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France arrests Iranian dissidents?

renata

Illuminator
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Does anyone know about a political or business relationship between Iran and France? Was this a left wing terrorist bust? Does anyone find it ironic that Iran wants those detainees extradited, while refusing to extradite Al Queda detainees they have?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030618/wl_nm/france_iran_mujahideen_dc_15

PARIS (Reuters) - One Iranian exile died and two others were badly burned after setting themselves ablaze on Wednesday during a day-long protest against France's mass round-up of dissidents opposed to Islamic rule in Tehran.

Marzieh Babakhani, aged about 40, died in hospital after setting fire to her clothes early on Wednesday at a protest of about 100 exiles outside France's DST counterintelligence agency near the Eiffel Tower, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
.....


The NCRI said protesters would stay outside the DST headquarters until the release of their leader, Maryam Rajavi, who is held there. The DST ran the raid that rounded up 159 exiles.
....

By Wednesday morning, police had released all but 26 of those detained in Tuesday's raids on homes and offices of the NCRI, a left-wing group that opposes religious rule in Iran.

The raids also netted several suitcases of $100 bills worth at least $8 million as well as a large amount of communications equipment, police said.

Judiciary sources said Rajavi and others still detained could face terrorism charges for allegedly planning attacks in Iran from their suburban Paris headquarters.

.....

In Tehran, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) indicated he wanted the detainees extradited to Iran, saying: "Because Iran has been their victim...our natural request is that they be prosecuted in the place where they have committed their crimes."
.....

As a force opposed to the Islamic state, the Mujahideen also have women in uniform who in the past have shown journalists visiting their Iraq base how well they can fire Kalashnikov rifles and drive armored cars.

....

The NCRI said the arrests would spark anger in Iran, but diplomats in Tehran said the group was unpopular there even among those opposed to Iran's Islamic clerical establishment.

In an unusual convergence of views, both Washington and Tehran -- who have not had diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic revolution -- praised the round-up.
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Seems a bit odd but I guess if they ARE terrorirists......

Meanwhile some nutters have been setting fire to themselves in protest..........
 
France, along with England and the U.S., has long been a place of refuge for Iranian opposition members. Ayatolah Khomeni spent his exile there.

I'm not familiar with NCRI, but if they're planning a violent overthrow of the mullahs, they're probably not someone the US wants to support. The counter-revolution should start with the students and the general populace, not para-military groups.
 
LOL, so now you're a terrorist for planning to attack establishments that have been labled terroist. :p
 
Here are some Iranian voices on the MKO.

Imagine the American Talib, John Walker Lindh, times 30,000 or 40,000 thousands (more or less). People's Mojahedeen (or MKO) are the most hated group in Iran. You don't believe it, but many many people even hate them more than the clergy. Maybe the biggest reason is that they joined Saddam during the bloody 8 year of Iran-Iraq. Iranians know them as betrayers to the motherland who even joined the enemy and killed their Iranian people to fulfill their own political agenda.
They also assassinated many of the top thinkers and authorities of the Islamic revolution in the first years of the revolution which led to a lack of people who had the ability of thinking about the future and the appropriate strategy for the future of the revolution. With all their violent and bloody actions they even caused the regime to crack down on the relatively open political atmosphere, which eventually cost a lot for moderate opposition groups and ordinary people....

and...

The European Union, as well as Iran consider them to be a terrorist group. The U.S. also declared them to be a terrorist group several years ago and attacked their positions during the war against Iraq, apparently because of their cooperation with Saddam's regime. Later, the U.S. army reached a ceasefire with them, but three weeks later, had them disarmed.... Among all the various Iranian groups, I don't think there is any hated more by Iranians than the MKO, particularly because of their outright support for Saddam during his war against Iran. They were helpful to Saddam in other ways too, including in his suppression of the Shia uprising in southern Iraq after the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.

MattJ
 
Another.

The MKO is universally reviled by Iranians. Any government with even the smell of the MKO about it would be rejected out of hand. The US enjoys tremendous support among Iranians, but backing the MKO would be disastrous for America's image in the country.

Beware the Monarchists. That's Reza Pahlavi and his coterie. Whenever you see Reza Pahlavi or hear from his supporters (that includes the National Review crowd: Amir Taheri, Rob Sobhani, Michael Ledeen etc.) ask yourself one thing: how many former members of SAVAK are affiliated with Pahlavi? SAVAK, you'll recall, was the Shah's secret police. It was oppressive, it was brutal, and it was one of the main reasons Iranians overthrew the Shah. How many SAVAKie, as they're known, still work for Pahlavi? He won't answer that question, because he says he wants to focus on the future, not the past. But the past is right there with him: it's the SAVAKie and the former men of the Iranian military who still call him "your majesty," and are hoping to ride American money back to their former lives, after the people in Iran have died to smooth the way.
 
renata said:
Does anyone know about a political or business relationship between Iran and France? Was this a left wing terrorist bust? Does anyone find it ironic that Iran wants those detainees extradited, while refusing to extradite Al Queda detainees they have?
Click to expand...

In addition to Aerocontrols quotes, I would point out that this group has long been considered in France as something in between a cult and a far-left political movement, a bit like the luminous path of Columbia. It seems (said French police) that they had amassed quite a lot of arms and fortified their residence, and that more and more people had regrouped there in recent times, so the police decided on a raid. Given what is known of the ideology and the cult-like organisation of the group, the self-immolations are not all that surprising ...

I don't think there has been a deal with Iran, and in any case France wouldn't extradite people in a country where they risk death penalty - especially since they have not committed any real crime on French territory.

Of course, Iran would love to have those "traitors" to show to the population. That would prove a mighty distraction from the present protests and revendications ...
 
Flo said:
I would point out that this group has long been considered in France as something in between a cult and a far-left political movement, a bit like the luminous path of Columbia.
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This is absolutely, positively a translation quibble and not a criticism of your English Flo.

In the US that group is referred to as Shining Path.
 
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