Posted on 09/19/2005 7:46:51 PM PDT by F14 Pilot
An outlawed Iranian opposition group, which obtained a permit from the New York Police Department to hold a demonstration in front of the United Nations today, attracted an estimated 2,500 supporters to protest the presence of Iran’s president at the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.
But many of the crowd, coming from Denmark, Germany, Canada, Eritrea and Sudan, acknowledged that they had been recruited by the organization to attend the rally for money, and that all their expenses – including international air fare, hotels, and a daily stipend - had been paid by the organization.
“Basically, what you see is “rent-a-crowd,” said Kourosh Kalhour, spokesman for a pro-monarchist group, the Constitutionalist Movement of Iran, which held a rival demonstration nearby.
The Mujahedin-e Khalq, also known as the MEK, the MKO, was black-listed by the Department of State in 1994 as an international terrorist organization because its members had assassinated U.S. military officials in Iran in the 1970s.
MEK hit squads also murdered U.S. employees of Rockwell and other defense contractors in the 1970s.
Condemned as a “Marxist Islamic” cult by the former Shah, the MEK played an active role in the 1979 revolution and supported the taking of U.S. hostages in Tehran. The organization today claims that those actions were not condoned by the current leaders of the organization, but were the actions of a splinter group.
In 1986, the group moved its headquarters from Paris to Baghdad, and attempted to launch an armed invasion of Iran in April 1988, backed by Saddam Hussein. In the 1990s, Saddam used MEK troops to attack opposition militias in the Kurdish safe haven of northern Iraq that today have joined the new Iraqi government.
A front organization, the National Council of the Iranian Resistance, has also been black-listed by the State Department. Speakers at today’s event, which included a member of the Canadian parliament, demanded that the United States lift the terrorist designation of the group.
Many U.S. members of Congress have signed letters urging the State Department to remove the group from the terrorist list because they helped to expose the Iranian regime’s secret nuclear programs.
While large numbers of Iranians enthusiastically waved portraits of MEK leaders Massoud and Miryam Rajavi, hundreds of non-Iranians stood out in the crowd.
Martin Peterson, 26, of Ringe, Denmark, said MEK representatives contacted him recently in his country and offered to fly him and members of his family to New York for the rally. “We thought it was a good cause to support,” he said.
Peterson said he flew over from Denmark all expenses paid with a group of 70 Danes, and that similar groups had been recruited in Germany and France.
The MEK flew a group of 25 Africans from Sudan and Eritrea to New York from their homes in Ottowa, Canada,
Elizabeth Val, 35, flew down from Ottowa along with her three children, thanks to MEK recruiters. “We want to tell the UN that the same violations of human rights we see in Iran are happening in Darfur” region of southern Sudan. “We have come to protest human rights violations.”
Traveling with her was Sumia Ibrahim, 40, and Abeba Suleiman, 40 both originally of Eritrea. Both women brought children along, on MEK-paid tickets.
Pro-monarchist Iranians demonstrating nearby said a group of 21 MEK-protestors had flown with them overnight from Los Angeles, and talked openly of how they had been recruited by the MEK for the rally.
Rival demonstrations of U.S.-based Iranian exile groups gathered an estimated 800 people outside the UN. Some came in buses from Washington, DC, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Others flew in on a group charter from Los Angeles, with each person paying their own way.
“We worked very hard to bring together people who normally don’t talk to each other,” said Roozbeh Farahanipour, secretary general of Iranians for a Secular Republic (Marzepor Gohar). Farahanipour was a key leader in the July 1999 student uprising in Tehran and fled to the United States two years later.
While not a monarchist, Farahanipour said he felt it was important for Iranian opposition groups who supported non-violent regime change to work together.
“That is the important thing,” said Zia Atabay, a prominent broadcaster who founded National Iranian TV in Los Angeles. “Here we have all these groups together, even if normally they don’t talk.”
Several speakers called for the United States to prevent Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from holding lobbying sessions with pro-regime groups during his stay in new York.
Others called on the U.S. to arrest him on terrorism charges, stemming from his involvement in the 1979-1981 hostage crisis and his role in the murder of Iranian dissidents in Vienna, Austria and elsewhere.
Non-monarchist groups held a separate rally earlier in the day that included leaders of Marzepor Gohar, Iran Society, SOS Iran, Alliance of Iranians (Texas), National Iranian Congress, Social Democrats, Iranian Council, Iran of Tomorrow, the Pan-Iran party, and the Student Movement Coordinating Committee for a Democratic Iran (SMCCDI). Members of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran protested separately.
At least the Mullahs touch base with reality once in a while...something the MEK never does.
