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People's Mujahedin of Iran

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The People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) (Persian: سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران) is a militant organization that advocates overthrowing the government in the Islamic Republic of Iran and replacing it with its own leadership<ref name="us_des">"MEK Profile - see section "Description"", U.S. Department of State, April 2005.</ref>. It is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella coalition. Its armed wing is called the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA). Iran officially refers to the organization as the Monafeqin (Hypocrites). It is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Canada, and Iran. <ref name="eu-fto"> (2005) "COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2005/847/CFSP". Official Journal of the European Union L 314.</ref><ref name="us-fto">Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). US Department of State (2005). Retrieved on [[2006-09-22]].</ref>

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[edit] Other Names

The People's Mujahedin of Iran is known by a variety of names including:

Note: the MEK alias is often used when the PMOI is referenced in the media, or by national governments around the world. The term MEK and PMOI are therefore interchangeble throughout this article.

[edit] History

The People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran was founded by middle class students at Tehran University, Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saied Mohsen and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan in 1965. The PMOI opposed the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi because it considered it corrupt and oppressive. In its first five years, the group primarily engaged in ideological work, rejecting both fundamentalist interpreations of Islam and Marxist philosophy. Before carrying out any military operations against the Shah's regime, a raid by the Shah's secret police, SAVAK, arrested the entire leadership and 90 percent of its cadres. All but one of its leaders were executed. Other members remained incarcerated for many years, with the last group, including Massoud Rajavi, being released just before Khomeini arrived in Tehran in January 1979.

The PMOI conducted anti-Western attacks prior to the Islamic Revolution. Since then, it has conducted militant attacks against the interests of the cleric-dominated governmental system in Iran and abroad.<ref name="us_act">"MEK Profile - see section "Activities"", U.S. Department of State, April 2005.</ref>

According the U.S. Department of State, and the Foreign Affairs group of the Australian Parliament, the MEK conducted several assassinations of U.S. military personnel and civilians working in Iran during the 1970s and actively supported the U.S. embassy takover in Tehran in 1979.<ref name="au_bg" /><ref name="us_act" />

After playing a key role in the 1979 Iranian Revolution because of its Muslim identity and the ability to mobilise hundreds of thousands of workers, students, and most importantly, many younger army officers, the PMOI emerged as the largest opposition group in the country. Its daily publication, Mojahed, had a circulation of 600,000 copies.[citation needed] The newly established regime of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran began to feel threatened by the MEK and started to launch a fierce campaign to crush it. Hundreds of PMOI supporters and members were killed from 1979 to 1981 and some 3,000 were arrested.[citation needed] Ultimately, the organization called for a massive demonstration on June 20, 1981, to protest against the new leadership under the banner of Islam. Khomeini ordered its guards to open fire of the protesters. Hundreds were killed and many more wounded.[citation needed] That night, hundreds were summarily executed in Evin Prison and elsewhere, some without their identities ever being established. This was considered one of the most severe human rights violations in the history of the Islamic Republic. Eventually, PMOI relocated to France, where it operated until 1986.

To bring the opposition to the regime under one umbrella group, the PMOI formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The MEK claims that in the past 25 years, the NCRI has evolved into a 540-member parliament-in-exile, with a specific platform that emphasizes free elections, gender equality and equal rights for ethnic and religious minorities. The MEK claims that it also advocates a free market economy and supported peace in the Middle East. The FBI claims that the NCRI "is not a separate organization, but is instead, and has been, an integral part of the MEK at all relevant times" and that the NCRI is "the political branch" of the MEK rather than vice versa.<ref name="fasfbi">DC Court of Appeals Rules Against NCRI Petition for Review of "Foreign Terrorist Organization" Designation, July 9, 2004, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia</ref>

In 1986, after then French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac struck a deal with Tehran for the release of French hostages held prisoners by the Hezbollah in Lebanon, PMOI was forced to leave France and relocated in Iraq, where they received all of their military support and most of their financial support from the Iraqi regime until the 2003 American invasion of Iraq.<ref name="us_aid" />

