Albanians shocked at MEK disregard for their deadAs the number of deaths in the MEK camp at Manez in Albania due to COVID-19 continues to rise, the MEK have appropriated a section of the local cemetery to bury their dead.
This week, residents of the town protested that a piece of land which had already been designated for expansion of the cemetery for their community had been sold to the MEK. The cemetery in Manez is already close to capacity so this piece of land was of vital importance to the residents. Residents protested that they are already forced to bury two family members in one grave due to lack of space. This is not fair or dignified.
Residents point out that there is land available to the MEK for burials near their camp and that locals are willing to sell that land to them. There is no justification for using land dedicated for expanding the town cemetery. This total disregard for the rights, feelings and needs of others is a horrible characteristic of the MEK.
In Iraq, the MEK graveyard was a tragic mess. When investigators opened graves to locate lost relatives, they found graves where the interned body did not match the name of the headstone, some graves were empty, some graves had a single named headstone but contained two or three bodies. In Paris, a MEK member stole flowers from a local cemetery to adorn Maryam Rajavi’s camp. It should come as no surprise to those familiar with the MEK. The cult leaders regard the dead as commodities to be exploited.
After arriving in Albania, the MEK used the cemetery in Tirana for some members. But after building their extrajudicial, extraterritorial camp in Manez, the MEK buried one of their dead in the local cemetery without permission. The residents were outraged, pointing out that they barely had enough space to bury their own families. They were angered that a foreign group could do this. The MEK was made to exhume the body and intern it elsewhere. Residents complain that recent burials have caused disruption as the MEK block roads for hours for their processions, disregarding local needs and rights.
The MEK response to such sensitive issues has always been to lie and obfuscate, ultimately blaming the innocent victims of their crimes and misdemeanours. In this recent case, the MEK accused the residents – whom they condescendingly referred to as ‘peasants’ – of being organised by “elements working for the Iranian regime”.
MEK issued a press release saying, ‘This is a false accusation, and this small rally was provoked and organized by some elements working for the Iranian regime’. Surely the residents of Manez would be amazed and angered by claims that they are a “security threat” to the MEK members there. The fact is, the MEK poses a severe security and health threat to the residents themselves.
This kind of gas lighting and misdirection practiced by the MEK is not new. It is their modus operandi; to deflect investigation, criticism, and prosecution. But this reaction over such a sensitive issue as a cemetery only shows there is no bottom to the depths the MEK will go.