UP TO DATE NO.

55 MAY 2013

PUBLICATION OF AAWA-ASSOCIATION

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/31/uk-usa-terrorism-iran-idUKBRE94U17B20130531

U.S. not ready to remove Mojahedin Khalqfro m terror list

Reuters, May 31 2013: He cited the recent removal from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations of the Mujahadin-e-Khalq, a dissident group that calls for the overthrow of Irans Shiite Muslim clerical leadership and fought alongside the forces of Iraqs late Sunni Muslim dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1980 -88 Iran-Iraq war. The recent delisting of the MEK terrorist group and also allowing it to publicly lobby in Washington is a
Reuters, May 31 2013 Editing by Peter Cooney and David Storey Reuters Iran on Friday rejected a U.S. State Department report that accused Tehran of increasing its support for terrorism overseas to levels not seen for two decades, saying it is the United States that backs terrorists in the Middle East. Iran itself has been the victim of state-sponsored terrorism, which has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Iranian people, said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Irans U.N. mission. Iran has been actively engaged in counterterrorism activities by all possible means and is a party to many counterterrorism international legal instruments, he said. The State Department report on Thursday cited a series of actual and planned attacks in Europe and Asia linked to Hezbollah, Irans Lebanon-based ally, including a July 2012 bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli citizens and a Bulgarian, and wounded 32 others. Last July, Irans U.N. ambassador denied his countrys involvement in the Bulgaria bombing, which he accused Israel of carrying out. We have never, and will not, engage in such a despicable attempt on innocent people, Ambassador Mohammed Khazaee said. It should be mentioned that the U.S. government has no merit to label other nations of sponsoring terrorism as it has a long record (of) supporting terrorist groups in our region as well as Israeli state terrorism, Miryousefi said. He cited the recent removal from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations of the Mujahadin-e-Khalq, a dissident group that calls for the overthrow of Irans Shiite Muslim clerical leadership and fought alongside the forces of Iraqs late Sunni Muslim dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. The recent delisting of the MEK terrorist group and also allowing it to publicly lobby in Washington is a clear indication that the U.S. government has double standards in dealing with terrorism and uses designation of others as terrorist only to serve its illegitimate political interests, he said. Announcing the MEKs removal from the list last September, the State Department said it did not overlook or forget the MEKs past acts of terrorism It also said the department had serious concerns about the MEK as an organisation, particularly with regard to allegations of abuse committed against its own members. U.S. and European officials and intelligence agencies say Iran and Hezbollah have stepped up their military backing for the besieged government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Friday 3 May 2013
http://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/?p=3278

++ Ebrahim Khodabandehs article published by Nejat Association is titled: Rajavi: from anti-Imperialism struggle to hanging onto Americas apron strings. He says the only use of the MEKs new Washington office near the White House is to keep the members trapped a bit longer. But that doesnt seem to be working because they continue to run away whenever possible. He gives himself as an example of a typical member saying that he joined when the MEK believed in antiImperialism struggle. When they killed post-revolution government officials on 7th Tir, 1360 with a bomb, the MEK said it was destroying Americas nest in Iran and Massoud Rajavi announced we have rendered the regime without future and destroyed their contact with Imperialism by bombing this building and killing the people in it. The article says Rajavi lost his future when he turned his back on the people of Iran and sided with their enemy in Iraq, eventually changing sides completely and becoming a mercenary for the Americans. Khodabandeh says Rajavi will not survive by doing that. He concludes by saying that he worked for the MEK for 23 years and when he looks back now, anything else at all that he had done except that would have made him more proud. ++ Javad Firozmand in Paris published an article about the 1st of May, or May Day. He starts by describing the current situation for workers in Iran and how they are coping. He goes on to show pictures published by the MEK which show MEK activists adding themselves to workers May Day demonstrations in Western cities. He specifically notes that there is not a single MEK placard with a slogan about workers; instead they are all propaganda slogans for the MEK and yet they are photographed as if to show that the crowd are following the MEK and not, as is the case, that the MEK have inserted their propaganda into genuine workers demonstrations. The MEK placards this year read do not vote in Irans upcoming election. Firouzmand reminds us that in 1388 Maryam Rajavi and Mohaddessin told AFP that more than 95% of Iranians had boycotted the election and the MEK had the correct numbers. Yet a few months later Iranians suspecting the election had been fraudulent and their votes had been stolen, poured into the street under the slogan where is my vote. The article points to the hollow rhetoric of the MEK as this year they sent activists out on May Day under the banner overthrow (or sarnegooni) which is the same slogan they used to attach themselves to Saddam Hussien in 1365.