Near the end of the 1980-1988 war with Iran, Baghdad armed the MEK with military equipment and sent it into action against Iranian forces.<ref name="us_act"/> The MKO's decision to move its headquarters to Iraq in the middle of the war, caused the MKO to lose most of its supporters in Iran, regardless of their views towards the Iranian government. The NIAC (National Iranian American Council) claims that "as a result [of their alliance with Saddam during the war], they are viewed as traitors by the overwhelming majority of Iranians and Iranian Americans.".<ref name="niac">"NIAC Action Alert - (to read the letter to House Representatives where the quote is taken from, you have to enter a U.S. ZIP code on the page)", National Iranian American Council, March 2006.</ref> A report by the Foreign Affairs group of the Australian Parliament states "[The MEK] is believed to have lost much of its popular support within Iran since siding with Iraq".<ref name="au_act">"Behind the MEK - see section "Activities and Tactics"", Parliament of Australia, June 2003.</ref> The MKO claims it has always maintained its independence from its Iraqi host and denies "siding with Iraq" during the Iran-Iraq War[citation needed].

According to the U.S. Department of State, and Foreign Affairs group of the Australian Parliament, the MEK assisted the Iraqi National Guard in suppressing the Kurdish and Shiites uprisings of Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.<ref name="us_act" /><ref name="au_bg" />

Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the group received all of its military assistance, and most of its financial support, from the former Iraqi government. The MEK also has used front organizations to solicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.<ref name="us_aid">"MEK Profile - see section "External Aid"", U.S. Department of State, April 2005.</ref>

Maryam Rajavi, who assumed the leadership role of the MEK after a series of years as co-leader alongside her husband Massoud Rajavi, had the following to say during a moral-boosting speech to an audience of MEK troops: "Take the Kurds under your tanks, and save your bullets for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards".<ref>(English) Rubin, Elizabeth, New York Times. The Cult of Rajavi. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.</ref>

[edit] Designation as a Terrorist Organization

The PMOI has been officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the United States and is proscribed by the European Union (EU),<ref name=EUTerrorList>Council Decision, Council of the European Union, December 21, 2005</ref>.

The MEK has now lost three appeals (1999, 2001 and 2003) to the US Government to be removed from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and its terrorist status was reaffirmed each time. The MEK has continued to protest worldwide against its listing, with the overt support of some US political figures.<ref name="au_bg"> "Behind the MEK - see section "Background"", Parliament of Australia, June 2003.</ref>

[edit] Major Operations

In 28 June 1981, two years after the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the MEK detonated bombs in the office of the Premier of Iran's newly established regime, during a meeting of the now dissolved Islamic Republic Party. Around 70 high ranking officials including President Rajai, Premier Mohammad Javad Bahonar and Chief Justice Mohammad Beheshti were killed.<ref name="us_act" /><ref> Cooperative Research</ref> This is considered the most important attack in the history of the MEK against the Iranian government.

In 1991, the MEK assisted the Government of Iraq in suppressing the Shia and Kurdish uprisings in southern Iraq and the Kurdish uprisings in the northern Iraq.<ref name="us_act">"MEK Profile - see section "Activities"", U.S. Department of State, April 2005.</ref>

In the following years the MEK conducted several assassinations of political and military figures of the Islamic Republic, including deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff,<ref name="us_act" /> Brigadier General Ali Sayyaad Shirazi, who was assassinated on the doorsteps of his house on April 10 1999.

In April 1992, the MEK conducted near-simultaneous attacks on Iranian embassies and installations in 13 countries, demonstrating the group’s ability to mount large-scale operations overseas. <ref name="us_act" />

