Canada allegedly finds ways to harbour MEK, the Iranian terrorist organization
Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Mujahideen e-Khalq (People's Mujahideen, or MEK) about to make an appeal to the US Senate in October 29, 2023. Credit: Iran Democratic Association.
Written by: Marthad Umucyaba
The Iranian terrorist organisation, People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (Mojahedin e-Khalq or MEK), allegedly has a plan to transfer their base of operations to Canada, with the full backing and support of NATO.
Iranian Intelligence was able to gather details on the MEK’s operations and released two pages of the thousands of pages of classified documents on MEK activities and plans to the Canadian government as a cautionary warning against hosting them within the country. The Canada Files has been unable to obtain the documents referenced by a Fars News article on the content of these documents. According to Fars News, Canada didn’t care about the warning, hoping to use the MEK as a bulwark against Iran, and/or for domestic reinforcement of Canada’s hostile policy against Iran.
This revelation is in the context of the current NATO-backed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which threatens to inflame the Middle East with a wider war. The threat of escalation is largely due to the United States’ instructions to Israel to ethnically cleanse Gaza (0:03-0:23), and NATO’s unanimous agreement with the plan, especially Canada.
Iran’s position in the Middle East explains Canada’s welcoming of the MEK as a targeted move, with the goal of maintaining NATO dominance in the Middle East and a hostile political climate towards Iran domestically. Iran is responsible for having obstructed the plans for ethnic cleansing and genocide in Palestine by training and arming what is popularly known as the Axis of Resistance, and being one of the few countries to refuse to even acknowledge Israel as a legitimate state, due to its colonial origins.
The MEK and its History
Reza Namdari, a Montreal peace activist of Iranian origin familiar with the MEK sat down with The Canada Files to discuss the MEK’s history.
The MEK, once an Islamic Marxist political faction resisting the Shah, began to resort to terrorism in 1980 after they were deregistered as a political party. The government deregistered the party when they boycotted the 1979 referendum on the type of constitution the government was going to have post-Iranian revolution. The MEK responded to the deregistration by killing the President, the Prime Minister, and 70 members of Parliament in terrorist attacks in 1981, according to Namdari.
The MEK primarily became infamous, according to Namdari, for having sided with Iraq in the invasion against Iran. They began by spying on behalf of Saddam Hussein, starting in 1980, then officially relocated to Iraq to fight within Saddam’s army in 1986 (RAND, page 3).
The MEK then proceeded to attack Iranian embassies throughout the world while the leadership was under Iraqi guardianship, prompting even NATO countries to register the MEK as a terrorist organisation, including Canada, according to Reza. Canada had registered the MEK as a terrorist organisation up until 2012.
In 2003, while the MEK was attacked by US special forces during the United States’ aggression against Iraq, the MEK made appeals to the United States about their usefulness and secured ceasefire agreements (RAND pg 10 - pg 11). Wanting a counterweight against Iran, the decision was made to try to preserve the leadership and prevent repatriation to Iran where they would face judgement for the assassination attempts in 1980-1981 and the attacks on the embassies. Even a 2009 RAND document made a pointed note on the decision:
“Secretary Rumsfeld’s decision has had long term policy costs…because the decision came from the US Secretary of Defence…The MeK…may have falsely interpreted the decision as support for the assertion that the group was innocent…Combined with the coalition’s failure to treat the organisation as a terrorist organisation…this action exposed the United States to accusations of hypocrisy in its fight against terrorism.” (RAND, pg 23)
The MEK was then scattered, even in the midst of its registration as a terrorist organisation by most of NATO in 2009, including in Canada of course (RAND, pg 39-40), throughout the NATO countries. The last members were re-settled in Albania, in 2016, in defiance of Iran.
Iran’s Intelligence
It is still unclear as to whether the thousands of pages of documents recovered from the MEK are a result of an intelligence intercept, a result of cyberhacking, or a result of the July 2023 raid in Tiyana against the MEK headquarters.
Regardless of what the source of the information was, it detailed the struggles MEK suffered trying to relocate their base of operations from Albania to France. France, due to the excessive Islamophobic politics of the country, refused to take in the MEK even as a courtesy to NATO, leaving only Canada as a viable alternative.
