Allawi tarred with Mojahedin Khalq ( MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) and Saddamist brush (Who are Struan Stevenson and Aljo Vidal-Quadras?) - March 2010
Allawi tarred with the MKO’s Saddamist brush
(who is Struan Stevenson?)
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... Struan Stevenson is a strong advocate of the Washington/Zionist backed foreign terrorist group, Mojahedin-e Khalq(MKO) which continues with its illegal presence in Iraq. The Government of Iraq had charged that the MKO have been actively interfering in Iraqi affairs over the past six years. The MKO base Camp Ashraf (now Camp New Iraq) was used as a covert meeting place for Saddamists ...
Ayad Allawi is being dragged into a controversy created by Western Baathist supporters.
Struan Stevenson MEP, Chair of the European Parliament’s Iraq Delegation has said he has received many letters claiming that widespread fraud had taken place in the Iraqi election on March 7.
Struan Stevenson is a strong advocate of the Washington/Zionist backed foreign terrorist group, Mojahedin-e Khalq(MKO) which continues with its illegal presence in Iraq. The Government of Iraq had charged that the MKO have been actively interfering in Iraqi affairs over the past six years. The MKO base Camp Ashraf (now Camp New Iraq) was used as a covert meeting place for Saddamists. The MKO also has some of its members working in the European Parliament.
Mass letter writing and scaremongering accusations without evidence are typical MKO tactics.
Before the election, former Iraqi MP Saleh al-Mutlaq was barred from standing for election because of his association with the MKO – he channelled funds for the terrorist organisation.
Now, after the election, Struan Stevenson has claimed “Major efforts are exercised to deny the win of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi”.
It looks as though Mr Allawi is also being tarnished by association with supporters of the former Saddam regime.
While Iranian students protest their government, MKO plots against the Iraqi people fail
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... while he was in Jordan, Mr Stevenson again raised the issue of the MKO in Iraq and how they could be helped. Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered that Mr Stevenson “could resolve the situation by offering all 3400 PMOI refugees visas to come to live in Scotland!” No doubt this was not the kind of help Mr Stevenson was looking for ...
By Anne Singleton, Iran-Interlink, December 8, 2009
Just as the MKO (aka NCRI) had no presence in Iran during the protests following Iran’s June elections, this time on 7th December (16th Azar - the day of national student protests) the MKO were also nowhere to be found. Instead, the next day, after trawling the Iranian newspapers for lists of protests throughout Iran, Maryam Rajavi kindly and thoughtfully (in case we didn’t know) informed the world through her websites that many Iranians vehemently and vocally oppose their government.
Without doubt the era of Rajavi’s association with Iranian politics has come to its inevitable end. Indeed, since 2002 the MKO have had no involvement in Iranian affairs except as second-hand news peddlers.
Still, the group is extremely active, lobbying parliaments and media. But on what issue?
The simple answer is – Iraq. The MKO’s websites are focused on Iraq and the cult’s situation there. The latest legal straw the group is grasping at is to somehow exploit an aspect of Spanish law which deals with international issues. But with no connection to Spain and no legal status in the international community except as a terrorist entity, the MKO really does not have any realistic hope that Spanish law can be used to force the Government of Iraq to allow it to remain as a terrorist group in their country. No doubt this will be a deep disappointment to the MKO’s backers and advocates – particularly those in the European Parliament.
Now, another huge blow has been dealt the MKO as Iraq's parliament has unanimously approved a new electoral law, paving the way for elections early next year. Although the US’s RAND report makes it clear that the MKO should have been disbanded in 2003, the Americans have preserved and promoted the group for a specific task – to facilitate the eventual return of pro-western elements (such as former Saddamists) into the Government of Iraq.
No surprise then that at the start of the new European parliament, well-known MKO lobbying MEPs, Mr Struan Stevenson and Mr Alejo Vidal-Quadras, made a significant leap from membership of the Iran Delegation to sit on the Iraq Delegation, where Mr Stevenson is Chairman.
One of the issues to be raised as an immediate concern in the Iraq Delegation’s first meeting in September was not the desperate plight of 31+ million Iraqis suffering massive bomb blasts and consequent insecurity (let’s generously assume that was a given concern) but to support the demands of the MKO leaders to keep their 3400 Iranian cult members trapped in Camp Ashraf in Diyala province.
Members of the Iraq Delegation plan to visit Iraq in early January. But by the time the second meeting of the Iraq Delegation was held in November, the Chair, Mr Stevenson , had been invited to visit Jordan – where the former Saddamist Baathists including Izzat Ebrahim, Massoud Rajavi and Saddam Hussein’s family have taken refuge – to “have an exchange of views with various political figures involved in the political process in Iraq”.
