On the afternoon of June 20, an email was sent by the US State Department to some reporters, stating: “The Albanian State Police have assured us that all actions (in Ashraf) were conducted in accordance with applicable laws, including with regard to the protection of the rights and freedoms of all persons in Albania. We support the Government of Albania’s right to investigate any potential illegal activities within its territory.”
The email, a copy-pasted rehash of previous statements, including one from November 14, 2022, states: “The US does not see the MEK as a viable democratic opposition movement that is representative of the Iranian people” and “does not provide support or training” or “does not contribute funding to the organization.”
For their part, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian Resistance, contrary to the four-decade-long propaganda by the religious fascism ruling Iran and its agents, take pride to have never sought the support and financial assistance from the US or any other power. They have always relied and continue to rely on the Iranian people.
Nevertheless, the shameful remarks as to whether the MEK is the representative of the Iranian people or whether it is legitimate, coming just hours after the deadly assault on Ashraf-3, have no other meaning than sending a signal to the clerical regime and standing with the assailants who violated the universal values of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the rights of asylum seekers, and international treaties such as the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, and caused the murder of an MEK member and the wounding of more than 100 others.
Those authoring such remarks should have learned from the experience of the Shah’s overthrow that they have no qualification whatsoever to determine who represents the Iranian people. That task rests solely with the Iranian people in the course of a free election in a democratic republic after the overthrow of the religious fascism ruling Iran, whose appeasement has been the recognized policy of different US administrations over the years.
In this regard, it would be appropriate to cite to House Resolution 100, sponsored by a majority of representatives (239), and statements from thousands of legislators from different countries, including majorities in 30 legislative bodies, such as the French National Assembly, both of Houses of the British Parliament, the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the Norwegian Parliament, the Dutch and the Irish Senate, who have supported the Iranian people’s uprising for a democratic republic based on the separation of religion and state.
These statements highlight: “Here, we emphasize the importance of the people’s right to self-determination. It is up to the people of Iran to choose their future. We stand with the Iranian people and share the republican values such as free elections, freedom of assembly and expression, abolition of the death penalty, gender equality, separation of religion and state, and the right to autonomy for Iranian ethnic minorities and a non-nuclear Iran, as outlined in the 10-point Plan formulated by Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.”
Everyone recalls that the terrorist designation of the MEK and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) was “a goodwill gesture to Tehran and its newly elected moderate president, Mohammad Khatami.” (Los Angeles Times, October 9, 1997). After 15 years, the US State Department was ordered by the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, America’s second highest court, to revoke that unjust designation. Appeasing the tyrants ruling Iran has a 70-year history, going back to the era of Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq and August 19, 1953, coup d’état, the consequences of which are common knowledge. No doubt, the day to apologize to the people of Iran over such misguided policies will arrive.
While the expressions of international condemnation and outrage surrounding the attack on Ashraf-3 are mounting, the country’s Minister of Interior and Chief of Police continue to deny the violent and unjust actions perpetrated against the residents of Ashraf. They dismiss the abundant evidence available in Albanian media, social networks, and international media, including photos and videos documenting the incident.
The Albanian Minister of Interior claims, “Not even one of the residents has been touched by the police… That statement of violence should be retracted, and they themselves should see the footage of their own people inside, and if there was an officer touching someone, they should call it violence, even though touching someone is not violence.”
It is also astonishing that they claim the police only used pepper spray to defend themselves against attacks by the residents! Hundreds of photos and videos show a completely different reality. The images demonstrate that the police initially positioned two machine guns on one of the buildings upon entering Ashraf-3, aiming at inside Ashraf.
These lays bare the meaning of what the officials meant when speaking about the using pepper spray in self-defense against the MEK attack!
Does the responsibility for the murder of MEK member Ali Mostashari falls on anyone other than those who authorized and carried out the assault?
This explains why anonymous so-called “local reporters” have resorted to lies to cover up the truth with another falsehood. In its report on June 20, the Associated Press wrote, “MEK members in Albania have proudly told local journalists how they have hacked or penetrated communication systems of the Tehran government and Iranian institutions.”
This is a blatant lie. This issue has nothing to do with the MEK in Albania whatsoever and at no time and nowhere have the MEK or the residents of Ashraf told any reporter such a thing.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
June 21, 2023
