Posted on 02/01/2006 1:02:27 AM PST by Brux
Head of a group labeled terrorist by the U.S. urges the West to back an internal political push against Tehran.
AUVERS-SUR-OISE, France Opening the gates of the secretive world of her headquarters north of Paris, the leader of an Iranian exile group urged Western governments Tuesday to support a campaign of internal political resistance to the regime in Tehran.
Maryam Rajavi of the Mujahedin Khalq, which has been officially designated a terrorist group by the United States and European Union, capitalized on the escalating diplomatic confrontation with Iran to hold a rare news conference at the heavily guarded compound on the wooded banks of the Oise River.
Rajavi, 52, called for the West to avoid responding to Iran's nuclear ambitions with appeasement or a military invasion. Instead, she said political and economic sanctions would fortify democratic resistance among Iranians, with her group, whose name translates as People's Holy Warriors, serving as a vanguard.
"The Iranian resistance has a capacity to bring about change," Rajavi said. "Knowing this, the mullahs have always in their dealings with their foreign counterparts demanded the imposition of harsh restrictions on the resistance, branding it as terrorist and a sect."
Despite Rajavi's contention that she is a moderate Muslim espousing a peaceful, democratic Iran, her initiative seems a longshot at best.
Her group remains under investigation in France for allegedly carrying out terrorist attacks in Iran and plotting against Iranian government targets in Europe.
After French police arrested Rajavi during a raid on the compound by more than 1,000 officers in 2003, a number of her followers around Europe set themselves on fire. The grisly protests exposed an internal culture that mixes Marxism and Islam, isolates members from their families and gives Rajavi the status of a guru, according to French investigators and former members.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Sounds like a plan for the DU!
The worst of the west meets the worst of the east.
Actually, if I were in Iran I'd be very leary of causing internal caos and hoping the west saves them. I mean, consider the Bay of Pigs, the lack of support after the Gulf War, and the Democrats currently support terrorists more than U.S. policy.
The MEK which Mariam Rajavi heads is run like a personality Cult with worship of her and her husband an obligation, so not the nicest of people and Marxist in their political beliefs. However, please also note:
They were labelled a "terrorist group" by Bill Clinton in an effort to appease the Islamic Regime in Iran by offering them this sign of the "USA not supporting your enemies" and even going so far as to set them up as terrorists.
2. France's attack on them - the MEK is headquartered in France (which also gave safe haven shelter and protection to Khomeini before the Shah was toppled) was similar to Clinton's intent and the worry of civil unrest by Mullah inspired Moslems (several million of them in France), so again had nothing to do with anything other than appeasing the Mullahs.
A group so devoted as to self-immolate for the cult leaders, would equally make terric suicide bombers, dying explosively without hesitation while giving some senior Mullah a final hug.
You cannot conduct surgery without a scalpel or a destructive laser beam and many effective medications are actually poisons. With the MEK fervently hating the Mullahs who executed some 30,000 of them, what better tool to excise the Mullah cancer from Iranian society?
Then the "good" people can come in safely with democracy and not be destroyed by the current Islamic terror squads. The MEK have little chance of surviving in power for any extended period of time after they "sandblast" the scene clean for others to step in.
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