++ Edvard Termado in Germany gave his reaction to the bombing outside Camp Liberty which took place on 30 April. There were no casualties but the MEK immediately attacked the UN forces and asked to be rearmed. Termado points out that the MEK are making such a big deal out of this that everyone will begin to have doubts and ask is it not the MEK doing it themselves? This is especially because the MEK has asked to have their military equipment restored and to be taken back to Camp Ashraf. More than this, the MEK are asking the Americans to do this for them while at the same time swearing at and vilifying the UN, Iraqi government and etc. The article ends with the hope that Rajavis captives in Camp Liberty will soon be freed and be able to decide where to live. ++ A. Minoo-Sepher compares Massoud Rajavis National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) with Reza Pahlavis new National Council, which held its inaugural meeting in Paris and elected Pahlavi as its spokesman. Minoo-Sepher describes how Rajavi created his Council using made-up, one man band entities to pretend a range of different participants; all of which are now defunct. He gives the example of the National Democratic Front. Even ten years after the Hedayat and Maryam Matin Daftary abandoned the NDF and Rajavi, the MEK still claims it as part of the NCRI. Minoo-Sepher then talks about about Pahlavi and the monarchists saying that their agenda is vague and it is not clear who is in it and that the vote to elect Pahlavi as spokesman is not verifiable. He points to Pahlavis connection to all kinds of dodgy places in the US and Israel, but then points out that as a rival to Rajavi he doesnt have a big job to do since Rajavi is now such a loser. But He draws on similarities between the Councils. Both believe foreign forces should undertake the violence to bring them to power. Both have absolutely no support inside Iran, as they dont have any support among Iranians outside Iran either. They both want to be taken up as the favourite group of the Western powers. The only difference between them is that Iranians hate and despise Rajavi because of his past and present crimes, but they regard Pahlavi with indifference as he is irrelevant. ++ Many people including Maryam Sanjabi, Batool Soltani, Nasrin Ebrahimi and Mehdi Khoshhal have written in response to Maryam Rajavis new book. They all point to the

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fact that clearly someone else written it for her in Farsi and has translated it into French since she is incapable of such a feat as writing a book. Khoshhal title is when a parrot writes a book. He reminds us of the fact that one of Maryam Rajavis mantras is that my best quality is that I dont have anything from myself, I just repeat the message of Massoud. Yeah, like a parrot. Soltani specifically reminds Maryam Rajavi, whose book is about womens rights, that she has forgotten to mention how they killed Mehri Moussavi, because she refused to join with the Freedom dance and dancing naked in front of the Rajavis, Soltani also calls to mind Mahsumeh Gheibipour and many others whose graves can now be found in the cemetery at Camp Ashraf. ++ Nasrin Ebrahimi headed a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland this week to announce a new association. The website is www.Iran-Setarehgan.com ++ Many articles have been asking the supporters of the MEK in the US and EU to use their position of influence to stop Rajavi from keeping the hostages in Camp Liberty and Camp Ashraf. They acknowledge that lobbyists want to take their money and do their work to promote the MEK in the West but are in a position to help get these people freed. ++ Shir Ahmadi Rouz Rokh has escaped from Camp Liberty. Nejat Association issued congratulations to him and his family on his escape after 26 years of his being in the MEK. ++ Ghorban Ali Hossein Nejad writes in his blog his memories of the time of the Shah, particularly the memories he has with Dr Ali Shariati. He explains how the MEK saw Shariati as a rival and instead of pursuing their own work they attacked him instead. ++ Iran Interlink published news of two MEK fighters killed in Syria after they went there from Sweden and Denmark and say it is vital to establish the true identities of any MEK before they are transferred from Iraq to third countries. ++ Several articles criticise the Rajavis and question why so many people are dying inside the camp and not allowed to go to hospital. ++ Mohammad Razaghi in Paris challenges Rajavi directly in his weblog: why is it that when we were in Ashraf and later in TIPF your wives, specifically Zohreh Akhiani, could be taken to US army hospitals by US helicopters for simply having flu, but Reza Nasiri had to die this week of kidney problems because he was denied dialysis treatment? The MEK blamed the UN for his death but Razaghi remembers that right up to the time he became their so-called martyr and was used for propaganda purposes, they would humiliate him every day for not being able to do things. Razaghi remembers that Mahvash Sepheri used to tell everyone in the meetings (neshats) that this guy is taking energy from us instead of giving and now expects us to cook special food for him as well! He rebukes Maryam Rajavi for spending millions of Euros in Paris gathering lobbyists and posing in clothes for cameras, but couldnt send even a dollar for a sick member to get medicine. ++ Irans Fars News reports from Arabic papers that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been directed by the Americans to use the MEK alongside other activities to meddle in Irans

