Sadegh Sistani - 8/5/2011
Much has been said and discussed about the MEK/PMOI in the press and among policy makers, some behind closed doors and others in high-level diplomatic meetings. The most prominent Iranian opposition group (Mojahedin as known by the Iranian people) is a main battleground which will determine lives of millions in Iran and the whole region. The charge that the MEK has no support in Iran is, frankly, baseless.
The 2009 uprisings and latest official purge within the clerical hierarchy leave no doubt for appeasers that democracy is void in Iran and therefore it would be only self suicide for any Iranian to display an iota of sympathy for the MEK, which is classified as “Moharebe”* by a fatwa released by Khomeini.
I endured 17 years of prison and torture under the clerical regime in Iran.
During the 2009 uprisings, I met in prison tens of youth, tortured and beaten and accused of correlating and working with the MEK. We were submerged in a wave of desperate negative propaganda against the organization. Press titles read:” The commander of Ashura day incidents was the PMOI and rioters chanted their slogans” and that” Saying no to Velayat-e Faqih (Iranian Supreme Leader) means that you have accepted the rule of Maryam Rajavi instead.”
The punishment and “Verdict for protestors is death “in Iran (Mohseni-Ejei, former Minister of Intelligence- Mehr stat-run news agency, January 4, 2010) and “Anyone who helps PMOI in any way will be deemed Moharebe* (First Deputy of Judiciary- Channel 2 TV, December 30, 2009).
The number of street protestors arrested for association with the Mojaheden (MeK) also depicts its role in demonstrations as do slogans echoing Mojahedin chants, e.g., calling for a democratic change by chanting “down with the principle of Velayat-e Faqih” (referring to Supremacy of one man -Khamenei).
The aftermath of the 2009 uprising there was a wave of executions, mainly MEK members, such as Jafar Kazemi, Ali Aghaei,… and tens of death orders for its supporters who were charged with either visiting Camp Ashraf or taking part in the protests.
The clerical regime’s fear of the MEK has already reflected in increasing widening of the rift and escalation of qualms in the Hierarchy of the regime which is adamantly leading to an implosion of the entirely of this illegitimate regime.
Only during the last two weeks, the MEK/PMOI has occupied 90 percent of clerical regime propaganda spur referring to the organization at least 100 times.
It is time to resolve the long argued paradox: “The MEK cannot be an isolated little sect and the most powerful and feared element by the clerical regime at the same time."
All this illustrates just how significant the Mujahedeen of Iran are in the Iranian puzzle and how urgently the US needs to stand alongside the people in their choice to bring about a complete change through its capable and well rooted organization , the MEK by delisting the organization from its FTO list.
The Mujahedeen are a well-organized, highly-educated, and devoted group of Iranian activists who have stood alone on the frontline to terror and Islamic fundamentalism for at least 27 years now well before the West finally realized the threat. They have warned of, and urged vigilance against, the clerical regime for years, only to be brushed aside by skeptical intellectuals and pro engagement pundits in Europe and the US. They have tried to educate a duped Western audience about the enormous capacity of the Islamic fundamentalists to inflict pain and suffering on the social fabric of modern society, ripping it asunder and thrusting it into a convulsion of crises that it can benefit from.
At the same the fear the clerical regime has towards its only serious enemy, the MEK as its anti-thesis.
However, the US policy to confront the clerical fascist regime in Iran is incoherent. Appeasers in Capitol Hill steered by lobbies of the Iranian regime somehow manage to combine colossal moral failure with strategic imbecility with the overpowering stench of hypocrisy to pass over the huge loss of National interest of the United States in the game over Iran. Nevertheless, the Iranian people, having 35 years of priceless struggle against the religious fascist ruling Iran distinguish best and stand with their only chance for Democracy: the MEK.
Recognizing the people’s right to resist the tyrannical rule in Iran and lending support to the opposition who aspires to establish the principles of a free secular Republic, is the only beacon for the Iranian populous in Iran. This will send a true message of good will gesture to the Iranian people and also the people of the region; The United States to pave way for peace and security in Iran and the region by siding with the people and not their henchmen.
The only necessary step should be to recognize the Mojahedin –e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) as the true voice of the Iranian people who desire complete change in their homeland.
On July 30, the Iranian resistance announced the results of a 64-hour telethon, during which Iranians contributed $3.28 million dollars to the INTV (the Iranian resistance Satellite Television broadcasting to four continents and covering Iran with anti- government news and broadcast).The extensive support displayed during the programme is only one example of millions of the love and respect the Iranian people have towards the Mojahedin (MEK).
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