UP TO DATE NO.

57 JULY 2013

PUBLICATION OF AAWA-ASSOCIATION

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/16/us-iran-iraq-dissidentsidUSBRE96F1CT20130716

U.N. envoy accuses Iran group's leaders in Iraq of rights abuses

reuters.com, July 16, 2013 By Louis Charbonneau (Reuters) - The outgoing U.N. special envoy to Iraq on Tuesday accused the leaders of an Iranian dissident group at a camp in Iraq of human rights abuses, an allegation the movement dismissed as baseless. Members of the Iranian dissident group Mujahadin-e-Khalq living in Camp Hurriya near Baghdad have been transferred there from Camp Ashraf north of the Iraqi capital, where they had lived for nearly a decade until last year. The group and its political wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Martin Kobler have complained repeatedly about the Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Ameen conditions at Camp Hurriya, formerly known as Camp Liberty, and security problems. U.N. envoy Martin Kobler, who will take up a similar position in the Democratic Republic of Congo next month, told the Security Council that the United Nations had received complaints about the Iranian group's leadership at the camp. "Of increasing concern are the human rights abuses in Camp Hurriya itself by the camp leadership," Kobler said. "Hundreds of daily monitoring reports suggest that the lives of Camp Hurriya members are tightly controlled." "A significant number of residents have reported to U.N. monitors that they are not free to leave the camp, to participate in the resettlement process offered by UNHCR, to contact family members outside Iraq, or to have contact with other relatives even within the camp itself," he said, referring to the U.N. refugee agency. Some Hurriya residents reported being denied access to medical treatment by camp leaders, while others spoke of verbal and other forms of abuse for disagreeing with camp leaders or voicing the desire to leave, Kobler said. The Mujahadin-e-Khalq, taken off the U.S. list of terrorist organizations last year, calls for
continues on page 5...

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 2

http://blogs.rollcall.com/moneyline/weekend-trip-to-paris-for-members-of-congress/

Weekend Trip to Paris for Members of Congress

Rollcall.com, July 12. 2013 By Kent Cooper A June Sunday in Paris can be lovely, especially if its on a free trip for members of Congress. But this trip was a little short on comfort and involved providing a congressional presence at an international meeting. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, Ted Poe, R-Texas, and William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., were given a free trip to Villepinte, France, on June 21-23. Villepinte is a northeastern suburb of Paris. The trip was sponsored by the Organization of Iranian American Communities and 17 other groups. Clays travel report lists the other sponsors. change in Iran. Poe is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is chairman of its Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. The event was also the 10th Annual Conference for Democratic Change in Iran, coordinated by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The NCRI, which includes groups such as the Peoples Mujahideen of Iran, appeared on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations until last year. Speakers at the meeting included former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., among others. A report on the meeting appears on the website of Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of NCRI. It provides a long list of former U.S. officials and military leaders attending. The working session was scheduled for four hours on Saturday. That left Sunday free before a 4:30 p.m. flight back from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

List of sponsors from Clays travel report

The stated purpose was to meet with opposition figures, domestic and international leaders seeking democratic

Time shedule from Jackson Leess travel report

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 3

Jackson Lees trip cost the organization $15,255.

Poes trip cost $10,999.

Clay reported the group paid $12,446 for his trip. He extended his trip one day at personal expense.

Thirty-six members of Congress were invited, but only these three have indicated they went and filed travel reports due 15 days after their return.

Watch the full travel report at:

http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/giftTravel.aspx

William Lacy Clay:

http://clerk.house.gov/GTImages/MT/2013/500010134.pdf

Sheila Jackson Lee:

http://clerk.house.gov/GTImages/MT/2013/500010135.pdf

Ted Poe:
http://clerk.house.gov/GTImages/MT/2013/500010136.pdf

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 4

http://inthesetimes.com/article/15315/congress_members_attend_mek_iranian_confab/