I just didn't agree with Mr. Timmerman's account of the event. There were thousands of Iranians at the event from all ends of the political spectrum. I spent my time at the rally listening to the incredibly gifted speakers and speaking with Iranians who wanted to talk about the future of Iran. I'm not sure why anyone would want to seek out and interview people who were not particularly familiar with the events of the day unless they are intentionally trying to misrepresent the event. Why do you think Mr. T. didn't interview speakers from the main stage or the energetic Iranians holding signs in the larger crowd?
The speakers focused on an inclusive democracy in Iran and I'm looking forward to reading the transcripts and balanced accounts of the event. I am inspired by Iranians and Americans who want to solve the Iran problem that just keeps growing and growing. Mr. Timmerman didn't walk into that crowd looking for a solution; he went into looking for a distraction. He found it and you are distracted. Good for you.
Are you kidding me? The Mullahs are in touch with reality? You have got to be kidding!!! Support for terrorism, ballistic missile development, covert nuclear program, human rights violations, dictatorship... Islamo-fascism is insane no matter how you look at it. Reality? Have you touched base with it recently?
What does the Patriot Act say about those who support terrorism or terrorist organizations? My interpretation of it is, all foreign nationals who demonstrated for this organization should be deported.
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
From: Country Reports on Terrorism, 2004. United States Department of State, April 2005.
Comments on the content of the material should be sent to the U.S. Department of State
The freedom we all love has not been compromised by the Patriot Act. In our great country, citizens and visitors can hold any sign they like. Alternatively, other citizens and guests have the right to ignore said signs. The event was a peaceful expression of diverse political opinions. It was beautiful and NYC is one of but a few places on the globe where it could occur. You don't have to agree with what was said at the rally but if you're a patriot, you will defend their right of those participants to say it, with your life.
But reading this post and thread, you couldn’t know what was said. Let me fill you in… One of the speakers was the sister of a U.S. Marine killed by the Hezbollah in Beirut. She gave a powerful account of her brother, a man who served and died for god, country and freedom. Mr. Timmerman forgot to mention her or her brother. She was asking that the U.S. government not forget her brother or Iranians who struggle for democracy and freedom in Iran. She deserves to be heard! That day, she was heard... She doesn’t support terror, terrorists, or terrorism! There were Iranians in the crowd crying while she spoke. Did Timmerman interview them? No! I say again, not a balanced account of the event.
Well said!
As a charter member of the Axis of Evil club, Iran also should be a member of the global war on terrorism (GWOT), even without applying. But only if one takes into account its proliferation history does Tehran’s Axis membership automatically carry over to the GWOT. Combine Tehran’s intent and capability to create catastrophic weapons with its record of state sponsored international terrorism, then the name “Iran” rises to the top of the GWOT list. ...
The issue with Rats isn't pay- it's the style of the ride- Greyhound busses vs. publik skoo busses.
"He must be trying to compensate for not been invited to speak on the main stage. Better luck next time Mr. T!"
I think that remark goes a bit beyond, "I just didn't agree with Mr. Timmerman's account of the event". It reveals a bit of hostility. Why is that? You have something against Timmerman?
Mr. Timmerman wasn't "invited to speak on the main stage", because he's a well known critic of MEK. And "the main stage", as you keep calling it, was the MEK stage. And why was it "the main stage" with the biggest crowd? Because, as Timmerman explained, they paid people from all over the globe to come and make it look as though MEK has a huge following. (Apparently they didn't have enough supporters here in the U.S.) They advertised thru press releases, and over the internet that they would have at least 15,000 supporters there. They fell a bit short. Again.
And how, besides paying people, did they get others to join them who weren't actually MEK supporters? Answer: They hid their identity behind yet another acronym, 'NYCA'. It wasn't until people got there and they saw the yellow and blue tee-shirts and pictures of their cult leader Rajavi, that they began to wonder who this group was. And of course inquiring minds were given the stock answer of them being just another anti-regime group interested in a secular and democratic Iran. - [though their leader who's been trying to be the leader of Iran for decades, wears a headscarf and insists on all female members on her cult doing the same] Secular my foot!
And why are they so desperate to appear to have a big following? So they can have their group removed from the State Dept's Terrorist list, and win more naive support for their cause > > > installment of the Rajavis to power in Iran. Oh, I forgot, that's only for about 6 mos until they can have a vote on whether the Iranian people want them to stay. lol. The majority of Iranian people don't want the Rajavi's feet to touch the soil of Iran, no less come to power there.
So, gee, I wonder why Timmerman who has repeatedly denounced the MEK, wouldn't be welcome to speak on their stage?
He spoke to another crowd. One not supportive of cultist terrorists. Maybe you should have wandered away from your friends with the yellow and blue shirts to listen to him?
