From the 21st to the 23^rd of October, the former President of the German Bundestag, Rita Süssmuth led a delegation to Ashraf 3. The group visited the exiled members of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) living in the compound near the Albanian capital of Tirana.

Whilst there, Süssmuth, the head of the Board and Advisory Council of the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran (DSFI), addressed the MEK members. She told them, “I admire you deeply because you repeatedly rebuild from the rubble”.

A Humanitarian Success Story in #Albania
In safety at last: Iranian dissidents present
their new settlement near #Tirana
as a result of a successful resistancehttps://t.co/a9rHNi5fb2 #PMOI #MEK #Iran pic.twitter.com/uqxHkDVURY

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 27, 2018

Rebuilding from Rubble

That is precisely what the MEK did. In 2013, the MEK was living and working at two camps in Iraq, Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty. The Iranian regime, in its attempt to eradicate the Iranian opposition and liquify their camps, carried out coordinated assaults, killing 168 MEK members and injuring more than 1,700.

As their homes burned and their friends lay slaughtered, more than 3,000 MEK members were airlifted to Albania, where they found respite and safety.

There, they purchased some land outside the capital and set about rebuilding. They constructed a compound complete with shops, offices, sports facilities, kitchens and dormitories. The MEK named the compound, Ashraf 3.

High-Profile Visits

The MEK has drawn a series of high-profile visitors. Mrs. Süssmuth and the visit from the DSFI came shortly before the former Scottish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Struan Stevenson paid the Iranian resistance group a visit.

Delegation from European Parliament Meets with Maryam Rajavi in Tirana

The MEK enjoys extensive support among international politicians and journalists. Among their supporters are members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, including the former speaker, Newt Gingrich, and former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani.

Süssmuth and her delegation spent five hours at the MEK’s new compound, during which time they were able to speak extensively with MEK members. At a meeting in the evening, the delegation and MEK members discussed the inaccurate representation of the MEK in the press and the unjust prejudices and rapprochements of some European governments towards the group.

#German Parliamentarians Visit #PMOI/#MEK in #Albania and Meet Politicians of the Countryhttps://t.co/moXas9b4CH #FreeIran2018 pic.twitter.com/jl8ZxzM3mo

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 27, 2018

The Mullahs Disinformation

Many of these prejudices stem from the extensive disinformation campaigns organized by the Iranian regime leadership.

Among the deliberate falsehoods fabricated by the regime are the claims that MEK members are held at the compound against their will and that they are kept away from their families.

Süssmuth and her delegation quickly saw that is not the case. MEK members can enter and exit the compound as they please, with hundreds leaving the compound each day. Family visits are also welcome and even encouraged.

Words of Encouragement

The DSFI delegation had plenty of words of encouragement for the MEK members living at the compound. Süssmuth told the MEK members, “you are more alive today than you were in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty”, adding, “continue your struggle!”

Another member of the delegation, MP Martin Patzelt asked, “how can people fight for decades for freedom and democracy without losing their courage?” The answer was in front of him, “today my question was answered- here in your new settlement”. He added, “I wish you and all of us victory on this way”.

Christian Zimmerman, director for Human Rights and the interests of minorities in Berlin and a member of the DSFI said, “if anyone wants to know the alternative [to the mullahs], come to this settlement”.

Good Hosts

The delegation also held meetings with the Albanian government. They discussed the government’s efforts to keep the MEK safe and thwart the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence’s plots and nefarious plans to attack the MEK and its members.

Rita Süssmuth praised the Albanian government’s efforts and said the MEK’s progress “would not have been possible without the constructive cooperation of the government and citizens of Albania”.

Several in the delegation also stressed the importance of a unified and firm European stance against the Iranian regime. Otto Bernhardt, a member of the board of directors of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation and Chairman of the DSFI, echoed recent calls from the MEK and other protest movements to expel Iranian officials and secret service members from European countries.

“DSFI is convinced that it is important for Albania to prevent Iranian secret agents from entering the country”, adding that “a regime overwhelmed by the crisis and whose future is very much in question is trying to discredit and attack the resistance”.

“We must do all we can to ensure that this resistance is recognized in Europe”, Bernhardt concluded.

Staff Writer

 

 

Ashraf 3, the MEK camp in Albania, received a visit from a six-member delegation from Germany last week. Rita Süssmuth, former president of the Bundestag, German parliamentarians Martin Patzelt, Thomas Nord, and Otto Bernhardt, and human rights activists, Hille Gosejacob-Rolf, and Christian Zimmermann made up the members of the delegation.