U.S. Politicians Seduced by Irans Shadow Government

A group of wealthy, hawkish Iranians-in-exile has premier access to U.S. Congress members.
intheesetimes.com, July 17, 2013 By Cole Stangler MeK-backed lobbyists have been increasingly successful in engaging with members of Congress, many of whom are attracted by the National Council of Resistances self described democratic and secular opposition to the unpopular Iranian regime. Last month, in a Paris suburb, a bipartisan group of American politicians attended a massive conference and political rally held by an organization calling for the overthrow of the Iranian government. With wealthy donors spread across Europe and the Middle East, the group is beating the war drums for American intervention in Iran. The conference was the tenth such event organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is the political wing of the Peoples Mujahideen of Iran (MeK), a group that was classified as a terrorist organization by the State Department as recently as September 2012. The MeK and its supporters have increased their clout in Washington, as highlighted by the fact that three sitting representatives attended Junes annual conferenceRep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.). Last Friday, Roll Call reported that the representatives' trips each cost more than $10,000 for the weekend. In addition to those sitting representatives, this years event featured a collection of high-profile American political figures spanning the political spectrum. Republican conference participants featured former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Democratic conferencegoers included former Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. More than thirty other current House members were invited to the conference but did not attend. As the political face of the MeK, the National Council of Resistance is a shadow Iranian government that was founded in Tehran in 1981 in the aftermath of Khomeinis rise to power. The MeKs political agenda has undergone multiple transformationsat various points since its founding in 1965 it has been Marxist, Islamist, secularbut its opposition to Irans post-Shah Shia regime has remained a constant. The organization, which moved its main headquarters to Iraq in the 1980s, was first listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department in 1997 for its killings of American civilians in Iran in the 1970s and an attempted bombing of the Iranian UN Mission in 1992. A now infamous 2009 Rand study, commissioned by the Defense Department characterized the MeK as dissident cult group (noting its practice of mandatory divorce for members) and remarked on its deceptive recruitment and public relations strategies. While the organization has little actual presence in Iran, it has boosted its international profile as of late. The group reportedly offers handsome speaking fees at its conferences, according to the BBC, roughly $20,000 for a 10minute speech. This is a group that is extremely dangerous, says Jamal Abdi, senior policy advisor at the National Iranian American Council, an organization that lobbies against U.S. sanctions on Iran and for peace talks between the two nations. A senior Democratic staffer tells In These Times that the MeK-backed lobbyists have been increasingly successful in engaging with members of Congress, many of whom are attracted by the National Council of Resistances selfdescribed democratic and secular opposition to the unpopular Iranian regime. These lobbyists often work for groups with innocuous-sounding names, such as the Iranian-American Community of North Texas or the IranianAmerican Community of Northern California. The name of the trips sponsor this year was the Organization of Iranian American Communities. Part of whats scary from a progressive perspective is that

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 5

theyre very much pushing for war with Iran, the staffer says, referencing the groups leaking of alleged intelligence about Irans nuclear program to members of Congress. Theyre always here. I see them [on Capitol Hill] almost every day. Clearly theyre constantly meeting with people and pushing this agenda. The staffer compares the groups tactics to those used by Iraq War supporters in the run-up to the 2003 invasion. At that time, many war hawks championed the cause of Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress. That marginal group of Iraqi exiles, financed by the CIA, endorsed by the Bush Administration and promoted by the New York Times Judith Miller managed to earn a degree of international support by branding itself as a democratic alternative to the Saddam Hussein regime. Chalabi, whose organization leaked documents to the press and high-ranking politicians in the hopes of justifying American military intervention, eventually earned the title of the George Washington of Iraq. Chalabi is now a member of the Iraqi Parliament. The MeK equivalent is Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the government-in-exile. Her husband used to lead the MeK but has been in hiding for the last 10 years. The couple maintains a cultish allure among their supporters. At the rally last month outside of Paris, Rep. Ted Poe (RTexas) presented the beaming president-in-waiting with a gift. On behalf of the U.S. Congress, I want to give you a plate that is sealed in glass, and when Iran is free and you are the President we will break this glass and break bread in Tehran together.

continued from page 1 - U.N. envoy...

