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Senior Former U.S. Officials Urge Obama Administration To Uphold America’s Commitment and Protect Residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq

October 31, 2011 by

PRNewswire

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In a panel on Friday, October 28, 2011, entitled “U.S., U.N. Obligations to Avert Impending Humanitarian Catastrophe at Camp Ashraf,” former senior U.S. national security, military and judiciary officials urged the Obama administration to honor its written commitment to the residents of Camp Ashraf and protect them from another onslaught by the Iraqi government, according to Iranian-American Community of Northern California.

Camp Ashraf is home to 3,400 members of the Iran’s main opposition, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). Only eight weeks are left to the arbitrary deadline set by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to shut down Camp Ashraf and forcibly relocate the residents to their death.

The speakers urged the United States to raise the issue of Camp Ashraf at the United Nations Security Council to facilitate the stationing of the UN blue helmet forces in Camp Ashraf to protect the residents from Iraqi attacks before they are relocated to third countries.  

“In 2003, we saw no evidence that the MEK should be listed as a terrorist organization. Therefore, we negotiated their disarmament and provided for their protection not as terrorists but as a military organization. My expectation at the time was that delisting would occur and the occupants of Camp Ashraf would gain the refugee status that they deserved,” said General William S. Wallace, former Commander of U.S. V Corps.

Recalling former President Bill Clinton’s regret about his inaction to avert the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, former State Department Policy Planning Director Mitchell Reiss, said, “President Clinton’s wife is now the Secretary of State and has the power to remedy the injustice at Camp Ashraf… All she has to do is delist the MEK and ensure that the residents are given safe passage out of Iraq.”

“Unless immediate action is taken, another tragedy on a much larger scale than we witnessed back in April [8th massacre at Camp Ashraf] is looming… Remember that we have a very narrow window, 65 days and counting, to accomplish these actions or there will be blood on our hands, and the world will see that America did not honor its commitment, that America did not honor its promise, and our leadership will bear the responsibility for the horrible outcome because we lacked the moral and the political courage to stand for what was right,” said General Hugh Shelton, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Ambassador Dell Dailey, former State Department’s Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism noted that “If the MEK were delisted, it would be much easier for the residents of Camp Ashraf to move from Iraq to a third country… For the sake of peace in the region, safety and the livelihood of the residents of Ashraf, and the lives of thousands of innocent people, she [Secretary Clinton] must delist the MEK now.”

Displaying the “Protected Person” ID card issued by the United States for an Ashraf resident who was killed during the July 2009 massacre, Eugene Sullivan, former Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, said, “Don’t let this identification card which gave de facto protection become a license to kill… Madam Secretary of State, delist the MEK now. Madam Secretary, keep our nation’s word. Let it be our bond.”

Admiral James Lyons, former Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, while asking why the MEK has not been delisted added that the U.S. Congress “should enact and President Obama should sign into law Iran’s Liberation Act, thereby making regime change in Iran the official policy of the United States Government.”

John Sano, CIA’s first Deputy Director for Clandestine Services, told the panel that “if the Secretary of State can offer to the Libyan regime that we’ll help take care of your wounded fighters, what is she doing for the people who were massacred in April [in Camp Ashraf] and the likelihood that this will reoccur by the end of the year?”

 SOURCE Iranian-American Community of Northern California

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/senior-former-us-officials-urge-obama-administration-to-uphold-americas-commitment-and-protect-residents-of-camp-ashraf-in-iraq-132963403.html

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MEPs warn of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ at Iran exile camp

October 31, 2011 by

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

BRUSSELS, Oct 31, 2011 (AFP) – European parliamentarians issued a fresh warning Monday of a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” at an Iraqi camp housing Iranian exiles and urged the United Nations to provide protection for its 3,400 residents.

MEP Struan Stevenson, who heads the parliament’s delegation for relations with Iraq, said in an e-mail that 180 parliamentarians from the main political groups had signed a petition urging the postponement of a December 31 deadline set by Baghdad to close the camp.