(Izzat Ebrahim and Massoud Rajavi still at large)
Mindful that the MKO will not be able to remain in Iraq and a new terrorist base will have to be found for the cult, while he was in Jordan, Mr Stevenson again raised the issue of the MKO in Iraq and how they could be helped. Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered that Mr Stevenson “could resolve the situation by offering all 3400 PMOI refugees visas to come to live in Scotland!” No doubt this was not the kind of help Mr Stevenson was looking for.
The MKO’s activities are currently linked to their role in Iraq. The group has been used as a cover to meddle in Iraq’s political process and facilitate – through a violent insurgency – an increase in the role of Saddamists in the country. The agenda has not been successful and the demise of the MKO to those promoting this agenda is sad but inevitable. It remains to be seen who will have the heart to rescue the 3400 cult members who have so far had no say in their situation and no escape from their exploitation.
Although it was not seriously expected that Mr Stevenson offer asylum to the whole MKO in Scotland, it is surely not unreasonable that these people be offered asylum and dispersed between the many European countries which make up the European Union.
(Massoud and Maryam Rajavi theMojahedin Khalq cult leaders)
No Baathists to sneak through elections in Muthanna – official
(Iraq disappoints supporters of Saddamists in West)
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... the Iraqi constitution has openly banned any Baathists, or members of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein regime’s Baath Party, from practicing any political activities in Iraq ...
MUTHANNA / Aswat al-Iraq: The Debaathification (Accountability & Justice) Department in al-Muthanna province would never allow any Baathists to run in the forthcoming elections, the department chief said on Friday, revealing that 14 Baathists managed to run in the past provincial council elections in Muthanna.
“Names of candidates in the coming parliamentary elections would be neatly verified so as to guarantee that Baathists’ candidature would not be repeated like the case with the past provincial elections,” Mohammed Ismail Shibr told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The Muthanna chief Baathifier pointed out that the Iraqi constitution has openly banned any Baathists, or members of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein regime’s Baath Party, from practicing any political activities in Iraq.
The Debaathification Department had been set up after the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003 under Ahmed Chalabi. The name was later changed to be the Accountability & Justice Department as part of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s national reconciliation initiative in 2006.
Maliki: No place for the Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK Rajavi cult) in Iraq
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... Our demand is fair, we do not force them to return to Iran and do not allow them to stay permanently in Camp Ashraf. There is no place for them in Iraq after the crimes they have committed against the Iraqi people by exercising their terrorism and because of their cooperation with the Baathists and their interference in Iraq’s domestic affairs ...
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he "no place for the MKO in Iraq."
According to a statement issued by Maliki's office: "The Prime Minister today received the new President of the International Red Cross mission in Iraq McKenna Bart."
The statement quoted Maliki as saying: "Our demand is fair, we do not force them to return to Iran and do not allow them to stay permanently in Camp Ashraf. There is no place for them in Iraq after the crimes they have committed against the Iraqi people by exercising their terrorism and because of their cooperation with the Baathists and their interference in Iraq’s domestic affairs."
On the issue of missing Kuwaitis, Maliki said: "The issue of missing Kuwaitis is humanitarian and not political, and we are fully prepared to cooperate with our brothers in Kuwait."
He continued: "We confirmed our commitment to cooperate on missing Kuwaiti property and money in letters previously to the United Nations and the Government of Kuwait, and seek to end this humanitarian issue, and seek to protect the integrity of the remains of any missing Kuwaitis."
He added: "Iraq has overcome many difficulties during the past two years, and [we see] the development and improvement on what the security situation was before."
For his part, according to the statement, the head of the Red Cross praised the developments witnessed by Iraq and Iraq's commitment to resolving the issue of missing Kuwaitis, referring to the adoption of the International Committee of Red Cross’ joint efforts with the Iraqi government and its cooperation in this respect.
Iraq airs confessions of suspects in huge bombings
Baghdad bombers are officers of Saddam's army helped by Saudi Nationals
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... Two of the three men had been officers in Saddam's army and in recordings shown to reporters they said a Saudi national assisted them as they drove three cars from Taji, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Baghdad...
AFP, November 22, 2009
Iraqi state television on Sunday broadcast the confessions of three men said to have plotted two massive bombings in Baghdad on October 25 that left more than 150 people dead and hundreds wounded.
The men are members of the Baath party, the outlawed political movement of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, which the government holds responsible for mounting deadly attacks throughout the country, officials said.
Major General Qassim Atta, spokesman for the Iraqi army's Baghdad division, said the men confessed to a judge that they orchestrated the bombings at the justice ministry and the capital's local government headquarters.
