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| Iraq |
| Iraqi government prohibits dealing with the Iranian MKO |
| 2008-06-18 |
| (VOI) – The Iraqi government on Tuesday decided to prohibit dealing with the Iranian Mojahedine Khlaq Organization (MKO). The decree encompasses any organization, party, institution, and individual, Iraqis or foreigners, inside Iraq, and that anyone who violates this decree will be charged according to the terror law. 'The cabinet in its regular session on Tuesday debated the MKO's presence on Iraqi land, its intervention in the local issues, its provocative participation against the Iraqi elected government and institutions, and encouraging terror against the Iraqi people,' Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, the cabinet's official spokesperson, said in a release received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI). 'The cabinet decided to emphasize the decisions made previously that consider the MKO as a terrorist organization that should depart Iraq,' al-Dabbagh added. The cabinet also decided, according to the release, to 'put the MKO, present on the Iraqi lands, under the Iraqi government's full control, until their deportation, and to deal with the MKO according to the Iraqi laws.' The cabinet called on 'Multi National Forces to remove involvement with this organization, and that checkpoints and all other related issues should be handed over to the Iraqi authorities,' according to the statement. 'The cabinet will activate judiciary petitions against MKO's personnel who committed crimes against Iraqis,' it added. 'The cabinet will also coordinate with the Red Cross to find subtle solutions for the problem of MKO's presence on the Iraqi lands, and fulfilling the decisions of deporting it from Iraq,' it said. Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashahadani decided to summon Jawad al-Bolani – minister of interior, minister of human rights, and Diala province governor, during a session that embraced a severe discussion between lawmakers regarding the issue of the Iranian MKO. Some legislatures demanded that lawmaker Saleh al-Motlak be arrested for visiting the MKO's compound. 'I would be honored if I would be detained, because I stood with the oppressed,' al-Motlak responded. 'In each visit I made, I found this organization totally disarmed, and working day and night to live,' he said. 'Relations with the MKO is against the Iranian intervention in Iraq, and is much less dangerous than the relations with Iran,' he added. Al-Motlak stressed that he would stop his relation with the MKO, 'if it harms the interest of one Iraqi, but with proof.' 'This is a visit to thousands of Iraqis, and a meeting with thousands of Iraqis that have no safer place to meet,' he said. 'Talking about the MKO's relations with al-Qaeda Organization is unfair,' he added. 'The MKO is surrounded by U.S. protection, and it is unbelievable that the U.S. would cooperate with al-Qaeda in that compound,' he explained. 'There is a message from the Iraqi Foreign Minister saying that we had no damages from the MKO, and that this organization's presence is for Iraq's interests.' The Arab bloc for national dialogue, headed by al-Motlak, holds 28 out of 275 parliamentary seats. From his side, lawmaker Hassan al-Sineed of the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC – Shiite parliamentary bloc) called on examining the legal bases of MKO's presence in Iraq. 'We should examine the MKO's presence; is it legal or not, and which official side allowed it to remain in Iraq, and occupy important locations and camps,' al-Sineed said. He accused the MKO of holding various conferences, and issuing a number of releases. 'In the latest release, the MKO accused the Iraqi institutions, authority, and parliament of being a follower of the Iranian side, and that the institutions are submissive to the Iranian regime,' he added. 'MKO's history with our people is unhealthy and unhelpful, and there are many documents that prove this,' he noted. 'There is no international cover to protect an organization that has targets, military and security conflicts with the state that it belongs to,' he explained. |
| Posted by:Fred |