By Ashish Kumar Sen
The Washington Times, New York, 28 Sep, 2012 – The Obama administration has formally taken the Mujahideen-e-Khalq off the U.S. terrorist blacklist, culminating an expensive public relations campaign by the Iranian dissidents.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decision to remove the MeK from the list will be published in the Federal Register. The group is also known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
Following an exhaustive review, U.S. officials found no evidence of the group’s involvement in terrorist activity.
The MeK was given shelter by Saddam Hussein in Iraq. It has since renounced violence and in 2003 surrendered its weapons as part of a cease-fire agreement with U.S. forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has sought to shut down the group’s paramilitary base, Camp Ashraf, in a bid to kick its members out of his country.
Mrs. Clinton’s decision was shaped, in part, by the MeK’s cooperation in relocating from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty, a temporary location near Baghdad’s international airport.
A U.S. appeals court in June set an Oct. 1 deadline for Mrs. Clinton to take a decision on removing the MeK from terrorist blacklist.
Britain and the European Union took the MeK off their lists of terrorist organizations in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The MeK was responsible for terrorist attacks in Iran in the 1970s that killed several U.S. military personnel and civilians, according to the State Department. The group denies any role in the deaths of U.S. military personnel.
The MeK has sought to position itself as a democratic force in Iran, however, U.S. officials are skeptical about its qualifications.
The Clinton administration designated the MeK as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 in an attempt to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough with the Iranian government.
Iran this week lashed out at the decision to take the MeK off the terrorism list.
A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned U.S. plans to take the MeK off the terrorist list.
’The United States’ double standard in dealing with terrorism and instrumental use of these groups for political gain is not a new issue,’ foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.
’If the US government goes ahead with this move, then it will be accountable for the blood of thousands of Iranians and Iraqis spilt by this cult… and it weakens world efforts in combating terrorism,’ he said.
The MeK, whose leadership is based in Paris, invested a lot of money in an intense and expensive campaign to get itself off the U.S. terrorist blacklist. The group has prominent Republican as well as Democratic supporters, some of whom have admitted taking money to speak on behalf of the group.
The MeK says it is now working to overthrow the Iran’s Islamic regime through peaceful means.
The group’s supporters plan to celebrate outside the State Department on Friday.