as saying that during 2007 the Bulgarian unit
has had to deal with fourteen serious clashes in
Camp Ashraf, describing them as "due to the unrest
of the detainees over the years" while stressing
that there was no threat to the Bulgarian soldiers.
The residents in Camp Ashraf were severely
demoralized from the beginning of their capture when
their leader Massoud Rajavi abandoned them and went
into hiding instead of ordering the all-out attack
on Iran which he had promised them. The sheer
cowardice of this act has had irreversible effects
on the group.
If we argue that in general terms terrorism needs
both 'form' and 'content' together in order to come
into being, then in this case, Camp Ashraf
represents the form, or container, for Rajavi's
group. The content is his ideology of hatred and
violence. If the form is removed, then no matter
what is in the minds of the individuals, they will
not go on to perform terrorism. It is like taking
the gun from their hands.
What is
happening at TIPF
When the MKO
combatants were forcibly disarmed and confined to
Camp Ashraf by US Special Forces in 2003 they were
subsequently interviewed by FBI and military
interrogators. Fingerprints and DNA samples were
taken and ID cards were issued. During the course of
these interviews several individuals expressed their
wish to leave the MKO. The US army was obliged to
establish a Temporary International Presence
Facility (TIPF) alongside Camp Ashraf to house
anyone who wanted to leave the MKO.
Both the residents of Camp Ashraf and the TIPF are
guarded to protect them from revenge attacks by
Kurdish and other Iraqis whose knowledge of the MKO
is as part of Saddam Hussein's repressive apparatus.
Inside Camp Ashraf itself the MKO leadership
continues to maintain control. The methodology of
this control includes strict gender segregation,
obligatory daily 'cleansing' reports and submitting
to a micro-managed lifestyle including the denial of
any external information. This state of affairs is
what American and Bulgarian soldiers have been
protecting for almost five years.
Over these five years several hundred people have
left Camp Ashraf to take refuge with the Americans.
As its tight grip on the members came under threat
with each defection, the MKO response was to
frighten its members with tales of rape and abuse by
US soldiers if they ended up in TIPF.
The group has sent infiltrators into TIPF to try to
control the atmosphere (aimed at discouraging people
from going back to Iran) and also to direct US
military police behaviour toward the group. In
addition, conditions in TIPF until very recently
were very basic with tents and US army rations for
both soldiers and those who left the MKO. Camp
Ashraf provides a standard of living which is
excellent in comparison with air conditioned
buildings, plentiful good food, plumbed bathrooms
and a range of leisure facilities.
The refusal of the US army to make conditions
outside Camp Ashraf better than conditions inside
the MKO run camp has led to accusations that the
intention has been to give leverage to the MKO
leaders to keep people in the terrorist
organisation. Indeed, the MKO has created its own
'Exit' unit to house around 200 people inside Camp
Ashraf. These are people who have left the MKO but
who, due to MKO pressure, are too afraid to go to
TIPF and so remain under MKO hegemony.
Under the terms of protected persons status of the
Fourth Geneva Convention detainees are not to be
forcibly deported or repatriated. However, the US
military reports that from TIPF, 380 have accepted
voluntary repatriation and have been helped by
Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights and the
International Committee of the Red Cross to be
reunited with their families.
Some 208 former members, who remained in TIPF
because they did not wish to go to Iran, asked for
UN refugee status and transfer to third countries.
However, with the huge demand on the UN and aid
agencies to deal with massive internal displacement
and Iraqi refugees, nothing has been accomplished to
find places for them.
TIPF to
close in six months
In January 2008, a
senior Iraqi official appeared on Alaraghieh
television explaining that the original owner of the
land on which Camp Ashraf has been constructed has
been granted permission by an Iraqi court to
re-possess his land – land which had originally been
illegally confiscated by Saddam Hussein and gifted
to the MKO. The owner has been told that his land
will be returned to him in six months. This will
mean that both the TIPF and the whole of Camp Ashraf
must be evacuated of personnel – whether American,
Bulgarian or Iranian – within the next six months.
This news shed light on events which began in
December 2007 when US Military Police began a
process of emptying TIPF. Visitors to the camp say
they were told by American soldiers that TIPF would
be closing in six months' time. They were told that
the TIPF might possibly be moved to Mosel in
Kurdistan, but this did not happen.