This being said, the media all but completely ignored the demonstrations, as I unfortunately, suspected they would.
They also ignored people walking out on Ahmadinejad's speech and the assembly room being more than 1/2 empty when he gave his speech at the U.N. None of this newsworthy?
It's shameful yet typical of the msm.
Probably because he already knew beforehand what they were going to say.
terrorists and traitors have no freedom!
Not at all... I had no foreknowledge of his article so I made an assumption as to why he didn't do some of the things I thought he would have or should have done. It's ok to make assumptions when one admits it's a guess. In terms of his motivation, only he can speak to why he wrote this article. Obviously, it's his interpretation of the event and that's fine, but his interpretations and assumptions are framed as facts which they are not.
For example: "An outlawed Iranian opposition group, which obtained a permit from the New York Police Department". This is patently false! If a designated terrorist were to submit a request to demonstrate at specific time and location, a SWAT team would be there to pick them up. I assume that because this absurdity fits into your perception of what happened, you’re propagating it. IE... "They hid their identity behind yet another acronym, 'NYCA'"
There were diverse ideas expressed by the crowd and it is a gross mischaracterization to attribute some of those ideas to all of the speakers or the NYCA. Be critical of the MEK! Who isn't these days? But don't ignore your own content. Hold your effigy of Reza Pahlavi high and support the democratic ideals you believe he represents. Establish an opposition platform and become a target for the regime. The best you’ve been able to do so far is establish that you are opposed to the opposition.
Work with me here… I’m a proponent of democracy in Iran however I’m not for or against anyone who considers themselves opposed to this regime! You have an important opportunity here that you’re missing. The crowd you were in, what do they want the future of Iran to be? Share with FR their good ideas and speak for them, not all of Iran. Only dictators and tyrants speak for all of their people and that’s why they’re overthrown…
How could he reasonably know that? He may have assumed he knew it but we can't know what he assumes/thinks/knows unless he shares it with us as his readers. But as is the case with all news and commentary, primary focus is paid to what is written, not what is left out. Mr. Timmerman's work is burdened with a serious deficit of "event content" and for that, his readers will have to look elsewhere. That is unless he decides to write a follow-up, which I hope he does. Although I was in the crowd, I was not able to absorb everything from all stages therefore I’m interested to hear Mr. T’s perspective on the content of the event, not the content of the crowd.
I couldn't agree with you more, after they've been identified... Fortunately we don't live in a country where random accusations pass for evidence and the designation and prosecution of terrorists is processed under the rule of law. I have the impression you'd prefer to live in a kind of chaos where your word alone can decide the fate of any man or woman you disagree with. If I'm right then you are not free and you have no idea what freedom is.
Please tell me my impression about you is wrong…
Trust me, if there were members of that organization willing to have a conservation with him I'm sure that he would have published their point of view, though as you alluded to, this is an opinion piece, so I'm sure that his perspective would be the one given precedence.
I also don't believe you can separate the content of the event from the people who had organized it, since they were the ones who ultimately decided who was going to speak, what issues were going to be highlighted-and judging by the continued reiteration of a call to remove the MEK from the State Department's list of international terrorist organizations, they had a great input into this aspect of the rally-and how the event was going to be framed for the national media.
And I wonder why you keep defending terrorists here on FR
" I made an assumption as to why he didn't do some of the things I thought he would have or should have done. It's ok to make assumptions when one admits it's a guess."
lol. I see. How about saying it's a guess at the time you're making the assumption instead of waiting until you're called on it?
"In terms of his motivation, only he can speak to why he wrote this article."
Well, I can speak to it, but I'd be guessing. ;~ ) And I'm guessing he wanted to inform people about who the people in the blue and yellow shirts were, and how they got there. And maybe in the future people will ask a few more questions and be a bit more careful about who they associate with. Just a guess.
I'm not quite sure what your 2nd paragraph is trying to say. If you're trying to say that the NYCA didn't have any affiliation with MEK, you'd be wrong. The T-shirts and satellite "visit" from Maryam Rajavi are proof enough, not to mention the women who helped organized it. (her name slips my mind at the moment, but she's a long-time supporter of MEK)
Of course there were diverse ideas expressed. The MEK likes it that way. They garner more support appearing diverse themselves.
As for Reza Pahlavi, I think he could be the answer to an interim gov't in Iran while they're deciding thru a referendom what type of gov't they'd like. The MEK is NOT.
However, if someone else trustworthy came forward, I might support them. I'm not totally committed to Pahlavi.
I'm not looking for your approval of how I support the people of Iran or regime change there. So, I'll handle that in my own way.
this guy is for MEK only!
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