THE HUFFINGTON POST

The first test has been met, and the 3400 Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf in Iraq have been saved from being massacred or be dispersed throughout Iraq and then be massacred. But many more tests lie ahead, and the world community will be watching.

Resolution of the tense standoff between the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Government of Iraq began on 25 December, when the United Nations and Iraq agreed on a plan to move the dissidents at Camp Ashraf to an abandoned US military base near Baghdad called Camp Liberty. However, the dissidents were understandably wary of any promise from the government of Nouri al-Maliki and needed assurances from world bodies before agreeing to a move that might expose them to attack. 

Finally, with pledges of security and well being of the residents from UN, EU and US leaders, the president-elect of the Iranian Resistance, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, announced “a gesture of goodwill” under which 400 Ashraf residents were willing to go to Camp Liberty.

Reaching this point took lots of flexibility by the Iranian opposition leader and great efforts by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU High Representative Baroness Ashton, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. These leaders have put their own credibility on the line, so it can be hoped that they will follow through.

Actually Tehran mullahs were hoping that they would entrap the opposition in Ashraf by 31 December, have them massacred and then point their fingers to the opposition leaders as those who caused the human catastrophe.

They were looking for a win-win situation. But their hand was called and rebuffed.

So far, so good. But many treacherous roads lie ahead.

First, of course, is the threat of more attacks on Camp Ashraf by either Iraqi troops, acting at the behest of the Iranian mullahs, or by rocket-firing Iranian agents. Such attacks have occurred at least three times since the UN-Iraq agreement was reached.

Next is the continued safe movement of all 3400 Ashraf residents, who have to travel in convoys over territory where bombing and other attacks have been taking place with greater frequency since the U.S. pulled its last combat troops out of Iraq.

That’s why Secretary Clinton’s December 25 statement is so important and why it helped lead Mrs. Rajavi to ask her followers at Ashraf to go to Camp Liberty. Clinton stressed their “safety and security” and said that “officials from U.S. Embassy Baghdad will visit (Camp Liberty) regularly and frequently.”

If everything goes according to plan – and that’s a big ‘if’ – and all Ashraf residents are moved safely to Camp Liberty with all their movable belongings, in order to prevent any recurrence of violence the minimum humanitarian and legal guarantees including halting any persecution and harassment of the residents and the annulment of forged warrants of arrests without exception, and that Iraqi forces shall be stationed outside of fenced area of the new location to ensure security and tranquility, particularly for nearly 1,000 Muslim women, must be met.

From there, the next phase of their odyssey can begin.

All have applied for political asylum. The UN refugee agency has wanted to process their requests for months, but the Maliki government has blocked such action. Hopefully, at Camp Liberty, with US and UN protection, such processing can move forward.

Here too, though, there is a major hang-up. That’s the placement of the MEK on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations by the U.S. State Department, a move taken 15 years ago in an attempt to mollify Tehran. This case proves that appeasement doesn’t work; the mullahs didn’t budge in their hatred of the U.S. and are pushing for nuclear weapons and threatening to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The objective is to allow the Camp Ashraf refugees to relocate in third countries, but while they’re on the terror list, the U.S. and its allies cannot take them in.

The MEK fought for years to be de-listed and it has succeeded in the European Union and the United Kingdom, where courts ruled that there was no basis for such a designation.

In the U.S., a federal Court of Appeals also agreed that the listing is wrong, but only the State Department can remove the MEK from the list. Ironically, at the end of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, after the MEK voluntarily disarmed, U.S. officials interrogated every single Ashraf resident and found them eligible for protection under the Geneva Accords. The U.S. Congress and dozens of senior former U.S. national security officials in a rare bipartisan campaign are all for the delisting.

So what is the State Department waiting for?

Secretary Clinton has been strong in her humanitarian efforts on behalf the Ashraf residents. Now, it is time for her to apply both the law of reason and constitutional law and remove the MEK from the list of terror organizations.

Actually, it never has been a terror organization. But rather than focus on past actions, the U.S. should just move forward. It knows that Tehran is not a friend and that Tehran fears the MEK (which is why the mullahs have prevailed on their Iraqi ‘friend’ Maliki to try to obliterate Ashraf).

It should remove the fetters from the MEK so that it can continue to fight for a democratic Iran.

David Amess is member of Parliament for Southend West and member of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-amess/the-world-is-watching-iraq-on-camp-ashraf_b_1180513.html

Iranian Resistance requests Secretary Clinton and UN Secretary General to undertake appropriate measures to ensure the success of US, UN, EU and UNHCR efforts, which are being seriously threatened by the Iranian regime

NCRI – In separate statements, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and EU High Representative Baroness Catherine Ashton welcomed the peaceful and humanitarian solution for Camp Ashraf crisis according to international law. The international community, including the governments of Canada, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Germany also welcomed this solution. On December 28, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance issued a statement on the readiness of 400 Camp Ashraf residents to relocate to Camp Liberty with their vehicles and moveable assets on December 30, 2011.

