The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

MKO expulsion will be monitored by a special committee

Zebari: Mojahedin Khalq expulsion from Iraq will be strictly monitored by a special committee

BAGHDAD – Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has stated that Baghdad intends to host talks between Iran and United States over the security situation in Iraq and called for maintaining “Iraq-Iraq-U.S. triangle”.
In an exclusive interview with the Mehr News Agency, Zebari said the Iraqi government, given the current situation in the country, views hosting such talks as a priority.
He pointed out that Iran is “one of Iraq’s most important neighbors” that is seeking “special relations with Baghdad with goodwill” and that Baghdad’s relations with Tehran are of “great significance”.
He added the U.S. influence in Iraq is also “undeniable”.
Iran’s foreign minister has ruled out holding new security talks with the United States over Iraq, saying improved security situation has made such talks unnecessary.
However, Zebari said there are issues that Iran and the United States should “settle between themselves”, and in the run-up to “new Iraq” Baghdad favors cooperation between the three parties by maintaining “Iran-Iraq-U.S. triangle.”
The foreign minister also dismissed reports that Iraq is showing leniency in expelling Mojahedin Khalgh Organization (MKO), saying the Iraqi government has taken its decision on the group and the expulsion will be strictly monitored by a “special committee”.
The MKO has claimed responsibility for carrying out numerous terror attacks against Iranian nationals and officials, and has also been accused of assisting former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the slaughter of thousands of Iraqi civilians in the 1990s.
The MKO established a camp for about 3,500 members in Iraq, which its forces used to launch cross-border attacks into Iran. It fought alongside Saddam Hussein’s forces during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Many senior Iraqi officials have assured Iran that the MKO members will soon have to leave Iraq.
Zebari also stated that Baghdad understands Tehran’s concerns about the Iranian diplomats detained by U.S forces and expressed hope that Iraq’s negotiations with the U.S. will lead to the release of the diplomats.
The U.S. military detained five Iranian diplomats in the city of Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, in January 2007. In November that year, U.S. officials said they would release two of the five diplomats.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=835267

February 17, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

1031 Mojahedin cult Members decided to leave

Envoy says Mojahedin Khalq leaders must be extradited to Iran
Baghdad,Those Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) leaders who masterminded terror operations inside Iran must be extradited to the country to stand trial, Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Qomi has said.
Iran has presented Iraqi officials a list of the MKO leaders who must be handed over to the country, he told the Mehr News Agency.
MKO members immigrated to Iraq in the 1980s and fought alongside Iraqi forces against Iran in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
The ambassador also said, “The Iraqi government has been serious about expelling the terrorist organization members.”
Kazemi Qomi noted that Baghdad has officially informed the MKO members that they “can not choose” between staying or leaving the country, warning that they will be expelled from Iraq.
There are reports that 1,031 MKO members have so far decided to leave Iraq either by acquiring citizenship or by obtaining passport and so they will leave the country or those countries that have granted them citizenship will have to take them out of the Iraqi soil, he pointed out.
The MKO has claimed responsibility for carrying out numerous terror attacks against Iranian nationals and officials, and has also been accused of assisting former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the slaughter of thousands of Iraqi civilians in the 1990s.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=834384

February 15, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq stands by anti-MKO drive

Iraq says it is standing by a decision to shut down Camp Ashraf and end the terrorist Mujehedin Khalq Organization’s presence on Iraqi soil.
"MKO members who are residing in Camp Ashraf (inside Iraq) should either leave Iraq for Iran or a third country because they won’t be granted permission to stay in Iraq," Iraq’s National security Advisor, Mowaffak Al-Rubaie said in a televised interview with Al-Alam TV network on Sunday.
"The expulsion of MKO members would be conducted in accordance with human and Islamic criteria as well as Iraqi and International law," he added.
The Iraqi government took over the security of the Camp Ashraf following the finalization of the Iraqi-US security agreement. Under the agreement, the security of the MKO headquarter, was put under Iraqi control as of Jan 1, 2009.
Baghdad holds MKO responsible for instigating violence and acts of terror inside Iraq. The government has decided to extradite the MKO members from the Islamic Republic should they decline to leave Iraq.
The Mujahedin Khalq Organization was blacklisted across the Europe. However, on January 26, 2009 the European Union voted to remover the MKO terrorist group from its black list. The MKO is still considered as terror-sponsoring group in the United States.
According to Al-Rubaie Iraq has so far issued arrest warrants for 14 MKO members over criminal charges inside or outside Iraq.
"According to Iraq’s constitution MKO is considered as a terrorist group due to the crimes it committed against the Iraqi people in 1991, no matter how hard the European countries or other states try to strike the organization off the list of terrorist groups," the Iraqi official maintained.