According to those who left TIPF in December, US
military police told them they were free to leave
and in fact could not stay as the camp was being
dismantled. One group refused to leave at all and
are still in the TIPF. The others were taken at
intervals in small groups of up to five to a
roadside some short distance away. They were filmed
to prove they were alive and healthy and then left
to make their own way. They were given American
issued 'laissez-passer' which they were told would
facilitate their exit from Iraq. However these
papers did not allow anyone to travel south toward
Baghdad and they were forced to move north. Those
who arrived in Arbil managed to get some papers from
the Kurdish regional government which allowed them
to remain in the city. But these papers were taken
away by local police after a short time. They now
have no papers except American issued ID cards.
The Iraqi Ministry of National Security said it does
not recognize the papers given to the former TIPF
residents, and that if found outside the camp, they
would be arrested and imprisoned for belonging to a
foreign terrorist group.
Scott Peterson of the Christian Science Magazine who
has been following the MKO's situation reported on
February 11, "About 100 tried to leave Iraq, some of
them carrying US military letters for travel to
Turkey. Documents of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees show that at one point in their saga nearly
two weeks ago, 19 were turned back to Iraq by
Turkey, dozens were picked up in Kurdish northern
Iraq and some forced to return to the dangers of
central Iraq, and 26 were missing."
Other reports state that one man was shot and
wounded by border police and is now in hospital in
Arbil the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Amnesty
International said it was alerted to six individuals
in prison in Turkey. They were not returned to Iraq.
There are now 109 remaining in TIPF.
Humanitarian intervention
During his trip to
Iraq, Massoud Khodabandeh intervened with Iraqi
Government officials with a rescue plan for these
people. After talks with Iraq's Ministry of Human
Rights, officials agreed to set up an NGO which
would provide accommodation and food for those
Iranians who had left the MKO but who, since the
Americans were closing TIPF, did not have anywhere
to go. The organisation – named Sahar Family
Foundation – quickly set up a network of places to
which the former TIPF people could go, including
Baghdad and Arbil.
Mr Khodabandeh then visited the TIPF near Khales in
Diyali province to inform the remaining people that
he would provide safe passage from the camp to a
place where they could stay until it was possible to
send them to another country. Three people
immediately accepted this offer of help. More have
since followed. But this is an interim measure
designed to rescue those removed from TIPF and who
reject MKO membership. It does not of course address
the main issue which is to find a place of safety
for all the residents of Camp Ashraf.
Concerned observers have pointed out the error in
the logistics of closing TIPF before the problem of
relocating people from Camp Ashraf has been
resolved. TIPF represented the only way individuals
could escape the clutches of the MKO hierarchy. It
is only fair to allow people somewhere to escape to
rather than be treated as Massoud Rajavi's chattels.
It is intended that the newly created NGO Sahar
Family Foundation will replace the function of TIPF
in providing a safety net for those who want to
leave the MKO. Once they are safe they can then be
helped either to go home to their families or to
find a third country in which to take refuge.
Consultation meetings
On January 31, 2008
Massoud Khodabandeh attended a Symposium at the
Centre for International and Inter-governmental
Studies of the University of Baghdad.
The Symposium, a round table discussion centred on
the issue of terrorism in Iraq and possible
solutions to this problem, was divided into 3 parts:
- the general threat posed by terrorist groups and
the ways they operate in Iraq
- foreign terrorist organisations in Iraq
- the creation of terrorist organisations in Iraq
and the global supporters of these terrorist groups
Participants of the Symposium included Dr. Aziz
Jabar Shayal, Dr. Samir Alshweely and Dr. Rasheed
Saleh, professors of Political Studies from the
University of Baghdad. Several governmental and
non-governmental representatives from a wide range
of ministries and NGOs, including representatives
from Iraq’s Ministries of Defence, Human Rights and
Security participated.
Massoud Khodabandeh, who is also a researcher with
the Centre de Recherches sur le Terrorisme depuis le
11 septembre 2001 (Paris), and who was in Baghdad
for meetings concerning the fate of the remaining
individuals following dismantlement of Camp Ashraf
which houses the disarmed Iranian terrorist
organisation Mojahedin Khalq Organisation, was
invited to participate in the discussion.
Prominent among the participants was Mr. Bassam
Alhassani, advisor to Prime Minister Noori Al Maleki.
The Symposium ended with a full report on the issues
discussed and Dr. Aziz Jabar Shayal delivered the
concluding resolution in which one paragraph
emphasized the necessity for the dismantlement and
deportation of the foreign terrorist Mojahedin Khalq
organisation and encouragement and facilitation by
the government and others to help the remaining
individuals find a safe palace outside Iraq and
return to normal life.
The Symposium was covered by media representatives
who reported from the meeting room.
Alaraghieh television, Iraq’s main TV network,
reported the Symposium and broadcast a brief
interview with Massoud Khodabandeh.
