The European Parliament has urged the United States to remove the terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its terror list.
The European Parliament issued a declaration on Thursday urging the removal of the MKO from Washington’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The European Union removed the MKO from its similar list of terrorist organizations in 2009.
The MKO, which has been on the US terror list since 1997, filed a petition against the blacklisting in 2008.
The administration of former US president George W. Bush rejected the request in its final days in 2009, after examining material submitted by the group and US intelligence agencies, including classified information.
In July, a US federal appeals court ordered the US State Department to reconsider its decision.
The State Department said it would study the decision, but added that the US government continues to view the group as a terrorist organization.
The Iraq-based group is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and is responsible for numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
The MKO is also known to have cooperated with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.
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Future Iraqi government ‘strong’
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiIraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will be able to form a strong government with the participation of all political blocs, says an expert on Middle East affairs.
During a ceremony at Baghdad’s presidential palace on Thursday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani officially named Maliki as the country’s prime minister, giving him thirty days to form his new cabinet and present it to parliament for approval.
"The political will of the [Iraqi] National Alliance, who are heavily backed by the Kurds — I do believe — is going to prevail, and a government will be formed within those thirty days," London-based expert on Middle East Zayd al-Isa told Press TV on Thursday.
"There are still obstacles. There are still noises here and there, particularly from the leader of the Iraqiya List [Iyad Allawi] who basically did not attend the ceremony in which the formal request by Jalal Talabani has been made to Maliki," Isa added. After the March 7 parliamentary elections that failed to hand a clear-cut victory to either Maliki’s State of Law coalition or former premier Allawi’s al-Iraqiya, the Iraqi political rivals have been struggling to decide about who will lead the country.
In November, the political blocs reached an agreement that reinstated Maliki as premier, but gave the right to choose the parliament speaker to the Iraqiya Alliance.
"The Iraqiya List won’t be successful because it is already witnessing huge divisions and huge fragmentations, and it has already accepted the position of the parliament speaker which [was] given to al-Nujaifi … So, I do believe that Maliki’s efforts will actually work out, and a strong government will be formed," al-Isa concluded.