Simultaneously, the religious dictatorship ruling Iran, in an attempt to destroy its principal opposition, has embarked on an all-out effort to undermine the peaceful and mutually satisfactory solution for the Camp Ashraf crisis. In doing so, it is following two objectives: to pressure the Iraqi government to breach its commitments and to blame the residents of Camp Ashraf, the leadership of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian Resistance. From all indications, the Iranian regime and its operatives in Iraq are working to this end.

1. On December 24, a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp’s terrorist Qods Force, under the command of General Iraj Masjedi, the Qods Force’s Chief of Staff, and another delegation, headed by Brig. Gen. Hassan Kazemi Qomi, a Qod Force commander and former Ambassador to Iraq, travelled to Baghdad and discussed the issue of the PMOI and Camp Ashraf. Subsequently, missiles were launched at Camp Ashraf.

2. 107mm rockets were fired at Camp Ashraf on December 25, 27 and 28.

3. Kazem Jalali, Chair of the regime’s Parliamentary Security Committee, explicitly demanded the murder and destruction of PMOI members in Iraq. “It would be better to punish these criminals and make them pay for their crimes,” he told the state-run Mehr News Agency on December 24.

4. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s mouthpiece, the daily Kayhan, acting on behalf of Iraqi officials as well as security and judiciary agencies, wrote, “So far, 258 legal cases have been filed against PMOI members in Iraq.” This item was reprinted in the state-run media, including Ressalat in Tehran on January 1, 2012.
5. On December 31, the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), announced through one of its  websites, www.Iran-Interlink.org, that even if the residents of Camp Ashraf relocate to Camp Liberty, they will continue to face the agents, posing as PMOI family members, who have for the past two years gathered around Camp Ashraf to threaten and insult the residents, especially the women.

6. The same day, the IRGC’s news agency announced that PMOI members have to be transferred to a location on the borders between Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and that Iraqi officials were opposed to their relocation to Camp Liberty.

7. Whereas on December 21, the Iraqi Prime Minister announced the six-month extension of the deadline, Tehran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Danai-far, was quoted by the state-run news agency, ISNA, on January 1, “The Iraqi government plans to close down Camp Ashraf in the next few days.”

8. The Iraqi government did not agree to the participation of Mrs. Rajavi and representatives of Camp Ashraf or even their lawyers in discussions on the fate of their clients between the Iraqi government and Amb. Kobler. This was despite the fact that in paragraph 66 of his July 7, 2011 report to the Security Council, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, had clearly stated, “I call upon Member States to help to support and facilitate the implementation of any arrangement that is acceptable to the Government of Iraq and the camp residents.”

9. U.S. and UN officials said that Camp Liberty had been handed over to the Iraqi government on December 3rd. On December 7th, UN officials told Camp Ashraf representatives that they had visited Camp Liberty and that it had been ready with UN and UNHCR standards. It is about 40 Sq. kms and the U.S. forces have left behind the necessary and sufficient facilities and infra-structure, they said. UN officials also stated repeatedly that they would not sign any agreement with the Iraqi government on the relocation of Camp Ashraf residents to Camp Liberty before informing and getting the agreement of Camp Ashraf representatives.

10. However, on December 25, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed due to Iraqi government pressure and without the knowledge and agreement of the residents of Camp Ashraf and their representatives. The text of the MoU was provided to Camp Ashraf representatives the next day. It became clear that the Iraqi forces had occupied 95 percent of Camp Liberty’s area. Later, it was learned that the location allocated to the residents of Ashraf was not ready. On December 30th, an alternative and temporary location in Camp Liberty was offered to the residents, which was even smaller. Camp Ashraf representatives were also told that the Iraqi government had opposed the 400 residents taking their vehicles and moveable assets from Ashraf to Liberty.

11. As for the moveable assets, kitchen appliances and bread baking equipment, the residents were told the latter would be available at Liberty. However, Iraqi officials rejected the suggestion by Camp Ashraf representatives to send a 5-10 member team of Camp Ashraf residents and engineers to visit Camp Liberty for a few hours and appraise the facilities and accommodations.