[edit] After the invasion of Iraq

After the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, PMOI camps were bombed by coalition forces as part of a quid pro quo with Tehran. PMOI entered into a ceasefire agreement with the coalition, and voluntarily handed over its weaponry to the US military. Then 4th ID commander, General Ray Ordierno, concluded the agreement with the PMOI and said its terrorist designation must be reviewed by the US government. After a 16-month investigation by several US agencies, including the State Department, the US government formally declared that it had found no basis to charge any member of the group with the violation of American law or links to terrorism.[citation needed] Subsequently, the coalition recognized the status of PMOI as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In recognition for its work against the Iranian government, the movement has enjoyed long periods of freedom and, not uncommonly, public support within the Western world. The world wide headquarters was for many years in Paris, France and even after moving to Iraq during the early 1980's the base in Paris remained large and active. Similarly its operatives were – legally or at least well tolerated – active in Germany, Denmark and many other countries of the European Union. The NCRI maintained an Information Office in Washington DC, USA until August 2002, when US secretary of state Colin Powell issued an order to shut down the offices.<ref name="glw22feb06">Lorimer, Doug (2006). IRAN: US relies on terrorists for nuke 'intelligence’. Green Left Weekly, February 22, 2006.. Green Left Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-05-01.</ref>.

In 2002, 150 members of the United States Congress signed a letter calling for the lifting of this designation[citation needed]. Similarly, the activities in France were allowed to continue long after the official proscription in the EU. It was only in June 2003 that the group had some of its French properties raided, after suspicions that it was trying to shift its base of operations there.<ref>"France investigates Iran exiles", BBC News, June 22, 2003.</ref> Many believe the French action against the NCRI was payment on the part of the French government to secure lucrative business deals with Tehran worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The MEK claims that after three years, there is nothing in the files that would implicate the NCRI and Mrs. Rajavi in any wrong doing and the case has essentially died. Maryam Rajavi remains freely living in Paris and the PMOI maintains its web presence without any obvious difficulties.<ref>Official website (in Persian, French and Arabic)</ref>

[edit] Alleged MEK Activity In Iran

In 2006 news reports linked the PMOI with US threats to attack Iran, specifically use of the PMOI to "prepare the battlefield" for US military action against Iran<ref>On Cheney, Rumsfeld order, US outsourcing special ops, intelligence to Iraq terror group, intelligence officials say</ref>.

According to the news organisation Rawstory, an intelligence official said that following the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, “We [the US] disarmed [the MEK] of major weapons, but not small arms. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was pushing to use them as a military special ops team, but there was infighting between Rumsfeld's camp and then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, but she was able to fight them off for a while”. According to another intelligence source, the policy infighting ended last year when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, under pressure from Vice President Dick Cheney, came up with a plan to “convert” the MEK by having them simply quit their organization." “These guys are nuts,” the intelligence source said. Undersecretary of Defense Intelligence "Stephen Cambone and those guys made MEK members swear an oath to Democracy and resign from the MEK and then our guys incorporated them into their unit and trained them” for action in Iran. A UN source close to the United Nations Security Council, again according to Rawstory, said in April 2006 that "the clandestine war had been going on for roughly a year".<ref>On Cheney, Rumsfeld order, US outsourcing special ops, intelligence to Iraq terror group, intelligence officials say</ref>
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According to a former Iranian ambassador and UPI, "The Iranian accusations are true, but it is being done on such a small scale - a series of pinpricks - it would seem to have no strategic value at all."<ref>Tehran insider tells of US black ops</ref>

[edit] Ideology and Influence

Ideologically, the MKO is difficult to describe. Originally being based on a syncretic amalgamation of Marxist and Islamic ideas, the MKO was subject to a number of rapid ideological shifts (each allegedly accompanied by severe internal purges) and has developed a strong sense of veneration for its leading couple, Masoud Rajavi and Maryam Rajavi, which some have described as a personality cult. It describes itself as a secular organization. While its leaders are Muslim, "The National Council of Resistance believes in the separation of Church and State".<ref>National Council of Resistance of Iran</ref>.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the philosophy of the MEK is a combination of Marxism, Nationalism and Islam<ref name="usstate1">Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (2006). Chapter 5 -- Country Reports: Middle East and North Africa Overview (html). Country Reports on Terrorism. U.S. Depqartment of State. Retrieved on [[2006-09-05]].</ref>.

