Iran, 50 years of PMOI

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the PMOI or MEK, an organization which was set up on the 5th September of 1965, by, Mohammad Hanif-Nejad with two of his friends to overthrow dictatorship of Monarchy Shah in order to bring freedom and democracy for Iranian people. After the revolution in Iran and downfall of that regime another clerical dictatorship called Khomeini stole the Iranian revolution and used widespread abuse of justice and suppression against the people. It began to mediate in the affairs of the neighbor countries to export fundamentalism and terrorism to them. In addition to robbery and plunder of national income by the authorities of this regime it exploited a lot of money to use the hiding method continuing its costly drive towards the nuclear bomb as a mean of its surviving. In this situation majority of Iranian went under pressure of poverty and meanwhile could not protest against the unbearable condition that the existing regime has imposed on them because they fear to be arrested and jailed and tortured and sometimes executed.  On the other hand following the revolution, the PMOI continued to be headed by young people, in contrast to the clergy, and its egalitarian politics coupled with a progressive interpretation of Islam made it instantly appealing to Iranian youth.

The PMOI led by Massoud Rajavi a graduate of political law from Tehran University immediately distinguished itself from Khomeini and other reactionary clerics in their political ideology and strategy. Instead remaining silent and neutral MEK continued its struggle and combat to obtain freedom and democracy for Iranian people so the PMOI took to the streets and practiced their vision of Islam and equality. This included grassroots empowerment of communities and disenfranchised groups, including women and workers and other sectors of society that had been excluded politically. This investment galvanized Iran’s political consciousness and spread through the population regardless of a person's background. But Khomeini’s regime which found that its real enemy is PMOI tried to destroy the PMOI under the leadership of Massoud and later of Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance has managed not only to survive but to go forward stronger than before. This is why today the PMOI a nationwide resistance against the ruling religious dictatorship, but a treasure of moral, cultural and political values in today’s world and represents indeed a revolution which can shake very positively the Islamic world and indeed has made incredible contributions to the history of not only Iran but in fact the world’s history.

For instant the exposing of the nuclear program of the regime ruling Iran has not only weakened the regime, but it has put the world on high alert as to the dangers of this program.

It is a fact that the PMOI have had, to say it softly, a very hard time in these five decades. Yes, 50 years of hardships and ups and downs, of hope and despair, of defeats and victories. an independent and resolute organization, in his way of combat has sacrificed most of its members, including a list of 120000 martyrs and a great number of prisoners. One should remember the mass executions of over 30,000 PMOI political prisoners in the summer of 1988 by directly order of Khomeiny. And now this organization and its leaders are inspiration for the Iranian youth especially the women for liberty of Iran.