12. Iraqi officials also opposed the transfer of the residents’ vehicles on the pretext that they had no registration. Amb. Kobler had been informed, however, that all the vehicles and equipment had their titles and that some 200 had been purchased in 2008 with the monitoring of the U.S. forces with their taxes paid. These cars have no license plates because of the three-year siege on Camp Ashraf and the refusal by Iraqi officials to issue them. Camp Ashraf representative proposed to Amb. Kobler that if Iraqi officials were not really using license plate issue as an excuse, they could easily resolve this problem in a matter of a few hours either in Camp Ashraf or in Liberty by sending officials from the Motor Vehicle Department to issue license plates. He also said all vehicles could be handed over to the UN as soon as they arrive and are unloaded at Liberty. This would provide time to resolve the legal issues and return the cars to their owners. The Camp Ashraf representative even suggested that if completing the one to two hour journey from Ashraf to Liberty under US and UN monitoring violates Iraqi sovereignty, Camp Ashraf residents were prepared to hire private transport companies to carry the cars on their trucks.

13. In a letter to Secretary Clinton on December 29, copied to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Amb. James Jeffrey, Amb. Daniel Fried and Amb. Martin Kobler, Mrs. Rajavi wrote, “I recall my emphatic appeal to the residents of Camp Ashraf to relocate 400 people to Camp Liberty as a goodwill gesture until subsequent Iraqi government agreement with the minimum assurances and reiterate that 400 residents are prepared to relocate to Camp Liberty with their vehicles and moveable assets on December 30th. As such, why and who is preventing an initial inspection of Camp Liberty by five or ten Camp Ashraf residents in order to assess the state and the shortages of the new camp? The obvious question the residents are asking is whether or not Liberty is going to be a prison. Otherwise, transferring the necessary equipment to Liberty in order to prepare and ease the shortages should not be to anyone’s detriment? Why is there opposition to the residents leaving Camp Ashraf with their assets and vehicles as soon as possible?  Is transferring kitchen appliances, bread baking equipment, heaters, refrigerators, air conditioners and generators threatening the sovereignty of Iraq?  UNHCR has recognized the residents of Camp Ashraf as “formally asylum- seekers under international law… that they must be able to benefit from basic protection of their security and well-being”.

14. Mrs. Rajavi appealed to Secretary Clinton for her assistance and intervention so that Amb. Kobler could convince the Iraqi government agree to the “inspection of Camp Liberty by a number of Camp Ashraf engineers; the immediate transfer of 400 Camp Ashraf residents to Liberty with their vehicles and moveable assets and the subsequent acceptance by Iraq of the minimum assurances to convince the rest of Camp Ashraf residents to go to Liberty in the remaining months now that the deadline has been extended.”

15. The representative of Camp Ashraf residents outside Iraq wrote to Mr. Kobler on December 30th: “Unfortunately, from all indications, the Iraqi government intends to turn Camp Liberty to a prison for the residents of Camp Ashraf. The prohibition against the residents taking their vehicles, imposing restrictions on taking their assets and the opposition to an initial inspection of the site by a group of Camp Ashraf engineers are sources of tremendous concern to the residents. These restrictions, which are absolutely contrary to the fundamental values and rights which the United Nations is supposed to safeguard, have nothing to do with the issue of Iraqi sovereignty. Far from it, the sovereignty right has degenerated into an excuse to further the evil intention of the religious fascism ruling Iran. When one adds to these conditions the threat of an attack if relocation without the vehicles is not accepted as well as the missile attacks against Ashraf, the source of which is quite clear, any fair-minded and reasonable person could only reach one conclusion: the Iraqi government is intent on building a prison-like environment for the residents of Ashraf. What is happening right now is forced relocation and a flagrant violation of the rights of the residents.”

16. He added, “Since you agree, I hope, that except for prisoners, no one is taken to an area without previously having inspected it and that you do not expect the residents to go to a prison on their own volition, if Iraq does not accept an initial exploratory visit to Camp Liberty by a 5-10 member team of Ashraf residents, I request that on behalf of the residents that a delegation consisting of Ashraf lawyers and representatives, including Senator Robert Torricelli, Brig. Gen. David Phillips (ret.), Mr. Paulo Casaca (former MEP) and Dr. Juan Garces (the distinguished international law jurist) go to Iraq tomorrow to visit Camp Liberty and assure the residents that no malice is intended toward them.”

17. Ms. Mojgan Parsaei, Vice President of the Iranian Resistance in Camp Ashraf, wrote to Amb. Kobler on January 1, “Ashraf residents are deeply concerned that preparations are being made to transfer them to a prison or something like that. Contrary to remarks by UNSG and yourself, this would be pushing us toward forcible and illegal relocation which is contrary to IHL and ICCPR. Ashraf residents feel they are facing unnecessary suffering, degrading and humiliating behavior. Our lawyers constantly warn us about this; they say they have sent you dozens of letters in this regard over the past two days… In a December 26 letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, copied to you as well, more than 3,000 Ashraf residents wrote, ‘You will concur with us that forcible displacement is prohibited under international law.  The current drive to relocate us is being done under constraint, against our free will, and while we do not have the minimum assurances for our safety and security’”. She added, “Considering the above-mentioned concerns, Ashraf residents find themselves facing an obscure and bleak future. I am faced with a wave of questions from Ashraf residents, their lawyers and families… Does the Iraqi government, under pressure from the Iranian regime, plan to call off the agreement? Is it trying to use Amb. Kobler as leverage to send us to prison and force us into an unlawful and unacceptable relocation contrary to international law and conventions? Is it trying to compel the SRSG to withdraw from this agreement and put the blame on us, and then attack and justify another massacre?”