upcoming elections. ++ National Iranian American Council (NIAC) denounces Congressman Dana Rohrabachers efforts to introduce a new resolution to promote ethnic separatism in Iran as a means to destabilize the country. Rohrabacher is also one of the top supporters of the MEK, and detractor of the Green Movement. He was a major driver of the effort to remove the Mojahedin from the [US] terror list, while acknowledging their use of violence to achieve political goals. ++ Reuters Germany will exercise great care in correctly determining the identity of any MEK who come to the country as refugees. Their refugee status will depend on their already having former residency or other links with the country.

Friday 10 May 2013

http://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/?p=3343

++ A campaign that took root and grew among MEK supporters over the past few weeks asked for Massoud Rajavi to co-operate with the UN process to evacuate camp Liberty. The main figures in this campaign were sisters Effat and Atefeh Eghbal who started an online petition. The MEK reaction was to bring their brother Mohammad in Camp Liberty, a former publisher who is an old man now, to openly swear at his sisters in the MEK media. This only increased the criticism within the MEK against Rajavi as many denounced this reaction by the MEK against their own members and supporters who have genuine questions and concerns about what the MEK is doing. Members and supporters like Ali Naazer or the poet Ismael Yaghmai and others have become vocal, asking are we not allowed to talk? ++ In a new development last week, Iraj Mesdaaghi, who has worked in support of the MEK for many years in Europe, published a 230 page open letter to Massoud Rajavi. He asks Rajavi to address this issue of internal dissatisfaction. He has gone into detail about many specific reactions Rajavi has had against current members as well as ex-members like Batul Soltani, Zahra Mir Bagheri and Ghorban Ali Hossein Nejad. Rajavi has threatened current members that he has embarrassing information about them and will expose them. Although this 230 page letter falls short of understanding a cult leader, and is still written by someone who is trying to save the soul of Rajavi, but it represents a significant development as the dissent from within is expanding. After this letter, Rajavi issued a statement in name of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). After swearing at Mesdaaghi and linking him with the agents of the Iranian regime, Rajavi has banned every member from talking to any media or site which has made any criticism of him (he means independent mainstream media such as the BBC). It is clear to everyone that Rajavi wants to cut such people off and stop the spread of the disease of dissent which is already rampant in the MEK and has got out of his control. ++ The equivalent of Mesdaaghi in the United States is

