October 01, 2016, 02:57 pm
Success:
relocation of Iranian exiles points to rising prominence of Iranian resistance
By Former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.)
On Sept. 9, the last group of Iranian
dissidents residing in Camp Liberty, Iraq left the country for Europe.
Although collective international
action was slow in coming, its eventual success helps demonstrate that
recognition of and sympathy for the Iranian resistance is on the rise.
The DISSIDENTS are members of the
principle Iranian OPPOSITION, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).
Thirteen years ago, after the invasion of
Iraq, the U.S. recognized them as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva
Convention.
But in January 2009, their security was
handed over to the Government of Iraq. Since then, they were subjected to
several deadly attacks by Iraqi security forces acting at the behest of Tehran
or paramilitary terrorists in Iraq affiliated with the clerical regime in Iran.
Some in Congress and elsewhere were
concerned that the U.S. had failed to uphold its commitment to protect the
DISSIDENTS and criticized the Obama administration.
But to its credit, the U.S. State
Department helped, in the late stages, to guarantee that the resettlement
outside Iraq would proceed to its completion.
Many DISSIDENTS went to Albania, while a
number of Western European countries took in smaller numbers of the MEK
refugees.
The MEK is the most organized and
sophisticated political movement seeking a democratic system in the Middle
East.
the leading constituent of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran, led by Maryam Rajavi who espouses a democratic
and secular Iran, it has put forth a ten-point plan for the future of the
country that includes a commitment to secularism, democracy, regional
non-intervention, and the rights of women and minorities.
In other words, it stands for all
the things that the current Iranian regime stands against.
It is little wonder, then, that Tehran and
its regional allies made concerted efforts to halt the resettlement of MEK
members and to force the surrender of the Camp Liberty community.
All told, before leaving Iraq, 177 people
were killed or kidnapped before Camp Liberty was finally emptied this month.
Indeed, over the past 37 years, the
Iranian regime has tried everything to exterminate this movement.
The world is still largely in the
dark about the Iranian authorities’ massacre of political prisoners in the
summer of 1988, mainly targeting the MEK and its affiliates. Following a decree
by Ayatollah Khomeini, 30,000 political prisoners were slaughtered in a matter
of months because they refused to renounce their affiliation with the MEK.
Although the MEK and its decades-long
struggle against religious tyranny are not at the forefront of Western
policymakers’ minds, we can confidently say that disregard for the Iranian
resistance is a thing of the past. The organization has a dedicated roster of
hundreds of advocates within the European and American legislatures and their
numbers are growing. Their dedication has delivered the former Camp Liberty
residents to safety, and just as importantly, it has brought them into closer
contact with European governments and the world community, where they can tell
their stories and continue their activism in favor of regime change in Tehran.
It is safe to assume that support for the
MEK will only continue to grow from this point forward.
In fact, the liberation of the residents
of Camp Liberty may represent the start of a new era in the history of the
Iranian resistance and a significant step toward the liberation of the Iranian
people as a whole.
By a remarkable coincidence, the
resolution of the refugee crisis came close on the heels of the revelation of
new information about the 1988 massacre, making it a leading topic of
discussion among activists and civil society in Iran.
That dialogue is shining new light on the
extent of the Iranian regime’s brutality in its early days and how that
brutality has shaped the character of the regime over the subsequent three
decades.
As more of that information makes its way
to the West – including the identities of the current Iranian officials who
actively participated in the 1988 massacre – it will become more evident that
the international communities’ efforts toward Camp Liberty were not only
morally right, but absolutely necessary.
And in a larger sense, it will become
increasingly clear that the same thing is true of the MEK itself and its goals
for the future of Iran.
Kennedy served in the House of
Representatives from 1995-2011.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/298788-success-relocation-of-Iranian-exiles-points-to-rising