“We have only eight weeks left to make (Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri) al-Maliki see sense or I fear we will face a certain humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

The plea came as in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said his government was resolved to close down Camp Ashraf, northeast of the Iraqi capital, by year’s end.

“The decision will be implemented by the end of this year,” he said, speaking alongside his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi.

“There is no government that would agree to an organisation staying against its (authorities’) will, laws and sovereignty.”

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Washington and Brussels earlier this month to demand that the camp’s closure be postponed to protect the 3,400 Iranian dissidents who have lived there for 30 years.

The camp, which has become a mounting international problem, has been in the spotlight since an April raid by Iraqi security forces left 34 people dead and scores injured, triggering sharp condemnation.

It was set up when Iraq and Iran were at war in the 1980s by the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), later coming under US control until January 2009, when US forces transferred security for the camp to Iraq.

The PMOI has been on the US government terrorist list since 1997 but has received support from leading US figures in its battle to obtain international supervision of Camp Ashraf’s closure, which comes as US forces pull out of Iraq.

In their petition, the MEPs said the closure “could be used as a pretext for a large-scale massacre.”

The petition accused Iraqi forces of psychological warfare on residents, threatening them day and night over 300 loudspeakers and restricting access to fuel and medicines. It said at least 12 people had died in recent months due to an “inhuman medical blockade.”

Because the UN High Commissioner for Refugees needed more time to interview the residents to decide on their future, the MEPs said they were calling on the United States and the United Nations to force Iraq to postpone the December 31 deadline “until the transfer of all residents to third countries has been accomplished.”

They also asked for UN monitors at Ashraf “to assure and guarantee the residents’ protection until they are transferred to alternative host countries.” 

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Oct-31/152694-meps-warn-of-humanitarian-catastrophe-at-iran-exile-camp.ashx

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EU lawmakers fear ‘massacre’ of Iranians in Iraq

October 31, 2011 by

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRUSSELS – Members of the European Parliament are asking for international help to prevent what they say could be a massacre of Iranian dissidents in Iraq.

A statement signed by 180 parliamentarians from all political parties says the lives of 3,400 Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf are in danger.

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has close ties with Iran, has said the camp must be closed by the end of 2011.

But the statement, emailed to journalists on Monday, says: “This could be used as a pretext for a large-scale massacre.”

The parliamentarians want the deadline extended so the Iranian’s asylum claims can be heard and they can be resettled elsewhere.

The U.N. says at least 34 people were killed when Iraqi security forces raided the camp in April.

http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/world/article/1011258–eu-lawmakers-fear-massacre-of-iranians-in-iraq

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After U.S. Forces Exit Iraq Will My Brothers Be Killed?

October 30, 2011 by

 FoxNews.com 

President Obama’s declaration that the last U.S. soldiers will be coming home from Iraq by the end of the year should inspire all Americans to say a thankful prayer for the valiant sacrifices of our brave servicemen and women.

At the same time, the president’s announcement leaves many of us in the Iranian-American community with grave concerns about an impending humanitarian disaster in Iraq when American forces are gone.

Both my brothers live in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, home to 3,400 unarmed Iranian men, women, and children, members of the principal Iranian opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), which is committed to non-violent regime change and a democratic, nuclear-free future for Iran. 

When U.S. forces leave Iraq, my brothers, and their families and friends, face almost certain annihilation by Iraqi President, Nouri al-Maliki’s government at the behest of Tehran.

Without question, the safety and security of the Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf is the responsibility of the United States government which gave a written guarantee of protection to each and every one of the camp residents.

Faced with growing international isolation due to its unrelenting drive to obtain nuclear weapons and brazen terrorist operations (the latest being the foiled attempt to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington by Iran’s extra-territorial Quds Force) the Mullahs in Tehran view the MEK as an existential threat and are determined to eradicate Ashraf at all costs.

The clear and present danger is unmistakable: 36 Ashraf residents were brutally murdered and hundreds more wounded on April 8, when Maliki approved a military assault on the camp—the second unprovoked attack in as many years. 