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Seyyed Hassan Daioleslam who has not arrived at this point of dissent yet, and is still wholeheartedly being used by the Israeli lobby against the anti-war people in Washington. An article by M.J. Rosenberg in the Washington Spectator describes how in a defamation challenge Daioleslam failed to produce even a shred of evidence that the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) had been the lobby of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The article highlighted the fact that Daioleslam was pay rolled by Daniel Pipes and other leading neoconservatives. The article concludes, Not a good day for the pro-war lobby, but a very good one for Americans who find the idea of being embroiled in a third Middle East war so soon after Iraq and with our troops still in Afghanistan utterly appalling. ++ Sahar Family Foundation in Baghdad published in English an important document about the current situation at Camp Liberty. The article goes into some detail describing the MEKs obstructive behaviour toward the UN officials and the human rights abuses inflicted on the residents. The article points out that the families of the residents have the right to contact with their loved ones, but are prevented by Massoud Rajavi who calls the family the nest of corruption and the worst enemy and a devastating bomb. The cult leader is afraid because reconnecting with their emotional attachment to their family will lead his followers to reject their cult indoctrination and leave. The article concludes at the present time there are many family members stationed in Iraq who wish to visit their loved ones no matter what the cost might be. They insist that they must be allowed to enter the camp and search for their loved ones for themselves. So far, for security reasons, the Iraqi authorities have not allowed this. They say that they cannot guarantee the safety of the families once they enter the camp. The families insist on their right to enter the camp voluntarily while accepting full responsibility for their actions in order to rescue their loved ones. As far as we are concerned there is no other peaceful solution. It is quite obvious that Rajavi wants to drag the matter into violence and provoke further clashes in order to gain political advantages. We believe that the way everyone has tried to tiptoe around or hammer on this locked gate so far will not work at all. If there is any intention to resolve this severe humanitarian problem there should be a change of policy now; put the families first. ++ Some ex-members have written to the UN asking for help for the people trapped in Camp Liberty. They demand that the UN does not accept Rajavi as representatives of the residents. Talking to the leaders they say will not help rescue anyone. They need to be taken as individuals. ++ Recently escaped Camp Liberty residents are reporting

that Rajavis latest message is what he calls fighting viruses inside the Mojahedin. He calls peoples desire to leave Liberty the virus of the third country. This includes even looking at an aeroplane; you must control your gaze so as not to observe such a thing. He calls the desire of Liberty residents for the Iranian opposition to make progress against the Islamic Republic the green virus. They must also guard against this because this is against the benefit of the MEK. ++ Reports of MEK fighters working in Syria with the rebels has received quite a bit of coverage. Some reports speculate that the MEK fighters may have been involved in chemical attacks as they were trained to do this by Saddam. Many people have commented that the presence of the MEK in Syria is not the wish of the Syrian opposition, this is Rajavis need. He (or rather his backers) has forced them to accept MEK involvement as a matter of survival so Rajavi can claim he is actually doing something. A leading example is an article by Reza Taghizadeh who writes his analysis about the report of the MEK being active in Syria. The title is: Confrontation between the MEK and the Islamic Republic in Syria? At the end of his article, he comments on the daftness of this situation and reminds us that Rajavi with the backing of Saddams full army launched operation Forough Javidan (Eternal Light) in 1988 which ended with the massacre of around a third of his forces. Now with a fraction of those numbers and those mostly of pension age it is ridiculous to see them as a fighting force wherever they are. ++ In the last few weeks the MEK have been trying to dismiss all their problems by diverting the attention of their own people and outsiders to the opening of their office in Washington. Under this false pretence they are telling their people that the opening of the office is a sign that the US and Israel will attack Iran any time soon, and both the Iranian and Iraqi governments will collapse in the next few weeks. The message is shut up and wait, lets delay the transfer from Liberty and buy time until Iran, Iraq and Syria are handed over to the MEK. ++ A big international book exhibition in Iran, attended by people from all over the world, included a joint stall for both the families of victims of MEK terrorism and ex-members in Iran. Mr Ali Moradi and Mrs Maryam Sanjabi were two of the well known ex members who were interviewed by media and also explained to the people attending about the current situation in Camp Liberty.