18. In her letter, Ms. Parsaei had underscored “the adherence of the residents of Ashraf to Mrs. Rajavi’s December 28 letter and her December 29 letter to Secretary Clinton.”

Recalling UN Secretary General’s previous appeal to UN Member States “to support and facilitate the implementation of any arrangement that is acceptable to the Government of Iraq and the camp residents,” and in order to save the peaceful and mutually satisfactory solution, Mrs. Rajavi proposed the convening of a special session in Paris or Brussels or Geneva to be presided over by Amb. Martin Kobler, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq; and attended by herself or Camp Ashraf representatives; authoritative Iraqi officials; Amb. Daniel Fried, Secretary Clinton’s Special Representative on Ashraf; U.S. Embassy-Baghdad Representative for Ashraf; Amb. Jean de-Ruyt, Baroness Ashton’s Special Envoy on Ashraf; UNHCR Representative; European Parliament Vice President Dr. Alejo Vidal Quadras; and Struan Stevenson, Head of EP’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 2, 2012

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/ashraf/11589-camp-ashraf-warning-on-iranian-regimes-efforts-to-undermine-a-peaceful-solution

REUTERS

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations has complained to Iraq about mortar attacks this week on an Iranian dissident camp near Baghdad and has won a promise that they will be stopped, a U.N. spokesman said on Thursday.

Two mortars hit Camp Ashraf on Sunday, just days after Baghdad extended a year-end deadline for the facility to be closed as the United Nations negotiated resettlement of 3,000 residents there.

Camp Ashraf, 40 miles (65 km) from Baghdad, has been home for 25 years to the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, or PMOI, an Iranian opposition group the United States and Iran officially consider a terrorist organization.

The U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Martin Kobler, “raised the reported mortar attacks … with the Iraqi competent authorities, who confirmed that these attacks did indeed take place,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

The Iraqis “promised to ensure that these attacks cease and to hold the perpetrators accountable,” Nesirky said.

U.N. officials could not say whether the Iraqi authorities had given any indication of who they believed was responsible for the attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said last week he had agreed to extend the deadline for closing the camp on condition the United Nations transfer about 400 to 800 residents to other countries before the end of this year.

Camp Ashraf’s future became unclear after Washington turned it over to Iraq in 2009. Baghdad has repeatedly said it does not want the guerrilla group on Iraqi soil.

In the 1970s the group led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran but after the 1979 Islamic revolution also turned against Iran’s new clerical rulers. It was hosted in Iraq by former leader Saddam Hussein, a bitter foe of Iran.

The Paris-based leader of the PMOI, Maryam Rajavi, said on Wednesday that 400 members were ready to move from Camp Ashraf to a new location as a goodwill gesture. She said they would travel to a sprawling former U.S. military base known as Camp Liberty near the Baghdad airport “at the first opportunity.”

In a statement on Thursday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is linked to the Mujahideen, said the 400 were ready to move as early as Friday. But U.N. officials said it was not likely to start for several days.

The NCRI said on Wednesday there had been a total of three attacks this week on Camp Ashraf using 107mm Katyusha rockets. It blamed them on the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps “and its Iraqi agents.”

(Reporting By Patrick Worsnip; Editing by Bill Trott)

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE7BS18L20111229

NCRI – In a  meeting with the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) of the UN for Iraq, and representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and  UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,  the representatives of Camp Ashraf residents declared that upon a request by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, 400 of Camp Ashraf residents are ready to move to Camp Liberty on December 30 with their vehicles and movable belongings including kitchen, bakery, heating, cooling facilities, etc.

The representatives of Ashraf residents stipulated that as it was declared by Mrs. Rajavi on Dec 28, the transfer will take place based on the December 25 statement of Secretary Clinton, the December 26 statement of UN Secretary General and the December 28 letter of SRSG. As she had stated, regrettably, the Government of Iraq (GOI) did not agree with her participation or the residents’ representatives and not even their lawyers in the negotiations between the GOI and the UN. The SRSG, as he had stated, was only acting as a “facilitator,” and he referred the decision on minimum assurances for safety and security for the transfer of all the residents to Camp Liberty to future talks.
 