While bringing our troops home by December 31 may fulfill President Obama’s 2008 campaign promise, it also marks the arbitrary deadline imposed by Maliki for closing Camp Ashraf and dispersing its residents throughout the country where they can be killed out of sight. 

Campaign pledges notwithstanding, the Srebrenica-style massacre that will almost certainly ensue is hardly the successful conclusion to U.S. military efforts in Iraq for which an American president would want to claim ownership.

In the course of the 2003 war between the U.S. and Iraq, my brothers and the other residents of Camp Ashraf remained neutral and voluntarily gave up their arms. 

In 2004, the United States gave a written guarantee to my brothers and the other residents of Camp Ashraf that, in return, the United States would provide them with protection until such time that a peaceful solution could be found for their safe relocation.

Yet, since early 2009, when the U.S. handed over protection of the camp to the Iraqis, Ashraf has been under a suffocating blockade and many have lost their lives in attacks perpetrated by Maliki’s forces. They live in constant fear of the next attack. 

The residents have been subjected to psychological torment, through the installation of more than 300 loudspeakers that blast profanities and threats against the residents 24 hours a day. They have been deprived of the most basic need: access to proper medical care, food, and fuel.

The April assault on the camp rightly sparked international outrage. Senator John Kerry, who was then Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee demanded an independent, thorough investigation of the “massacre, as did Mrs. Catharine Ashton, the EU High Representative.

A senior bi-partisan delegation from the U.S. Congress travelled to Baghdad in June to visit Camp Ashraf and to investigate the April 8 massacre but, in an unbridled affront to our government, Maliki denied them access to the camp. The Congressmen, in a press conference held at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, declared in no uncertain terms that what transpired at Ashraf was a “crime against humanity.”

The U.N. High Commission for Refugees declared Ashraf residents “asylum seekers” and thus entitled to international protection. While the international community has repeatedly urged Maliki to postpone the deadline for closing Camp Ashraf and to stop obstructing U.N. efforts to protect and safely relocate Ashraf residents, he has not complied with their requests.

As we approach the December 31 deadline for removing U.S. forces from Iraq, the clock is ticking for my brothers and the other residents of Camp Ashraf: intervention by the U.S., EU, and U.N. is urgently needed to ensure that the illegal and arbitrary deadline for the closure of Camp Ashraf on Dec 31 is revoked by the Government of Iraq. 

To save the residents of Camp Ashraf from annihilation, U.N. Blue Helmet forces should be put in place so that international agencies are able to continue their work to safely relocate the residents without hindrance.

The United States has a legal and moral duty to protect the residents of Camp Ashraf. To do otherwise would be to forfeit American credibility and honor— and hand Iran the real victory in this high stakes game that no American can afford to lose.

Allen A. Tasslimi is president of the Association of Iranian-Americans in New York-New Jersey. He has two brothers in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/10/30/after-us-forces-exit-iraq-will-my-brothers-be-killed/#ixzz1cKW5y3OJ

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Secretary Hillary Clinton Questioned on Camp Ashraf in House Hearing

October 29, 2011 by

US COMMITTEE FOR CAMP ASHRAF RESIDENTS

On 27 October, the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared at a hearing  of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee where she was questioned by several members of the Committee asked about the humanitarian crisis in Camp Ashraf and the reasons behind the delay in delising of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from the FTO list.

Here is an excerpt of the exchange:

Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: Many members including the ranking member and I had sought the administration’s commitment to securing their protection given the Iraqi government’s repeated failure to comply with its international human rights obligations to the Camp Ashraf residents and in light of President Obama’s announcement of the final withdraw of American troops from Iraq, we need to be confident that our administration is engaged with the government of Iraq, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and others to ensure the welfare of Camp Ashraf residents and to resolve their long-term security goals.

