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HRW report: A Reward for the Iranian Regime; A Penalty for the Iranian People |
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Thursday, 19 May 2005 |
 Human Rights Watch Report on the Iranian Opposition: A Reward for the Iranian Regime; A Penalty for the Iranian People
Prof. Raymond Tanter of the Iran Policy Committee
WASHINGTON, May 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a press release, Human Rights
Watch announced that it has released a 28-page report titled, "No Exit:
Human Rights Abuses Inside the MKO Camps." The report contains
telephone interviews with 12 "former...(Mujahedin e-Khalq
Organization-MEK)) members." It considers their statements as "credible
claims that they were subjected to imprisonment as well as physical and
psychological abuses."
But these "credible claims" are actually statements by agents of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
The Human Rights Watch press release also mentions the Iran Policy
Committee (IPC): "On February 10, a think-tank co-chaired by retired
U.S. military officers, (sic) the Iran Policy Committee, called for the
removal of the (MEK) designation and for the U.S. government to
actively support the group against the Iranian government."
Joe Stork, Washington director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and
North Africa division said, "The Iranian government has a dreadful
record on human rights." "But it would be a huge mistake to promote an
opposition group (Mujahedin e-Khalq) that is responsible for serious
human rights abuses," said Stork.
In reply to Stork, Professor Raymond Tanter of Georgetown University, a
former White House aide and IPC co-chair said, "It is a humongous
mistake for a human rights organization to promote the agenda of a
rogue regime by taking at face value the claims of its intelligence
agents." "All of the individuals cited in the Human Rights Watch report
are agents of the Iranian regime's Ministry of Intelligence and
Security (MOIS), including Mohammad- Hossein Sobhani, and Farhad
Javaheri-Yar." Tanter added that, "Tehran sent most of those
interviewed by Human Rights Watch from Iran to Europe for the purpose
of demonizing its main opposition, the MEK." Tanter, author of Rogue
Regimes, helped manage U.S. policy toward Iran while on the National
Security Council staff. Tanter conducts research at The Washington
Institute for Near East Policy on options for Iran in light of its
sponsorship of terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
and dreadful record on human rights.
Bruce McColm, a co-founder of IPC, former executive director of Freedom
House, and former president of the International Republican Institute
said: "The message of this report discredits the messenger-Human Rights
Watch-more than its intended target-the MEK." McColm also said that,
"Unfortunately, Human Rights Watch appears to have fallen for Tehran's
disinformation campaign. Over the past several months, Iran has been
aggressively peddling these sources to many groups in Europe, hoping
someone would bite." McColm concluded that "The Human Rights Watch
report lacks validity and is solely a compilation of allegations by
former associates of an organization most feared by Tehran, who have
long-served in an intelligence capacity for the regime by spreading its
propaganda."
IPC research has determined that Iran's disinformation goes out to a
variety of western organizations, including Amnesty International,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as International
Committee of the Red Cross. What further discredits the report is that
there is no counter evidence, such as responses by the MEK to
allegations, in the Human Rights Watch report.
Clare Lopez, executive director of the IPC called the Human Rights
Watch report a "counterattack and disinformation campaign by the
Iranian regime." "The methodology used to prepare this report is
stunningly uncharacteristic of any investigation, for its lack of
balance, corroboration, and face-to-face interviews," Lopez added.
Moreover, the report fails to include the views of the United States
military, which controls all MEK bases since April 2003. A
Knight-Ridder correspondent visited MEK's Camp Ashraf in Iraq and wrote
on March 18, 2005: "The U.S. military has investigated claims that the
Mujahedeen were keeping people in Ashraf against their will, but found
no solid evidence. As one senior U.S. military official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, put it: 'I think they've been captured by ideas
and dogma, but they are not prisoners. They are reasonably physically
free to leave.'"
At the same time, the individuals cited in the Human Rights Watch
report have all appeared on regime-sponsored websites over the past few
months, and similar accusations have already been posted on these
sites.
"This is a bad news-good news situation," Tanter said. "The bad news is
that Human Rights Watch has sacrificed its credibility by supporting a
rights-violating regime attempting to destroy its main opposition-the
MEK; the good news is that the leaders of Human Rights Watch can view
this situation as an opportunity to side with the Iranian people
instead of with an authoritarian regime," Tanter concluded.
The bottom line is that the Human Rights Watch report is a reward to
the Iranian regime. Likewise, it is a penalty to the Iranian people
because the report opposes U.S. policy of encouraging Iranian
opposition groups to determine their country's future. The report helps
Iran buy time to develop nuclear weapons, sponsor terrorism, and
threaten the security of the United States. The report sides with the
regime and punishes its victims.
The Human Rights Watch report contrasts sharply with the 2005 Inaugural
Address of President George W. Bush, who said, "The survival of liberty
in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other
lands." And in the State of the Union Address, President Bush said to
the Iranian people, "As you stand for liberty, America stands with you." |
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