Iraqi lawmaker speaks out against PMOI

United Press International
June 30, 2008

BAGHDAD, June 30 (UPI) -- An Iraqi lawmaker said Monday the government would remove members of an Iranian opposition group from Iraq if they failed to leave within six months.

The Iraqi parliament moved recently to expel members of the Iranian opposition group People's Mujahedin of Iraq, from their stronghold in the eastern city of Ashraf.

"After the deadline passes, the Iraqi government will not tolerate any pressure or interference aimed at keeping (PMOI) members in the country," said Jalaleddin al-Saghir with the Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.

The group seeks the overthrow of the Iranian government and advocates against Tehran's influence in Iraq. Though many nations consider the movement a terrorist entity, England moved to de-list the group in recent weeks.

Saghir added Iraqi authorities would hand members of the dissident group over to Red Cross officials so they can leave Iraq for another country, the Iranian Press TV said.

Meanwhile, Tehran summoned Jordanian Ambassador Ahmad Jalal al-Meflah to Iran to express displeasure over a move by Jordanian lawmakers Sunday to attend a Paris rally in support of the group.

The rally was intended to raise support to remove the group from the European Union's list of terrorist organizations. The European Court of Justice removed the group from its terrorist list in 2006, but EU lawmakers denied the ruling a year later.

The opposition to PMOI comes on the heels of a report in the New Yorker magazine by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who claims U.S. lawmakers funneled some $400 million to the group to support its opposition to the Iranian leadership.

U.S. and Iraq in talks over PMOI

United Press International
June 21, 2008

BAGHDAD, June 21 (UPI) -- A Shiite lawmaker with the United Iraqi Alliance said Friday Baghdad is in negotiations with U.S. officials over the fate of an Iranian opposition group.

Jalal al-Saghier said the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki began talks with American counterparts to determine the fate of the People's Mujahadin of Iran, known as the PMOI or MEK, headquartered in the eastern city of Ashraf.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Tuesday the Maliki administration voted to classify the PMOI as a terrorist organization. The United States has been accused of using the group as a proxy for counter-terrorist operations in Iraq.

On Thursday, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council said the U.S. backing of the group ran counter to government decisions to expel the PMOI from Iraq.

Saghier said the United States can play an influential role in the PMOI issue and reminded Washington of its pledges to honor issues concerning Iraq's sovereignty, Voices of Iraq reported Friday.

The PMOI opposes Iranian influence in Iraq. It also seeks the overthrow of the Iranian government.

PMOI accuses Baghdad of Geneva violations

United Press International
June 19, 2008

BAGHDAD, June 19 (UPI) -- An Iraqi decision to ban the People's Mujahedin of Iran and label the group a terrorist entity violates international law, a spokesman said Thursday.

The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki this week issued a decree that labels the group, known as the MKO or PMOI, a terrorist entity and called on the removal of the group from its safe haven in the eastern city of Ashraf.

The PMOI advocates the overthrow of the Iranian regime and seeks to deter its influence in Iraq.

Baghdad said U.S. and multinational forces in Iraq should discontinue its involvement with the group and hand over all related checkpoints to Iraqi authorities. The U.S. military is accused of using PMOI as a proxy for its counter-terrorism activities in Iraq.

PMOI spokesman Mahdi Aqbaee said the government decision amounts to a violation of the Geneva Conventions, Voices of Iraq reported.

"The decree violates the principle of not using forced deportation, international laws and the international laws pertaining to the Red Cross," he said. "Threatening to deport (PMOI) personnel and handcuffing their freedom of expression can be considered a war crime."

He added the decision is an indication of Tehran's negative influence over Iraqi affairs and called on Maliki to overturn the measure.

Iranian opposition criticizes Iraqi government

Associated Press
June 18, 2008

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iranian opposition group said Wednesday that the Iraqi government's move to ban dealings with it reflected pressures on Baghdad by Iran.

The statement followed an announcement Tuesday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet accusing the Mujahedeen Khalq organization — known as the MEK — of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs and supporting anti-government activities.

The government said those who violate the order will face charges under the anti-terror law.

The MEK said the Iraqi statement was a "flagrant breach of international law and conventions" and called on the U.N. Security Council to insist that the Iraqis back down.

"The stance" taken by the government "is the reflection of hysterical pressures of the religious fascism ruling Iran and its embassy in Baghdad on the Iraqi government to take revenge on the (MEK) because 3 million Iraqi Shiites have rejected the Iranian regime," the MEK said.

A prominent Sunni lawmaker, Saleh al-Mutlaq, said that the government decision shows how much influence Iran wields over the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

Al-Mutlaq, who heads an 11-member block in parliament, said that the MEK should be used to counter Iran's "destructive role" in Iraq

"It is an organization that opposes a regime that interferes in our affairs and wants to settle old scores with America on our soil," he said.

The MEK has had fighters based in Iraq since Saddam Hussein era. When U.S.-led troops overthrew the regime, they demilitarized the group and confined its fighters to Camp Ashraf northeast of Baghdad, under the protection of the multinational forces.

The Iraqi Cabinet has demanded that the coalition turn over checkpoints around the camp to Iraqi control.

PMOI responds to Iraqi expulsion order

United Press International
June 18, 2008

BAGHDAD, June 18 (UPI) -- The People's Mujahedin of Iran Wednesday formally condemned a move by the Iraqi Parliament calling for the expulsion of its members from the country.

The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc and the Kurdistan Alliance Tuesday introduced a bill to Parliament demanding the People's Mujahedin of Iran, known variously as MKO or PMOI, leave the country.