In May 2005, Human Rights Watch reported the PMOI were running prison camps within Iraq and were committing severe human rights violations.<ref>"Human Rights Abuses in the MKO camps", Human Rights Watch, May 2005.</ref>

In July 2005 a delegation from a group known as Friends of a Free Iran (FOFI) visited Camp Ashraf for 5 days and interviewed 19 people. The delegation did not interview any of the individuals who originally gave testimonies to Human Rights Watch.<ref name="iran12678">Statement on Responses to Human Rights Watch Report on Abuses by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). Human Rights Watch (2003). Retrieved on [[2006-08-29]].</ref> As a result of these interviews FOFI issued a 132 page document on September 21, 2005 claiming the alleged abuses did not occur and calling for the People's Mujahedin of Iran to be removed from the list of terrorist organisations.<ref name="fofi">People's Mojahedin of Iran - Mission report. Friends of Free Iran (2005). Retrieved on [[2006-08-29]].</ref>

Prompted by the FOFI document Human Rights Watch re-interviewed all 12 of the original witnesses, conducting private and personal interviews lasting several hours with each of them in Germany and the Netherlands, where the witnesses now live. All of the witnesses recounted in extensive detail their experiences inside the MKO camps from the 1991-2003 period, and how MKO officials subjected them to various forms of physical and psychological abuses once they made known their wishes to leave the organization.<ref name="iran12678">Statement on Responses to Human Rights Watch Report on Abuses by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). Human Rights Watch (2003). Retrieved on [[2006-08-29]].</ref>

[edit] Membership

The PMOI claims to have a 30,000 – 50,000 strong armed guerrilla force, based in Iraq, but a membership of between 15,000 – 20,000 is considered more likely<ref name="aph1">Nigel Brew (2003). Behind the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK) (pdf). Research Note No. 43, 16 June 2003. Department of the Parliamentary Library (Australia). Retrieved on [[2006-09-05]].</ref>. As of 2005 the Council for Foreign Affairs believes the PMOI has 10,000 members, one-third to one-half of whom are fighters. The Council claims PMOI membership has dwindled, the organisation has had little success attracting new recruits and is composed mostly of its founding members<ref name="cfr1">Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (Iranian rebels). Council on Foreign relations (2005). Retrieved on [[2006-09-05]].</ref>.

[edit] Support from outside sources

In the late 1980's the MKO transferred its headquarters to Iraq. According to official sources the MEK received all of its military support and most of its financial assistance from Saddam's regime until the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.<ref name="us_aid"/> But the MEK denies these accusations and insists that it had always remained independent of Iraq.

Saddam Hussein frequently recorded meetings without the knowledge of participants. A video tape captured by the Americans after they took control of Saddam's possessions was later leaked as evidence that Saddam supported terrorists and was connected to terrorist groups. The tapes show Massoud Rajavi meeting with Sadam Hussein, and at one point show large quantities of money being handed over to PMOI officials. The PMOI claims that one of the tapes is of a meeting that PMOI officials regularly held with Iraqi government officials, and that this was nothing out of the ordinary because PMOI officials met officials from many other governments as well. The video is available on the Internet in Realaudio format<ref name="video1">Saddam Hussein. Video of Saddam Hussein meeting MKE officials (real audio). Iran-interlink,org. Retrieved on [[2006-09-22]].</ref> and in Windows Media Player format<ref name="video2">Saddam Hussein. Video of Saddam Hussein meeting MKE officials (Windows Media Player). Flag of Freedom Organization of Iran. Retrieved on [[2006-09-22]].</ref>.

Another key source of support for the MKO has included members of the U.S. Congress, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft, "who became involved with the MKO while a Republican senator from Missouri."<ref>Michael Isikoff, "Ashcroft's Baghdad Connection: Why the attorney general and others in Washington have backed a terror group with ties to Iraq," Newsweek (26 September 2002).</ref> In 2000, 200 U.S. Congressmembers signed a statement endorsing the organization's cause.<ref>Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, "Shades of Gray," Newsweek (17 October 2004).</ref>

[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Official Mujahedin-e Khalq websites

fa:سازمان مجاهدین خلق ایران fr:Organisation des moudjahiddines du peuple iranien he:מוג'הידין א-חאלק no:Mujaheddin-e-Khalq sv:Folkets mujahedin

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