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Friday 17 May 2013

http://iran-interlink.org/wordpress/?p=3383

++ UN Special Representative for the Secretary-General and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Martin Kobler announced on 16 May that 14 residents of Camp Liberty have been permanently relocated to Albania as part of an agreement in which the Albanian government has pledged to accept 210 individuals as refugees. The UN report also added that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he unequivocally supports Mr. Koblers efforts to courageously and creatively, in exceptionally difficult circumstances, help resolve this situation. ++ Under pressure from neocons and Israel, the US State Department continues to protect the interests of the Mojahedins leaders. In a statement on the relocation of 14 individuals to Albania, the State Department accepts the rule of the hostage takers over the hostages by addressing them as legitimate leaders of people who are in fact hostages not followers. Instead of demanding that the MEK leaders stand aside to allow the UN to conduct its work without hindrance the State Department says, It is the responsibility of the MEK leadership to facilitate for the residents of Camp Hurriya free and unfettered access to UN human rights monitors. This appears to be an attempt to revive the MEK at the expense of the rights of the hostages and their families. ++ Several people have written in Farsi and in English to congratulate those involved for their continuing efforts to open the way for these peoples freedom. ++ Rajavi came out again this week. In an audio broadcast in the MEK media he directly addressed Rafsanjani and asked him to become a candidate for president in Iran. The MEK leader later on claimed that this direct appeal to Rafsanjani was part of a plot to widen the gap between different factions in Iran. Nobody involved in Iranian politics took notice of this but the reaction of the MEKs members and supporters was vociferous. Many wrote openly in Farsi blogs and sites, does our leader mean that if we have the chance we should participate in the election and vote for Rafsanjani, and if so, what happened to his selected president, Maryam Rajavi, who has been appointed and groomed as president for the past 16 years? Retreating into silence, the MEKs reaction to these internal critics has been to post photo-shopped pictures on its sites, claiming them to be from inside Iran, with the graffiti slogan the only president is Maryam Rajavi. ++ Ex-members Mohammad Karami and Batul Soltani took part in a long discussion on Mardom TV. Ms Soltani talked about the naked dancing sessions women had to perform for Massoud Rajavi and about the general abuses of womens rights in the MEK from the past up until the

present. Karami explained how many claims of suicide in MEK from the past until now have been exposed as false; the individuals were actually murdered by the MEK. Both produced irrefutable documents and pictures backing their claims. ++ Several people wrote about an incident in Syria in which the Wahabbi Al Qaida attacked a sacred graveyard and exhumed the body of Hajar ebn Oday, a revered Shia. The MEKs silence on this issue alongside their engagement in fighting in Syria, which they have announced themselves, raised many questions and reminded us that when the twin towers in New York were attacked, the MEK celebrated it. Interestingly the MEK claim they are the true Shias. ++ A few people wrote about the MEKs violent history from Iran, Iraq and now Syria and emphasised that this is the group the US now take as allies rather than terrorists; basically identifying them as mercenaries. ++ Last week a several Iraqi officials openly criticised the support of the west to keep the MEK intact in Iraq. One of them, Abdul Jabbaar Al Obeidi, head of the Council of Al Azim in Diyali province, criticised the government for delaying the handover of Camp Ashraf and expelling the MEK terrorists. He accused the government of bowing to US pressure and stressed that the land was needed for investment. The Council has approved a project to build residential housing and a university but the work has been delayed as the land is not empty. ++ The saga of Iraj Mesdaghi and other MEK supporters turned critical of Massoud Rajavi, and the violent reaction of the MEK against these critics, has continued through this week with more attacks and swearing by the MEK in their sites and media. ++ Iraj Shokri, who had been with the NCRI and has left, posted an article in his blog about Rajavi and the MEKs attacks on Iraj Mesdaghi. He reminds us that this started in 2003 after the fall of Saddam when, little by little, people began running away and being sworn at by the MEK according to how vocal they had been. He goes into a detailed analysis of all the things Rajavi has said during these years, and puts it down to Rajavis arrogance, his empty talk, his ranting, his bad temper and his delusion which has led to all the wrong analyses that he has come up with over the years. Shokri entitles his article criticism of his majesty the head because Rajavi has labelled all the internal criticism he has suffered as the words of agents of the regime who want to separate the head from the body. Shokri says that the head itself is the problem rather than that anyone wants to separate it from the body. ++ Rajavi and the MEK have been swearing at UNAMI and the International Committee of the Red Cross more than other weeks. For observers it is clear that it is because he

