++ A backlash ensued against the French government for permitting Maryam Rajavi to make a speech in front of some MPs. Some writers directly addressed the head of parliament. They point out that there is no way you can say you don’t know this woman. There is no way MPs would do this without pay, especially when they claim she is a human rights activist. The government of France needs to stop promoting criminality and terrorism and curtail the MEK rather than supporting them.
++ Reports from Albania say that after the Albanian foreign minister visited Iran and held talks with officials there, the whole MEK has fallen into a panic. Farsi commentators say ‘this reminds us of when Iran and Iraq got together’. The panic became so critical that a written message in the form of a letter from Massoud Rajavi (regardless whether he is dead or alive), had to be read to the members. The letter instructs the members: “Don’t panic! This visit has nothing to do with our future. The discussion was only about economic not political affairs. Our lobbyists have been instructed to involve the Pentagon and NATO so as to ensure there is no political agreement between Iran and Albania.” But this letter has had little effect and writers point out ‘You said the same thing over Iraq. We simply cannot trust you.’
++ Nejat Society published an analysis of the letter signed by US officials in support of the MEK asking Trump to use the group. Nejat’s expert knowledge of the MEK leads the writer to assert that this letter has been dictated by Rajavi himself. Every one of these lobbyists and the inserting it as news into Fox News has clearly been paid for. Indeed, Rajavi has paid a lot of money for this. He invested thus heavily in order to provoke a reaction from Iran simply so he can claim – Descartes like – that ‘Iran is against my terrorism, therefore I am’. But he failed. Iran, being engaged with other matters, didn’t respond. Even Iran’s media took no notice. Of course, the writer points out, Rajavi’s ultimate purpose was to calm the members. The letter was largely for internal consumption. Rajavi needs something ‘big’ to focus on to keep the MEK together so it doesn’t collapse.
In English:
++ Nejat Society reported the latest defection from the MEK in Albania. Mr Mansour Fadaei’s parents had written a letter to their son on his birthday which was published by Nejat Society website. After hearing about the letter Fadaei made a determined effort to free himself from the clutches of the cult. Once he had escaped, he immediately contacted his parents.
++ In an interview with Sputnik, Sina Azadi, US-based expert on Iran’s foreign policy and US-Iranian relations, warned that if President Donald Trump sits down with the MEK, it will ‘ride roughshod over Washington’s interests’.
++ Mohammad Hossein Sobhani a former high-ranking MEK member wrote an article published by Nejat Society about his imprisonment in Saddam Hussein’s Abu Ghraib political prison because of his criticism of Massoud Rajavi’s leadership of the MEK. Sobhani was one of fifty MEK prisoners released from Abu Ghraib on 21 January 2002 following the intervention of international organisations.
++ Iran Interlink commented on a couple of articles which mentioned the possibility that President Trump might consult with the MEK leader Maryam Rajavi on Iranian affairs. Iran Interlink pointed out that “Although these articles mention the MEK as a potential advisor for the new US Administration, no government apart from that of dictator Saddam Hussein has ever openly engaged with them at any time during their four decades of existence. NIAC and the other groups mentioned in these articles are properly constituted and supported organisations. The MEK is a cult.”
January 27, 2017