 Secretary Clinton: With respect to Camp Ashraf, which we deeply are concerned about, we know that there is an ongoing and very legitimate expression of concern. We have elicited written assurances from government of Iraq that it will treat Ashraf residents humanely, that it will not transfer the residents to a country that they may have reasons to fear. And we are pushing very hard to get the United Nations High Commission on Refugees to work with residents of Camp Ashraf and Government to get them to a safe place.
…
Rep. Sherman: I think many of us saw this ad about Camp Ashraf featuring a 14-year-old girl who fears extermination. We face a tough circumstance and that we are withdrawing from Iraq. In the past there have been some will say massacre but at least terrible instances in which tens of people have been killed. And there are press reports that the Iraqi officials say well don’t worry about it too much after all these folks are on the US terrorist list. What are we doing to assure that when we leave Iraq we will not see the massacre of 3400 people at Camp Ashraf? And how is it going on the court-ordered review on whether the MEK should be on the terrorist list?
 
Secretary Clinton: On those points in particular congressman in accordance with the DC circuit’s 2010 ruling, State Department is reviewing the designation. There will be a decision, It has to be done expeditiously but thoroughly and we hope to have such a decision in the future. I would add that the current designation does not pose a bar to the resettlement of Ashraf residents in Europe. And the humanitarian situation at Ashraf in our opinion is also not related to the MEK’s designation. And I think it’s also important to recognize that, you know, we need to do as much as we can to move as many people out of the camp before the end of the year and we are trying to do that. We are working primarily through the United Nations and certainly with both the residence of Ashraf and the government of Iraq to try to put in place a very rapid assessment of individuals and we have urged the EU and other countries to favorably consider the resettling of any Ashraf resident granted refugee status because we want to shrink the numbers as best we can.

…
Rep. Rohrabacher: You stated that we are going to do as much as we can in terms of Camp Ashraf. You’re not doing as much as you can. It’s been 500 days since the court has ordered us to reconsider this terrorist designation and that should be plenty of time to understand what the issues are. And other people around the world now have determined that they don’t put them on the terrorist list. So we are not doing as much as we can. And I would hope that you take that up and do as much is you can to ensure there’s not another massacre of people there that we could have prevented.  Let’s note that we have officially requested the State Department for information about the the Camp Ashraf massacre. Do you intend to comply with that request as we’ve been told the State Department will or are you backtracking from a commitment?

Secretary Clinton: Congressman, we will provide that what information we can to you.

Rep. Rohrabacher: We can sounds like the operative words of how to get out of answering a question.  You obviously have the records of your own department. Are you going to provided it?  You have a request from Congress you agreed to do it.  And will to comply with that request?

Secretary Clinton:  We certainly will comply with the request.
 
Rep. Rohrabacher: Ok, thank you.

Secretary Clinton:  But I cannot tell you what will be in the reply that is the provocation of my answer.

…

Judge Poe: Thank you Madam Secretary, thank you Madam Chair. I will try to make this to the point.
Last time you and I talked in this very room, we talked about the safety of camp Ashraf. That was in March and then later in April, Iraqi soldiers came in and killed people in Camp Ashraf. People disagree on how that occurred but people did that. Right now, on 31st [December] United States is leaving, I am not discussing that, but also on 31st, Maleki has made it clear that the camp is going to close. When we were in Iraq this summer, Chairman Rohrabacher, myself and others on this committee, we met with Maleki on the issue of Camp Ashraf. It got very heated. We wanted to go see the camp, he refused to let us see it. And later, we learned when we were flying around in a BlackHawk, that we have been invited to leave the country based upon that discussion with him. But the number one thing he said about the way Iraq treated Camp Ashraf was the US designation of the MEK.

He spent all of his time saying this is the reason they are treated the way they are because you, the United States, have designated them as a foreign terrorist organization.
 
My concern, first of all, is the safety of the people in Camp Ashraf when that 31st comes. They are in fear.  85 of those people some are Americans and the others of that 85 that are there among the 2000, are permanent residents of the US. So, my question is, what are we doing through the end to make sure they extend the deadline so the people can do what necessary through the UN to get out of Iraq and go somewhere in the world. And second, the long term issue of the MEK designation. I am encouraged by your words last night that you made regarding that. So, those are my two issues and my two questions to you Madam Secretary.