February 11, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Baghdad serious to expel terrorist MKO

Iraqi government has asserted any decision against its policy to expel the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) has no impact on Baghdad decision, Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad told ISNA.
The moves and activates in Iraq show the government is serious about its decision for expulsion of the MKO, Hassan Kazemi Qomi said on Tuesday.
Since the Iraqi government believes the nature and activities of MKO are based on terrorism, it has informed the members that they must leave the country and it pursues the case, he added.
Iraq’s National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie on Tuesday held a meeting with ambassadors of 9 European countries, the US, Canada, Australia and Iran to ask them to accept the MKO members in their countries.
"We want to close all the files with our neighbors, and our eastern neighbor Iran sees this as a threat to their national security," Reuters cited al-Rubaie.
Qomi said in this regard that in the meeting with presence of Iraqi Human Rights Minister, Wijdan Michael, Baghdad officials insisted on their policy towards the MKO and called for other countries to aid Iraq implement this policy.
Iraq’s government asserted not only the MKO but also all terrorists must leave Iraq’s territory and Tehran is primed to aid Baghdad fulfill the task, he added.
European foreign ministers on Monday dropped the MKO from the EU terrorist blacklist but said the group may be put in the list in the future.

January 29, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq resolute to expel MKO despite EU decision

Baghdad is determined over expulsion of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from Iraq despite the EU decision to remove the group from its blacklist, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) political adviser told ISNA on Monday.
The European Union decision over removal of the MKO from its terrorist blacklist has no impact on Iraqi government’s determination to expel the group, Mohsen Hakim said.
The MKO is a terrorist organization under the UN and Security Council resolutions before and after the 11 September attacks and according to Iraq’s constitutions support for terrorism is prohibited and illegal, he added.
The members of MKO are neither war captives nor refugees thus have no legal position in Iraq, he explained.
According to Hakim 500 of MKO members have returned to Iran and 914 have European countries’ residence permit and Iraq is negotiating to get them out of the country.
Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie in his recent visit to Tehran emphasized Camp Ashraf, the MKO residential place, will be closed forever in two months and the members will leave to leave the country.
The EU countries have reached a preliminary agreement to remove (MKO) off an EU list of banned terrorist groups, their foreign ministers, however, meet on January 26 for a final approval on the issue.
The name of the guerilla has remained in the US and Canada blacklists.
The MKO founded in 1960s has carried out assassinations and terrorist attacks against Iranian high-ranking officials including Judiciary Chief Mohammad Hossein Beheshti, President Mohammad Ali Rajayee and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar and also civilians. The terrorist efforts have killed 3000 in Iran in 1980s. It has also betrayed the nation by helping Saddam against Iran during 1980-88 Iraq’s imposed war.

