khad
30th July 2009, 07:11
A bit of background, the MEK (mojahadeen-e khalq-e iran) are an Iranian Marxist organization that was chased out of Iran in the leftist purges of the early 80s. Since then they have offered their services as mercenaries to anyone who would pay them. They fought for Saddam Hussein and helped him suppress the Kurds and Shias. Since 2003, they have offered their services to the United States in exchange for continued safe haven in Iraq. The state dept. credits them for intelligence on Iran, though the accuracy and usefulness of such intelligence is probably suspect. They also reportedly beat, torture, and kill prisoners for the Americans. ( http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/4.htm )
In case anyone has misguided sympathies for these people, realize that the MEK today they are one of the most extreme and sectarian cult-like political organizations in existence. The leader, Maryam Rajavi demands absolute subservience on the part of MEK members to a level that ranks somewhere between Hitler and Pol Pot.
http://fleetingperusal.blogspot.com/2007/07/on-mek-cult.html
[D]espite its rhetoric, the Mujahedeen operates like any other military dictatorship. Mujahedeen members have no access to newspapers or radio or television, other than what is fed them. As the historian Abrahamian told me, “No one can criticize Rajavi.” And everyone must go through routine self-criticism sessions. “It’s all done on tape, so they have records of what you say. If there’s a sign of resistance, you are considered not revolutionary enough, and you need more ideological training. Either people breakaway or succumb.”
Salahaddin Mukhtadi, an Iranian historian in exile who still maintains communications with the Mujahedeen because it’s the strongest armed opposition to the Iranian regime, told me that Mujahedeen members “are locked up if they disagree with anything. And sometimes killed.”
Afshari, who fled the group 10 years ago, told me how friendship was forbidden. No two people could sit alone and talk together, especially about their former lives. Informants were planted everywhere. It was Maryam’s idea to kill emotional relationships. “She called it, ‘drying the base,’” Afshari said. “They kept telling us every one of your emotions should be channelled toward Massoud, and Masssoud equals leadership, and leadership equals Iran.” The segregation of the sexes began almost from toddlerhood. “Girls were not allowed to speak to boys. If they were caught mingling, they were severely punished.”
Though Maryam and Massoud finagled it so they could be together, they forced everyone else into celibacy. “They told us, ‘We are at war, and soldiers cannot have wives and husbands,’” Afshari said. “You had to report every single day and confess your thoughts and dreams. They made men say they got erections when they smelled the perfume of a woman.” Men and women had to participate in “weekly ideological cleansings,” in which they would publicly confess their sexual desires. It was not only a form of control but also a means to delete all remnants of individual thought.Yesterday, the Iraqis decided that enough was enough and moved to assert authority over Camp Ashraf (where the MEK is in residence) with the intention of shutting it down in the near future. Government forces were met with protesters. In the ensuing violence, 8 people were killed and over 400 were wounded. As expected, the USA is not happy with this decision and has warned the Iraqi government that it must live up to its promise to defend and protect the MEK.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124890356246591441.html
Iraq to Close Iranian Exiles' Camp
Tehran Praises Assault on Opposition Group; U.S. Criticizes 'Heavy-Handed' Tactics
By CHARLES LEVINSON (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=CHARLES+LEVINSON&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND) and PETER SPIEGEL (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=PETER+SPIEGEL&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND)
BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government said Wednesday it plans to close a camp that is home to more than 3,000 members of an Iranian opposition group, a day after launching a violent assault on the camp that was criticized by Washington and praised by Tehran.
Since members of the group, known as the Mujahedin e-Khalq, or the MEK, have enjoyed U.S. military protection since 2004, the raid could indicate an Iraqi desire to improve ties with Iran as the U.S. withdraws its forces.
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AZ344_MEK_D_20090729180309.jpg
Reuters Camp Ashraf residents clash with Iraqi forces Wednesday. Iraq said later that it had control of the entire camp.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday praised the assault on the group, which was responsible for a number of attacks against Iranian officials in the 1980s, and which fought alongside Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war.