Secretary Clinton: Well, congressman, I can assure you that I am personally very focused on trying to make sure that we protect the safety of the residents of the camp. I, and our department and our administration strongly condemned the violence that led to the deaths. Regardless of how that happened, the fact is, you are right, 36 residents died because of the violence on April the 8th. We are monitoring the situation as closely as we can.
 
We see no evidence suggesting that there is any other imminent attack on Ashraf and we continue to urge the government of Iraq to show restraint. As I said earlier, we do have written assurances from the government of Iraq to treat the Ashraf residents humanely, to follow their international obligations which they have, as long as the residents remain in the country, and not to transfer anyone to any country where that person could be persecuted as a result of their political or religious beliefs. And so, we are trying to nail down as much as we can to provide some protective screen for the residents. We know that they have approached; that we have also pushed the UNHCR to have even more of a presence, to do more, to try to move as many of the status determinations as they can. So this is an area of deep concern to us and we are moving on many fronts and we are also going to move as expeditiously as possible to a final resolution on the designation.

Judge Poe: Do we have any time frame on the designation?

Secretary Clinton: I cannot be more specific than that congressman, as expeditiously as possible.

Judge Poe: Well, I just want to re-urge you and the administration to make sure that when December 31 comes, bad things do not happen to those good folks in Camp Ashraf.  And all of the politics, when you would set them aside, fulfill our obligations [just as we asked them] to put their weapons down as MEK, they did; and they get refugee and asylum status somewhere in the world but their safety is paramount. I’d just re-urge that Madam Secretary.
 
Secretary Clinton: I appreciate your urging, I appreciate the concerns and I take them very seriously sir.

 

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Europeans Fear ‘Massacre’

October 28, 2011 by

 THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Struan Stevenson, a leading member of the European Parliament, sounded desperate as he appealed to the Obama administration to prevent a “human catastrophe” among Iranian exiles in Iraq. 

“America is leaving behind the biggest mess I’ve ever seen,” he told Embassy Row this week, complaining about President Obama’s decision to pull out U.S. troops by the end of the year.

Mr. Stevenson, a frequent visitor toIraq, said the government is weak, sectarian tensions are high and Iran is poised to turn Iraq into a proxy state.

However, he is most worried about the fate of 3,400 disarmed Iranian dissidents living in a former military camp about 40 miles north of Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called the exiles terrorists and ordered the camp closed by the end of the year.

Mr. Stevenson, chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, and more than 120 other members of the legislative arm of the European Union this week appealed to the United Nations and the United States to force Mr. al-Maliki to delay the closure of Camp Ashraf.

Mr. Stevenson said U.N. representatives need more time to prepare for the transfer of the Iranian exiles to other nations, fearing that Mr. al-Maliki will deport them toIran, where they would be executed.

“These people are going to be massacred,” Mr. Stevenson said.

The exiles made up the military wing of the Iranian resistance until U.S. forces disarmed them in 2003 after the U.S.invasion of Iraq. The U.S. and the U.N. recognized the exiles as protected people under the Geneva Conventions to prevent them from being deported.

That declaration became meaningless after U.S. forces transferred control of Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi government in 2009.

Mr. Stevenson also appealed to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“We’re calling on her to make a public statement, criticizing al-Maliki and let the U.N. do its work,” he said.

Mr. al-Maliki has used the State Department’s own designation of the exiles as terrorists in his justification for closing the camp.

The exiles, known as the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran or Mujahedeen-e-Kalq Organization, were added to the State Department’s terrorist list in 1997 to meet a key Iranian demand as a precondition to open talks with the United States.

“They are a terrorist organization with no legal basis,” Mr. al-Maliki told Reuters this month. “They attack Iran.”

Iraqi forces have attacked the unarmed residents of Camp Ashraf several times, killing 31 and wounding 320 in the latest assault in April.

The State Department accused the resistance of killing Americans in the 1970s as part of the uprising against the shah of Iran.