The MEK, in preparation for this alleged relocation to Canada, allegedly bought land on the outskirts of Toronto and condo spaces in Vancouver. They’ve also allegedly established many nonprofits and charities as a cover for their future operations, are allegedly preparing to establish more nonprofits, and have allegedly already bribed politicians in Canada to facilitate that process. The organizations alleged to be part of the MEK’s network, whether already established or undergoing the incorporation process, are:
Democratic Association of Quebec
Women’s Association of Liberation Pioneers
Teacher’s Association for Peace and Democracy in Iran-Canada
Canadian Democratic Iran Experts Foundation
Democratic Iran Sportsmens’ Association
Toronto Women’s Association
Teacher’s Association
Pishtaz Women's Association and Najmeh Women's Association
The heavy emphasis on Women’s rights organisations seems to mirror NATO’s strategy for anti-Iranian propaganda, as well as the previous strategy of using the MEK to incite conflict in Iran, based on the ”women’s rights” centred colour revolution launched last year in September 2022. Even Israel, after being chastised by the entire Global South for their actions, decided to try to bring up Iran’s ‘issues with women’ at the UN assembly.
The pattern of harbouring right-wing terrorists and fascistsThe politics of the MEK should remind the reader of the opportunistic and right-wing politics of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Much like the TPLF, the MEK is able to bring supporters into Canada despite the violent and criminal record, without any thorough background checks or checks on the assets that are brought in along with the migrant.
The MEK and the TPLF are also both faux-Marxist organisations, and will change their politics to suit the needs of the imperialists that they’re relying on for backing, while underneath being deeply reactionary and regressive.
Needless to say, the harbouring of right wing insurrectionists from Hong Kong, the neo-liberals from South Vietnam, and the harbouring of Ukrainian Nazis is also well known. What’s common among all of these movements finding “refuge” in Canada is the common nonsense commitment to “democracy” and “human rights” that they all share.
Canada-Iran relations and Israel’s Genocide against the Palestinians
“Secondly, what the corrupt criminal Netanyahu is looking for and his cowardly war leaders in the Shifa hospital and the hospitals of Gaza is absolutely ridiculous,…the entry of enemy Nazi forces into a medical complex with tanks to display their ‘strength’ and ‘control’, is the biggest evidence of their failure and their defeat, as it is a disgrace to the entire global system, to the advocates of human rights and so-called international law.”
The criminal actions of the Israeli Defence Forces, fully backed by Canada, the United States, and the rest of NATO, are the best explanation for why NATO has a shared hostility to Iran. Iran’s position of supporting the anti-colonial struggle in Palestine and of rejecting the colony of Israel’s existence has over time exposed the colonial plan and project, and revealed the inviability of the ‘two-state solution’.
There is no actual concern about security, if Iran were to somehow acquire nuclear weapons one day. There is no genuine concern for “women’s’ rights” in Iran, as there is no concern on the part of NATO for women’s’ rights anywhere in West Asia or Asia, including in places like Saudi Arabia or Jordan, where no sanctions had been brought forward against these governments for even more rigid public dress codes or outright exploitation.
Iran is directly challenging a European colonial project, and it is also challenging colonialism in West Asia, leading to the growth of an anti-imperialist camp consisting of militias and anti-colonial and anti-imperialist governments throughout West Asia such as Yemen and Syria.
Canada and the US, along with other NATO countries, shamelessly describe these groups as terrorist organisations. NATO spreads fake news smearing these organisations with no credibility, relying only on anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry for the lies to stick, even as the militias directly oppose Wahhabi movements sponsored initially by the CIA.
NATO opposes these ‘Iranian backed’ militias because the militias ultimately not only impede on the bottom line of colonialism’s ultimate goals, which is resource extraction, but also challenge the legitimacy of the ‘rules based’ white supremacist order, and the legitimacy of the colonies of Canada and the United States themselves. As Hamas is about to achieve victory in routing the Israeli invasion, and in forcing an exchange of hostages, despite the 20000+ Palestinians killed by the IDF, consider this quote: ,
“Peace be upon your blood[martyrs of Gaza], which will curse every criminal murderer, every negligent, cowardly denier of humanity. Peace be upon you, our great people. You expose the hypocritical world, with its pathetic, lame laws and their one-eyed organisations, and their double standards. Victory is only from Allah, the Almighty, the Wise. Jihad is victory or martyrdom. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.”
- Abu Ubaydah, Spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Ibid (8:33-9:09)
Editor’s note: Introducing Operation 135, The Canada Files’ campaign to go from 65 to 200 consistent financial supporters. The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.
Please consider joining 84 consistent financial supporters, in setting up a monthly or annual donation through Donorbox.
Marthad Shingiro Umucyaba (formerly referred to as Christian Shingiro) is a Rwandan-born naturalized Canadian expat. He is known for his participation in Communist/anti-imperialist national and international politics and is the radio show host of The Socially Radical Guitarist.
He is also a freelance web developer in Hong Kong, China, striving to provide “Socially Radical Web Design at a socially reasonable price”.
More Articles