"Although this measure was taken late by Iraq, it is admirable that they have decided to clear Iraq from terrorists," Mr. Larijani said, according to Iran's state-run Fars news agency.
U.S. officials said they were unhappy about the way the raid was handled, though they stressed that it was a decision for the Iraqi government to make since the U.S. handed the area over to Iraqi control in February. Officials say the U.S. was upset that the Iraqi army was so heavy-handed.
"It's a sovereign matter for the government of Iraq and it's up to them to resolve this," said one U.S. official in Washington on Wednesday. "But we would have preferred it be handled differently. The outcome wasn't good and we're not happy about that."
Opposition lawmakers in Iraq who oppose Iran's influence there have questioned the timing of the operation, which coincided with an unannounced visit to Iraq by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. One independent Sunni lawmaker, Dhafer al-Aani, said that attacking an Iranian opposition group just weeks after the Iranian government brutally crushed street protests sent the wrong signal to the international community.
A spokesman for the MEK in Rome, Shahin Gobadi, accused the Iraqi government of taking orders directly from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "This is happening now because Khamenei is trying to find a way to cover up for his defeat in the streets of Tehran," he said.
According to U.S. officials, the unrest started when a newly appointed Iraqi police district commander decided to put a police station within the camp, known as Camp Ashraf, in order to assert local control. The government committee responsible for the camp answers directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; it is unlikely that any decision regarding the controversial camp was taken without his consent.
The U.S. official said that at first, unarmed Iraqi riot police trained in crowd control were deployed, but they were quickly overrun by demonstrators within the camp. The official said police called in the Iraqi army as backup, and the infantry unit that responded acted more forcefully, leading to the clash.
"They [the infantry] were not trained in crowd control," the U.S. official said. "They employed some heavy-handed tactics." He confirmed there were fatalities in the ensuing conflict, but said a U.S. military assessment team had yet to determine the number.
MEK members inside the camp said eight members were shot dead by Iraqi forces, and more than 400 people were wounded. A spokesman for the Iraqi police in Diyala province, where the camp is located, said 45 police also were injured in the clashes.
However, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh denied Wednesday that anyone had died in the assault. He said the raid was a matter of extending the rule of law throughout the country, and police entered the camp by force only after the MEK rebuffed requests to enter peacefully.
The MEK said the clashes continued Wednesday. An Iraqi army commander said Wednesday evening that Iraqi forces had taken control of the entire camp.
U.S. officials said Iraq had informed Washington several days in advance that the government intended to put a police station inside the camp, but the Iraqis didn't seek American help or approval.
It now appears the Iraqi government intends to go a step further in its crackdown. According to a statement Tuesday by Mr. Maliki's office, the camp will be shuttered and residents relocated to a camp elsewhere in Iraq or allowed to travel to a third country.
The majority of MEK members in the camp hold only Iranian passports. MEK leaders in exile in Europe have said members are willing to return to Iran provided there are international guarantees that they will be safe and won't be prosecuted -- conditions Iran is unlikely to agree to.
Estimates of the number of U.S. citizens in Camp Ashraf range from 25 to 75, according to U.S. officials. Many would likely be ineligible to return to the U.S. since they have received training in explosives and insurgency tactics, these officials said.
In the 1990s the State Department included the MEK on its list of terrorist organizations because of links to attacks against U.S. and Iranian officials. But in 2004 the U.S. military granted members of the MEK in Iraq "Protected Person" status under the fourth Geneva Convention, guaranteeing that members would be protected from religious and political persecution and wouldn't be forcibly transferred to a country where they might face such persecution. Iraq has assured the U.S. it will live up to these assurances.http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/press_display.asp?id=634
Iraq Must Stop the Fighting in Ashraf and Ensure Residents’ Security, Berman and Ros-Lehtinen Say
Washington, DC – Responding to reports of violence as Iraqi security forces assumed control of Ashraf, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today released the following statement:
“We are concerned about recent reports of violence between Iraqi security forces and residents of Ashraf. The Government of Iraq signed an agreement with the United States guaranteeing the physical security and protection of Ashraf residents following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the area. The Iraqi government must live up to its commitment to ensure the continued well-being of those living in Ashraf and prevent their involuntary return to Iran.”