In the interview, Massoud Khodabandeh emphasised
above all the right of the Iraqi people to enjoy
security and have justice served against the
perpetrators of violent acts in their country, in
particular the criminal heads of the terrorist
Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation which was involved in
the massacre of the Kurdish and Shiite uprisings
against Saddam Hussein in March 1991. Mr Khodabandeh
said that in his belief and according to the studies
of the Centre de Recherches sur le Terrorisme, the
phenomenon of terrorism cannot have a single
solution and needs inter governmental cooperation as
well as the involvement of NGOs to protect the human
rights of those who have been inveigled by terrorist
leaders onto this path, and to give them a second
chance of integration back into their societies.
Thanking the organisers of the Symposium Mr
Khodabandeh emphasised the cult culture of terrorist
organisations and the methods they use to brainwash
their followers. He also gave examples of foreign
support by some influential groups and parties who
facilitate the flow of finance for terrorism. Not
the least the relationship between the remainders of
Saddam Hussein in Iraq, London, Washington and other
countries with the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation, and
the way this relationship is becoming clear in the
escalation of violence in Diyali province.
The Symposium lasted for over two hours. Afterwards
the participants formed smaller groups to further
discuss the variety of issues raised by the Seminar.
Results of
consultation in Iraq
Massoud Khodabandeh
of Iran-Interlink was invited to Iraq by the office
of Prime Minister Noori Al Maleki for a series of
consultations on the problem of foreign linked
terrorism in the country.
The Iraqi Government is seeking a rapid and thorough
solution to remove the remaining members of
Mojahedin-e Khalq from Iraq and shut down Camp
Ashraf.
While in Iraq Mr Khodabandeh met with
representatives of the Iraqi Ministries of Human
Rights, Security, Foreign Affairs and Defence. He
also had meetings with advisors to Prime Minister Al
Maleki, the Judiciary, NGOs and human rights
organisations currently in Iraq. Further meetings
have been held with representatives of the Kurdish
Patriotic Union and regional government
representatives.
The following represents a summary of the findings
of Mr Khodabandeh from these meetings. It must be
stressed that no differentiation is made at all in
the various views below between former and active
members of the MKO.
Minister of Human Rights Vajdan Mikhael Salem's
point of view: Under no circumstances can we accept
the MKO (whether as a group or as individuals,
whether before or after renouncing terrorism) to
stay in Iraq. We do not recommend this because we
know of their past and the danger posed by Iraqi
Shiite and Kurds (revenge) to them. They are only
alive in Iraq because of American protection for
them. The Ministry will help in the transfer of
individuals to Iran or other countries in
conjunction with the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC). The Ministry will also give
guarantees about good treatment by Iran under the
terms of an amnesty for returning MKO and, from its
offices in Iran, regularly monitors the situation of
those who have already accepted voluntary
repatriation.
Ministry of National Security point of view: We have
evidence of the co-operation between the remains of
Saddam and Al Qaida with the MKO using Camp Ashraf
as a meeting place to plot against the Iraqi people.
They are part of the destabilization forces in
Diyali province. These individuals are trained by
Saddam's Republican Guard and if given freedom
inside the country, they will be the core trainers
for insurgents. This is not acceptable and therefore
the American Army should find other alternatives for
them outside Iraq.
(The National Security Minister Shirwan Al Va'eli
has repeatedly insisted there is no place for any
terrorist organisation in the new Iraq and that Iraq
has and will continue to have full security
co-operation with neighbouring countries including
Iran, Kuwait and etc, in order to eliminate the
threats of terrorism in the region. Minister Shirwan
Al Va'eli has stressed that he is talking with the
Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence to expand
Iraq's cooperation with other countries to fight
terrorist networks and in this respect some
workshops have already begun.)
Foreign Affairs Ministry point of view: The MKO and
PKK are foreign terrorist organisations. They are
especially harmful to the relations between Iraq and
its neighbouring countries at this point of time.
Iraq cannot accept nor afford further problems by
accommodating international terrorist organisations
whether as a group or as individuals.
Advisor to the Prime Minister's point of view: The
MKO is the tip of the anti-Iraqi forces still in
Iraq. They are responsible for the massacre of Kurds
and Shiites and they should be handed over to the
Iraq Judiciary to bring them to justice. The fate of
the MKO (and other remains of Saddam who are wanted
for war crimes and crimes against humanity) is a
matter for Iraq and the US should hand them over.