Two of the three men had been officers in Saddam's army and in recordings shown to reporters they said a Saudi national assisted them as they drove three cars from Taji, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Baghdad.
The cars contained explosives that were transferred days later to the truck and minibus that were used in the attacks, according to the broadcast.
The plotters also confessed they had scouted the area of the justice ministry and Baghdad governorate building, taking pictures of the targets in the days leading up to the bombings.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on November 10 announced the arrest of 73 people from the Baath party and Al-Qaeda whom he said were implicated in the attacks, the most deadly to hit Iraq in more than two years
73 Saddamists, Al-Queda members arrested over Oct 25 terrorist attack in Baghdad
... "Why did you choose the justice ministry?" Maliki said, recalling one of the transcripts he had consulted, to which the suspect replied: "Because it has a lot of glass and would maximise the number of victims." ...
AFP, Baghdad, Nobember 10, 2009
Iraq PM says 73 arrests in Oct 25 attacks probe
Iraq has arrested 73 people suspected of playing a direct role in two massive bombs that killed more than 150 people in Baghdad on October 25, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday.
They are suspected of working on the orders of the outlawed Baath party of executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and included members of Al-Qaeda, Maliki told reporters in Baghdad.
He said he had personally scrutinised transcripts of interviews with those arrested in connection with the attacks at the justice ministry and the Baghdad provincial government headquarters, and referred to the questions asked.
"Why did you choose the justice ministry?" Maliki said, recalling one of the transcripts he had consulted, to which the suspect replied: "Because it has a lot of glass and would maximise the number of victims."
"Who ordered you to do this," Maliki continued, saying the suspect answered: "The Baath party," according to the transcript.
The attacks, which also left 500 people wounded, punctured confidence in Iraq's security forces and led to the arrests of more than 60 soldiers and police, including 13 officers, for negligence.
Maliki, whose political strength as premier has been built on security gains and being able to lessen the country's violent death toll, said the October 25 toll included 30 children killed at two nurseries for justice ministry workers.
Colonel Khalil Ibrahim, chief of security for the justice ministry, told AFP in the wake of the attacks that 46 children had been in two ground floor nurseries at the time of the bombings.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has confirmed that a wanted Iraqi former MP was detained at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here last Saturday evening.
(Mohammed al-Daini)
Director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman said Mohammed al-Daini was arrested for using a fake passport.
“The immigration officer at the departure checkpoint stopped him after checks revealed that the passport he had belonged to someone else,” Abdul Rahman said when contacted yesterday.
However, it is learnt he entered Malaysia on Oct 8 with a British passport.
(Mohammed al-Daini)
Mohammed is now under detention at the Immigration depot in Subang, awaiting deportation.
AN AFP report said Mohammed had gone into hiding for eight months after being accused of ordering a 2007 bomb attack in the Iraqi parliament’s canteen.
Mohammed had fled to Syria, before he left for Egypt and then Malaysia, according to Modhi Awad, brother of Mohammed Awad, an MP killed in the April 2007 bombing.
The bomb attack killed eight people, including Awad.
On February 25, Iraqi authorities prevented Mohammed from flying to Jordan but he was not arrested as he still had parliamentary immunity. Later that same day, parliament voted to lift his immunity, by which time the MP had fled.
Just days earlier, reporters were shown confessions, which was aired on television, by a nephew and a security guard of the accused MP who said they had carried out several attacks for Mohammed including the parliament bombing.
... If the US allowed this to happen, it would not fit well with Washington's professed support for opposition activists in Iran. The issue is further complicated by the fact that the PMOI is still designated a terrorist organisation in the US ...
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Camp Ashraf groups vow to fight on
By Sebastian Usher BBC News
Supporters of the residents of a camp for Iranian dissidents in Iraq say they will continue their international protests demanding the US and the UN give them protection.
On Wednesday, dozens of supporters around the world ended a 72-day hunger strike after one of their main demands was met - the release of 36 Camp Ashraf inmates detained by the Iraqi authorities for the past two-and-a-half months.
They were seized during a raid on 28 and 29 July.
Video filmed by people in Camp Ashraf appears to show Iraqi police and soldiers shooting and beating camp residents.
Up to 11 inmates are reported to have been killed and hundreds wounded.
Camp Ashraf was handed over to Iraqi government control at the start of 2009 by the Americans. US forces had taken control of the camp after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
It had long been one of the main bases of the Iranian dissident group, the People's Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI).
A leftist group, they launched attacks not just on the clerical leaders of Iran but on their predecessor, the Shah.