Resistance supporters have complained that the State Department is defying a U.S. court order to review the status of the Iranian resistance, while the European Union has removed the group from its own terrorist list.

However, the group has received widespread support in Congress, where many members have demanded that it be removed from the terrorist list.

Also, many former officials from Republican and Democratic administrations have come to the defense of the mujahedeen. They include TomRidge, who was secretary of Homeland Security under President George W.  Bush, and Howard Dean, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Supporters have organized a forum Friday to discuss ways to prevent what they call the “impending massacre” at Camp Ashraf.

Speakers include Dell L. Dailey, the State Department coordinator for counterterrorism under Mr. Bush; retired Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton; and retired Army Gen. William Wallace, who was in charge of Camp Ashraf after the invasion of Iraq.

 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/27/embassy-row-21355554/

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Opposition group could give Iran trouble

October 24, 2011 by

 

 

The foiled plot by agents of the Iranian regime to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States has officials in the Obama Administration furiously scratching their heads for an “ appropriate” response.

All too often with Iranian provocations, U.S. policy options swing ineffectually between the uncreative (economic sanctions) to the unrealistic (military strikes). One option sure to get the attention of the ruling mullahs in Tehran — and that could help set the stage for a future democratic transition there — is to unleash Iran’s main opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK), which remains constrained by an ill-advised U.S. policy.

The MeK was put on the U.S. list of “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” during the Clinton administration as a well-intentioned but naive attempt to gain the confidence of Iran’s new and, it was hoped, reform-minded President Khatami. However, Iran continued to be the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism and continued to develop its nuclear program.

The Bush administration followed suit, fearful that the delisting of the MEK would prompt Tehran to send IEDs to murder U.S. soldiers. That decision was also ill-advised, as the Iranian regime not only sent the deadly explosives to Iraq, but has continued to train, arm and finance an assortment of terrorist groups, which have been responsible for hundreds of U.S. service members being killed or wounded.

Today, 3,400 members of the MeK sit in Camp Ashraf, attacked and massacred as recently as this April by Iran’s proxies in the Iraqi military, useless to America’s larger strategic objective to contain and neutralize Iran’s radicalism.

A large number of prominent former national security officials agree that not only is the MeK not a security threat to the U.S. (the group has dedicated itself to secular, democratic governance in Iran), it has already proven an able and willing partner to the U.S. by providing critical intelligence on Iran’s nuclear program, and the regime’s role in attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.

So what’s the hold up?

While the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled in July 2010 that the U.S. government had erred in not delisting the MeK and remanded the case to the State Department for a thorough review, the department has yet to announce its decision.

A well-organized lobbying effort, again by proxies of Iran operating freely in the U.S., has mischaracterized the MeK as a cult with terrorist intentions. But this runs counter to all of the experience by the top brass of the U.S. military as well as intelligence officials who have worked closely with and studied the MeK over the years. It also flies in the face of eight different court rulings in the United Kingdom, the European Union and France, which have resulted in the group’s delisting in those countries.

The still-unraveling plot against the Saudi ambassador demonstrates the skill and reach of the Iranian regime in attempting to threaten and destabilize the U.S and our allies. It is somewhat ironic that while Tehran’s agents are running loose in this country, hatching terrorist bombings and assassinations of foreign diplomats, our government has shackled the main opposition, which the mullahs fear the most.

It is time to revisit this policy. While the administration, obviously caught off guard, is scrambling to find the proper response, delisting the MeK is the strongest signal the U.S. can send to the mullahs of Tehran. The timing could not be better.

Gen. Hugh Shelton is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This article was originally published in The Charlotte Observer.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2011/10/24/opposition-group-could-give-iran-trouble.html

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Iranian Americans call on U.S. to protect Iranian exiles in Iraq

October 23, 2011 by

THE WASHINGTON POST

Hundreds of Iranian Americans rallied outside the White House on Saturday, saying they’re worried that the Obama administration’s newly announced plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by year’s end will leave 3,400 Iranian exiles vulnerable in a settlement outside Baghdad.

