Press TV

UNHCR: States consider MKO security threat

A senior UN official says the main reason behind the reluctance of certain countries to give refuge to members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) is that they consider the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller them a threat to their national security.

During a recent meeting with Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abawi at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in the Swiss city of Geneva, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller said the UNHCR will make utmost efforts to convince world states to shelter MKO members, the Habilian Association reported on Saturday.

The Habilian Association is an Iranian human rights NGO comprising a group of families that have lost their loved ones in terrorist acts during the early years following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iraq’s deputy foreign minister, for his part, reiterated his country’s call for the immediate expulsion of terrorist MKO group from Iraqi soil.

Abawi also pointed to Baghdad’s resolve to close down Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf which is situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, stressing that MKO’s presence in Iraq violates the country’s constitution and poses a threat to Iraq’s national security.

The remaining MKO members at Camp Ashraf are refusing to leave the site on the account that no country has so far adhered to the obligations enshrined in the agreement signed in December 2011, the Iraqi diplomat pointed out.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up a camp near the Iranian border.

The group is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds. The group has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

June 25, 2012 0 comments

France

French security forces arrest 16 MKO terrorists

French security forces have arrested 16 members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) following clashes with a number of defectors in Paris.

According to a Sunday report published by the Habilian Association, an Iranian human rights NGO comprising a group of families that have lost their beloved ones in terrorist acts during the early years following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, several MKO defectors staged a rally in the Saint-Michel square in the southern suburbs of Paris on Friday to voice their resentment at the terrorist activities of the anti-Iran group.

They were, however, confronted by a number of MKO members wielding knives, snap-off blade cutters, chains and baseball bats.

Police later intervened to contain the violence, detained all 16 MKO members and sent them to judicial custody.

On June 17, 2007, over 50 MKO members attacked a public meeting in Paris at which several people were injured. The attackers filmed their activities at the scene. It was later revealed that the assault had been orchestrated by top MKO leaders.

According to French police, the assailants had been transferred from other European countries to France. None had French documents and some even had false papers.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up a camp near the Iranian border.

The group is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of the Iraqi Kurds. It has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

June 25, 2012 0 comments

Maryam Rajavi

Paris court summons MKO ringleader over terrorist activities

The French Ministry of Justice has summoned the leader of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), Maryam Rajavi, to a Paris court following investigations into her terrorist Paris court summons MKO ringleader over terrorist activities activities.

According to a report published by the Habilian Association on Sunday, the MKO ringleader has been handed a subpoena demanding her to appear in court and explain her involvement in terrorist acts, clear violation of human rights, self-immolation attempts by three MKO supporters in Paris to protest Rajavi’s arrest by the French counterterrorism force in 2003, as well as lawsuits filed against the MKO terrorist group.

The Habilian Association is an Iranian human rights NGO comprising of a group of families that have lost their loved ones in terrorist acts during the early years following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Meanwhile, MKO defectors and the families of the Iranian victims of terrorism have staged a rally in front of the French Ministry of Justice building to voice their support for the ministry’s latest decision.

They were confronted by a number of MKO sympathizers. Security forces later intervened to disperse the crowd.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up camp near the Iranian border.

June 11, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

US to reward MKO terror group for assassination scientists

The US Court of Appeals says it will remove the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization from the list of terrorist groups if the secretary of state does not decide on the MKO’s appeal within four months.

“We order the secretary to act on PMOI’s (MKO) petition no later than four months from the issuance of this opinion," said the court on Friday.

The court then warned Clinton that if she does not decide within four months, it would issue a so-called writ of mandamus order and remove the group itself.

"Failing that, the petition for a writ of mandamus setting aside the FTO (foreign terrorist organization) designation will be granted,” the court’s statement added.

The United States designated the MKO as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

The group has appealed to be taken off the list, claiming it renounced terrorism in 2001.

This is while the MKO has been confirmed to be involved in or behind several terrorist attacks against Iranian citizens since then.

The MKO members fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up their camp near the Iranian border.

The 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.

June 5, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Probe: Israel funds terrorist MKO

An investigation by the US Treasury Department has indicated that the terrorist anti-Iran Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) is financially sponsored by the Israeli regime or Saudi Arabia.

Some US officials suspect that the terrorist group is funded by Israel in return for conducting intelligence-gathering operations inside Iran and assassinating high-profile Iranian targets, including nuclear scientists, British newspaper The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

In the latest case of attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed after an unknown motorcyclist attached a magnet bomb to his car in Tehran in January 2012.

The Treasury’s probe has been prompted by the “openness” of the MKO lobbying campaigns in the US Congress and the “large amounts of money” it spends on its activities.

Since the MKO is designated as a terrorist organization under the US law, the probe is intended to find “potential breaches of laws” against financial transactions with proscribed terrorist groups. It also seeks to identify the source of the funds for the pro-MKO campaign in the US Congress.

The anti-Iranian group tries to have its name delisted as a terrorist organization by spending millions of dollars and seeking help from influential security officials in the US, according to a report by Financial Times.

The former Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Hugh Shelton, the former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, Louis Freeh, and the former Attorney General of the United States, Michael Mukasey are among the politicians, who have been singled out by the department for inquiry.