Today, the representatives of the camp informed the SRSG and the US representatives of the information about a planned fourth rocket attack on Camp Ashraf to induce a forcible displacement of the residents.  These attacks are contrary to a peaceful solution and are in clear violation of statements by Secretary Clinton, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and letter of  SRSG to the camp residents.

Mr. Mohammad Mohaddessin, representative of Ashraf residents outside Iraq, drew the attention of the U.S., UN and EU officials to the readiness of 400 Ashraf residents to be relocated to Camp Liberty on December 30 and said: It should be clear to the international community that from this time on, the GOI would be responsible for any delay, obstruction and prevention in transfer of these 400 Ashraf residents with their vehicles and moveable properties. The relocation of the first group of residents to Camp Liberty and the way they are treated would be a test for relocation of other groups within the extended deadline. The Prime Minister of Iraq stated on December 21 that he has extended the deadline for six months upon the request of the UN Secretary General.
 
The Iranian Resistance urges the UN Secretary General, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Ambassador Dan Fried, the special advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State on Ashraf, and the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq, to obtain  the agreement of the Government of Iraq with the minimum assurances for the relocation of other Ashraf residents to Camp Liberty.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 29, 2011

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/ashraf/11580-400-camp-ashraf-residents-declare-their-readiness-to-move-to-camp-liberty-with-their-vehicles-and-moveable-belongings-on-december-30

 

FOX NEWS

The leader of an Iranian dissident group has agreed to start relocating refugees who for years have been living in precarious conditions in an Iraqi camp. 

Under an agreement recently struck between the United Nations and the Iraqi government, the 3,400 Iranian exiles at a site known as Camp Ashraf will move to Camp Liberty — the former U.S. military base near Baghdad — before making arrangements to leave Iraq and resettle elsewhere. 

Maryam Rajavi, the Paris-based head of the group, averted a potential showdown Wednesday by announcing that, “as a gesture of goodwill,” 400 residents at Ashraf are prepared to go to Camp Liberty “at first opportunity.” The statement was obtained by Fox News.

Before Wednesday, the exiles had not said whether they would consent to the U.N. deal. 

The statement, however, did not indicate when the rest of the residents might relocate. And it also did not mention one of the major remaining sticking points — the fact that in the United States, the group to which the exiles belong is a designated terror organization. As long as that label is attached to them, the residents can’t be resettled in the U.S. or Europe as part of any long-term solution. 

The group known as the Mujahideen Khalq or MEK, has been based in Iraq since the 1980s.
Saddam Hussein gave them protection because they helped him fight Ayatollah Khomeini and the mullahs in Iran. Since the U.S. military toppled Saddam Hussein after the invasion in 2003, the Iranians have been urging Iraq to hand over the exiles, whom Tehran considers traitors and spies. 

Technically, the MEK is still on the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list, placed there by President Bill Clinton because the group allegedly killed six American diplomats during the 1970s when the U.S. was supporting the Shah in Tehran. The group was reportedly placed on the list at a time when the State Department was attempting to engage Iran diplomatically. 

But the State Department is reviewing that designation. 

“We’re giving it serious consideration,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday, noting “no decision has been made yet.” 

More than a dozen former national security advisers have called on the Obama administration to delist the MEK, claiming there’s no evidence today to support allegations of terrorism against the group. 

More recently, the MEK and its affiliates have helped the U.S. and Western intelligence agencies. They provided information about the secret uranium enrichment facility in Natanz — a key intelligence breakthrough for the West. 

A report this past August by Lincoln Bloomfield, a former assistant secretary of state, noted a “longstanding pattern” of western governments being “pressured” by Tehran to sanction the MEK. While the MEK is held responsible for the killing of six Americans in the 1970s, 

Bloomfield cited claims that those responsible actually represented a “splinter” group no longer tied to the current MEK group. 

Whether or not the U.S. changes the terror designation, the U.N.-Iraq plan for resettling the residents of Camp Ashraf ultimately aims to find a permanent home for the refugees. 

Martin Kobler, special representative for the U.N. secretary-general, said in a letter Wednesday that the temporary relocation at Camp Liberty is “a necessary and indispensable first step towards a long-term solution.” He noted that individual countries will have to decide whether they will accept the refugees, but assured that the United Nations will conduct “24/7 monitoring” of the new camp until all residents leave Iraq. The letter also said the U.S. would visit Camp Liberty “regularly and frequently.” 

Rajavi called for “maximum vigilance” in protecting Ashraf residents. 

Even after the deal was struck, rockets from an Iranian-backed militia were fired at the camp on Sunday and Tuesday. Residents remain in fear that the Iraqi government will turn them over to Iran where they would be tried as spies and traitors. More than 30 residents of Camp Ashraf were killed by Iraqi police last April during skirmishes after the U.S. military relinquished control of the camp. 