In case anyone has misguided sympathies for these people, realize that the MEK today they are one of the most extreme and sectarian cult-like political organizations in existence. The leader, Maryam Rajavi demands absolute subservience on the part of MEK members to a level that ranks somewhere between Hitler and Pol Pot.
http://fleetingperusal.blogspot.com/2007/07/on-mek-cult.html
[D]espite its rhetoric, the Mujahedeen operates like any other military dictatorship. Mujahedeen members have no access to newspapers or radio or television, other than what is fed them. As the historian Abrahamian told me, “No one can criticize Rajavi.” And everyone must go through routine self-criticism sessions. “It’s all done on tape, so they have records of what you say. If there’s a sign of resistance, you are considered not revolutionary enough, and you need more ideological training. Either people breakaway or succumb.”
Salahaddin Mukhtadi, an Iranian historian in exile who still maintains communications with the Mujahedeen because it’s the strongest armed opposition to the Iranian regime, told me that Mujahedeen members “are locked up if they disagree with anything. And sometimes killed.”
Afshari, who fled the group 10 years ago, told me how friendship was forbidden. No two people could sit alone and talk together, especially about their former lives. Informants were planted everywhere. It was Maryam’s idea to kill emotional relationships. “She called it, ‘drying the base,’” Afshari said. “They kept telling us every one of your emotions should be channelled toward Massoud, and Masssoud equals leadership, and leadership equals Iran.” The segregation of the sexes began almost from toddlerhood. “Girls were not allowed to speak to boys. If they were caught mingling, they were severely punished.”
Though Maryam and Massoud finagled it so they could be together, they forced everyone else into celibacy. “They told us, ‘We are at war, and soldiers cannot have wives and husbands,’” Afshari said. “You had to report every single day and confess your thoughts and dreams. They made men say they got erections when they smelled the perfume of a woman.” Men and women had to participate in “weekly ideological cleansings,” in which they would publicly confess their sexual desires. It was not only a form of control but also a means to delete all remnants of individual thought.Yesterday, the Iraqis decided that enough was enough and moved to assert authority over Camp Ashraf (where the MEK is in residence) with the intention of shutting it down in the near future. Government forces were met with protesters. In the ensuing violence, 8 people were killed and over 400 were wounded. As expected, the USA is not happy with this decision and has warned the Iraqi government that it must live up to its promise to defend and protect the MEK.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124890356246591441.html
Iraq to Close Iranian Exiles' Camp
Tehran Praises Assault on Opposition Group; U.S. Criticizes 'Heavy-Handed' Tactics
By CHARLES LEVINSON (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=CHARLES+LEVINSON&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND) and PETER SPIEGEL (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=PETER+SPIEGEL&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND)
BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government said Wednesday it plans to close a camp that is home to more than 3,000 members of an Iranian opposition group, a day after launching a violent assault on the camp that was criticized by Washington and praised by Tehran.
Since members of the group, known as the Mujahedin e-Khalq, or the MEK, have enjoyed U.S. military protection since 2004, the raid could indicate an Iraqi desire to improve ties with Iran as the U.S. withdraws its forces.
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AZ344_MEK_D_20090729180309.jpg
Reuters Camp Ashraf residents clash with Iraqi forces Wednesday. Iraq said later that it had control of the entire camp.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday praised the assault on the group, which was responsible for a number of attacks against Iranian officials in the 1980s, and which fought alongside Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war.
"Although this measure was taken late by Iraq, it is admirable that they have decided to clear Iraq from terrorists," Mr. Larijani said, according to Iran's state-run Fars news agency.