The former Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell has also come under scrutiny as records suggest that he has received USD 160,000 for participating in conferences in support of the MKO in the US, France, Switzerland, and Belgium.

“If you indict me, I hope you know, you have to indict 67 other Americans, who did the same thing, including seven generals,” Rendell has said, protesting against the investigation.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986 where it enjoyed the support of the executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp, known as Ashraf, near the Iranian border.

The group is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

The terrorist group has as well conducted numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

Israel has been funding the MKO for the past two decades in return for the organization’s providing Tel Aviv with intelligence, security and, if required, operational services.

May 26, 2012 0 comments

Iran

Plan to relocate MKO to third countries Israeli/American propaganda

A top Iranian lawmaker says the recent claims over relocating members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) to a third country after they were expelled from Iraq are only meant for propaganda purposes.

Head of Iran Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi noted on Tuesday that due to the terrorist nature of the MKO, no country is willing to shelter its members.

“Experience has shown that wherever the MKO goes, due to its terrorist nature, it will foster insecurity and crisis in the host country. Therefore, the plan to relocate the group in a third country is only meant for propaganda purposes,” he added.

Boroujerdi noted that none of Iran’s neighboring countries is ready to accept the terrorist group and the Republic of Azerbaijan will certainly not make such a mistake due to its neighborly relations with Iran.

On May 3, Press TV reported that Israel is seeking to relocate the MKO members to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The report said Israeli lobbyists are pressuring Azerbaijani authorities to allow in the MKO terrorists and station them in bases and deserted air fields.

Referring to the recent escape of three MKO members from their new residence, Camp Liberty, near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the lawmaker said the MKO is run by a dictatorial system which has put its members under the worst psychological conditions.

He added this is why the MKO members are looking for their first opportunity to flee the group.

Following the Iraqi government’s decision to expel the MKO terrorist group from its soil, the White House has been in talks with senior officials from Azerbaijan, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in a bid to coax them into sheltering the MKO members in their countries.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp, known as Ashraf, near the Iranian border.

The group is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of the Iraqi Kurds. The group has, as well, conducted numerous acts of violence against the Iranian civilians and government officials.

May 19, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

No third country to host terrorist MKO members

On May 3, Press TV reported that Israel is seeking to relocate the MKO members to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The report said Israeli lobbyists are pressuring Azerbaijani authorities to allow in the MKO terrorists and station them in bases and deserted air fields.

He added this is why the MKO members are looking for their first opportunity to flee the group.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp, known as Ashraf, near the Iranian border.

May 16, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

US poised to take Iranian exile group off terrorism list

The Obama administration is moving to remove the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the State Department’s terrorism list, say officials briefed on the talks, in a move sure to upset Tehran.

The exile organization, MKO, was originally named as a terrorist entity 15 years ago for its alleged role in assassinating U.S. citizens in the years before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and for allying with Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein against Tehran.

Many of Iran’s top leaders were also targeted by MKO attacks during the 1980s.

The MKO has engaged in an aggressive legal and lobbying campaign in Washington over the past two years to win its removal from the State Department’s list. The terrorism designation, which has been in place since 1997, freezes the MKO’s assets inside the U.S. and prevents the exile group from fundraising.

The organization has large support on Capitol Hill. And some lawmakers are seeking to use the possible delisting of the organization to begin providing U.S. financial support.

A number of former senior U.S. officials said they were offered payments to speak on behalf of the MKO, including James Jones, President Barack Obama’s former national security adviser, and James Woolsey, the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Senior U.S. officials said on Monday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has yet to make any final decision on the MKO’s status. But they said the State Department was looking favorably at delisting MKO.

Iran accuses Western countries of hypocrisy for providing shelter to MKO members. WSJ

May 16, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

US mulls taking anti-Iran MKO off terrorism blacklist

The United States is considering the removal of the anti-Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its terrorism watch list.

Senior US officials say Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make her final decision on the matter two months after the terrorist group leaves Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, some 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran.

MKO members are currently being relocated to Camp Liberty near the Baghdad International Airport under an agreement reached between the United Nations and Iraq last December.

The MKO is designated as a terrorist organization under US law, and has been described by State Department officials as a ‘repressive cult.’

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its Camp Ashraf near the Iranian border.

It is also known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.
PressTV – May15,2012
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/15/241266/us-mulls-delisting-mko-as-terror-group/

May 15, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

MKO terrorists receive funds from Saudi Arabia, Israel

A Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization defector says the terrorist group receives funding from Saudi Maryam Sanjabi,MKO defector Arabia and Israel, emphasizing MKO’s role in the suppression and massacre of Iraqis under the former Baath regime.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Ashraf News website in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, Maryam Sanjabi said there is evidence about the relations and cooperation between the MKO and the Saudi kingdom.

She added that the group has used the tactic of establishing relations with Jordanian lawmakers in order to expand their activities in Jordan with the help of Riyadh.

She also called on the remaining MKO members in camp Liberty in Iraq to think rationally and take advantage of the Iraqi government and UN decisions about their re-settlement in another country.

MKO members have now a better chance of escaping in the wake of their transfer from Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, to the Camp Liberty, the former MKO leadership council member said.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

The organization is known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds. The group has also carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

May 14, 2012 0 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts