The annual gatherings on the anniversary of the start of armed struggle of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ Cult of Rajavi) against Iranian nation is held every year in June (Khordad 30th in Persian calendar).
All members and sympathizers of the MEK are supposed to attend the so-called great gathering. Based on the testimonies of defectors of the group, several members at the group’s headquarters in Tirana, Albania, are threatened to go under torture and imprisonment in case they do not attend the anniversary celebration of the establishment of the National Liberation Army (Saddam’s Private Army).
Dissent and disagreement against the MEK’s cult-like and violent approaches are problems that the group leaders face frequently. Eventually they have to force members to be a part of the masquerade show of anniversary.
A member of Mujahedin-e Khalgh walks in a street at the Ashraf-3 camp. Photo:Gent shkullaku/AFP
Based on the news from inside the group’s camp, many dissatisfied members who have asked for defection of the Cult of Rajavi and are now forced to stay in the Camp Ashraf 3. They did not intend to attend the annual celebration but they faced the threats of imprisonment, torture and even death.
Dissident members are not willing to accompany the rulers in these actions, many of them seek an opportunity to escape the group’s headquarters. They do not want to attend the annual ceremony and appear in front of the cameras.
Discontent and demands for departure from the Cult of Rajavi have reached such a level that members of the group even refuse to participate in the internal rituals of the cult.