Judiciary point of view: There are already claims
against the heads of this organisation (about 150
individuals). There are arrest warrants as recent as
a few weeks ago for crimes committed in the last few
months by MKO heads (Abbas Davari, the political
liaison of MKO in Camp Ashraf, Mozhgan Parsaii,
Commander of Rajavi's army in Iraq and Sediqeh
Hoseini, Secretary General of the MKO). There are
several ongoing investigations into the deeds of MKO
leaders against Iraqi people. The Judiciary should
investigate all of these and then decide who is to
be deported and who is to be brought to justice.
UNHCR: (Ms Hanieh Mofti refused to accept a meeting
with me or any of the families of those trapped in
Camp Ashraf, although she travels regularly to Camp
Ashraf for private meetings and dinner parties with
the heads of the terrorist organisation.) As far as
I could ascertain, Ms Mofti is sympathetic to the
MKO's demand that all its members should be given
refugee status in Iraq but not under the
jurisdiction of the Iraqi Government. They should
continue to be protected as a [uniformed military]
group in Iraq but without the permission of the
Iraqi Government.
[We must assume that refugee status can only be
given to individuals and not to an army. In this
case, perhaps Ms Mofti must wait for the US army to
take the military uniforms from these people and
then treat them as individuals according UNHCR
rules.]
Amnesty International and other Human Rights
organisations' point of view: MKO members should not
be given to Iran, nor should they be given to Iraq
because of the insecurity of human rights and the
death penalty in those countries. MKO members need
to be given humanitarian protection (not indemnity
from prosecution for crimes) meaning that they will
certainly need to be taken to third countries.
American Army point of view: No official view was
made. However, after 5 years the army is apparently
still prevaricating about US polices against
terrorism. (Certainly the US army's ambiguous
approach is widely perceived as facilitating
terrorism in the region.) Actual behaviour of the US
army toward internees at Camp Ashraf can only be
interpreted as tacit approval for the group's
continued existence and activities. (Camp Ashraf is
used to host meetings of Diyali tribal leaders loyal
to the Baathists).
The point of view of the Centre for International
and Inter-governmental Studies of the University of
Baghdad: (from the report of the symposium and
according to their announcement and recommendation
to the Iraqi Government) MKO individuals have to be
helped by western countries. They should not be kept
in Iraq for the good of people of Iraq and their own
good. The group should be dismantled by US and UK
forces before transfer outside Iraq. The main
support for the group comes from London, Washington
and Tel Aviv and the Mojahedin should be transferred
to these places with the help of their backers.
Families of
MKO members
When the interim
Iraqi government assumed control of Iraq in June
2004, the internees in Camp Ashraf were granted
protected persons status under the Fourth Geneva
Convention. After years of forced [by Rajavi]
estrangement, the families of people trapped in Camp
Ashraf began to hope that they could at last get
some news of their relatives there.
The Fourth Geneva Convention of course protects the
internees from forced repatriation. Instead the
families risked their lives to travel to Iraq from
all over the world in the hopes of meeting a son or
daughter, mother, father, wife, husband, brother or
sister. Some families had not seen their relatives
for over twenty years. Some were not even sure if
they were still alive.
Such family visits were undertaken according to the
rights established under Chapter VIII which deals
with external relations of detainees, in particular
Article 116 which states: 'Every internee shall be
allowed to receive visitors, especially near
relatives, at regular intervals and as frequently as
possible'.
Article 8 also clearly states: 'Protected persons
may in no circumstances renounce in part or in
entirety the rights secured to them by the present
Convention…'
But from the beginning the visiting families met
resistance. For four years it has been almost
impossible for anyone to visit their relative
without the presence of MKO minders who overshadow
the families to prevent free association or
conversation. Even where families travelled to Iraq
after taking legal advice and procuring legal
documents outlining their right to have free and
unfettered access to their relative, they have been
unable to secure such meetings. Unfortunately, in
some cases families have been turned away by
American military police, acting presumably on
orders from MKO commanders to refuse access.
This latter state of affairs has been experienced by
so many families that there is no doubt in anyone's
mind that the American soldiers are taking their
instructions from the MKO rather than vice versa.
There is no reason whatsoever – legal, moral or for
security - that these families should be denied
these visits. In one case a UK resident family was
told by an American soldier to contact the MKO in
Britain (where of course it is proscribed so that
this action of itself would be illegal) and to ask
the group to arrange a visit, including a stay in
the MKO controlled Camp Ashraf. This family were
left wondering what the legal ramifications would be
if they had followed this advice, would they be
allowed entry back into the UK without arrest for
contacting a terrorist entity in the UK and visiting
a terrorist training camp?
