Friday, July 27, 2007

Families of PMOI members undergo harsh treatment for visiting their loved ones in Ashraf City

July 27, 2007

NCRI - The inhuman mullahs’ regime has punished families of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) for having visited their loved ones in Ashraf City (home to the members of POMI in Iraq).

The detainees have been tortured, disdained and were denied visit from their family members. After weeks of imprisonment, only a hand full have been released on bail on the condition of not having any more contacts with their loved ones in Ashraf City. In a number cases, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents officially have put their residence under constant surveillance.

The rest of the detainees are still in captivity. The Iranian regime is trying vehemently to have them participate in television confessions.

The families of PMOI members are “charged” with visiting their loved ones in Ashraf City. The MOIS is shedding crocodile tears for the POMI members that the organization does not allow its members to have regular visits with the families.

The Iranian Resistance called on all international human rights organizations to condemn the suppression of families of the members of PMOI and called for urgent measures to free the detainees.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 27, 2007

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

18 die in Baghdad car bombings

Los Angeles Times
By Tina Susman
July 24, 2007

BAGHDAD — A series of car bombs killed at least 18 people in Baghdad on Monday, and the U.S. military announced the deaths of four more troops on the eve of new U.S.-Iran talks aimed at quelling Iraq's violence.

Today's meeting will bring the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, together for the second time since an initial round of talks was held in Baghdad on May 28. That session did little to mend the sour relations between the two countries, who blame each other for the sectarian and insurgent violence in Iraq.

The United States will use the forum to repeat its accusation that Iran is providing weapons and other aid to Shiite Muslim militias and Sunni extremists. It says those weapons include roadside bombs such as those blamed for three of the four U.S. troop deaths reported Monday.

Iraq and the United States also say that Iranian-supplied weapons are being used in most of the attacks on Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified enclave that houses most U.S. and Iraqi government offices. American officials also accuse Iran of providing weaponry that can penetrate heavily armored vehicles.

Iran denies meddling in the Iraq war and will use the talks to repeat demands that five Iranians held by U.S. forces in Iraq be freed. Iran says the men are diplomats, but the United States says they are covert operatives.

Monday's violence targeted Karada, a mainly Shiite neighborhood that in recent months has been bombed several times. Two of the blasts Monday occurred almost simultaneously and just a few hundred feet from each other. Witnesses said one appeared aimed at a police patrol and another hit a market.

Hours after the blasts, which took place about 10:40 a.m., the smell of burning rubber and other debris still filled the street. Soot and scraps of burned metal covered the pavement. Near the site of the market blast, a worker stood atop an ambulance with a broom, trying to knock something out of a tree. Asked what the man was aiming for, a bystander replied angrily, "Flesh."

A motor scooter lay in the back seat of a gutted and burned car, where it had been hurled by one of the blasts. A large piece of blue metal, which police said was from the car bomb, lay nearby, along with a black slipper and a child's pink shoe.

Also Monday, police reported finding 24 unidentified bodies in Baghdad, all believed to be victims of sectarian violence.

The four military deaths occurred over the weekend: Three soldiers died from roadside bombs and one Marine died of undisclosed causes in Al Anbar province, the U.S. military said. At least 3,636 American troops have been killed in the Iraq theater since the U.S. invasion of March 2003, according to the icasualties.orgwebsite.

Iraq's government says it has pressured Iran to stay out of the violence, to no avail. "They are actually playing a dangerous game by trying to drive the Americans out of Iraq by further deteriorating the security situation," said the Iraqi national security advisor, Mowaffak Rubaie. He said most of the mortars and rockets that hit the Green Zone are coming from Iran and are being fired by militia forces trained by Tehran. A U.S. Embassy spokesman agreed.

Iran will probably raise the issue of the Mujahedin Khalq organization, the armed Iranian exile group, during the talks with the Americans, said Hamid Reza Haji Babaie, a lawmaker close to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "The destiny of the MKO, its disbanding and removal from their camp in Iraq, is also part of the agenda because we believe the destiny of this terrorist group is related to the security of Iraq," he said.

Iran has demanded that the group, labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, be removed from Iraq. But some U.S. policymakers see the group as a potential tool against the Iranian regime.

Bush administration officials have been undecided on the question of whether Iran would be willing to help stabilize Iraq. Some argue that Tehran has no interest in helping the United States, its archrival for nearly three decades.

But Mahmoud Sadri, a journalist close to former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, said Tehran's foreign policy establishment is more pragmatic than many believe. "I think the economic situation, on the whole, makes the position of the Iranian government ripe for reaching an understanding and compromise," Sadri, editor of the Kargozaran newspaper, said in an interview Monday.

Despite the failure of past talks to bring reconciliation between the countries, diplomats say such meetings are crucial.