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Friday 24 May 2013

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has failed to insinuate his lobbyists into these institutions and indeed, the only one they had has been expelled and is working full time now for the MEK. His failure to prevent the transfer of the 14 individuals to Albania in this way has burned Rajavi. ++ Jamil Bassam from Nejat Association in Tehran published article titled how near is Rajavi going to get to the Americans? He echoes the ideas published last week by Ebrahim Khodabandeh of Sahar Family Association; that members did not join the Mojahedin to be mercenaries of Saddam or the US and it is not us who have changed direction it is the MEK leader who every day changes. Bassam turns the spotlight on the US and quotes Americans both for and against use of the MEK. He points out this is not the first time the Americans have embraced mercenaries who have previously been fighting against them, even though they always see they are later bitten by the same dog. In the end he hopes that the major issue will continue to be the release of the hostages from Liberty so they can choose for themselves whether to be mercenaries of the US or not. ++ Ali Al Khadran the mayor of Khales again directly asks the Government of Iraq to take the hundred remaining MEK out of Camp Ashraf and Diyali province as soon as possible, and says we are under pressure from the people, who do not understand why we are keeping terrorists who have killed their families in our province. Many other Iraqis have criticised the authorities for not taking the MEK leaders to court and just settling for removing them from the country. ++ Nejat Association has published an article describing the situation in Camp Liberty, describing what has happened from time families started visiting Iraq in 2003 up to the present. The article talks of the efforts of the families, ex-members, the Iraqi authorities, Martin Kobler, the ICRC and others which have borne fruit so that with the minimum of casualties they have brought most of them to Camp Liberty. But, it goes on, from the outside we can see there is more pressure on the individuals now because they are more closely confined in their accommodation. There is more beating, harassment and brainwashing to keep them submissive. Nejat demands that the UN and the international community break this atmosphere with a few simple steps as Sahar Family Foundation outlined previously as follows: let there be communication whether face to face, written or by telephone with families, let Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) have access to the camp without restriction from MEK leaders, let residents have free access to satellite, TV, books, newspapers etc., let the sick and needy be transferred to hospitals inside Iraq, let the doors be open to allow reporters free access to people inside the camp, take the leaders to court to stand trial against the allegations of human rights abuses and war crimes which have been submitted by the Iraqis. This, as overseen by UNAMI, should be made public. The UN should publish reports about all that is happening inside and at the camp.

++ On 16th May, a delegation from Faryad-e Azadi (Cry of Freedom) Association participated in a conference of journalists in the French Senate. The head of the delegation, Jafaar Ebrahimi, explained who the Mojahedin Khalq are and described the current situation of the two camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq. ++ The transfer of 14 residents of Camp Liberty to Albania as refugees was not only welcomed by the US, EU UN and Iraq, but was widely welcomed by the campaigning families and the ex-members. Many articles were published celebrating this as the beginning of the dismantlement of Camp Liberty. ++ The MEK remained silent about Albania until two days ago and many people have given their analysis as to why this was the case: either Rajavi has given up and had to let these 14 people go, or he has sent the sick and needy to get rid of them, or he has sent 14 loyal members to prepare the ground to establish the cult in Albania. A few days ago the names of the fourteen individuals were announced on exmember websites. The NCRI quickly issued a statement condemning Al Maliki, Martin Kobler and Iran for working together against the MEK, claiming that Iraq and the UN have passed the names of the 14 to Irans intelligence services and they have published them to endanger the lives of their families. This was met by derision among ex-member sites which asked why would Iran publish the names to endanger the families when they could do such a thing behind closed doors if this was the intention. They pointed out that Rajavis real fear is the people coming to Europe and exposing human rights abuses. A few hours after the NCRI statement, several ex-members sites and Facebook accounts took responsibility for publishing the 14 names. Their information came from two former MEK members in Germany who had previously been in Albania. They were contacted by the 14 soon after they arrived in Tirana. According to the ex-members, 13 people have been identified as from Rajavis third solution which means they have not accepted to sign allegiance to Rajavi and had been kept in Camp Liberty as non-MEK under surveillance under Rajavis terms of dont leave, well send you out ourselves which he started in Camp Ashraf. The 14th person is a 70 year old, very sick, man. ++ The saga of Iraj Mesdaghi is ongoing. Massoud Rajavi has now lined up the more distant NCRI members to one by one swear at him and take sides with the MEK and to denounce him as an agent of the Iranian regime. Ebrahim Khodabandeh wrote a short article saying he read the whole of Mesdaghis book and as he knew him from before, his is a character of very logical thinking. But although he welcomes the activation of Mesdaghis critical mind, he asks him to go deeper and see why he hoping for critical dialogue with the head of a cult. Khodabandeh says if you still have any doubt that this is an organisation which cannot be reasoned with, if you still dont see that Rajavi, with all his past, has no limit to what he will do, if you still think Rajavi is

