National Day of Fight against Terrorism in Iran
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August 29 is the National Day of Fight against Terrorism in Iran. On this day in 1981, the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (AKA: MKO, MEK, PMOI) exploded the office of the Prime Minister of Iran, and martyred President Rajai and Primer Bahonar and several other officials. This was another in a series of terrorist attacks perpetrated by this group against Iranian civilians and government officials. Just two months earlier on 28 June 1981, they assassinated over 70 high-ranking officials, including the Chief of Justice, three incumbent ministers, and 27 members of the Parliament. In a decade, they killed over 17000 innocent individuals, just because they were even working for or supporting the government or having a beard or looking suspicious.
During its years of terror rampage against Iranian people, the MKO enjoyed support from certain foreign countries, especially Saddam’s regime. In 1984, in the midst of Saddam’s war against Iran, the MKO elements fled to Iraq to set up a military camp, which was active even after Saddam’s time. They were mercenary tools in the hands of Saddam Hussain against Iran as well as the Iraqi dissent people. The role that the MKO elements played in Saddam’s crackdown on Iraqi Kurds and Shiite community in the 1980s and 1990s is well-known and many of them are in judicial pursuit for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Surprisingly, in almost two decades that they openly turned their arms against Iranian and Iraqi peoples, the MKO leadership along with many of their fellow groupers were based in the West, enjoying free-hand to spread their cynical ideology of violence and raising funds in streets of European capitals to finance their terrorist activities.
After Saddam was overthrown in 2003, the MKO’s members residing in the Ashraf military camp on the outskirts of Baghdad moved to Europe to set up a similar camp in Albania. Ironically, they called the new camp “Liberty”! Their delisting from terrorist groups by the EU and the US, respectively in 2009 and 2012, has also further assisted them to enhance their presence in the West.
In the past years, certain US and European politicians, including Rudy Giuliani, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo, made paid-appearance and paid-speeches in the MKO gatherings to cast its legitimacy. It is ironic that the MKO started its terrorist campaign by assassinating American servicemen in the 1970s. As observed by The Guardian, the MKO buses refugees and young eastern Europeans to fill up its events[1], and give these hired politicians a tumultuous audience.
Free movement and free-hand of the MKO leaders and members in Western countries is nothing but a clear indication of the double standards of certain countries toward international terrorism. History shows that there is no such thing as a “good terrorist” or “bad terrorist.” Terrorists are blind and bite back even those who used to feed them. It is not strange that those who once created or supported Al-Qaeda fallen eventually victims to its terrorism. It is a matter of time to see when the MKO turns its arms against its masters.