“The transfer of the first group of residents is a test of the Iraqi Government’s attitude in respecting obligations as professed to the U.N. and U.S.,” Rajavi said. 

The U.S. military also has a role to play in protecting the residents, since the U.S. disarmed the group in 2004 and gave them protected status. 

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/28/iranian-exiles-in-iraq-ready-to-start-relocation

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD (AP) — The head of an Iranian exile group holed up at a camp in Iraq said Wednesday that the first of the camp’s residents are ready to move to a new location picked by the Iraqi government, solving a potential crisis.

The announcement Wednesday by Maryam Rajavi, the Paris-based leader of the group, averted what could have been a bloody showdown with Iraqi authorities if the residents had refused to move.

“After receiving assurances … and as a sign of goodwill, 400 Ashraf residents are ready to go to Camp Liberty with their moveable property and vehicles at first opportunity,” read the statement. Camp Liberty is the former American military base in Baghdad that has been chosen as the group’s new home.

The agreement comes as militants this week twice tried to target the camp with rockets. No one was injured.

The Iraqi government vowed to close Camp Ashraf, home to about 3,400 Iranian exiles, by the end of this year. The exiles, members of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, one-time allies of Saddam Hussein in a common fight against Iran, favor the overthrow of the Iranian government.

But since the ouster of Saddam they have become an irritant to an Iraqi government that is trying to establish good ties with Iran and sees the group as an affront to Iraqi sovereignty. At least 34 people were killed in April during an Iraqi government raid on the camp.

The United Nations on Sunday announced an agreement to move the residents of Camp Ashraf to a temporary location, but until Wednesday, the exiles had not said whether they would go.

Rajavi said 400 residents are ready to move first as a sign of goodwill. The statement made no mention of when the other residents would go, but the group’s residents are believed to want to stay together. If the first move is successful and safe, it’s likely the rest would be relocated soon.

“The transfer of the first group of residents is a test of the Iraqi Government’s attitude in respecting obligations as professed to the U.N. and U.S.,” Rajavi said.

At Camp Liberty, the U.N.’s refugee agency will interview the residents to determine their eligibility for refugee status, before they can eventually be resettled in third countries. Returning to Iran is ruled out because of their opposition to the regime.

Rajavi’s statement also gave rare insight into a camp that was built during the 1980s and has largely been closed off to the outside world. The group’s residents have not left the camp for years, and the little contact they have with outsiders is through the Iraqi military, visiting diplomats and aid agencies. They do have extensive communications equipment that allows them to communicate with the outside world.

The group’s leader said residents had taken a piece of land in the desert and transformed it into a “modern city with their labor and extensive cost.”

“It has a university, library, museum, hospital, power station, cemetery, mosque, parks, lake, sports and recreation facilities, and underground bomb shelters,” she said.

The group carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran’s clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam’s forces in the Iran-Iraq war. The group says it renounced violence in 2001. U.S. soldiers disarmed them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Under the agreement outlined by the U.N., the international organization will monitor the relocation process, and then a team from the U.N.’s refugee agency will be deployed at the new location to process the refugee claims. The U.S. has said that its embassy personnel will also frequently check on the camp’s residents.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g2HYalCrCOblur92W0bIIFddTVHA

Maryam Rajavi expresses gratitude to Secretary Clinton for humanitarian approach to safety and security of Ashraf residents, and appreciate efforts by UN Secretary General, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq, UNHCR, and Baroness Ashton

NCRI – Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, expressed her gratitude for the humanitarian approach by the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her December 25 statement on the situation in Ashraf for reaching a peaceful and durable solution on the Camp’s residents and for her stressing their “safety and security” and that “officials from U.S. Embassy Baghdad will visit (Camp Liberty) regularly and frequently.” She also thanked Ambassador Daniel Fried, the Secretary’s Special Representative on Ashraf for his efforts in this regard.

Mrs. Rajavi repeated the readiness of Ashraf residents to relocate to Camp Liberty with minimal assurances and underscored: The residents of Ashraf welcome Secretary Clinton’s statement and, naturally, anything that would be contrary to the spirit and letter of the statement would be unacceptable to them.

Having received the assurances and the letter of Mr. Martin Kobler, SRSG, to Ashraf residents, Mrs. Rajavi announced: Despite the December 25 and 27 attacks with 107mm rockets on Ashraf, and the continuation of various provocations in Baghdad and around Ashraf, as a gesture of goodwill, 400 residents are prepared to go to Camp Liberty with their moveable property and vehicles at first opportunity. The relocation of the first group of residents is, at the same time, a test of the Iraqi Government’s attitude toward the commitments it has given to the United Nations and the United States.