The protesters also called on the Obama administration to remove Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, the group affiliated with the exiles, from the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. The designation, protesters said, gives the Iraqi government an excuse to persecute residents of Camp Ashraf, which has been more like a small city, 40 miles north of Baghdad, since the mid-1980s.

Supporters from the Washington area and across the country said Iraqi forces are not allowing medicine into the 10-square-mile Ashraf compound and have twice attacked its unarmed residents since July 2009, killing about 45 people and injuring hundreds. Many protesters said they fear a massacre there after U.S. troops leave Iraq.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge speaks to a crowd of hundreds protesting in front of the White House in Washington Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Ridge spoke in support of the call for the de-listing of an Iranian opposition group, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from the U.S. terror list. The group also called on President Barack Obama to protect Ashraf, the Iranian refugee camp in Iraq. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“Whenever the U.S. says ‘Don’t execute these people’ or ‘Don’t send them back to Iran,’ they [Iraqi authorities] can say ‘Why not? We’re killing terrorists for you,’ ” said Amir Emadi, a graduate student from San Diego. His parents and 19 relatives live in Ashraf.

MEK formed in Iran in the 1960s to overthrow the U.S.-backed shah, and in the 1970s it assassinated several U.S. military personnel and American civilians working in Tehran, according to a 2007 State Department report. It also “supported the violent takeover in 1979 of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran,” the report said.

In the mid-1980s, the group moved to Iraq, where it helped Saddam Hussein’s regime fight in Iraq’s war against Iran.

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States agreed to protect the residents of Ashraf if MEK gave up its weapons. The United States transferred Ashraf to Iraqi control in 2009. Iraq’s government, eyeing MEK’s past affiliation with Hussein, has tried to make the Ashraf residents leave.

Obama administration officials have said the MEK, headquartered in Paris, has been listed as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997 because of its history of violence. The State Department reportsaid “MEK’s leadership and members across the world maintain the capacity and will to commit terrorist acts in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada and beyond.”

On Saturday, joined by former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge and former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, several protesters said recent allegations of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington prove that the Obama administration needs to take a harder line.

“You cannot negotiate with Iran!” Ridge exclaimed to cheers, beating drums and chants of “MEK, yes. Mullahs, no! They are terrorists. They must go!”

Since renouncing violence in 2001, protesters said, MEK has not been linked to any attacks.

Demonstrators chant during a march in Washington after rallying in front of the White House Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Hundreds of people rallied, demanding that an Iranian opposition group, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) be removed from a U.S. terror list. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

At Homeland Security, Ridge was given a daily list of terrorist threats, he said. “Never once did I see a threat to the people of the U.S. from the people of Camp Ashraf,” he told the crowd.

A similar protest outside the State Department in August drew thousands. Saturday’s protesters on Pennsylvania Avenue hoisted yellow flags saying “De-list MEK” and “Protect Ashraf,” as curious tourists looked on. The rally was organized by the Iranian American Professionals and Scholars of Maryland.

Rally leaders said the United States should protect Ashraf with its own troops or urge United Nations security forces to guard it until the exiles can be repatriated.

“We gave our word to protect these people,” Rendell said.

Majid Sadeghpour, a pharmacist who lives in Falls Church, said his brother was executed in Iran in 1989 after being imprisoned for carrying an MEK newspaper. The MEK’s listing as a terrorist group undermines the work of those who want to see Iran governed by a secular democracy, he said.

“We can’t do that,” Sadeghpour said, “when our most organized, capable resistance has been tagged as terrorists.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/iranian-americans-call-on-us-to-protect-iranian-exiles-in-iraq/2011/10/22/gIQAJotj7L_story.html

Filed Under: October 22 Rally Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hundreds Rally For Iranian Opposition

October 23, 2011 by

WAMU Radio

Hundreds of Iranian Americans rallied in front of the White House Saturday demanding the Obama administration do more to help the Iranian resistance movement.