January 28, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

MKO with blood on their hands to be tried

MKO with blood on their hands to be tried in Iraq and in Iran, Camp Ashraf to close within two months

Rubaie: Iraq to Extradite MKO Terrorists
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq plans to extradite members of an anti-Iran terrorist group who have “Iranian blood on their hands,” Iraq’s national security adviser said Friday during a visit to Tehran.
“Among the members of this group, some have the blood of Iraqi innocents on their hands (and) we will hand them over to Iraqi justice, and some who have Iranian blood on their hands we can hand over to Iran,” said Muwafaq al-Rubaie.
He was referring to the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO).
“Over 3,000 inhabitants of Camp Ashraf have to leave Iraq and the camp will be part of history within two months,” Rubaie reiterated in a joint news conference with Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
“The only choices open to members of this group are to return to Iran or to choose another country,” Rubaie said.
“We are acting under international humanitarian regulations and international laws. These people will themselves choose where they want go.”
“Iran’s security cannot be threatened by any factor inside Iraq. Iran’s security is our own security,” the Iraqi official underlined.
His words were translated from Arabic into Farsi by an official Iranian interpreter.
Rubaie said that 914 MKO members had a “passport or residence of a third country” and could leave Iraq for these countries.
“Some 914 of them have dual nationalities and others who want to return to Iran will be allowed to do so,” Rubaie said, adding he would discuss the issue with officials from 12 countries to see if they would accept MKO members.
“They will leave Iraq in a non-forcible way,” he said. “Terrorist groups have no place in Iraq.”
The Iraqi government announced on December 21 it planned to close the Ashraf camp north of Baghdad and close to the Iranian border, where around 3,500 MKO members are held.
On January 1, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he would expel the MKO from the country.
The MKO was created in 1965 with the aim of overturning the regime of the Shah of Iran, but now is seeking the overthrow of Iran’s current government.
It was supported by Iraq’s late dictator Saddam Hussein, and it had carried out deadly raids on Iran from Iraq.
Despite being listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, the MKO receives wide support from Washington and London.
The European Court of Justice last month overturned an EU order freezing its funds.
Group members fought alongside Iraqi forces in the 1980-1988 war between Iraq and Iran and then settled in Iraq.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.
A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.
According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.
The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

January 25, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq serious to expel MKO

The Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie is said to have arrived to Iran on Monday June 19 to seek boosting ties between Tehran-Baghdad and other regional countries and finalizing security victories in Iraq and the two countries agreements reached in Iraq. Upon his arrival, he is reported to have stated that “under no circumstances” can the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) members stay in Iraq.
“The Iraqi government has made a serious decision to expel the residents of Camp Ashraf and has informed them that they have only two options: they can either return to Iran or go to another country,” he told reporters at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran.
The Iraqi government took over the control of Camp Ashraf, home to 3,500 MKO members on January 1, as part of a bilateral security deal between the U.S. and Iraq. al-Rubaie reiterated that the MKO’s terrorist members must soon leave Iraq since Iraq could no longer be a haven for groups that could jeopardize the country’s security and peace.
MKO members, who had the support of the ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, are now temporally staying at Camp Ashraf in northern Dyala Province. The US forces transferred responsibility for guarding the camp to the Iraqi government at the start of this year. Iraq says it wants to close the camp but will not force residents to leave.
Both Iraq and the US consider the group to be a terrorist organization although MKO says it has renounced violence. The claim is made after it was disarmed by the coalition forces but the military nature and discipline have hardly left the camp and the residents are still living under harsh military commands in the absence of the leaders running an easy, luxurious life in France.
Mojahedin.ws – January 20, 2009

January 21, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

A comment on the expulsion of Iranian Rebels

Iraq to expel Iranian rebels once it takes over camp from US

In June 2004, under the Geneva Conventions the United States granted “protected status” to 3,000 members of an Iranian opposition group interned in Iraq.

Listed as a terrorist organization, an US-led coalition disarmed these members of the People’s Mujahideen. Since 2004, they have been held in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad under the protection of the United States government.

On December 22, the Iraqi government announced their intent to expel the Iranian exile group. An expulsion, which has been long sought by the Shiite-led government, will become feasible once the U.N. mandate that regulates the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq and gave the Iranian opposition group protected status expires at the end of the year (2008).

“Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie on Saturday traveled to the camp with several other government officials to deliver the message to members of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq, or MEK, an Iranian opposition group that was closely aligned with deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein but has been under U.S. military protection since shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The government informed the group that it would soon assume responsibility for security at Camp Ashraf and that residents would be repatriated unless they find a third country willing to take them. The U.S. military currently protects Camp Ashraf, which is 40 miles north of Baghdad.