In the 1980s, they were accused of a bombing campaign against new Islamist leadership - the most devastating in 1981 killing some 70 senior officials, including the Chief Justice Mohammed Beheshti and a number of MPs and members of the cabinet.
The PMOI later set up a camp in Ashraf. The exiles' presence was welcomed by the former president, Saddam Hussein, who was fighting a war against Iran at the time.
He funded and armed the PMOI's military wing, the National Liberation Army of Iran, which fought alongside Iraqi troops.
Health problems
Camp Ashraf is now home to more than 3,000 people. The Americans provided protection for them against outside threats from Iran and Iraq.
After the seizure of the 36 camp residents in July, an international campaign was mounted to to put pressure on Iraq to release them.
Hunger strikes were held in several major cities around the world to publicise the case. In London, 12 relatives and friends of people in the camp kept up their hunger strike outside the US embassy for 72 days.
Now the detainees have been released, they've ended their hunger strike, which consisted of taking only tea and sugar to keep them alive.
Their spokeswoman Laila Jazayeri says they now have serious health problems - and are under observation in hospital.
Ms Jazayeri says their action played a vital role in securing the detainees' freedom.
But she says the protests will continue, to demand that US forces resume control of the camp, that the UN supplies a monitoring team there - and that none of the inmates are sent to Iran.
Repatriation fear
Camp Ashraf presents the US with a difficult dilemma.
Its handover of control in January was part of its phased withdrawal from Iraq.
The Iraqi government gave assurances that the inmates would be treated humanely and not forcibly returned to Iran. The raid in July put this in question.
Camp residents say the Shia-led Iraqi government - which has close political ties with Tehran - is receptive to Iranian pressure to expel them. They fear that if they are repatriated, they could face torture, imprisonment or execution.
If the US allowed this to happen, it would not fit well with Washington's professed support for opposition activists in Iran.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that the PMOI is still designated a terrorist organisation in the US - a label the European Union lifted earlier this year.
But for now at least, the US seems likely to use its influence on the Iraqi government to make sure it keeps its word on Camp Ashraf.
Second Report on Camp Ashraf and Mojahedin-e Khalq in Iraq
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... The MKO is currently demanding that U.S. Army or the U.N. take control of Camp Ashraf from the GOI. Following publication of the RAND Report it should be the duty of the U.S. Army to help and facilitate in any way possible the immediate closure of Camp Ashraf and the removal of the MKO personnel from Iraq. The more help given by the U.S. to achieve this, the more ...
Iran-Interlink.org has published a second report on Camp Ashraf, Iraq and the situation of Mojahedin-e Khalq (aka MKO, MEK) cult members at the camp. After consultation with the Government of Iraq, Massoud Khodabandeh has described events since January 1, 2009.
According to the report, Iraq is determined to rid itself of the foreign terrorist cult led by Massoud and Maryam Rajavi as soon as possible, but is hampered by western intransigence over where these people should go.
The 3416 individuals inside Camp Ashraf have no legal status in Iraq. They are not entitled to 'protected persons' status under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Neither will they be granted political refugee status by Iraq. Nor will Iraq forcibly repatriate them. But, although the MKO has been de-proscribed, at its own behest, as a terrorist group in Europe, no western country is willing to offer asylum to the individuals -- even though 1015 MKO members have a passport or residence permit of a third country.
After months of fruitless negotiations with MKO leaders -- with U.S. observation -- a police post was established inside Camp Ashraf at the end of July. In spite of violent resistance by the MKO which led to 11 deaths, the camp residents are now subject to Iraqi law. Following evidence that MKO leaders were committing widespread and systematic human rights abuses inside the camp, the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, in conjunction with international humanitarian agencies, is now set to properly monitor activity at the camp.
Massoud Khodabandeh made several recommendations in his report. The Government of Iraq should remove around seventy MKO leaders in order to protect the rank and file members from human rights abuses and coercion. The camp must be thoroughly searched -- something the U.S. Army failed to do since 2003.
Stressing that western governments bear a responsibility toward the MKO's victims trapped inside Camp Ashraf, Mr. Khodabandeh says that western politicians must prevent further political abuse of MKO members by the Rajavi leadership and guarantee the rights of those individuals who renounce violence and are willing to return to society. European governments should work with Iraq and the UN to find third countries to which other individuals in Camp Ashraf can be transferred.
For more information contact: Anne Singleton +44 (0) 113 278 0503
... A RAND study examined the evolution of this controversial decision, which has left the United States open to charges of hypocrisy in the war on terrorism. An examination of MeK activities establishes its cultic practices and its deceptive recruitment and public relations strategies. A series of coalition decisions served to facilitate the MeK leadership's control over its members. The government of Iraq wants to expel the group, but no country other than Iran will accept it. Thus, the RAND study concludes that the best course of action would be ...