the overthrow of Iran's Shi'ite Muslim clerical leadership. It fought alongside the forces of Iraq's late Sunni Muslim dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. The group is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite Muslim-led government that came to power after U.S.-led forces invaded and toppled Saddam in 2003. Some exiles say they suspect that Baghdad might be ready to send them back to Iran. There have been two rocket attacks on Camp Hurriya this year, one in February and another last month. Some 10 residents were killed and 71 wounded. 'PERSONALIZED ATTACKS' Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran, denied the allegations of Kobler, whom the Iranian dissidents have long accused of lying and covering up facts about what they say are substandard conditions at Hurriya. "These allegations are so baseless that the Iranian resistance has on 50 occasions called for an independent fact-finding mission to investigate all these claims and all other lies that Kobler has disseminated," he said. "But neither Kobler nor the government of Iraq has agreed to any independent investigation." The United Nations has defended Kobler and denied the allegations about a cover-up. "We regret that MeK and its supporters continue to focus on public distortions of the U.N.'s efforts to promote a peaceful, humanitarian solution on Camp Ashraf and, in particular, its highly personalized attacks on the U.N. envoy for Iraq," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said. There are around 100 Iranians remaining at Camp Ashraf who refuse to leave, Kobler said. He described the situation at Ashraf as tense. Last week lawyers for the families at Camp Hurriya held a news conference in New York to present a petition to the United Nations calling for an immediate return to Camp Ashraf. The Mujahadin-e-Khalq insists that the United States, whose forces initially helped them settle in Ashraf after the 2003 invasion, still bears responsibility for their safety. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 6

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Jul/09/bob-filner-trip-paris-france-who-paid/?#article-copy

Filner hasn't identified Paris trip funding

Utsandiego.com, .July 9, 2013 By Trent Seibert San Diego Mayor Bob Filner on June 28 met with reporters who were curious to know, among other things, who paid for his trip to France earlier that week. He declined to say. The group that ran the rally has a nonprofit arm and theyre giving me the full rundown in the next day or two, Filner said. Id give you a name but it might be a word or two off so I want to wait until I see it in writing. U-T Watchdog has followed up with repeated requests for the name of the nonprofit, and nothing has been forthcoming. Filner said his flight, meals and lodging were paid by the unnamed 501(c)(3) tied to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which organized the group rally where Filner gave a speech in Villepinte, near Paris. While in France, Filner also visited the city of Lille to discuss the citys work in the area of climate control and renewable energy. Filner said the government of Lille paid for the travel inside France to and from that city. His fiance, who has since announced the couples breakup, accompanied him and paid her own way, Filner said during the news conference. Questions are also still swirling around the City Council about Filners trip. This is about transparency, Councilman Kevin Faulconer said Tuesday. San Diegans deserve to know who paid for Mayor Filner's trip to France, what he was doing there and how it actually benefitted San Diegans. Filner said this was the third time hes attended the annual event and his acceptance of the travel gift was permissible under the law. Filner was accompanied by a San Diego police security detail. Police Chief William Lansdowne said he insisted on the security presence to protect the mayor. The chief said the trip cost more than $10,000 and would be paid for out of the police budget -- but would not say exactly how much more than $10,000 it was. Filner has previously accepted travel from groups that are part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He went to Paris in June 2011, as a member of Congress. He also took a similar trip in June of 2007, federal records show. His 2011 trip cost $6,589 and was paid for by Colorados Iranian American Community, a group tied to the Mujahideen-e Khalq or MEK, the militant and largest arm of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The U.S. State Department removed the MEK from the foreign terrorist organizations list last year. Filners 2011 trip included a first class flight and a stay at a Marriott. Legistorm, a nonpartisan Washington DC-based organization that compiles information about Congress, including Congressional travel, noted, This trip included unusually expensive hotel charges. The 2007 trip to France, also paid for by Colorados Iranian American Community, cost $7,949. The plane ticket in that case was business class. Colorados Iranian American Community is not listed as a nonprofit by the Internal Revenue Service and officials with the organization said they did not pay for Filners trip this time. During the mayoral campaign last year, Filner was criticized for accepting 16 free trips as a congressman, totaling $40,000. U-T Watchdog determined his travel was at the median for the countys congressional delegation, that is, third highest out of five legislators. He said at the time, I plead guilty to doing my job as a congressman, informing myself about world issues, building relationships with world leaders and fighting for human rights. Filner is not alone in accepting travel from the Iranian groups. Others who have gone include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island. In large part, the trips were part of a lobbying campaign to remove the MEK from the U.S. State Departments foreign terrorist organizations list. In a speech to the group, Filner compared their plight to the U.S. civil rights movement. This will happen, Filner said in a speech to the group in 2011. This will happen. The laws, the facts, are on our side.

