Iraq

Mojahedin’s TV, Simaye Azadi, is these days heavily focusing on reflecting the attempts seemingly taken in support of MKO’s stay in Iraq. The heavy coverage of news reports in this respect and their frequent repetition in different news, political, and Direct Contact programs indicate that the issue of its future stay in Iraq has entered a new phase. At the present, the group’s propaganda blitz is switched on two external and internal fronts. The former front consists of relying on the putative influence of some personalities and political bodies and, eventually, on the coalition forces present in Iraq to take position against the legally elected Iraqi government. In respect to internal front, the group tries to boost Iraqi people’s support and creep into the escalated gap between the political rivals to take advantage of the existing discord to induce support.

Regardless of being legal or illegal, Mojahedin utilize any lever to secure their stay in Iraq; they might even turn to direct and indirect violence and escalating political and ethnic conflicts to achieve their ends. Already sensing the precariousness of their situation in future Iraq, Mojahedin have maintained a different tone in their messages aimed at the Iraqi authorities. The statement claimed to be issued by 25 Sheikhs of the Dialy province, publicized by the Mojahedin’s TV nearly a month ago, particularizes MKO’s change of literature and tactic.

There is no doubt that these statements are from soup to nuts prepared be Mojahedin themselves. That is enough to compare excerpts from these statements to what Mojahedin utter. Some times ago, Sedighe Husseini, a secretary to MKO, in a program celebrating the century-long anniversary of the Constitution Revolution of Iran in Camp Ashraf, annexed Mojahedin’s destiny to that of Iraqi people and said “If it is to talk of democracy and a democratic Iraq, then, a key parameter is the way Mojahedin are treated”.

A quote from the statement of the Dialy Sheikhs nearly connotes the same opinion:

“Thus, the degree of patriotism and popularity of any current can be judged with the scale of opposition to these interferences and, consequently, amity and respect to Mojahedin Khalq”.

A remarkable point to be noted in the statement is the naive justification of the threatening tone. In a part of the statement the Sheikhs are quoted they would defend Mojahedin at all costs because any aggression against Mojahedin means a threat against Dialy people:

“The last twenty years experiences indicate that whenever Mojahedin came under the political and military targeting of Iranian regime, the ultimate and main targets have been the Iraqi people, the national and democratic forces, and particularly the Dialy people. Any offense and aggression against Mojahedin prepares the background for the next perpetrations”.

Frankly speaking, the statement denotes that Mojahedin have to be necessarily protected if nothing is to happen to Dialy people. That is to say, the Dialy Sheikhs have concluded to support and defend Mojahedin to secure their own immunity against any threat. That is why the statement tries to stress the inseparable destiny of the two sides:

“Mojahedin Khalqhave been living among us with peace and camaraderie for two decades and we consider them to be members of our community and tribe. Any offence and aggression against them is known to be a threat against our people and tribe which binds us to protect their life and property in any condition”.

It has recurrently been asserted that Mojahedin are the ones best enjoying dominant disorder, instability, ethnic discord, and presence of the coalition forces in Iraq. Such a chaotic situation calls off any decision for their future stay in Iraq. The more the discordant Iraqi factions and groups advance to form a national unity, the more Mojahedin start new games to annex their destiny to that of Iraqi people, as they are doing with the Dialy Sheikh’s statement. The tone indicates that:

– in near future, Mojahedin are to face a military threat

– the Dialy people are prone to the consequences

– the impending confrontation is inevitable

The statement Mojahedin are advertising on behalf of Dialy Sheikhs exactly follows the same trend the group strived to further before starting the military phase in Iran in 1981. The difference is that this time not Iranian people but the innocent Iraqi people, and particularly the Dialy people, might be the victims of the group’s adventurous plots and violence. In their opinion, if their future political interest in Iraq is prone to threat, the price has to be paid by people to live in a state of tension and disorder.

That is the first statement of the kind indirectly intended to address the Iraqi authorities. The Iraqi authorities should be attentive of the threatening tone of the message since Mojahedin have been warned of expulsion from Iraq. The past historical experiences well indicate Mojahedin’s ravaging potency to open an outlet in the face of stalemate. Nuri al-Maleki’s reference to infiltration of Mojahedin’s agents into different Iraqi institutions discloses a fact that Mojahedin might get apropos advantage of these agents.

Jahanbakhsh Rahnama – Mojahedin.ws – September 2, 2006