Where such obstacles are overcome and visits do take
place due to the sheer courage and persistence of
families who turn up at the gate of Camp Ashraf and
refuse to leave, the conditions of the visit do not
meet even a minimum standard expected under the
Fourth Geneva Convention or indeed under any human
rights legislation.
Families are harassed, insulted, physically
assaulted and repeatedly accused of being 'agents of
the mullahs' regime' sent to undermine the MKO's
struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran.
Among the most recent cases of a family's attempt to
meet relatives was the Mohammady family from Canada.
This was their ninth visit to Iraq in an attempt to
visit their daughter Somayeh who was taken to Camp
Ashraf some years ago when she was seventeen years
old. Mr Mostafa and Mrs Mahboubeh Mohammady spent
three months in Iraq and saw their daughter for only
45 minutes.
This time the parents were allowed to stay in a
bungalow in the US part of Camp Ashraf for three
days. On December 8, after constant requests to the
Americans, they were able to meet with their
daughter, Somayeh, for 45 minutes. Somayeh was
afraid to speak to her father stating 'he is an
agent of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry', but did
talk to her mother.
On the morning of December 9 the American soldiers
in charge of TIPF asked the Mohammady family to
leave the camp since they had met with their
daughter. The Americans escorted them to the gates
and let them out while still watching them from
behind their gates. As Camp Ashraf is located in a
deserted area with the closest road and public
transport some kilometers away, the Mohammadys began
walking. Suddenly they were confronted by a group of
MKO who pretended to be passing drivers and who
offered them a lift.
Based on their prior knowledge and experiences of
the MKO, Mr Mohammady and his wife refused their
offer and kept walking towards the main road. At
this point, the MKO grabbed Mrs Mohammady by force
and pushed her into the car in an attempted kidnap.
At the same time Mr Mohammady was defending himself
against their physical attacks and also trying to
secure their bags since their assailants were
slashing them with knives and managed to break open
their camera trying to remove the memory card by
knife. When Mr Mohammady started shouting for help
one of the MKO guys pulled a gun from under the
driver's seat and put it to his head.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation the
American soldiers who were watching from a short
distance intervened to rescue them and later
arranged for a safe ride to Baghdad. Upon arrival in
Baghdad Mr and Mrs Mohammady received medical
attention for their injuries and began legal action
against the leaders of the MKO for the damages
incurred by their family, including this latest
assault.
The result was that the Baghdad Criminal Court
issued arrest warrants for the three leading MKO
members in Camp Ashraf - additional to two existing
arrest warrants for each of the three which had
previously been issued by two other courts.
In February two more families experienced disturbing
meetings with relatives. Ali Bashiri and his
daughter traveled from Norway with legal papers
demanding a visit with the girl's mother. When Mr
Bashiri went to the US embassy in Baghdad with
papers drawn up by a Norwegian lawyer he was
expelled. Eventually he and his daughter got to see
the mother in the presence of MKO minders. The
mother did not come closer than three metres and
only swore viciously at her daughter before leaving.
In another case, Mr Reza Akbari Nasab traveled to
Camp Ashraf to ask for the body of his nephew Yaser
who died there last year so the family could bury
him in Iran. Mr Akbari Nasab told Alaraghieh
television:
"I went to the American Camp at Ashraf and asked to
meet my brother and his son, I also asked them to
let me go to my nephew’s tomb and see the documents
of his death.
"The American officials told me to make my request
to the MKO authorities [sic]. During the hours I was
waiting for my beloved ones the American soldiers
and officials hosted me in a courteous manner.
"I was enjoying the friendly atmosphere of the
American camp which had decreased the pressure on me
when a man carrying a file came over shouting at me:
“why have you come here?”
"He was speaking Persian angrily so I didn’t
recognize him. But he was no other than my kind and
lovely brother, Morteza!
"He was carrying a file which he said contained my
writings on the death of Yaser. He actually
threatened me that he would hand them to the
Americans since I had written some polite criticisms
of the American officials.
"I told him sympathetically: “you may be right, but
let‘s have a short talk which is something normal in
any political organization’’. But he didn’t accept
and he didn’t even let me get closer than 3 meters.
"My former kind brother insulted me in front of the
American soldiers. My nephew Musa didn’t get
permission to visit me since he is a German citizen
and the Mojahedin were afraid. The Americans didn’t
answer my questions simply and to answer my claim
that the MKO members are manipulated they just said
that it’s not their responsibility!
"They didn’t let me visit the tomb of Yaser either.
"I expected more of American democracy.
"While leaving, I told the American lieutenant:
‘’you are developing a new Al-Qaida.”"
There are many families like the Mohammadys,
Bashiris and Akbari Nasabs, who refuse to give up on
their relatives trapped in Camp Ashraf. But they
have limited resources. Following a meeting with
Massoud Khodabandeh who explained the situation in
detail, the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights pledged
to help by supporting a newly formed
non-governmental organization called Sahar Family
Foundation which will provide help to the visiting
families and to MKO members who leave the
organization in Iraq.
Sahar Family Foundation has already established a
network of safe accommodation in several towns,
including Baghdad, to house the individuals who were
removed from TIPF in December 2007. In January,
three others left TIPF to take refuge with the
group.
Sahar
Family Foundation statement
The Sahar (Dawn)
Family Foundation is a non-governmental,
non-political and non-profitable organisation which
has been established to provide humanitarian aid to
the families of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq
Organisation (MKO) who are based in Camp Ashraf in
Iraq. This foundation is solely focused on
charitable and human rights issues regardless of
political or group considerations and geographical
boundaries and only aims to help the suffering
families.
The Sahar Family Foundation covers a great number of
families as well as former members of the MKO who
seek help. This foundation enjoys good support
amongst the local and international bodies in Iraq
which is the base of the foundation.
The MKO has been based in Iraq, precisely in Camp
Ashraf, for more than two decades. This organisation
is run as a classic cult and therefore would not
give its members the chance of free association with
the outside world or with their families. Therefore
the families of these members are suffering severely
and seek assistance from humanitarian organisations.
When the former regime of Iraq was toppled, a small
light of hope lit the hearts of the families and
they thought that, in the new situation in Iraq,
they would be able to visit their beloved ones
freely and adequately without the presence of a
third party. Some of these families have not heard
from their relatives for more than 20 years and some
even don't know if their beloved ones are still safe
and sound. According to these families those who are
residing in Camp Ashraf – as is the case with many
cults throughout the world – are considered to be
captives both mentally and physically and therefore
are assumed as hostages. The Sahar Family Foundation
is striving to reunite the members of these families
again using every possible means.
Camp Ashraf is the base of the MKO members which is
guarded by US forces in Iraq. On the other hand the
present Iraqi government insists that Camp Ashraf
must be dismantled. Iraqi constitutional law does
not permit any foreign terrorist organisations to
remain in that country. The US State Department as
well as that of Canada, along with the European
Union and the British parliament and many other
governmental and international bodies have
officially designated the MKO as a destructive and
terrorist cult. Obviously the members of a cult and
their families are considered to be the prime
victims who must be helped. In May 2005 Human Rights
Watch published a report called 'No Exit' which
details human rights abuses meted out by the MKO
against its own members.
At the present time Baghdad is the central meeting
point for the misfortunate families and the former
members, as well as concerned entities who are all
waiting for the crack of dawn. They seek help from
humanitarian bodies throughout the world. Anyone can
help a little. On the other hand, of course, Camp
Ashraf, according to many international security
professionals, is a centre for training terrorists.
The families are concerned about the fate of their
children who are subjected to brainwashing and
terrorist training.
Please contact us. We would be more than pleased to
have your comments and ideas. Help us in any way you
can. The members of Sahar Family Foundation are all
volunteers who have moved to Iraq to work in the
difficult situation of that country merely to gain
family reunions.
Conclusion
When the regime of
Saddam Hussein came to an end, 3,800 members of the
Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation were bombarded,
captured and disarmed by US Special Forces in Iraq
and confined to Camp Ashraf.
Five years on the American military must be given
full credit for the excellent job it has performed
in containing the MKO in Iraq and keeping the people
secure. Dealing with a dangerous, destructive cult
is not an easy task. It is widely acknowledged that
the American forces are perhaps the only ones who
could do this, particularly in the violent and
chaotic conditions of Iraq.
But the situation has now developed to the point at
which urgent action must be taken to deal with the
group. As this report has shown, the MKO can no
longer stay in Iraq. The Iraqi Government has taken
matters into its own hands and is pressing on with
moves to prosecute and punish any MKO members the
Judiciary can prove have been guilty of crimes
against humanity and war crimes in Iraq, and to
quickly remove all others. The whole organisation is
at risk if it remains in Iraq.
Organisations such as Amnesty International, Human
Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red
Cross and others are absolutely clear that Iraq is
not a place the MKO can stay. Indeed it presents
perhaps the most dangerous place in the world for
the group’s members – even, as events with the TIPF
people has shown, for the ones who have separated
from the MKO. There should be no doubt at all that
if the group does remain in Iraq and the Americans
step back even a little from protecting it then
there will be bloodshed and violence.