#German Parliamentarians Visit #PMOI/#MEK in #Albania and Meet Politicians of the Countryhttps://t.co/moXas9b4CH #FreeIran2018 pic.twitter.com/jl8ZxzM3mo

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 27, 2018

During their trip to Tirana from October 21-23, the visitors spent time with MEK residents at Ashraf met with Albanian government officials and political figures and attended a conference with Albanian parliamentarians and NGOs.

On the first day of their visit, the delegation was greeted by MEK members, who briefed the visitors on the camp’s relocation from Iraq to Albania and their efforts to rebuild on a new site. The camp representatives emphasized that all costs of deployment, daily life, and medical care at Ashraf 3 are paid for by the MEK.

Rita Süssmuth expressed her surprise at the resilience and vitality of the camp residents. She was also impressed at how much the MEK members have been able to build over the course of a year. “Your vitality indicates a culture and a new way of life, which is not well known to others.” She said, “I constantly admire you for always starting from scratch and building again,” she said.

During their visit, the delegation toured Ashraf 3’s carpenter’s workshop, sports halls, and volleyball and basketball courts. They were introduced to the camp’s younger members, who shared their interests in music, art, video, history, and comedy. The delegation also toured the camp medical facilities, where they met dozens of MEK doctors and dentists who provide care for camp residents.

After touring Ashraf 3, the delegation sat down with a group of MEK members and discussed the MEK’s goals in Albania. The MEK’s representative from the camp expressed their appreciation to the German Friendship Group for its assistance during the MEK’s relocation from Iraq to Albania and other European countries.

Members of the delegation responded with words of support to the members of Ashraf 3.

Otto Bernhard said, “You have come a long way, but the remaining path to the goal should be short. The goal is to liberate Iran and we must reach this goal together.”

“The power of your eyes and your vitality is motivating to me, and it reflects your belief in the purpose you have,” said Rita Süssmuth. “You are even livelier than when you were in Ashraf and Liberty. Keep Fighting.”

Representative Thomas Nord spoke of the resilience of the MEK members and their willingness to continue fighting the regime. “Always one of my questions was how people can keep fighting decades for freedom and democracy and still be motivated, he said. “I got the answers to my questions today in Ashraf 3. Each of you could have had a good life in a corner of the world while being opposed to the regime, but you have chosen another way and that you are fighting collectively which is important. I wish you and all of us victory on this path.”

Christian Zimmermann was clear in his support of Ashraf 3: “I consider myself an Ashrafi,” he said. “It is now a matter of discussion in Germany and Europe that who is the alternative against Mullahs. I say, whoever wants to know the alternative should come to Ashraf 3.”

Ms. Hille Gosejacob-Rolf praised the women of the MEK for their leadership and gave gifts of table tops featuring the Iranian flag.

Rita Süssmuth led the delegation in presenting a gift of a painting of Reichstag, the German Parliament building, to the MEK representative.

On Monday, the delegation hosted a meeting at the Tirana International Hotel. Entitled “Solidarity with the Iranian Resistance: Disclosure of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Iranian Regime’s State Sponsorship of Terrorism in Europe and the Balkans,” the meeting was attended by political and human rights activists and Albanian supporters of the Iranian Resistance. The event received wide coverage by the Albanian press.

The members of the German delegation spoke about their visit to Ashraf 3 at the conference.

Rita Süssmuth said, “We were surprised by the progress made by MEK, and that could not be possible without the constructive cooperation of the government and civil society in Albania.”

Süssmuth added: They (the MEK) have relied on their financial autonomy and have provided funds for all their expenses and construction costs themselves. They are democrats, volunteers, lively and active, profoundly against dictatorship and committed to the cause of freedom.”

Martin Patzelt spoke of the need to stop supporting Iran: “The situation in Iran is quickly evolving, and we are witnessing that the policy towards the regime is changing,” he said. “Although Europe has been a supporter of a nuclear deal with the regime, the Iranian Regime’s domestic and international crises, as well as its destructive policies and its support of terrorism, has made it difficult for Europe to continue supporting it. A serious crisis in relations between Europe and the Iranian regime is about the terrorist acts of the regime in Europe.”

Otto Bernhard called for the expulsion of all regime intelligence agents. He discussed the case of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian regime diplomat who was arrested by German police for a foiled terrorist attack on the annual National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) gathering in Paris on June 30th and recently extradited to Belgium to await trial on terrorism charges. The Iranian regime attempted to prevent Assadi’s extradition. Because of the Assadi case, France has expelled another regime diplomat and sanctioned the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The Netherlands has expelled two regime diplomats as a result of the case.

 

Staff Writer