Source: The Wall Street Journal
Amir Taheri's assessment of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK [PMOI]) ultimately undermines his own argument for retaining the group on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations ("Iran's Troubling Opposition," June 26).
Mr. Taheri is correct that the MEK has been long appreciated by Western and Arab intelligence services "for its sources deep inside Iran," and that "the group was the first to provide evidence of Tehran's secret nuclear project." He also accurately notes that "the MEK continues to enjoy much support inside Iran and among Iranian exiles," and that "no other political group has sustained so many losses at the hands of the mullahs."
Mr. Taheri is mistaken, however, when he claims that MEK [PMOI]members in Iraq have been extended "prisoner-of-war protection" by U.S. and coalition forces. In fact they are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention, a designation reserved for noncombatants, and fundamentally at odds with a "terrorist" label. Moreover, Mr. Taheri's assertions notwithstanding, the MEK [PMOI] has indeed renounced violence, and is committed to working for secular, democratic reform in Iran. In 2003, MEK [PMOI] members at Camp Ashraf submitted verifiable signed pledges of nonviolence to coalition forces. U.S. security agencies have vetted each member and concluded that they have no links to terrorism.
Mr. Taheri's history of the MEK [PMOI] is deeply flawed. But rather than dwell on the past, let's regard the MEK's current position. The organization has taken the very steps Mr. Taheri advocates by renouncing violence. The MEK [PMOI] has repeated a willingness to cooperate with any international authority such as a U.N. fact finding commission to respond to any charges made against the MEK by Iran or its proxies in Iraq.
As Mr. Taheri notes, the British Parliament, following a high court mandate, has dropped the MEK [PMOI] from its terrorist list, based on the finding that the organization is not linked to terrorism. The U.S. should follow the lead of its ally in the war on terror and remove the unjustified "terrorist" designation from the MEK [PMOI].
Lord Corbett
London
(Robin Corbett is a Labour Member of the House of Lords and is Chairman of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom.)