At this point in time, people are looking to the
American Administration for leadership to resolve
this problem. The MKO are prisoners and must be
dealt with as such. It is expected that the American
military will continue to garner the credit for
dealing with the MKO and assist the efforts of human
rights organizations, the families and the Iraqi
Government rather than hinder them. The American
Administration is facing a legal and moral dilemma
which requires attention sooner rather than later.
In particular, does the American military intend to
defy the Iraqi Judiciary when arrest warrants are
served by not handing over the subjects? Will
American soldiers continue to defy its moral and
humanitarian obligations by continuing to repulse
the families of MKO members who want only a private
meeting with their relatives? Will American soldiers
argue that they cannot bring MKO members the short
distance from Camp Ashraf to Baghdad to meet a
parent who has travelled thousands of miles to see
them under the terms of protected persons status?
Sahar Family Foundation was established as an
interim measure to help families of MKO trapped in
Camp Ashraf and to help anyone who wants to leave.
There should be no doubt that the existence of Sahar
will increase and accelerate the defections from the
MKO. Indeed this is already being seen. American
soldiers can either help or hinder in this
situation. The result will be the same but the
credit for good action will go where it is due.
This however, does not address the fundamental
problem of what to do with the active MKO members in
Camp Ashraf. They must be given refuge somewhere and
the only feasible place is in a western country.
Currently MKO members in the camp exist in a kind of
legal and moral limbo. While western governments are
clear about the terrorist nature of the MKO in their
own countries, none wants to take responsibility for
what happens to the people in Iraq. Every major
western government has proscribed the group as
terrorist. No one wants them.
In Europe, efforts to de-proscribe the Mojahedin-e
Khalq organisation have been led, particularly in
the UK, by the neoconservatives in London,
Washington and Tel Aviv. They argue that the
Mojahedin has renounced violence. Until now, these
powerful lobbies have evaded taking responsibility
for or even acknowledging the humanitarian crisis
looming over the people in Camp Ashraf. However, the
value of this group for its supporters is that it
represents 'the largest Iranian opposition group'
because of the number of active members. It makes
sense to have those members safe rather than
languishing in Iraqi jails. Supporters like the
British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom,
chaired by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale, have a moral
and political obligation to rescue exactly those
people they have vigorously promoted as the means to
bring democracy to Iran. The lives and rights of the
MKO members in Camp Ashraf must be protected as a
priority.
This is only possible if they are brought to safety
in the west. As one Iraqi Minister said bluntly,
"the western supporters of the MKO especially in the
UK should keep their tools in their own closets!".
Both Iraq and Iran see Europe as the final and
perhaps only destination for the MEK. Transformed
from an army into a civilian group, this would allow
the active members who wish to do so, to continue
with non-violent opposition to the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
Certainly de-proscription of the MKO in the UK would
enable Iraq to remove the MKO as a group and allow
London to receive them individually as refugees. The
resources which are currently used to maintain the
camp in Iraq must also be transferred to support
them in the UK. Of course, any members who wish to
voluntarily repatriate to Iran should continue to be
protected by existing guarantees by the Iraqi
Ministry of Human Rights and the ICRC.
This is a rescue package which is workable and which
will have the best outcome for Iraq, the UK and the
'Iranian Resistance' which says it has renounced
violence. This solution provides a straightforward
and humanitarian resolution to the so-far
intractable problem of what to do with the group.
Indeed, given the facts, it is probably the only
solution.
Link to pdf file (printable)
Sahar Family
Foundation
Contact (Iraq):
saharfamily@yahoo.com
Tel: +964 - 7808481650 (Arabic and Farsi)
Contact (outside Iraq):
Sahar
BM 2632
London
WC1N 3XX
U.K.
Tel: +44 - 2076935044 (English only)
Massoud
Khodabandeh
Report written and published by
Iran-Interlink
PO Box 148
Leeds LS16 5YJ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)113 278 0503
Also Read:
Al
Araghiah TV reports on the Symposium in Baghdad
http://iran-interlink.org/?mod=view&id=4101
Massoud Khodabandeh
replies and "Alseyassah" explains (Alseyassah,
February07, 2008)
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=3989
Symposium on Terrorism in Iraq
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=3940
Iraqi Ministry of
Human Rights: NGO should facilitate safe MKO exit
from Iraq
http://iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=3921
---------------
For up to date information, news as
articles visit
http://www.iran-interlink.org
http://www.cultsandterror.org
http://survivorsreport.org
---------------
Brief Biography of
Massoud Khodabandeh:
Born into a middle class
family in Tehran in 1956, I completed my elementary
schooling in Alborz High School, in 1974. A year
later I joined my brother,
Ebrahim Khodabandeh in the UK where he was already studying
Electrical Engineering in Newcastle University (Newcastle-upon-Tyne).
I graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic (now
Northumberland University) in Electrical and
Electronic engineering and spent another year in Leeds
(UK) to gain my Chartered Engineering Diploma,
before moving to
Loughborough University to study for a Master's
degree.
I was first introduced to politics in Iran, but
became more
interested in the various opposition groups while a student in
Newcastle. I joined groups of students opposing the
Shah's regime, and in the last years of my stay in
Newcastle became more and more interested in the so-called
'revolutionary groups', one of which was the Mojahedin-e
Khalq Organisation of Iran (MKO).
In 1978, when Ayatollah Khomeini moved from Iraq to Paris, I joined a
group of young people who went to visit him. This
had, of course, a profound effect on me. On my
return, I
started a Society for Iranian Students in Newcastle
Polytechnic, and soon
joined with another group of people who were supporting the
Mojahedin and who were in contact with them. By doing so,
I was able to establish a strong 'foothold' in our university.
In those days the Mojahedin comprised no more than a group of
martyred or imprisoned young people who were following Ayatollah Khomeini
- or at least that's what they told
people like me!
Later on I became more involved and was instrumental
in the foundation of the "Committee for the Support
of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation". The Committee was
founded and led by a known member of the
organisation, Dr. Reza Ra'eesi, who had come to London
a few years previously; a man of principle, with a wealth
of philosophical, political and organisational
skills and knowledge. (Shortly after the Revolution,
Ra'eesi
left the organisation due to his belief that the
organisation was no longer following the minimum
standards of democratic practices.)
During the course of the revolution in Iran the Committee went through
dramatic changes. The name changed to the Moslem
Iranian Students' Society, and the members, who
studied and followed the
teachings of the Mojahedin literature, became full-time
'Revolutionaries'. Demonstrations, printing and
distributing publications,
fundraising, and etc became not just part of my (and my
colleagues') life, but all of it. Individual rooms
and flats
were given up and we were now living in communal
houses, incorporating offices and dormitories. I was
soon transferred from Loughborough, where I was
studying a research course, to London, and was given
the task of heading the organisation in the north of
England.
In 1980, I and another 51 members occupied the
Iranian embassy in London for which we were sentenced to
some months of imprisonment. Dr. Ra'eesi had already
left the organisation by this time and had returned
to Iran, and we were now receiving direct orders from
the Mojahedin HQ in Tehran. I believe that the
Mojahedin ordered attacks on Iranian embassies to all of the
branches in different European and north American
countries as a last show of power before
Massoud Rajavi fled Iran following his failed coup d'etat
on June 20, 1981.
When I was released from prison, Massoud Rajavi had
already arrived in Paris. I joined him and the other
Mojahedin after a few days,
and spent a few months in the Paris base handing
over my responsibilities as head of all the
Societies outside Iran. The Moslem Iranian Students'
Society was the only asset left
for the Mojahedin outside Iran, and it was rapidly
transforming itself into the "Union of Moslem
Iranian Students' Societies" with the HQ in Paris. I was
being relieved from all my responsibilities in order
to start my
next assignment: to go to Iran for a specific mission.
I met with Mr. Saeed Shahsavandi in Germany. (Shahsavandi
was a well-known member
of the Mojahedin who had suffered in the prisons of SAVAK.
He later left the organisation due to disagreements
with Massoud Rajavi; in particular over the Internal
Revolution of Massoud and Maryam.) Shahsavandi headed a team
tasked with purchasing
a 10 Kilowatts radio transmitter as well as other
telecoms equipment - intended to connect Iran to the Paris
HQ - and other materials and to transfer them to
Iranian Kurdistan where the new Iranian Government
could not exert its power. I was appointed as technical advisor and
subsequently, the technical head of broadcasting
once the stations were
installed in Kurdistan.
Saeed and I ended up in Baghdad airport the same day
that Mousa Khiabani and Ashraf Rabiee (who had been left
in Iran after Massoud Rajavi had fled to Paris)
were killed in a gun battle with the Revolutionary
Guards in Tehran. We had with us a huge load of telecoms
and other equipment. We were working under
the protection of the Kurdish Democratic Parity (KDP)
which would allow us passage from Iraqi into Iranian
Kurdistan. The