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a normal person, then of course you will deal with him like this. Khodabandeh concludes that what Rajavi wants, whether people are for or against him, is that they accept him as a normal person, anything except as head of a cult. Medsdaghi and others need to get beyond this point and see Rajavi for what he really is. ++ Letters have been written to the UN and elsewhere about a specific person called Farideh Araki. She is one of the paid MEK supporters and has started a campaign in English language demanding that the MEK be kept in Iraq and not expelled. She is an addition to the MEKs other lobbyists but is introducing herself as part of the opposition to Iran and pretending not to be with the MEK. Many articles refer to her financial problems and how the MEK have exploited this. The MEK have allocated a large budget per month to pay her travel expenses in western countries. Araki is constantly on the move, going to New York to lobby the UN, going around Europe and Scandinavia, etc. ++ Mehdi Khoshhal finished the last part of his article the book that was never written. This refers to the book allegedly written by Maryam Rajavi, and talks about what should have been said rather than what she has said. ++ As for the election and Rajavis declaration for Rafsanjani, after the internal backlash which we wrote about in last digest in which members asked who should we vote for?, the MEK has damped the issue down in the hope everyone will forget about this gaffe. ++ Rajavi has announced a rally in Paris on 22 June to celebrate the anniversary of the start of armed stuggle. The MEK is vigorously recruiting attendees from refugee camps with the promise of a three day holiday with flight and hotel paid in exchange for a few hours attendance at the rally. According to some refugees, this year the MEK tell Afghanis that on top of the pay, by attending this meeting you will be siding with the western backed MEK therefore you will be separated from Al Qaida, etc in Afghanistan and therefore the security services will look favourably on you because they back us. To Iraqis the MEK have been saying that by coming to our meeting it is possible to take pictures with prominent people like John Bolton and Patrick Kennedy which will put you in a safe place in the Iraqi community and show how near you are to the Americans. They even take pictures of Maryam Rajavis photos meeting with exofficials of Germany in Berlin to the camp and say to refugees in Germany that these people will attend and if you take a picture and put it in your file you will definitely get your refugee status. To distant supporters they have said that if you do not participate in this event it is obvious you are on side of Iraj Mesdaghi and the agents of Iran. According to other sources they have also gone on to hire acting extras as they normally do. ++ This week Al Maleki and Martin Kobler had a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the next steps to dismantle Camp Liberty and expel the MEK from Iraq. ++ The Iranian news agency Fars News reported that the

MEK have been hatching different plots to prepare their members to infiltrate Iranian borders to create tension during the election time in June because, the MKO ringleaders, believe that killing people will increase the differences and radicalizes the Iranian society on the threshold of the June 14

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++ Nejat Association wrote an open letter to the Albanian embassy in Tehran thanking their government for taking the initiative to accept 14 refugees from Camp Liberty in Iraq. Nejat Association describes this move as the first step to connecting these individuals to their families and to greater society and asks the Albanian government to help further in this respect. ++ This week four people escaped from Camp Liberty in one day. The following day another individual named as Hassan Shaabani managed to run away and surrender to Iraqi police. The names of the other four will be made public if and when they choose. ++ A group of ex-MEK members met with representatives of the UNHCR in Paris to discuss the situation of the captives in Camp Liberty, and how to break the deadlock after the MEK leader has given the order to stop the UN interviews and to not meet with anyone from outside agencies. The report emphasises the legal aspect as there are 950 individuals who hold documents from western counties and who therefore do not need refugee status and should be immediately transferred. The report concludes that the real solution is to allow the families into the camp to visit their loved ones. ++ More has been written about the first 14 MEK who have gone to Albania and Rajavis reaction which is to try to stop this continuing. People have written about their hopes that this is a real breakthrough and signals breaking the taboo of leaving Iraq and marks the eventual freedom of all the hostages. Among these articles are reports that one of the people in Albania called Nastaran Rastegaarpour has gone there with a false name and documents. The claim is that this particular woman was moved from Ashraf to Liberty with this false Identity and then from Liberty to Albania. The real Nastaran Rastegaarpour is an MEK commander resident in London and in charge of the Nirooi (personnel) section. She frequently travels around Europe to organise the membership. The analysis is that her documents have been used to move a particular female from Iraq because the MEK do not want her real identity to be revealed. There are many precedents for this kind of action, including the covert transfer of the Rajavis son and daughter back to Europe. ++ A US State Department official told Congress that the MEKs leadership was not cooperating in the departures from Camp Liberty despite risks to the members lives in Iraq. Beth Jones, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that although US officials have worked hard to persuade the groups leadership to cooperate in the departures, very few have been allowed to move. She appealed for cooperation. ++ Martin Kobler has visited the European Parliament to brief