‘Staying in Iraq is not an option for them,’ the government said in a statement issued Sunday. The Iranian government has long called for the group’s expulsion.

The statement did not set a deadline for removing the MEK. Iraqi officials have pledged to treat the group’s members humanely but have made their disdain for the MEK clear. The delegation that visited the camp included officials of the Defense and Interior ministries as well as Iraqi intelligence officials.

The statement also said the group is barred from participating in political activities and ordered it to cease media campaigns.

The Shiite-led Iraqi government, which has close ties to Iran, has for years threatened to shut down Camp Ashraf because it regards the MEK, also known as the People’s Mujaheddin Organization of Iran, as a terrorist organization.”

The MEK was founded in the 1960s in opposition to the late shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. They were accused of carrying out several attacks in Iran, including some targeting U.S. officials.

When Iraq and Iran were at war during the 1980’s, the MEK relocated its headquarters to Iraq where they were embraced by Saddam Hussein who provided them with weapons and financial support.

According to the Kurds and Shiites, these rebels are guilty of suppressing the failed Kurdish and Shiite uprisings that followed the Persian Gulf War.

“Shortly after the 2003 invasion, the U.S. military persuaded the MEK to disarm and offered to protect the group. The arrangement was awkward because it tasked the U.S. military with sheltering a group that remains on the State Department’s terrorism list.

The group’s charismatic leader, Maryam Rajavi, is based in Paris, but France and many other countries have been reluctant to resettle the group’s members.

Also Sunday, Iraq’s Interior Ministry issued a statement calling the recent detention of ministry officials by a special unit that reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ‘a brazen act of political retribution.”

On New Year’s Day, Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that he would expel the Iranian armed opposition group from the country after taking over their base from US forces.

“Based on taking over everything and in accordance with our constitution and our policies of opening up to our neighbours… our forces are going to take full control of the camp where the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) live,’ Maliki said.

Maliki was speaking to reporters on the sideline of a ceremony during which the United States handed over to Iraqi forces security control of the Green Zone, symbol of the American occupation of the country.”

Maliki made it clear that the PMOI is a terrorist organization and, therefore, cannot and will not operate in Iraq. Iraq officials are in fear that the PMOI will create a political crisis in contradiction with their constitution.

Maliki while making it perfectly clear that Iraq is no longer a home for the rebels, indicated that the rebels would be treated in accordance with international laws. Iraq will not force the rebels to return to Iran. They will instead give them the opportunity to either go back to Iran or another country.

“Maliki, who was speaking ahead of a visit Saturday to Tehran, told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in March that he would take steps to ensure that Iraq was not used by ‘terrorists’ from Al-Qaeda, or from Iranian rebel groups.

Last month the White House said it received assurances from Baghdad that the rebel group will not be expelled to a country where they may be persecuted, apparently excluding their return to Iran.”

Pumabydesign

January 5, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Maliki: Iraq to Expel MKO

TEHRAN (FNA)- Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed that he would expel the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the country after taking Based on taking over everything and in accordance with our constitution and our policies of opening up to our neighbors... our forces are going to take full control of the camp where the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization live over their base from US forces.

"Based on taking over everything and in accordance with our constitution and our policies of opening up to our neighbors… our forces are going to take full control of the camp where the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization live,"" Maliki said alluding to Camp Ashraf.

The MKO "is a terrorist organization and thus cannot operate in Iraq because it will create a political crisis in contradiction with the constitution," Maliki said.

"We will treat them based on the international laws. We will not force them to go back (to Iran) but we will give them the opportunity to either go home, or to another country," he added.

"(Staying in) Iraq will not be an alternative for them," Maliki said.

Maliki, who was speaking ahead of a visit Saturday to Tehran, told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in March that he would take steps to ensure that Iraq was not used by "terrorists" from Al-Qaeda, or from Iranian rebel groups.

