Protest against the speech of the leader of the People’s Mojahedin Organization in the Italian Senate
The People’s Mojahedin Organization from its 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 status of Massoud Rajavi’s life has been uncertain, and in his absence, his wife Maryam Rajavi has effectively taken over the leadership of the organization. Since September 6, 2017, the secretary-general of this organization is Zahra Merrikhi.
This organization was founded on September 6, 1965, by 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 had 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 Iranian governmental literature, the People’s Mojahedin Organization is referred to with titles such as ‘Monafeghin 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 national and inclusive parliament, meaning a parliament that includes members of the organization, was not formed, there would be no 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 pouring forces into the streets, they could provoke Bani Sadr to confront the regime.
Ebrahim Yazdi has stated that the leadership of the organization had already become delusional about a revolution 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 attempt these actions, you will be dismantled. Kayhan wrote on June 21, 1981, that the People’s Mojahedin did not expect Bani Sadr’s fall 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 protection officials of the organization, Massoud Rajavi had previously gained the favorable opinion of foreign governments, including Iraq, France, and the USA, 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 changed from guerrilla warfare to classical warfare in the last year of the Iran-Iraq war, and in a situation where Iran’s military capability had been severely depleted due to several years of attritional war and the economic and moral capacity of Iranians had been drastically reduced due to severe declines in oil revenues, the People’s Mojahedin began open confrontation with Iranian forces on the fronts.
They always fought on Iraqi soil, whether through intelligence support or even in military operations against Iran, alongside the invading forces. The most famous operation they conducted independently was Operation Mersad, which was carried out following the acceptance of Resolution 598 and using the element of surprise, but it resulted in the organization’s defeat.
Non-Democratic Nature of the Organization
According to a 2009 report by the Brookings Institution, this organization appears to be non-democratic and unpopular, but it operates as a proxy inside Iran against the Tehran government. Yeganeh Torabi, a Reuters journalist, and Jonathan Wright, a political science professor at the European Institute, have said that this group remains unpopular among Iranians. Some of the organization’s non-democratic rules, including the mandatory hijab for female members, gender segregation, the requirement to submit daily thought reports, and the ban on using communication devices for organization members, leave no room for any connection between this organization and the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement, or indeed any other freedom-seeking movement.
However, the leadership cadre of this organization has always tried to appropriate or connect with the freedom-seeking movements of the Iranian people in the last two decades. From the Green Movement to today, they have always tried to guide and intervene in these movements by issuing statements and expressing solidarity with protesters and the people of Iran. However, due to their non-democratic nature and their history of violent and armed behavior, the majority of the Iranian people have always felt a sense of discomfort towards this organization.
Invitation Controversy
Italian senators faced criticism and protests from Iranians residing in Italy and other countries after inviting Maryam Rajavi to speak online in the Italian Senate. This invitation took place while about three months have passed since our protest movement, and the foundation of this freedom-seeking movement has no relation to the People’s Mojahedin Organization. Any interference and statements by the leaders of this movement in support of these protests can even be a pretext for the government to suppress and discredit the movement.
The fundamental question is, given the violent historical background of this organization and its ideological and non-democratic nature, on what basis and how are such decisions made by political and official bodies 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 core of their demands, which has led to the emergence of our movement.
