Falling in a well called Ashraf
Interview with Mahmoud Dashtestani a recently defected member of Mujahedin Khalq Organization.
– You mean in your ideological meetings where you could discuss your problems and doubts, you couldn’t ask the question?
– No. when in 2003, Massoud went to conceal, they held 16 or 17 ideological meetings via telephone or the internet. We could only hear his voice. We were seriously scared to ask via which site we could hear the brother {Massoud]’s voice. We didn’t have the courage to say that it looked like the brother’s voice was coming from near hear.
You can never ask about two things in MKO. Money and Massoud Rajavi.
-did you ever see someone ask about Massoud? If yes, how did they respond?
You don’t have to ask or see anything. The psychological atmosphere ruling Ashraf has been created in a way that you never let such questions cross your mind.
In MKO, there is a hierarchy in its security structure, where small mistakes are discussed in lower ranks. There are also two security sections; internal security and intelligence security. There is also a section called counter-intelligence. When you ask about MKO’s financial resources and where Massoud is, you will deal with the counter intelligence section.
– Did they mention any reason for Massoud’s disappearing?
– In a large meeting held in 2003 after the disarmament of the group, Massoud Rajavi himself told us that he would conceal himself because he didn’t want more pressure on Ashraf and members.
Well, naive –minded people may believe this reason but the bottom line is that if anything happens to Rajavi whether he is arrested or whatever, his cult will collapse. He says that his successor is Maryam but I believe that Massoud Rajavi himself is the main axis of the cult. The entire group and its substance only depends on Massoud Rajavi.
But the truth is that Rajavi sees himself as more important than the organization.
– How do you analyze all the cult’s efforts to maintain Camp Ashraf?
– Good question! I don’t analyze. I say the fact I witnessed. In Iran they call Ashraf, “Camp” or “garrison” but in the group the cult it “strategic center of struggle”, that’s why they say even cleaning Ashraf streets is a holy fight. They claim that “Ashraf is the hope of heroic Iranian people!”
– Since I returned to Iran, I have hardly ever seen people who have little information about Ashraf. People do not know where Ashraf is and who mujahedin are? People don’t care about MKO or Camp Ashraf but in the group they claim that in Iran, at least 90% of people watch MKO TV channel. They claim that 90% of Iranians support MKO and hope that Ashraf will release them!
Suppose you are walking in a street in Tehran and you say “I am a Mujahed-e-Khalq” [a member of MKO], you will be hit and crushed by those Iranians of whom some might oppose the IRI.
Ashraf is a symbol in the Rajavi’s cult. MKO has based its activities on protection of this symbol, but the proper symbol links them to their terrorist background which was justified by “armed struggle”. After the disarmament of MKO and gradual defection of forces Ashraf symbol, turned into an abandoned prison.
Translated by Nejat Society
