This week an inter-parliamentary group from Iran visited France for the enhancement of parliamentary, economic and political relations between Tehran and Paris. The Iranian delegation of three senior MPs was
Boroujerdi’s interview with France 24 indicates that the nuclear issue and ISIS were at the top of the agenda in the meetings: the West wants Iran to help fight ISIS in return for a favourable outcome to the nuclear negotiations.
In a panic at the thought of closer ties between the two countries, Israel set about trying to disturb the atmosphere in the French parliament by pushing the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq leader Maryam Rajavi into a meeting with legislators in order to voice Israeli concerns and demands.
But using the MEK will never work out positively for Israel, for the simple reason that the MEK are incapable of making any difference to anyone or any situation of any real importance. Instead the MEK will only make things worse.
The Iranian delegation did not discuss the MEK, nor did they react to the presence of Rajavi nearby – it could be of course that the French parliamentarians hosting the Iranian delegation had been too embarrassed to bring the impromptu affair to their attention as it was irrelevant to the work of the delegation. However, Iran’s Fars News Agency published without comment the content of Maryam Rajavi’s speech which spoke for itself.
Maryam Rajavi tried to claim legitimacy as a result of the failure of a legal case against her and several other leading MEK members. Fortunately, informed people do not make the same assumptions as she does. Indeed, in June a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said France has “no contact with the “People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran” which is known for its use of violence. It has no legal existence in France as an organization. Its violent and undemocratic Ideology has been exposed by several human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International who have reported on the organization’s cultic practices and its refusal to formally renounce violence. We also warn about the intense campaign of disinformation and influence it leads.”
Maryam Rajavi’s speech showed what a liability she and her disinformation are even for her own sponsors. She not only attacked Iraq, Iran and Syria as being responsible for the creation of ISIS, but vehemently attacked the USA too for backing the Maliki government saying: “During these years, not only did the United States not voice any protest against these actions, but they praised Maliki’s measures. The by-product of these crimes was the expansion and strengthening of ISIS in Syria and Iraq. This was the outcome of showing leniency towards the most horrendous dictatorship in contemporary times and its proxies.” She warned: “And now, the mullahs of Iran are exploiting this policy by the West; poised to fill the vacuum created by the ISIS retreat as a result of the international coalition attacks with the militias.”
Yet only a few months previously MEK websites were filled with pages showing support for ISIS when Rajavi believed the terrorist army would overrun Baghdad and take over the MEK camp near the airport.
Rajavi’s speech is largely incoherent and certainly adds up to nothing but disparate rants against everyone and everything. But in that it is inspired by the Israeli way of doing politics. Divorced from reality, Rajavi urges the Western coalition not to work with Iran. Clearly nobody told her about the FRANCE 24 interview with Boroujerdi who said that the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group cannot be trusted. “The very countries that created the Islamic State group are now part of a coalition that … wants to destroy them,” he said. “How can a contradiction like this be resolved? It’s only natural that we cannot trust [the coalition]. We don’t want to enter a political game.”
As though to confirm and cement her ignorance and stupidity, Maryam Rajavi finally mentions her hostages in Camp Liberty and says she hopes that with the “removal of Maliki in Iraq, the French government would use all means possible for Camp Liberty to be recognized as a refugee camp under the United Nations’ supervision”.
Maryam Rajavi has clearly not read Massoud Khodabandeh’s fourth report from Baghdad on the current situation of the MEK and Camp Liberty published in October. This report makes it clear that the new government of Iraq led by Prime Minister Abadi has already put in place plans to expedite and speed up the process of removing the MEK entirely from Iraqi territory. Apparently Abadi is even more keen than Maliki to be rid of the MEK, and the UN agrees.
When a supporter of ISIS sits in the French parliamentary building and attacks President Obama, the cracks are seriously beginning to show in the West’s approach to resolving the whole Middle East situation. Observers may not be sufficiently informed to tell Western governments what to do in their own interests, but any schoolchild can point out the damage the MEK is doing to them.
About Anne Khodabandeh (Singleton):
Middle East Strategy Consultants,
Autor of “Saddam’s Private Army” and “The life of Camp Ashraf”