The challenges posed against Iraq to persuade it to bypass the constitutional legitimacy of expelling terrorist groups, and in particular concerning MKO, can be regarded as a warning for those countries that have offered refuge to members of this organization or authorize its organizational activities.
Currently, many MKO members individually or under the cover of organizational activity are residing in the European countries and France in particular as lawful or even unlawful political refugees. As Mojahedin have mostly concentrated their forces in France where they were provided with political refuge, its government has been confronted with many more problems compared to other European countries regarding the terrorist activities of this cultic group.
Mojahedin’s open dossier of 17 June is one of the main challenges the France government has kept fighting against. It is predictable that France has to go through a long and costly process regarding this challenge added to the considerable costs imposed on this government following the widespread immolations of a number of MKO members in Paris just after the arrest of Maryam Rajavi in June 2003. It seems that these costs will have many ups and downs up to the closing of this dossier and impeachment of its main defendants.
The negative consequences of the presence of Mojahedin in Iraq and its bitter conflicts for the Iraqi government can be regarded as a proof of the challenges caused by 17 June dossier for France. The anti-civil actions of Mojahedin in Iraq exemplify the general approach of Mojahedin toward governments willing to give refuge to its members. While there is a long way up to the final decision about the destiny of MKO in Iraq, its government has been faced with considerable political and financial costs as well as casualties including three dead and numerous injured Iraqi police officers. The recent disturbances in Iraq gives a strong warning to all European countries and France in particular to be on full alert regarding the potential dangers of the settlement of MKO members in their soil.
By the termination of the one-month ultimatum of Iraqi government to MKO, Iraqi officials are highly concerned about the intensification of anti-civil and cultic reactions of Mojahedin in camp Ashraf. It seems that in the next phase of the dealing of Iraqi government with MKO members, Iraq is faced with many more appalling actions on the part of Mojahedin like using Ashraf residents as human shield. These conflicts will continue up to the expelling of Mojahedin from Iraq yet what is of utmost importance is that European countries and France in particular are to monitor the anti-civil and cultic activities of Mojahedin in Iraq watchfully.
Evidently, the misbehavior of Mojahedin toward its host countries is a common procedure of this terrorist organization. They have dunned Iraqi government in many instances one of which is their claim of ownership of a part of Iraqi soil where they are settled under the cover of international conventions. Likewise, they may claim the possession of their settling in Auver-sur-Oise in France. Regardless of the basis of this claim, the significant point is that Mojahedin insist on it firmly even at the cost of members’ victimization.
The present position of Mojahedin in Iraq is the other side of the coin of their presence in France. As much as the legal basis of Mojahedin claims in Iraq is unclear, France government may not be aware of the reason why Maryam Rajavi was granted temporal freedom after her arrest in France in 2003. The current misdeeds of Mojahedin in Iraq are in fact renewing its terrorist attacks in France in June 2003 based on which the warning of Masoud Rajavi of the occurrence of a human disaster in camp Ashraf was predictable. According to the statements of MKO former members and confirmed by the suicide attacks of MKO members in France in 2003, the issue of using human shields has no red line.
According to the history of Mojahedin, they are not a reliable group. If the European governments and France in particular monitor the process of decision making on Mojahedin in Iraqi soil, they would be able to foresee their own challenges and problems in future regarding the presence of Mojahedin in their soil. In other words, the present stranglehold of Iraq in dealing with Mojahedin can be a mirror of the future situation of governments concerned with the settlement of MKO members. These governments should put precautionary actions on their agenda from the time being for preventing the negative consequences of accepting a cultic group.