"Our emphasis is on having a good relationship, and we think this can be accomplished through dialogue," said Iraq's deputy foreign minister, Labid Abawi. "It is not in the interest of Iran or Iraq to have tension between us, especially since both of us have suffered due to the war launched by Saddam Hussein," Abawi said, referring to the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Mutlaq: Iranian regime is a threat to Iraq

July 16, 2007

NCRI – The Iraqi Daily, al-Mashreq reported on Sunday, July 15, 2007 that Saleh Mutalq, leader of the "Iraqi National Dialogue Front," dismissed the threats made by Nuri al-Maliki government to prosecute Iraqi personalities that are making contacts with the People's Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

He said he would accept the first invitation by the PMOI to participate in their meeting to be held within or outside Iraq, the Iraqi daily added.

He considers the Iraqi government order to prohibit contact with the PMOI as a "part of the policy of loyalty to the Iranian regime that al-Maliki's government is pursuing", al-Mashreq reported.

The report continued: "He said that the protection that is provided to the members of PMOI based on the International conventions, has given them political refugee status. He also stressed on the legal nature of the PMOI's presence in Iraq. He said it is the Iranian regime that is a threat to Iraq and not the PMOI that is known for its commitment to Iraqi laws during its presence in this country."

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Al-Watan: Mojahedin of Iran welcome the European Parliament resolution

July 15, 2007

The Saudi daily al-Watan, reported on Sunday, July 15, 2007 that the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the Iranian opposition, through its representative in Iraq welcomed the European Parliament resolution regarding situation in Iraq that also calls on the Nuri al-Maliki government to respect the rights of residents of Ashraf City.

“The resolution calls on the Iraqi government to recognize the residents of Ashraf City as political refugees in Iraq because it is more than 20 years that they are residing in Iraq and are enjoying the status of Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention”, al-Watan added.

The Saudi daily continued: The European Parliament stressed that the humanitarian and human rights situation is deteriorating in Iraq: "an average of 100 people are killed, 200 wounded per day, that unemployment affects more than 80% of the population, that 80% of doctors have left hospitals, that 75% children are not in school and that depending on the region 30% to 70% of the schools are closed. The circumstances that followed the war had given rise to acts of robbery and kidnapping, extortion and ill-treatment, torture, murder and destruction of economic infrastructure and planting explosives and bombs against civilians, and prompted many citizens to leave their homeland.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Mrs. Rajavi welcomes European Parliament resolution emphasizing the rights of Mojahedin of Iran

Friday, 13 July 2007

NCRI - President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi welcomed the unanimous adoption of the resolution by the European Parliament emphasizing on the legal right of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) members in their twenty years presence as political refugees in Iraq and their current status as “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Mrs. Rajavi said that the European Parliament’s call on the Iraqi government to respect the rights of PMOI members in Ashraf city in Iraq, according to international laws, and denouncing the cutting off supplies of fuel and drinking water made by some senior officials in the Iraqi Government against 4000 members of the Iranian opposition who have been political refugees in Iraq for the past two decades, is a sign of international conscience as well as opposition to the Iranian regime’s criminal avarice in Iraq.

Mrs. Rajavi expressed her appreciation to the members of European Parliament for their concern and understanding in standing by the Iranian people in this campaign against ruling religious fascism in Iran.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Mutlaq: I will accept the first invitation by Mojahedin of Iran

July 12, 2007

NCRI - The Kuwaiti daily Al Rai reported on Wednesday that Saleh Mutlaq, leader of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, ignored Nuri Al-Maliki government's threats to prosecute Iraqi personalities that are making contacts with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).

He considers the Iraqi government order to prohibit contact with the PMOI as a "part of the policy of loyalty to the Iranian regime that Al-Maliki's government is pursuing", the Kuwaiti daily added.

Al Rai, Kuwait, July 11, 2007 - Saleh Al Mutlaq, leader of Iraqi National Dialogue Front ignored Nuri Al-Maliki government's threats to prosecute Iraqi personalities that are making contacts with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

He told Al Rai he would accept the first invitation to participate in the organization's programs to be held within or outside Iraq.

He considers the Iraqi government order to prohibit contact with the PMOI as a "part of the policy of loyalty to the Iranian regime that Al-Maliki's government is pursuing".

He noted the protection that is provided to the members of this organization based on the International Conventions, giving them political refugee status. He also stressed on the legal nature of the PMOI's presence in Iraq.

He said it is the Iranian regime that is a threat to Iraq and not the PMOI that is known for its commitment to Iraqi laws during its presence in this country.

Mr. Saleh Al Mutlaq participated in a large convention that the Iranian opposition organized last month in "Camp Ashraf" in Diyala province, and was attended by tens of thousands of Iraqis opposed to the role that Iran played in their country.

The participation of Mr. Al Mutlaq in the convention drew sharp criticism against him in the Iraqi government.

Iraqi politicians reject government threats regarding Iranian Opposition

July 12, 2007

NCRI - Iraqi Daily, Al-Arab Al-Yum, reported on Tuesday, that Iraqi politicians have dismissed threats made by the government of Nuri Al-Maliki against all Iraqi individuals and political groups that are in contact with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Al-Arab Al-Yum, Iraq, July 10, 2007- Iraqi politicians have dismissed threats made by the government of Nuri Al-Maliki against all Iraqi individuals and political groups that are in contact with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The Nuri Al-Maliki government has threatened those in contact with PMOI are in violation of "National Safety Law" and therefore will be subject to punishment.

