Protest against the speech of the leader of the People’s Mojahedin Organization in the Italian Senate
The People’s Mojahedin Organization from establishment to change
Protest against the speech of the leader of the People’s Mojahedin Organization in the Italian Senate, according to Iran Gate. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran is an Islamist and leftist political organization with a military structure. The leadership of this organization is with Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. Since 2003, the survival of Massoud Rajavi has been ambiguous, and in his absence, his wife Maryam Rajavi has practically taken over the leadership of this organization. Since September 6, 2017, the secretary-general of this organization is Zahra Merrikhi.
This organization was founded on September 6, 1965, under the leadership of Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Abdolreza Nikbin. However, after the revolution, Abdolreza Nikbin was removed from the official list of founders, and Ali Asghar Badizadegan, who joined the organization in 1966, replaced him.
The People’s Mojahedin Organization has been recognized as a terrorist organization by the Pahlavi government, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Iraqi government. Some Western governments also placed this organization on the list of terrorist groups for about a decade but later removed it from this list.
During the Pahlavi and Islamic Republic regimes, the term ‘Islamic Marxist’ was used for this organization. In the official literature of Iran, the People’s Mojahedin Organization is referred to with titles such as the ‘Munafiqeen Organization.’ Many defected members and researchers consider this organization to have a sectarian nature and refer to it as the ‘Rajavi Cult.’
Armed uprising
Massoud Rajavi, a few months before the events of June 1981, predicted in an interview in March 1981 that if a truly inclusive national parliament, meaning a parliament that includes members of the organization, is not formed, there will be no news of peaceful coexistence. According to Saeed Hajjarian, in documents obtained from the People’s Mojahedin in 1987, Massoud Rajavi had analyzed that if he united with Bani Sadr, it was certain that he could sweep away the regime and suggested that by bringing forces to the streets, Bani Sadr should be provoked to confront the regime.
Ebrahim Yazdi has said that the leadership of the organization had become revolutionary delusional before the events of June 1981 and had told him in a meeting that they wanted to repeat the experience of the revolution. However, he explicitly told them, ‘You are mistaken, today the body of society is not with you.’
You are a small minority group, and if you want to do these things, you will be shattered. Kayhan wrote on June 21, 1981, that the People’s Mojahedin did not expect the fall of Bani Sadr and the lack of public support for him, and for this reason, they resorted to their final method, which was armed conflict with the regime. According to one of the central security officials of the organization, Massoud Rajavi had previously obtained the favorable opinion of foreign governments, including Iraq, France, and the United States, for an armed uprising during his travels.
Direct military operations against Iran
Shortly after most of the organization’s forces were transferred to Iraq and the strategy shifted from guerrilla warfare to classical warfare in the last year of the Iran-Iraq war, and under conditions where Iran’s military capability was severely weakened due to several years of attrition warfare and the severe decline in oil revenues had significantly affected the economic and moral strength of Iranians, the People’s Mojahedin began open confrontation with Iranian forces on the fronts.
They always fought against Iran on Iraqi soil, both in the form of intelligence assistance and even in military operations alongside invading forces. The most famous operation they carried out seemingly independently was Operation Mersad, which was conducted after the acceptance of Resolution 598 and using the element of surprise, but it ultimately led to the organization’s defeat.
The undemocratic nature of the organization
According to a 2009 report by the Brookings Institution, this organization appears undemocratic and unpopular, but it has an operational presence as a proxy inside Iran against the Tehran government. Yeganeh Torbati, a Reuters journalist, and Jonathan Wright, a political science professor at the European Institute, have said that this group is still unpopular among Iranians. Some undemocratic rules of this organization, including mandatory hijab for female members, gender segregation, the obligation to submit daily thought reports, and the prohibition of using communication devices for organization members, leave no room for any connection between this organization and the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, or indeed any other freedom movement.
However, the leadership cadre of this organization has always tried to appropriate or connect with the freedom movements of the Iranian people over the past two decades. From the Green Movement to today, they have always tried to guide and interfere in these movements by issuing statements and expressing solidarity with protesters and the Iranian people. However, due to their undemocratic nature and history of violent and armed behavior, the majority of Iranians have always felt uneasy about this organization.
Controversial invitation
Italian senators faced criticism and protests from Iranians residing in Italy and other countries for inviting Maryam Rajavi to speak online in the Senate of this country. This invitation was made while about three months had passed since our protest movement, and the essence of this freedom-seeking movement has no relation to the People’s Mojahedin Organization, and any interference or comments from the leaders of this movement in support of these protests could even serve as a pretext for the government to suppress and discredit the movement.
The fundamental question is, given the organization’s violent historical background and its ideological and undemocratic nature, on what basis and how are such decisions made by political and official institutions like the Italian Senate? The negative reaction of Iranians on social media regarding this invitation and speech indicates the particular sensitivity of the Iranian people in protecting the essence of their demands, which has led to the emergence of our movement.