Iran: How the EU Council of Ministers is ignoring the ruling of the EU Court

Staff Writer

17 years ago

Is People’s Mojahedin Organization Terrorist?
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
By: Sigmund Tilber
Monday June 4, 2007
June 3rd Copenhagen: Danish Parliament has an EU Committee which investigated the EU Council of Minister’s decision on June 2nd. According to members of this committee ignoring the ruling of EU Court to remove People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) from the terrorist list is a disaster. Majority of the members of this committee are from the parties in coalition with the government. They voted along with the opposition People’s party. They have demanded that in order to guarantee the accuracy of the EU terrorist list, the government must be more proactive and not base its assessment on the EU foreign policy restrictions. Judgment should be based on suspicion on acts of terrorism.

Mojahedin along with EU Parliamentarians arranged a conference in Copenhagen where Lord Slynn of Hadley who is a former Judge of the EU court sharply criticized the decision of EU Council of Ministers.

After September 11th terrorist acts, EU countries coordinated their activities against terrorism and one of their decisions was to block bank accounts of those in the list. Decision on the inclusion in the terrorist list is made in “Clearing House” where representatives of security agencies meet. It then is discussed in the Conference of Ambassadors and eventually is passed in the EU Council of Ministers. Normally they should present documents on the group’s recent acts of terrorism. The decision is reviewed every 6 months. PMOI was included in the EU terror list in May 2002 and remained since then even though after September 11th they condemned violent activities. Contrary to what Jack Straw the former Foreign Minister of Britain claimed, there is no evidence of PMOI participating in assassination plots in England or anywhere else. Their “resistance” has only been limited to inside Iran and against Ayatollah Khomeini.

Mojahedin always knew because of extensive economic interests, Tehran will force Britain to include their name in the list. Another incentive for EU was not to bother Iran during sensitive negotiations and to support the so-called “moderates” such as the former President Khatami. Soon after EU was not willing to jeopardize the nuclear talks with Iran either. PMOI sued and won the case in the EU court in December 2006. EU refused to present any evidence and above all did not inform PMOI of the procedure of including them in the list. The 2005 and all the following decisions by the EU Ministers were annulled as if they did not happen. But end of January 2007 the Council of Ministers announced that the verdict applied to December 2005 assessment and the subsequent decisions, starting May 2006 by the Council of Ministers still held. As Lord Slynn specified this was “idiocy in the law” especially that Mojahedin were never questioned about this assessment.

At the end of January the EU Council of Ministers decided to correct their procedural error and informed Mojahedin of the decision on why they were remaining “in the list of individuals and organizations participated in acts of terror”. But PMOI attorneys claim that the stated letter and documents by the EU Council of Ministers do not include any evidence on acts of terrorism by PMOI—especially after 2001.”

PMOI accuse EU that placing them in the list is a political decision and based on pressure from Tehran regime. Primarily in meeting with Tehran officials, Britain and France declared they will do their best to keep the opposition in the terror list despite the ruling of the EU court. Thereafter the attorneys presented another lawsuit to the court because the EU Council of Ministers rejected removing PMOI from the list. They have sued for damages claiming their human rights such as their right to association and free speech, as shown by Germany and France, have been violated.

Lord Slynn objected to the fact that the reasoning of the EU Council about the ruling is now based on the procedure. This ruling is related to the code of law in those countries. If the officials refuse to present any evidence about terror acts even behind closed doors, it will undermine the Judiciary check and balance. It is deplorable that the Council of Ministers does not accept the verdict. Even with the current EU terrorism code of law and with the “present” activities and the past 6 months worth of checks and balances of the list, firm policies must be set so that officials would not add organizations to the list only because of personal desire.

In the mean time the members of Parliaments from all over Europe are protesting. More than 1000 Parliamentarians with some 100 of them members of EU Parliament are actively opposing this decision against PMOI by the Council of Ministers which Alejo Vidal Quadras Vice President of EU Parliament angrily denotes as gross violation of European law. Lord Russell-Johnston, the British liberal politician stated in Copenhagen: maybe Danish freedom lovers could correct the mistake made by the British. One vote of “No” in the EU Council of Ministers is good enough. The pressure of Danish Parliamentarians on their government will sure increase.