Mrs. Rajavi also expressed her profound gratitude and appreciation for the efforts of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; SRSG, Ambassador Martin Kobler; UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres; EU High Representative Baroness Ashton, Special Advisor to EU High Representative, Amb. Jean de Ruyt; European Parliament Vice-President Alejo Vidal-Quadras; and Head of European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Struan Stevenson; as well as distinguished US personalities and parliamentarians from over 40 countries for their efforts to prevent violence and bloodshed and for seeking a peaceful solution.

The Iranian Resistance’s President-elect pointed out that the Iraqi Government had unfortunately not accepted her participation or that of representatives of Ashraf residents and their lawyers in negotiations related to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the UN. As the UN statements have pointed out, the SRSG was only a facilitator in the negotiations. As a result, the MOU has not sufficiently emphasized on the minimal assurances and was therefore not acceptable to Ashraf residents. But the categorical emphasis by Secretary Hillary Clinton, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Baroness Ashton, António Guterres, and in particular the letter by Amb. Martin Kobler, contained the crisis and resolved the very complex problem.

The UN Secretary General stated: “He believes that the agreement lays the foundation for a peaceful and durable solution to the situation, respecting both the sovereignty of Iraq and its international humanitarian and human rights obligations,” and “that any violence or attempt at a forcible solution would be unacceptable.”

Addressing Ashraf residents and their leadership, Baroness Ashton stressed: “They should be reassured by the terms of the MOU and the commitment of UNAMI and the United States to ensure a robust monitoring. Thanks to this, the entire International Community will be able to follow closely the whole process and the EU intends to bring its support to this whole arrangement… and will continue to follow very closely the implementation of this agreement.”

Mr. António Guterres declared: “UNHCR is fully engaged in this initiative and looks forward to the voluntary and peaceful transfer of the asylum seekers to a temporary site so that UNHCR can proceed immediately with the determination of their status…”

Finally, the SRSG’s clarifications about the MOU in his letter to Ashraf residents persuaded them to relocate based on the statement by Secretary Clinton on December 25 and the SRSG’s letter on December 28, 2011. I emphatically urged Ashraf residents to count on and trust these foundations and statements by UN Secretary General, EU High Representative Baroness Ashton, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

The SRSG stressed:

“The MOU is a good start. It outlines the process of relocation to camp liberty which will take place exclusively under the security responsibility of the Government of the Republic of Iraq. The Government of the Republic of Iraq ensures your safety and security both during the transportation from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty and in Camp Liberty itself until the time comes when you leave Iraq.

“Given the short time it was not possible to address all your requests. Many issues will have to be arranged between you and the representatives of the Government of Iraq in Camp Liberty.

“Safe and secure transfer of the residents of Camp New Iraq to Camp Liberty and from Camp Liberty to other countries is ensured in the MOU.

“Upon arrival of the residents to Camp Liberty, the United Nations will conduct 24/7 monitoring at Camp Liberty until the residents leave Iraq.

“I am aware of your request for respect for your privacy in particular regarding women. I will continue my efforts with the Government of the Republic of Iraq in this regard to establish the appropriate arrangement, with the agreement of the Government of Iraq, which would respect the sovereignty of Iraq.

“With regard to other issues, such as assets and properties, we will continue the discussions towards reaching a solution that would respect the property rights of the residents in an organized way”.

Mrs. Rajavi added that contrary to what is said about the Iraqi Government not knowing about the number or identities of the Ashraf residents and what goes on in this city, I must bring to your attention:

First – from April 5 to 9, 2009 in a span of five days, the Iraqi Government fingerprinted, registered, and identified every single Ashraf resident, without exception;

Second – The Iraqi Government privately and individually interviewed all Ashraf residents, under supervision of US forces and International Committee of the Red Cross, from February 26 to April 22, 2009 at the headquarters of the Iraqi battalion. During these interviews, 11 persons decided to leave Ashraf and Iraqi state television broadcast these individuals’ repentance in the presence of Iraqi security officials on April 15, 2009;

Third – The Iraqi Government searched all buildings and facilities and all grounds and each single resident in Ashraf including women’s personal effects with a trained police dog unit for three days on April 18, 19, and 20, 2009. The official signed document of this search is available on request.

Fourth – Before the attacks of July 28 and 29, 2009, a representative of the Iraqi Government, Mr. Salim, was resident inside Ashraf and had unfettered access to every place in Ashraf 24/7.

In addition, after the United States transferred the protection of Ashraf to Iraqi forces in early 2009, Ashraf residents warmly welcomed the Iraqi forces. They also handed over $10 million worth of buildings and facilities to the Iraqi forces which the residents had built with their own funds in over two decades.