At the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Coalition forces classified the Mujahedin-e Khalq, a militant organization from Iran with cult-like elements that advocates the overthrow of Iran's current government, as an enemy force.
The MeK had provided security services to Saddam Hussein from camps established in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War to fight Iran in collaboration with Saddam's forces and resources. A new study from the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, looks at how coalition forces handled this group following the invasion.
Although the MeK is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States, coalition forces never had a clear mission on how to deal with it.
After a ceasefire was signed between Coalition forces and the MeK, the U.S. Secretary of Defense designated this group's members as civilian "protected persons" rather than combatant prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. The coalition's treatment of the MeK leaves it – and the United States in particular – open to charges of hypocrisy, offering security to a terrorist group rather than breaking it up.
Research suggests that most of the MeK rank-and-file are neither terrorists nor freedom fighters, but trapped and brainwashed people who would be willing to return to Iran if they were separated from the MeK leadership. Many members were lured to Iraq from other countries with false promises, only to have their passports confiscated by the MeK leadership, which uses physical abuse, imprisonment, and other methods to keep them from leaving.
Iraq wants to expel the group, but no country other than Iran will accept it. The RAND study suggests the best course of action would have been to repatriate MeK rank-and-file members back to Iran, where they have been granted amnesty since 2003. To date, Iran appears to have upheld its commitment to MeK members in Iran. The study also concludes better guidelines be established for the possible detention of members of designated terrorist organizations.
For more information, or to arrange an interview with the authors, contact Lisa Sodders in the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 393-0411, ext. 7139, or lsodders@rand.org.
On June 20, 2009, the Fox News Channel devoted the entire day of live programming to coverage of the unrest in Iran. For supporters of the Iranian communist MEK (MKO, PMOI, NCRI, Rajavi Cult, or Pol Pot of Iran) terrorists, there was no need to watch their Sima Azadi television channel via satellite. Throughout the day, the Fox News Channel provided favorable coverage for the communist terrorists. Some examples were:
During the 11:00 – 11:30 AM (PST) segment, Fox News Channel showed MEK supporters in front of the White House waving their communist flags. The panelists for this segment, Charles Krauthammer and Courtney Kealy, failed to identify or to condemn the supporters of the communist terrorists. These terrorists have murdered American military officers, Rockwell International employees, and large numbers of Iranian and Iraqi civilians. In September 2002, former President George W. Bush’s White House published a background paper for Bush’s remarks at the United Nations listing the MEK as a pretext for the Iraq War. In 2003, American and coalition forces attacked and killed some of the MEK terrorists at Camp Ashraf, Iraq.
In a later segment, Congressman Darryl Issa (Republican—California) commented that empowerment of people has changed Communist China for the better!
During Shepard Smith’s segment, Smith showed a video of the MEK rally in Paris, France and identified them as the PMOI. The only negative reference to the MEK occurred when Amy Kellogg speculated that the MEK might be responsible for a possible suicide bombing at Ayatollah Khomeini’s shrine in Tehran. Shepard Smith neither responded nor indicated that PMOI and MEK are two names for the same communist terrorist organization.
During Geraldo Rivera’s segment, former Senator Rick Santorum, who was a strong supporter of the MEK in the United States Senate, noted that former Senator (and now Vice President) Biden had originally opposed the Iran Freedom Support Act.
Then, Geraldo Rivera showed video of Maryam Rajavi’s MEK rally in Paris, France and interviewed Fox News Channel Foreign Affairs Analyst, who headed the NCRI office in Washington, DC until the Federal Government closed the office.
In 2007, Fox News Channel viewers could claim to have been duped by relying upon the Fox News Channel for news. Now, Fox News Channel viewers have no excuses. Those who rely upon the Fox News Channel as a source of accurate news are traitors to all Americans who fought or died fighting communists. Americans do not need to look to Iran or to the Middle East in search for America’s worst enemies. America’s worst enemies are in America.
(Daniel Zucker, Maryam Rajavi and ALi Safavi)
(Ali Safavi as the commander of Saddam's Private Army in Iraq)
(Maryam Rajavi directly ordered the massacre of Kurdish people)
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Iraqi state television on Sunday broadcast the confessions of three men said to have plotted two massive bombings in Baghdad on October 25 that left more than 150 people dead and hundreds wounded.
Iran-Interlink.org has published a second report on Camp Ashraf, Iraq and the situation of Mojahedin-e Khalq (aka MKO, MEK) cult members at the camp. After consultation with the Government of Iraq, Massoud Khodabandeh has described events since January 1, 2009. 