“The cabinet decided to ban any dealings with this organization by any Iraqi or foreign individual, organization or party,” Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Tuesday.

The group responded in a statement Wednesday saying the government was responding to “hysterical pressures” exerted on Baghdad from Tehran, the Iranian Press TV reported.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Tuesday those who violated the order would be brought up on charges under Iraqi terrorism laws.

The PMOI response called on the U.N. Security Council to intervene in what it said was a “flagrant breach of international law and conventions.”

The group, which is established in the eastern city of Ashraf, issued a statement Monday saying more than 3 million Iraqi Shiites, including members of several political parties, had signed a petition opposing Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs.

Several European nations list the group as a terrorist entity, though Press TV says the group is currently backed by the United States as a counter-terrorist proxy.

Iraq bans dealings with Iran opposition group

Associated Press
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi government Tuesday banned any dealings with an Iranian opposition group based in Iraq.

In an official statement, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet accused the Mujahedeen Khalq organization of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs.

"The Cabinet decided to ban any dealings with this organization by any Iraqi or foreign individual, organization or party," the statement said. The government said those who violate the order will face charges under the anti-terror law.

Before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the Mujahedeen Khalq enjoyed Saddam Hussein's full support. It was used to quell domestic unrest by Shiites and Kurds after Iraq's defeat in Gulf War in 1991. But U.S. troops demilitarized the group and confined its fighters to a camp northeast of Baghdad, under the protection of the multinational forces.

The Cabinet demanded that the coalition turn over checkpoints around the camp to Iraqi control. The discussion in parliament Tuesday over the government move broke down along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers described the group as a threat to Iraq's national security, while Sunni lawmakers alleged that the group is not involved in any terrorist acts.

Iranian opposition criticizes Iraqi government

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iranian opposition group said Wednesday that the Iraqi government's move to ban dealings with it reflected pressures on Baghdad by Iran.

The statement followed an announcement Tuesday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet accusing the Mujahedeen Khalq organization — known as the MEK — of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs and supporting anti-government activities…

The MEK said the Iraqi statement was a "flagrant breach of international law and conventions" and called on the U.N. Security Council to insist that the Iraqis back down.

"The stance" taken by the government "is the reflection of hysterical pressures of the religious fascism ruling Iran and its embassy in Baghdad on the Iraqi government to take revenge on the (MEK) because 3 million Iraqi Shiites have rejected the Iranian regime," the MEK said.

A prominent Sunni lawmaker, Saleh al-Mutlaq, said that the government decision shows how much influence Iran wields over the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

Al-Mutlaq, who heads an 11-member block in parliament, said that the MEK should be used to counter Iran's "destructive role" in Iraq.

"It is an organization that opposes a regime that interferes in our affairs and wants to settle old scores with America on our soil," he said.

Iraqi Government Steps Up Campaign to Isolate MEK

McClatchy News
June 17, 2008

... Separately Tuesday, the Iraqi government stepped up its campaign to isolate and eventually deport members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, an Iranian militant group based north of Baghdad whose chief agenda is to overthrow the Shiite Muslim theocracy in neighboring Iran.

The MEK, as the group is commonly known, will no longer be able to meet with Iraqi officials, foreign visitors or journalists at their camp near the Iraqi city of Khalis if U.S. and Iraqi authorities enforce an Iraqi government order issued Tuesday. The controversial order, which labels the MEK a terrorist organization, also calls for U.S. troops to cede authority of the group's Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi military.

MEK members follow a blend of Marxist and Islamist ideologies, are blamed for a string of deadly attacks inside Iran and once enjoyed the protection of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who waged a bloody, eight-year war with Iran. The ouster of Saddam and the rise of pro-Iranian Shiite leaders have left MEK members in a precarious situation: they are no longer safe in Iraq, they fear persecution and torture if they return to Iran..

The International Committee of the Red Cross categorizes MEK members in Iraq as "protected persons," and has told the Iraqi government that members are not to be "deported, expelled or repatriated" by force. For now, Camp Ashraf is protected by U.S. forces.

The State Department lists the group as a terrorist organization, though some members of Congress and several European lawmakers have championed the group as a valuable partner in efforts to curb Iran's growing influence in the region.

In the past, Iran has made amnesty offers in which MEK members living in Iraq could return to Tehran with the promise that they would not face persecution. Few members accepted the deal and hundreds still remain in Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad.

An MEK spokesman, reached by telephone at Camp Ashraf, dismissed the order as unenforceable under international law.

Iraqis sign declaration opposing Iranian regime, supporting PMOI

United Press International
June 17, 2008

BAGHDAD, June 16 (UPI) -- More than 3 million Iraqi Shiites signed a petition sponsored by the leaders of the People's Mujahedin of Iran [PMOI/MEK] opposing Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs.

The declaration, which also called for the lifting of a measure curtailing the activity of the PMOI [MEK] in Ashraf City in eastern Iraq, was announced at the fourth conference for the Solidarity Congress of the Iraqi People.

The PMOI [MEK] said in the statement announcing the declaration that it was a strategic move to offset Iran's sway over Baghdad.

President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran Maryam Rajavai said the "slogan of eviction" against the PMOI had turned into a "slogan for the Iraqi people" opposing the Iranian regime.

She praised the delegation for advocating friendly relations with Iran, adding the people of Iraq were in a struggle to create a democratic society free from fundamentalist influence.

Several Iraqi politicians from the Sunni Islamic Party of Iraq of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, the Islamic Unity Party and several other blocs, including the Iraqi Accordance Front, attended the conference in Ashraf City.