While underlining the red lines of the Ashraf residents in not surrendering to the religious fascism ruling Iran and the demands of its supreme leader, Mrs. Rajavi recounted the successive flexibilities shown by Ashraf residents, which were ultimately reflected in accepting the UN and US plan. They were:

– Yielding on a 26-year right of residence and asylum in Iraq, outlined in 22 legal opinions by the preeminent legal scholars across the world;

– Accepting the European Parliament plan for leaving Iraq for third countries;

– Accepting the UNHCR’s recommendation to submit individual applications for refugee status and to declare readiness for individual and private interviews;

– And finally, accepting the US and UN plan to leave Ashraf, a barren and arid piece of land, which thousands of residents transformed to a modern city in 26 years, through their toil and extensive cost. They built a university, a library, a museum, a hospital, a power station, a cemetery, a mosque, a lake, parks, sports and recreation facilities, and underground bomb shelters to defend themselves against the Iranian regime’s repeated bombings and Scud-B missile attacks.

In conclusion, Mrs. Rajavi, once again thanked all officials, personalities, parliamentarians, and jurists who worked towards a peaceful solution and called for an immediate end to the siege, restrictions, and provocations against Ashraf residents. She called for the international community’s maximum vigilance to protect the lives and rights of Ashraf residents and to record every single breach of the items stipulated in the letter by the SRSG and in the statements by the UN Secretary General and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, until the last person has left Camp Liberty for third countries.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 28, 2011

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

BAQUBA, Iraq — Multiple rockets over the past 24 hours hit a camp in Iraq housing Iranian exiles, officials and the group based there said on Wednesday, after Iraq and the UN signed a pact to resettle residents.

The latest strikes, the third in four days, occurred at about 8:15 pm (1715 GMT) on Wednesday, according to an official at the Iraqi security command centre in Diyala provincial capital Baquba.

“Four mortars fell on Camp Ashraf at around 8:15 pm from unknown sources,” the official said. It was not immediately clear if they caused casualties.

On Tuesday evening, at least one rocket hit the camp, the official and a spokesman for the camp said.

An ambulance was sent to the camp, home to 3,400 members of the People’s Mujahedeen, after that attack but returned carrying no victims.

Shahriar Kia, a spokesman for the camp, said in an emailed statement that multiple rockets hit the camp at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, and confirmed there had been no casualties.

He blamed groups loyal to Iran of being behind the strike and a previous rocket attack on the evening of December 25.

On Sunday, Iraq and the UN signed a pact under which Baghdad will resettle members of the People’s Mujahedeen and provide security for them while the UN determines their refugee status.

The agreement was signed by UN special envoy Martin Kobler and Iraqi National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh.

It did not give the location to which the residents would be moved or provide a timeline, but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said the camp will now close in April, rather than at the end of this year.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said US embassy officials would visit the new site “regularly and frequently” in support of the UN plan.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein allowed the rebel People’s Mujahedeen to set up the camp during the war with Iran in the 1980s.

When Saddam was overthrown in the US-led invasion of 2003, the camp came under US military protection, but American forces handed over security responsibilities for the site to the Baghdad authorities in January 2009.

The camp has been back in the spotlight since a controversial April raid by Iraqi security forces left at least 34 people dead and scores injured.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iD3Kpoyh39ZyOjzBebAKw06idc5A

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Secretary-General, Welcoming Memorandum of Understanding on Relocation of Camp
New Iraq Residents, Warns That Forcible Solution Would Be ‘Unacceptable’

The following statement was issued on 26 December by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the signing on 25 December of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Government of Iraq for the voluntary relocation of the residents of Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf).  He believes that the agreement lays the foundation for a peaceful and durable solution to the situation, respecting both the sovereignty of Iraq and its international humanitarian and human rights obligations.  The Memorandum of Understanding is the result of intense negotiations between his Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler, and representatives of the Iraqi Government.  The residents of the camp have also been consulted.
The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of the Government of Iraq to extend the deadline for the closure of the camp to provide more time and space for the peaceful voluntary relocation of the residents.  As reflected in the Memorandum of Understanding, the Government of Iraq has a clear and exclusive responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the residents.  At the same time, the residents of Camp New Iraq have to abide by the laws of Iraq.  He appeals to all concerned to continue to demonstrate flexibility and good faith, and move towards the swift implementation of the relocation plan.  The Secretary-General reminds all concerned that any violence or attempt at a forcible solution would be unacceptable.  The Secretary-General also reiterates his call to Member States to accept the residents who are eligible for voluntary return or resettlement as soon as possible.
The United Nations has been involved in this issue from a purely humanitarian perspective and has played the role of an impartial facilitator.  Under the leadership of Special Representative Martin Kobler, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees remain committed to continue supporting a peaceful and durable solution to the situation of the residents of the camp.

* *** *

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2011/sgsm14038.doc.htm