The protestors are asking the U.S. government to take the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) off the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. The group was once allied with Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime, but MEK officials say they renounced violence a decade ago.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was among the protesters. He says U.S. officials haven’t been helping the process.

Demonstrators chant during a march in Washington after rallying in front of the White House Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Hundreds of people rallied, demanding that an Iranian opposition group, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) be removed from a U.S. terror list. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“The State Department has been horribly naïve – not just this administration but the previous administration – thinking that you negotiate with Iran,” says Ridge.

Amir Emadi traveled to D.C. from San Diego to pressure the administration to assist protestors in Iran.

“I think that the Iranian people deserve a lot more attention than does the Iranian government,” says Emadi.

International attention came back on Iran after U.S. officials foiled an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador at a restaurant in D.C. But for these Iranian Americans their native country never left their minds.

http://wamu.org/news/11/10/23/hundreds_rally_for_iranian_opposition

Filed Under: October 22 Rally Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hundreds rally in support of Iranian opposition

October 22, 2011 by

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of people rallied outside the White House on Saturday, calling on President Barack Obama to remove an Iranian opposition group once allied with Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

Former Pennsylvania Govs. Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell were among the speakers urging the U.S. to take the Mujahedin-e Khalq off the State Department’s list. Ridge, a Republican, was the nation’s first homeland security secretary. Rendell is a top Democrat who helped elect Obama.

“The only group that should be on the list is the country of Iran itself, under the rule of the mullahs,” Ridge said, noting recent U.S. allegations of a foiled Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington.

The U.S. added MEK to its terrorist list in 1997. But last year a federal court ordered the State Department to reconsider and meanwhile the group has rallied many members of Congress and former high-ranking U.S. officials to its cause.

Delisting would allow the Paris-based group to raise money and operate in the U.S., which it is currently prohibited from doing.

The MEK 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. But the group says it renounced violence in 2001.

Ridge and Rendell said the MEK has not been linked to any terrorist attacks since that time. They pointed out that the European Union and the United Kingdom have concluded that the MEK is not a terrorist organization and called on Obama to reach the same decision.

Critics of the MEK say it has cult-like characteristics and that delisting it would be seen even by moderate Iranians as an endorsement by the U.S. of terrorism. A 2010 State Department report on the MEK said: “The group’s worldwide campaign against the Iranian government uses propaganda and terrorism to achieve its objectives.”

Demonstrators protest in front of the White House during a freedom rally outside in Washington Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. Hundreds of people rallied, demanding that an Iranian opposition group, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) be removed from a U.S. terror list. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

MEK spokesman Ali Safavi called the State Department’s description “a political statement and not a factual one.” He said the group would not have such broad Congressional support if it was engaged in terrorist activities.

Saturday’s noisy protest took place outside the wrought iron gates of the White House.

“We want President Obama to hear us,” said Rendell, a former Democratic Party national chairman.

Obama left the White House for the drive to Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland to play golf as the demonstration began, and it’s not clear if he heard any of it.

During the rally, the mostly Iranian-American crowd broke into regular chants of “MEK, yes. Mullahs, no. They are terrorists. They must go,” and “President Obama, listen to us. MEK listing is unjust.”

The event was organized by the Iranian American Professionals and Scholars of Maryland.

Organizers say the MEK was put on the terror list to appease Iranian leaders, but that has only given the regime an excuse to arrest and kill dissidents in Iran and Iraq. They contend that delisting would strengthen a major Iranian opposition group.

The MEK has revealed the existence of several important Iranian nuclear facilities.

U.S. officials say that Iran is laying the groundwork for a nuclear weapons program, although its leaders may not have decided to build a bomb. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.

Speakers at the protest also urged the U.S. to continue supporting more than 3,000 former MEK fighters and others living at Camp Ashraf near Iraq’s border with Iran. The Iraqi government wants to close the camp and Iraqi security forces have twice raided Ashraf, most recently in April. The U.N. said at least 34 people were killed in that incident.

The U.S. has pledged to protect camp residents from violence, but those rallying outside the White House said Obama’s announcement of a complete pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year could make that promise difficult to keep.

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