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 7

http://www.unhcr.org/4f2a54a16.html

Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) residents and the processing of their cases for solutions
- Update 6 UNHCR.org, .July 19, 2013 cation, and in full confidentiality. Transmittal to States of the cases of those with determined international protection needs is ongoing. Pending their relocation outside Iraq, the residents are in transit in Camp Hurriya, while their claims are being processed, as provided for in the above-noted Memorandum of Understanding. International law requires that asylum-seekers must be able to benefit from basic protection of their security and well-being. This includes protection against any expulsion or return to the frontiers of territories where their lives or freedom would be threatened (the non-refoulement principle) as well as treatment in accordance with basic humanitarian standards including, most importantly, their security. The primary responsibility for ensuring respect for these standards lies with the Government of Iraq. Freedom of movement is the most desirable state while processing takes place. UNHCR, together with the Government of Iraq, UNAMI and other concerned actors, including importantly the international community, remains committed to doing its part in finding peaceful solutions to this long-standing problem. Accordingly, UNHCR and UNAMI are continuing their combined efforts to find solutions, including relocation opportunities, for the residents who wish to depart Iraq. To date a total of 135 residents have departed to other countries.

- UPDATE 6 Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) residents and the processing of their cases for solutions *
UNHCR has expressed continued deep concern for the safety and security of the residents in the Hurriya Temporary Transit Location (TTL), following the second deadly attack on 15 June. UNHCR reiterated the urgent need for enhanced physical protection, asking the Government of Iraq to do everything in its power to guarantee the security of the residents. Invoking their security concerns following the two attacks on Camp Hurriya, a number of residents have decided not to attend interviews scheduled for them with UNHCR to process their cases. Nevertheless, pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Government of Iraq of 25 December 2011 on the situation of the residents of Camp New Iraq, UNHCR continues to process the applications of the residents who have been transferred, on a voluntary basis, to Camp Hurriya and who engage with UNHCR. Camp residents who have submitted requests for international protection are formally asylum-seekers under international law. In the absence of a national system of adjudication in Iraq, UNHCR is considering these requests on an individual basis in an appropriate procedure. Individual interviews are taking place with those who engage in a safe and neutral lo-

UNHCR, 19 July 2013 -* This document will be updated as needed.

UP TO DATE

N0. 57/JULY 2013

Page 8

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/07/07/yes-mujahedin-al-khalq-is-a-dishonest-cult/

Yes, Mujahedin al-Khalq is a Dishonest Cult

Commentarymagazine.com, July 7, 2013 By Michael Rubin Back in the 1990s, when I was working on language study and then dissertation research in Iran, it was apparent that the vast majority of Iranians did not care for their government. While many Iranians readily acknowledged their own participation in the revolution against the dictatorial shah, they also realized that Ayatollah Khomeini played them for fools when he had promised them Islamic democracy. Within six months, they recognized that what they got was neither, but it was too late as Khomeini consolidated control. Iranians are politically engagedeven if not within the systemand did not hesitate to talk. Many spoke of their desire for alternatives. Some asked about the son of the late shah, living in exile in the United States. Others would speak more theoretically about a desire for a republic, a parliamentary democracy, or other alternative. The only thing on which Iranians agreed was their dislike of the Mujahedin al-Khalq Organization (MKO). Several years ago, I wrote a piece outlining their history and ideological evolution. Long story short, the groups involvement in terrorism that killed not only regime officials but ordinary Iranian citizens, as well as their willingness to accept aid and shelter from Saddam Husseins Iraq in the years after Iraqs invasion of Iran, delegitimized the group in the face of the public they clai m to represent. The Clinton administration designated the MKO to be a terrorist group, but after years of lobbying and buying support by paying huge honoraria to a bipartisan array of senior officials the MKO was delisted in 2012. No longer being considered a terrorist group does not make the MKO democratic, however, as anyone who has ever studied their internal workers can attest. It is against this backdrop that this diary, written by a Kyrgyz student recruited to attend an MKO rally in Paris, is so interesting. It seems that the MKO leaders must now not only pay speakers to sing their praises at their rallies, but also the audience members. The MKO is not only a creepy cult, and willing to say anything to buy support regardless of the groups record, but an empty shell as well. Let us hope that one day their remaining congressional supporters will recognize that if they truly want to bring change to Irans odious regime, they would best reach out to the Iranian people and not associate with groups which repel them.
Publication of Association AAWA e.V. Responsable: Dipl.-Ing. Ali-A. Rastgou Postfach 90 31 73 D-51124 Kln E-mail: info@aawaassociation.com Michael Rubin

www.aawa-association.de
.
UP TO DATE NO. 57 JULY 2013