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Former Canadian PM Stephen Harper addresses MeK event in Albania, refers to its role in working for change in Iran.
The MeK is a corrupt, thuggish cult with no support in Iran. It is neither viable nor democratic. It is moral failure & strategic lunacy for Harper to endorse it.
The MeK is a corrupt, thuggish cult with no support in Iran. It is neither viable nor democratic. It is moral failure & strategic lunacy for Harper to endorse it.
To get an idea of the absurdity: Rudy Giuliani, another speaker, claims the MeK is democratic and not a cult - and then the camera shifts to the crowd, where hundreds of perfectly lined up women dressed identically clap (see video from seconds 10 to 20).
Got to do better with the video production, @iran_policy. Horrible timing.
The million dollar question (no pun inntended), of course, is why is Harper (and Giuliani, and Joe Lieberman, and Bernard Kouchner, etc.) there? There are a number of reasons why western politicians support the MeK:
1. money, money, money. MeK pays tens of thousands$ (but...
1. money, money, money. MeK pays tens of thousands$ (but...
...to be clear, though this is known to be true, I do not know if or how much Harper is paid).
2. The most cynical opportunism (really, disgusting hypocrisy). As a conservative well aware of who the MeK is told me, "they are our allies in the fight against the Islamic Republic".
2. The most cynical opportunism (really, disgusting hypocrisy). As a conservative well aware of who the MeK is told me, "they are our allies in the fight against the Islamic Republic".
3. Cluelessness: NOT the case for Harper; I know for a fact he knows the MeK is a thuggish, corrupt, undemocratic cult with no support in Iran. But backbench MPs in Canada have attended MeK events and in some cases I can accept they see "democratic Iran" and just go hey, why not.
I would be curious to know what the Conservative Party of Canada thinks of this. Should you form the next government after the October elections, will you endorse the MeK (as a number of your MPs individually do and as @Baird also does)?
@AndrewScheer
@ErinOTooleMP
@jamesbezan
@AndrewScheer
@ErinOTooleMP
@jamesbezan
And it must be said here that support for the MeK is a bipartisan issue in Canada; as in the US, there is more support on the right, but there is some among Liberals (and Democrats in the US) too. To its credit, the NDP has kept its distance.
And re the list of reasons above on why politicians like Harper agree to attend a MeK event and endorse this bunch of losers, I should add number 4:
FREE TRIP TO ALBANIA!!!
FREE TRIP TO ALBANIA!!!
MeK troll overheats replying to my last tweet:
Former foreign minister @baird also spoke and called for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. In theory not a bad idea, but in practice a bad one: there is no viable opposition ready to take over (no, not MeK) so in practice this would mean chaos.
It is not clear where MeK gets its money. Possibly exiled Iranians; some reports also suggest Saudi Arabia. This speech by this US-based Saudi lobbyist is illustrative of, at a minimum, a convergence of views (and a similar distastefulness).
Anyone has a clue why the Deputy Attorney General of Portugal is at the MeK event?? Some obscure former MEP from Slovakia, whatever, but a deptuy AG?
"The MeK is not a cult" 
Another Canadian at the MeK rally: Paul Forseth, Conservative MP from British Columbia from 1993-2006. (Have to admit, I had to Google search him).
Mr Forseth's sharp analysis: MeK members are "over-comers".
Mr Forseth's sharp analysis: MeK members are "over-comers".
Stephen Harper on his participation at the rally. This is not normal. A former PM should not openly support such a corrupt and violent group and then knowingly lie (because yes, he knows who the MeK is) about "standing up for freedom and democracy in Iran"
"The MeK is not a cult"
