Transformation of a military camp into a city

The various definitions and indices of city from the viewpoint of sociologists, economists, geographers, and demographers were elaborated on to prove or disapprove the statements of Mr.Hezarkhani in his report about Camp Ashraf. There are still other paradoxical points in his book that are to be expounded on and prove the fact that his statements are a kind of formalist description aiming at accomplishing his duty in pleasing MKO leaders and giving false information to outsiders and the fact that he hardly believes in his own statements. Some of these points are to be explained here.

1. As Mr.Hezarkhani puts into words:
Camp Ashraf was one of the numerous bases of NLA in armed struggle against the regime of Velayat-e Faqih and therefore was equipped with all kinds of light and heavy arms. However, Ashraf city is a non-military and disarmed city that the heart of the organized peoples of Iran still beat for it. How and when this transformation happened is a long story about a struggle for survival that was imposed on the movement since the invasion of Iraqi soil by coalition forces.

He acknowledges the fact that prior to its disarmament, Camp Ashraf was one of the military camps of Mojahedin and one of their instruments for pursuing armed struggle against the Iranian government. He further points out that it has been disarmed by the coalition forces, and the US in particular, and its existing conditions like turning its name from Camp Ashraf to Ashraf city has been an imposed issue and inevitable. In fact, this part is the only honest statements of Mr. Hezarkhani:

A. Ashraf is basically a military camp that has undergone disarmament. This point is repeated in other parts of this book too. Therefore, imputing the title city to it has been an inevitable act otherwise there was no rationale behind its survival.

B. In another part of this paragraph, Mr. Hezarkhani states that selecting the title city for Camp Ashraf is a vital issue that guarantees the existence of Mojahedin and Camp Ashraf. In other words, if Mojahedin failed to call it a city, its destiny would be unclear. He also implies that Mojahedin do not believe in urbanization in its conventional meaning since it denotes an open society that is one of the main enemies of Masoud Rajavi, his ideology and ideological revolution. If Rajavi believed in the conventional definitions of a society and city, he never forced MKO members to live in an isolated place far from other men and civility. Also, any mental inclination toward urbanization on the part of Mojahedin is considered an unforgivable sin.

Why Rajavi is so sensitive about Camp Ashraf to the extent that he ties his destiny with its existence is due to the fact that he is well aware that if ashraf turns to an ordinary society, its disintegration is likely. This is the rationale behind calling it a city that no one recognizes its legitimacy. All these facts are implied by Mr. Hezarkhani that dares not to express his ideas clearly. The same ideological and strategic situation comes true for the bastion of Mojahedin in Auver-sur-Oise. It is likely that they turn it into Auver-sur-Oise suburb as soon as they feel the danger of its closure on the part of France.

C. Mr.Hezarkhani makes use of the word transform for comparing the old and new conditions of Ashraf. What he means by this transform is not clear and is one of his double-edged terminologies. If he means transferring a fully armed military camp to a civilized and ordinary city that makes him so impressed, it may be considered a progressive step forward; however, our optimism is faced with his other contradictory statements that show even the use of this term is a kind of tactic for hiding the true nature of Camp Ashraf and is of no reliability. His words show that Mojahedin are very far from developing and undergoing civility and urbanization showing no sympathy to do this.

The facts behind all likings of Mr. Hezarkhani are numerous. For instance, he implies that if Mojahedin were not enforced to surrender to American and coalition forces, Ashraf was still one of the numerous bases of the so-called liberation army equipped with all kinds of light and heavy arms in the armed struggle against the Iranian government. A more interesting point is that upon entering Camp Ashraf, he is afraid lest he is given a false address and finds many changes therein compared to earlier years. However, his surprise is truly the result of visiting his old friends who welcome him with excitement after so many years in their ordinary uniform and then he believes that he has entered the same Camp Ashraf that he visited before in various occasions. He sees himself among militiamen that despite putting on military uniform are bare-handed and have no arm and considers this as a sign of urbanization of Camp Ashraf.