US forces confiscated the organization’s weapons following the March 2003 US-led invasion, taking away some 300 tanks, many of which were subsequently given to the Iraqi armed forces.

Two years ago Iraq decided to restrict the movements of the estimated 3,500 MKO members to their base at Camp Ashraf, near the Iranian border, where they have been held under a kind of US-supervised house arrest.

The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.

The MKO is on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze, and has been designated by the US government as a foreign terrorist organization. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visits Brussels and despite the ban enjoys full freedom in Europe.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.

According to Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

Leaders of the group have been fighting to shed its terrorist tag after a series of bloody anti-Western attacks in the 1970s, and nearly 30 years of violent struggle against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In recent months, high-ranking MKO members have been lobbying governments around the world in the hope of acknowledgement as a legitimate opposition group.

The UK initiative, however, has prompted the European Union to establish relations with the exiled organization now based in Paris. The European Court of First Instance threw its weight behind the MKO in December and annulled its previous decision to freeze its funds.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s.

FNA- 2009-01-03

January 5, 2009 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraq Seeks to Send Terrorist Group Out

Iraq said on Wednesday it wants thousands of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) members at a camp north of Baghdad to leave the country, although it does not plan to expel them by force.

Iraqi forces take over responsibility for Camp Ashraf, home to 3,500 MKO terrorists, on Jan. 1 as part of a bilateral deal governing the presence of US troops who guarded the camp in the past.

The US embassy said this week some US troops will remain at the camp to help Iraqi authorities protect it after it passes to Iraqi control, but the MKO members say they fear Baghdad may still try to shut it and drive them out.

US forces declared the MKO terrorists “protected persons” after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam. Baghdad and Washington both consider the exiles to be a terrorist group.

“The Iraqi government will deal with the people in this camp in a humane way and according to internationally adopted standards, the Iraqi constitution and Iraqi laws,” Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.

“The government of Iraq does not have any intention to expel the people of this organization or force them to leave Iraq. But it calls on those people to find another place outside Iraq in any state that may accept them as refugees, or for those who wish to return to Iran to go of their own free will,” it said.

“Iraq is no longer a suitable place for them because the Iraqi constitution does not permit dealings with an organization classified as a terrorist group.”

Meantime, a senior Iraqi official said Iraq has decided to shut down the Camp Ashraf as soon as possible, expel the MKO members from Iraq and close their file forever. Political advisor of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Mohsen Al-Hakim told the Islamic republic news agency that Baghdad considered the MKO as a terrorist group.

Most of its members are based in Ashraf Camp north of Baghdad. According to Al-Hakim, continued presence of the terrorist group in Iraq would be against Paragraph 33 of the Resolution 687 of the United Nations Security Council.

It would also be against the Iraqi Constitution, decisions made by the country’s presidency council and approvals of the Iraqi parliament, added the advisor.

The Paragraph 33 of the UN Security Council resolution, approved in April 3, 1991, required the government of Iraq to expel all terrorist groups that are present in the country.

The MKO members have two options of either returning home or leaving for another country but they cannot remain in Iraq any longer, Al-Hakim said stressing that the terrorist group was legally in an unclear situation as its members are neither considered refugees nor prisoners of war.

According to reports by human rights advocates, former members of MKO who returned home were living in good conditions, Al-Hakim added.

The advisor stressed that the grouplet has been barred from conducting all political, social and media activities on Iraqi territory. He added that an Iraqi battalion was currently in charge of providing external security of Ashraf Camp while its internal affairs are undertaken by the foreign nationals department of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations. According to Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.

In recent months, high-ranking MKO members have been lobbying governments around the world in the hope of acknowledgement as a legitimate opposition group. The UK initiative, however, has prompted the European Union to establish relations with the exiled organization now based in Paris. The European Court of First Instance threw its weight behind the MKO in December and annulled its previous decision to freeze its funds.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s.

Iraq Seeks to Send Terrorist Group Out

January 4, 2009 0 comments

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