Saleh Mutalq, leader of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front described the statement that was broadcasted last week by AlSharqiya TV, the Iraqi government TV channel, which threatened the Iraqis who come in contact with the PMOI, a new and dangerous step in spread of influence of the Iranian regime on Al-Maliki’s government. He considers the threat as evidence to dominance of the Iranian regime on the institutions, bodies and media of the Iraqi government.

The Congress of the People of Iraq, which is headed by Adnan Al-Dulaimi, described the threats as "blatant step taken by Al-Maliki government against democratic freedoms and in violation of the most basic political and human rights of the Iraqi people”.

Khalaf Al-Alyan, Member of Iraqi parliament from the Iraqi Reconciliation Front also criticized the government's decision, describing it as an arbitrary decision and void, adding that the PMOI is a friend to the Iraqi people and has been their guest since 25 years ago.

He added this peaceful organization has not done anything against Iraqi people and their interests.

Al-Alyan said this is an Iranian decision taken by the Iranian government and was announced by the government of Al-Maliki. This order is neither executable nor acceptable.

Statement by Mr. Casaca on adoption of resolution concerning Iraqi refugees and Iranian opposition

July 12, 2007

NCRI (Strasbourg) - Mr. Paulo Casaca, member of the European Parliament issued a statement regarding the adoption of a resolution on the humanitarian situation of Iraqi refugees. The text of the statement reads:

The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg this afternoon, has adopted a resolution on the humanitarian situation of Iraqi refugees.

This resolution is the result of a proposal presented by the Portuguese Socialist Paulo Casaca to his political group (PSE), then endorsed by the other political groups in the EP.

The resolution took in consideration, namely "the urgent appeals by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of 7 February 2007 to increase international support for those countries hosting refugees fleeing Iraq, the international conference on Iraq of 17-18 April 2007 in Geneva aimed at raising awareness of the scale of humanitarian needs in Iraq and in the region, the UNHCR call of 5 June 2007 for all borders to remain open to those in need of protection ".

The Parliament stressed "that the general humanitarian and human rights situation is deteriorating in Iraq" and pointed to the latest figures available: "an average of 100 people are killed, 200 wounded per day, that 50% of the population is living on less than USD 1 per day, that unemployment affects more than 80% of the population, that 70% lack access to adequate water supply; 81% to effective sanitation, 3 million people will be food insecure if food distribution fails and that the system has already ceased to function in some areas, that 80% of doctors have left hospitals, that 75% children are not in school and that depending on the region 30% to 70% of the schools are closed" while recognised that "the attitude of most Member States and the US to recognising protection needs of Iraqi refugees has been largely restrictive".

This resolution calls for "international responsibility-sharing" in "the resettlement of Iraqi refugees and stateless persons" and for the Commission to exercise "appropriate flexibility in interpreting the relevant rules" in order to be able "to assist the neighbouring countries in their efforts to host the refugee population".

Regarding the situation of the PMOI camp in Ashraf, the European Parliament "strongly rejects the threats of expulsion and cutting off supplies of fuel and drinking water made by some senior officials in the Iraqi Government against 4 000 members of the Iranian opposition who have been political refugees in Iraq for the past 20 years and have the legal status of " Protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention" and calls on the Iraqi Government to respect their rights under international law".

Paulo Casaca, addressing the Plenary of the European Parliament just before the vote explained it as a solidarity gesture towards Iraqis (video available at http://www.paulocasaca.net/refugees.htm). Casaca had already been one of the first signatories of the EP Resolution on the situation of Iraqi Refugees adopted on February 15.

EP Resolution strongly condemned pressures on PMOI members

July 12, 2007

In a resolution, European Parliament supported the plight of Iraqi Refugees and strongly condemned the pressures imposed on PMOI members in Ashraf

NCRI - This afternoon, the EU parliament unanimously passed a resolution in support of the plight of millions of Iraqi refugees and warned the international community of a major human catastrophe.

The resolution also stressed the need to respect the rights of the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The resolution “Strongly rejects the threats of expulsion and cutting off supplies of fuel and drinking water made by some senior officials in the Iraqi Government against 4000 members of the Iranian opposition who have been political refugees in Iraq for the past 20 years and have the legal status of ‘Protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention’ and calls on the Iraqi Government to respect their rights under international law.”

In the past two weeks, the mullahs’ agents have tried vehemently to prevent adoption of the resolution in particular the clause on the PMOI. The Members of the European Parliament neutralized the plot.

The resolution was originally presented by the Socialist Group (PSE) and then it was supported by the European Parliament groups such as the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats (EPP-ED), the European United Left (GUE), Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Many of the distinguished members of the parliament have repeatedly expressed their support for the members of the PMOI in Ashraf city, northeastern Iraq, and have called for full implementation of the EU Court verdict annulling the terror designation of the PMOI by the EU.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 12, 2007