WHO ARE THE MEK?

INU- In late October, former New York Mayer Rudy Giuliani wrote an op-ed on Townhall, in which he called on the rest of the world to listen to the Iranian people and recognise the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) as the only legitimate alternative to the current Regime.

That’s why we wanted to dedicate this article to discovering who the MEK are, what they stand for, and why they have the support of the Iranian people and Giuliani.
Who are the MEK?

The MEK is the oldest, longest running, best organised, and largest anti-fascist resistance group in the Middle East. They formed in 1965 and have spent the past 53 years fighting the regimes of the Shah and the mullahs in order to bring freedom and democracy to Iran.
They are currently lead by Maryam Rajavi, who Giuliani hails as the “leader that [the Regime] fears the most”.

What do the MEK stand for?
The MEK believes in freedom, equality, and democracy; something enshrined in their 10-point plan for a Free Iran.
1. Democratic leadership
2. Respect for individual freedoms
3. Abolition of death penalty
4. Separation of Church and State
5. Complete gender equality
6. Reform of the justice system
7. Respect for human rights
8. Equal opportunity for all in employment
9. Peaceful Foreign Policy
10. A non-nuclear Iran

Why does the MEK enjoy such support?
The Iranian people recognise that the MEK is the only force capable of helping them overthrow the mullahs’ regime; something evident from the successful people’s protests in 2018 that have been largely directed by the MEK. The Iranian people want the mullahs gone and see that the MEK will not only achieve that, but will also institute the kind of government that the Iranian people want.

Many foreign dignitaries, including Giuliani, feel the same way. They know that Iranians deserve a free and democratic country and the only way to achieve that is with the MEK; a group that already has working relations with the rest of the world.
How does the Regime view the MEK?

The Iranian Regime view the MEK as the biggest threat to their continued rule, which is why they spend so much time, money, and effort to eliminate the MEK.

Not only does the Regime ban MEK membership in Iran, which has involved executing 30,000 MEK members en-masse in the summer of 1988 and imprisoning hundreds of thousands more, but they also target the MEK outside of Iran through propaganda campaigns and terrorist plots.
Earlier this year, the Regime has launched three separate terrorist attacks against the MEK, which were thankfully foiled by law enforcement in the US and Europe.

In March, they tried to attack the MEK at their Albania headquarters during Iranian New Year celebrations and in August, two Iranian agents were arrested in the US for spying on the MEK. In June, the Regime had its agents attempt to drive a car bomb into an MEK rally attended by 100,000 people.

The Regime often tries to portray the MEK as a fringe group, but why would the Regime pt so much effort into attacking an unimportant group?