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.