TORONTO STAR
While the world prepares to celebrate the beginning of the New Year, the people of Camp Ashraf, Iraq, live in imminent peril. At the camp — set up by American forces — 3,400 Iranian refugees are facing prospective massacre at the hands of the Iraqi government. The majority of residents have survived until now because of U.S. protection, but with American forces leaving by the end of the year, the Iraqi government has imposed an arbitrary deadline of Dec. 31 for residents to leave. Those who have nowhere to go will likely be attacked and killed; yet, the international community has been largely silent to their plight.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has designated residents of Camp Ashraf as asylum seekers, and decries its lack of access to them. We know that the residents of Camp Ashraf have faced ongoing harassment and intimidation by both the Iraqi and Iranian governments. Indeed, twice this year alone residents of the camp have been indiscriminately killed and wounded.
The residents are predominately Iranians who oppose Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime and strive for a free and democratic Iran. In what may be viewed as a double death sentence, when the deadline is passed they are likely to be summarily murdered by Iraqi forces, or find themselves forcefully transferred back to Iran — where they will face the same targeted persecution that has met countless others who courageously resist Ahmadinejad’s regime. Meanwhile, reports on the ground indicate that the Iraqi army is gearing up for an attack, raising fears that residents may not even be safe at Ashraf until Dec. 31.
Over the past two weeks, the House of Commons subcommittee on international human rights — of which I am vice-chair — heard chilling testimony from witnesses, including former United States attorney general Michael Mukasey — a staunch advocate for protecting the residents of Camp Ashraf — who stated plainly: “The Iraqi government has made it clear that they will . . . go in there with troops and kill people wholesale. Either that or they will redistribute them within Iraq to locations where they can be disposed of out of sight of the international community.”
We also heard from retired U.S. army colonel Wesley Martin — the first full colonel to command Camp Ashraf — who said of the U.S. war in Iraq: “We’ve made a lot of mistakes, and many people have paid the ultimate price for those mistakes. Unless positive steps are taken very quickly, 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf will be the next to pick up the tab.”
Indeed, the subcommittee was so moved it adopted a unanimous resolution calling on the Government of Canada — in concert with our international partners — to undertake immediate action to help ensure the lives of those at Camp Ashraf are not in jeopardy.
In particular, we called upon the government of Iraq to extend the deadline for residents to leave beyond Dec. 31 and to allow international observers and aid groups into Camp Ashraf — including to interview residents individually to find out their eligibility for refugee status. Further, we called upon the Government of Canada — in conjunction with our allies — to seek a UN Security Council resolution putting a protective force in place to ensure the safety of refugees at Camp Ashraf; Moreover, the committee called upon the United States to fulfill its moral and legal obligations toward the residents of Camp Ashraf and not forget about those who will be left behind when U.S. troops leave Iraq.
As the world prepares to ring in a new year, let us act to protect the people of Camp Ashraf from certain displacement and likely death and resolve to hold the Government of Iraq to account for its actions. The time to act on Ashraf is now; tomorrow may be too late.
Irwin Cotler is the Member of Parliament for Mount Royal and a former minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. He is vice-chair of the subcommittee on international human rights.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1103599–sounding-the-alarm-on-camp-ashraf