U.S. officials said they were unhappy about the way the raid was handled, though they stressed that it was a decision for the Iraqi government to make since the U.S. handed the area over to Iraqi control in February. Officials say the U.S. was upset that the Iraqi army was so heavy-handed.
"It's a sovereign matter for the government of Iraq and it's up to them to resolve this," said one U.S. official in Washington on Wednesday. "But we would have preferred it be handled differently. The outcome wasn't good and we're not happy about that."
Opposition lawmakers in Iraq who oppose Iran's influence there have questioned the timing of the operation, which coincided with an unannounced visit to Iraq by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. One independent Sunni lawmaker, Dhafer al-Aani, said that attacking an Iranian opposition group just weeks after the Iranian government brutally crushed street protests sent the wrong signal to the international community.
A spokesman for the MEK in Rome, Shahin Gobadi, accused the Iraqi government of taking orders directly from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "This is happening now because Khamenei is trying to find a way to cover up for his defeat in the streets of Tehran," he said.
According to U.S. officials, the unrest started when a newly appointed Iraqi police district commander decided to put a police station within the camp, known as Camp Ashraf, in order to assert local control. The government committee responsible for the camp answers directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; it is unlikely that any decision regarding the controversial camp was taken without his consent.
The U.S. official said that at first, unarmed Iraqi riot police trained in crowd control were deployed, but they were quickly overrun by demonstrators within the camp. The official said police called in the Iraqi army as backup, and the infantry unit that responded acted more forcefully, leading to the clash.
"They [the infantry] were not trained in crowd control," the U.S. official said. "They employed some heavy-handed tactics." He confirmed there were fatalities in the ensuing conflict, but said a U.S. military assessment team had yet to determine the number.
MEK members inside the camp said eight members were shot dead by Iraqi forces, and more than 400 people were wounded. A spokesman for the Iraqi police in Diyala province, where the camp is located, said 45 police also were injured in the clashes.
However, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh denied Wednesday that anyone had died in the assault. He said the raid was a matter of extending the rule of law throughout the country, and police entered the camp by force only after the MEK rebuffed requests to enter peacefully.
The MEK said the clashes continued Wednesday. An Iraqi army commander said Wednesday evening that Iraqi forces had taken control of the entire camp.
U.S. officials said Iraq had informed Washington several days in advance that the government intended to put a police station inside the camp, but the Iraqis didn't seek American help or approval.
It now appears the Iraqi government intends to go a step further in its crackdown. According to a statement Tuesday by Mr. Maliki's office, the camp will be shuttered and residents relocated to a camp elsewhere in Iraq or allowed to travel to a third country.
The majority of MEK members in the camp hold only Iranian passports. MEK leaders in exile in Europe have said members are willing to return to Iran provided there are international guarantees that they will be safe and won't be prosecuted -- conditions Iran is unlikely to agree to.
Estimates of the number of U.S. citizens in Camp Ashraf range from 25 to 75, according to U.S. officials. Many would likely be ineligible to return to the U.S. since they have received training in explosives and insurgency tactics, these officials said.
In the 1990s the State Department included the MEK on its list of terrorist organizations because of links to attacks against U.S. and Iranian officials. But in 2004 the U.S. military granted members of the MEK in Iraq "Protected Person" status under the fourth Geneva Convention, guaranteeing that members would be protected from religious and political persecution and wouldn't be forcibly transferred to a country where they might face such persecution. Iraq has assured the U.S. it will live up to these assurances.http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/press_display.asp?id=634
Iraq Must Stop the Fighting in Ashraf and Ensure Residents’ Security, Berman and Ros-Lehtinen Say
Washington, DC – Responding to reports of violence as Iraqi security forces assumed control of Ashraf, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today released the following statement:
“We are concerned about recent reports of violence between Iraqi security forces and residents of Ashraf. The Government of Iraq signed an agreement with the United States guaranteeing the physical security and protection of Ashraf residents following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the area. The Iraqi government must live up to its commitment to ensure the continued well-being of those living in Ashraf and prevent their involuntary return to Iran.”