|
People's Mojahedin of Iran and Iraqi people are allies against fundamentalism - MEP |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 01 November 2005 |
 NCRI, November 1 – Speaking to a meeting on Iran and its democratic
opposition in the European Parliament on October 26, Mr. Morten
Høglund, Member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Enlarged Foreign Affairs Committee of the Norwegian Parliament made the
following remarks:
It is a very disturbing situation in Iran, it is really important to be involved with developments in that country.
I am very happy to say that in our parliament as in several other
parliaments, there is a broad support for the National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and when I became a member of parliament, I
have somehow inherited an engagement which has been going on for
several years, and there is a great support for the movement. We where
happy to have Mrs. Rajavi visiting our parliament a few years ago which
was a great success. So there is a strong support, but of course things
have also been difficult.
I have been trying as hard as I could to become involved in several
types of activities. I visited Camp Ashraf, People’s Mojahedin (PMOI
aka MEK) base in Iraq, last year which was an extraordinary experience.
It was the most worthwhile trip. The people we met in Ashraf were
mainly Muslims but there were Christians, non-believers and followers
of other beliefs and it was an open society.
PMOI is labeled as a terrorist organization or as being a cult but my
experience with them was totally different. I felt complete openness at
all levels. We were able to see all the sites we wanted to visit and
interestingly enough there was an open environment for Iraqis to go and
get involved in debates and discussions. Ashraf is probably the only
safe place in Iraq. Celebrating Profit Mohammad’s birthday some 25,000
Iraqis went to Ashraf according to U.S. forces guarding the camp.
While in Ashraf we met with groups of Christians, Sunni Muslims, Kurds,
Shiite Muslims and other groups who came together. This was a very
special experience and we had the chance to speak to them just as we do
in our parliaments and it is also unique in Iraq. To me this was what
the PMOI stood for.
The Iraqis living in neighboring areas only had good experiences with
the Mojahedin. Some accused the PMOI as being paid by Saddam and as its
agents, but if this was true some Iraqis would have called for their
arrests, trial and punishment. The situation is totally different and
people instead stand up for them and support them. You do not need to
take my word you can go and experience this yourselves.
Mojahedin’s concern is only Iran and the Iraqi people’s concern are
also Iran. They feel that they are really allies in struggle against
Islamic fundamentalism, because what people in Iraq do not want is
fundamentalism. We especially felt this also from the Christians who
met us and said how fundamentalism was threatening them and how
terrified they were of them.
I will be happy to answer any questions on my visit. Regarding the
terrorism label, I will try to go as far as I can into the allegations
and see what is behind this and what are the grounds for it.
I have a very good contact in the US embassy in Oslo and I asked them
to provide me with a proof as to why the People’s Mojahedin were in
their list of terrorist organizations. When they produced a report
about an incidents in 1976 concerning an American officer in Tehran, I
was stunt. I don’t know what happened in 1976 in Tehran, but in any
case it was in 1976, in a totally different situation and I think it is
useless to discuss it but if the Americans have not moved forward from
that time, I feel that they have been struggling to find something.
So this is the situation and this is really to do with politics, and of
course Iran is frightened, and they should be and they use every single
tactic they can to have their enemies put in jail. We know that the
embassy of Iranian government is working very hard to discredit the
NCRI and the People’s Mojahedin.
The Iranian ambassador called my party leader to complain about what I
was doing and saying that I was a terrible person, and if the party
really supported what I stood for. I was very happy that my party
chairman supported what I was doing.
This is of course in the open and that is O.K. and it is fair that the
ambassador acted that way, but we had this people who come to you as
ordinary Iranians and they claim that they had been mistreated by
the PMOI and of course it is very difficult for us to know if they are
telling the true and what is behind it, but if you look into these
cases its not difficult to find links with the Iranian regime and of
course they are not stupid, they are smart people trying in every
different way to discredit the people who support the NCRI .
There has been telephone calls by the Iranian ambassador to my party
chairman and I personally do not care about that. I have been quite
open about my visit to Camp Ashraf and when I got back from Iraq I went
to the Norwegian broadcasting and showed them many photos and videos I
had taken from there and we received some TV coverage too. I have
absolutely nothing to hide about my trip.
After a while some individuals came to me and asked if it was true I
visited terrorists. I told them it was true that I visited Iraq but I
did not visit terrorists. This went on for so many months which was
disturbing for me and for my family but this was a tactic used against
me.
Some people asked me if it was worth it and if it meant anything to me.
I told them yes it definitely worth it and it meant a lot to me. For me
this was a very small price to pay compared to what Iranian people are
paying under the current regime.
Some people told me that this group was terrorist and others told me it
was a Marxist group but I found a totally different thing with the NCRI
and the PMOI. When you are with them you have everything. I have spoken
to many members of the Iranian Resistance and I do not agree with them
on many issues but they have proven to me that they stand for openness
and freedom to disagree which is very important.
Regarding the Marxist label which is an old label dating back to
decades ago, even if it was true it would have been of no concern to
me. When there is a new government in Iran and freedom to choose, then
it would be up to the people to decide who they wanted. What is
important for me is freedom to choose.
The NCRI has also been accused of having some resources for their money
and they are very well organized. Being organized and having money have
been used against them and they are being questioned about the sources
of their money. I can tell you that Iranians living abroad and
supporting the NCRI have been giving their hard-earned money to the
movement, they are dedicated people and I have found many bright and
smart individuals among them. |
English
Francais
Deutsch
Italiano
العربيّة