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MEPs. He deplored the lack of cooperation from the MEK leader and other MEK leaders with the UN. In response Stevenson and Quadras attacked Kobler as an agent of the Iranian regime and said that he has come to say this to appease Iran and Iraq. ++ A prominent Iranian MP, Agha Mohammadi, told the Majlis news agency that the Americans use of the MEK by opening an MEK lobbying office in Washington shows clearly that America is putting Zionism before the interests of the American people. What this move shows is how desperate the US has become that they do and they should answer to the court. Alishahi not even try to hide their use of terrorism whether in Iran, Syria, says that with this kind of logic the MEK could have easily represented Saddam Hussein himself Chechnya or other parts of the world. and have him freed with compensation. He says ++ This week marks the anniversary of the death of Hadi Shams Haeri that using the same reasoning in the court of who had been a prisoner under the Shah. Years later, after leaving Saddam it could be said that now Saddam is not the MEK, he continued to campaign indefatigably to free his children. in charge, any punishment for Saddam should be Sadly neither his son, Amir, nor his daughter, Nosrat, saw him before the burden of the new Iraqi government. Alishahi he died as they are still being held captive in Iraq. says that clearly the MEK do not want to ++ An article by Massoud Jaabani warns asylum seekers in Europe remember how much money they stole from Iraq not to fall for the MEKs propaganda in which every year they pay for a and how much money they removed from Iraq. three day holiday in Paris in exchange for two hours attendance at ++ This week it has been revealed that the MEK the MEKs 20th June celebration. Jaabani points out that for someone applied for and have been registered under the who has not yet been granted refugee status, crossing national name of the NCRI as a lobby group in borders is illegal and can result in a long delay in getting recognition. Washington. The MEK have not yet announced it. Every year at this time the MEK celebrate armed struggle. Ironically, But everywhere else this news has been even though the Americans claim they are not terrorists, they still published Iranians from all sides have shown celebrate their adherence to violence. their disgust and have not been shy of saying that ++ Esmaeil Vafa Yaghmai the poet, who left the MEK a long time ago through this action the MEK has openly become a but who still had reservations about public criticism, has published his mercenary of the Israeli side of the US system first article in his weblog entitled Is Akram Habib Khaani alive? He against their motherland. In US media however claims that he and his son Amir have received condolences from MEK there has been much criticism of the US sources over his ex- wifes mysterious death in Camp Liberty administration for its open support and use of something the MEK refused to acknowledge when he contacted them. terrorism, and many have warned that the US has His long article describes how they got engaged and married and also not learned from its past mistakes of using and how they were impacted by the forced divorces and separation of supporting terrorism. children. He says it is time for me to come out and talk, and I dont care anymore that the MEK will call me an agent of the regime or that the IRI will misuse what I have to say. www.aawawww.aawa-association.com ++ After examining evidence, a court in Khales province of Iraq has fined the MEK around half a million (US) dollars for illegally taking over land belonging to local villagers. The MEK and its supporters . UP TO DATE (lobbyists) have vociferously rejected this finding and claim that the NO. 55 MAY 2013 land was taken over by the Iraqi government after the Americans left and that any issue should be taken up with Iraqs Ministry of Defence. Publication of Association AAWA e.V. Behzad Ali Shahi published an article examining the original boundaries of Camp Ashraf and where the MEK added a munitions Responsable: dump outside the camp followed by a huge area beyond that which Dipl.-Ing. Ali-A. Rastgou reached civilian areas which the MEK themselves forcefully Postfach 90 31 73 confiscated to use for military manoeuvres and training. In part one of its claim the MEK says that since the government of Iraq does not D-51124 Kln recognise the MEK as a whole entity the court should claim this E-mail: info@aawaassociation.com money from the individuals (who do not have any money of their own). In another part the MEK claim that Iraqs defence ministry is in charge