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Amnesty International urges the Iraqi government to extend deadline for Camp New Iraq residents

November 1, 2011 by

Amnesty International is concerned that some 3,250 Iranian long term residents of Iraq who reside at Camp New Iraq, 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, are at serious risk of severe human rights violations if the Iraqi government goes ahead with its plans to force the closure of the camp by the end of December 2011.

The Camp, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, has previously been attacked several times by Iraqi security forces causing the deaths of dozens of residents and injuries to others. Most recently, Iraqi troops stormed into the camp on 8 April using grossly excessive force and live fire against residents who tried to resist them. Some 36 residents, including eight women, were killed and more than 300 others were wounded. At least nine camp residents were killed and others injured in an earlier attack by Iraqi security forces on 28-29 July 2009. Some 36 camp residents who were detained were held for more than two months and reportedly tortured before being released on 7 October 2009.

Camp Ashraf, as it then was, was formerly under the protection of the United States Force-Iraq (USF-I) until June 2009, when it was transferred to the control of the Iraqi government. Since then, the camp and its residents have been virtually besieged by Iraqi troops as the government intensifies pressure on the residents, many of whom belong to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), to leave Iraq. The PMOI is an Iranian opposition organization that formerly engaged in armed attacks on Iran before deciding several years ago to cease espousing violence. Supporters of the PMOI were allowed to reside as exiles in Iraq by the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, overthrown in 2003.

The Iraqi government has repeatedly stated its opposition to the continued existence of the camp. While on a visit to Iran last June, Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani announced that Camp Ashraf would be closed by the end of this year and the Iraqi government subsequently confirmed this to the United Nations Secretary-General in early October.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – UNHCR, (the UN Refugee Agency), has reported receiving a large number of individual asylum requests from camp residents and has called on the Iraqi government “to consider extending the deadline for the closure of the Camp” and to provide “necessary facilities” to allow asylum interviews to be held in a “safe, neutral and confidential location” rather than at the camp.”

By 31 October, however, negotiations were still continuing between UNHCR, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Iraqi government to identify a location at which to conduct such asylum interviews. Camp residents, for their part, contend that these interviews should be held at or close to the camp because they fear that their security and safety otherwise might not be guaranteed and that they would be at risk of arrest by Iraqi security forces and forcible return to Iran, where many of them would be at serious risk of gross human rights violations.

Amnesty International is also urging the Iraqi government to allow adequate time for the asylum applications of Camp New Iraq residents to be properly scrutinised by UNHCR in order to make its determinations relating to the refugee status of camp residents confidentially, on neutral ground and in a timely and safe manner. Throughout this process the safety and security of the camp residents must be of paramount importance. If the interviews are held outside Camp New Iraq the residents’ safety and security, including their travel back to the camp, must be guaranteed.

Amnesty International urges the Iraqi government to fully respect the human rights of the residents of Camp New Iraq and to end all harassment of the residents by its security forces surrounding the Camp.

Amnesty International also calls on the international community, in particular European and North American countries, to come forward and agree to resettle the residents of Camp New Iraq who have been accepted as refugees in a timely manner.

Background

Notwithstanding the fact that the camp residents have been living in Iraq for 25 years, the Iraqi government has made clear its wish that they leave the country. In 2009 the government told the residents that they should leave Iraq by 15 December 2009 or else face forcible relocation within Iraq, but did not enforce this due apparently to international pressure, including from USA and the UN.

Since the April 2011 assault, however, the Iraqi authorities have tightened controls on the camp residents to the extent that some of those injured and other residents suffering from chronic ailments were prevented or obstructed from leaving the camp to obtain more specialised medical treatment than that available there. As well, the security forces have also reportedly sought to impede the flow of phone and other communications between the camp residents and the outside world and have installed loudspeakers, prompting fears among residents that the Iraqi security forces are preparing to carry out a further violent incursion into the camp.

In the face of international pressure, following the April 2011 assault on the camp, the Iraqi government said it had set up a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as in other cases where such investigations have been announced, no outcome has been reported and it remains unclear whether any serious investigation was ever conducted.

UNHCR, Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) residents and the determination of their refugee status claim, 13 September 2011. (http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer.html?docid=4e7064e26&query=camp%20ashraf )

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/042/2011/en/8f6d56f5-73d5-4b77-8814-7d7fe4625ec2/mde140422011en.html

 

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Iraqi army battalions and police forces are preparing to attack Camp Ashraf

November 1, 2011 by

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF RESISTANCE – PRESS RELEASE

Click here to watch the video

October 31, 2011, 11 pm local times: Iraqi Army battalions and police forces are preparing to attack Camp Ashraf .

NCRI – At 11 pm last night, a column of Iraqi military vehicles, including at least 30 military vehicles with one column of police vehicles including 10 cars, entered from the main gate of Camp Ashraf with a lot of noise and lights on, patrolling and conducting exercises around the camp began. The suppressive battalion commander and his deputy were also in this column

Simultaneously, the mercenaries, who for the past 21 months have been engaged in psychological torture of the residents with 300 loudspeakers, increased their threats, shouts and slurs. The intention for this suppressive exercise was on one hand preparing to attack Ashraf and on the other, to launch a psychological warfare and intimidation among the residents. These actions were carried out following yesterday’s trip of Salehi, the foreign minister of religious fascism ruling Iran to Baghdad and delivering Khamenei’s instructions to his puppet government in Baghdad to defy international demands for revoking the deadline for closure of Ashraf by year end.

Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari at a joint press conference in a disgusting appeasement promised Salehi that Iraqi government would close Camp Ashraf by the end of the year.  At the same time, last night the police chief of Diyala and Diyala operations commander went to Ashraf to oversee this exercise and also to be abreast of the necessary preparations for the November 1st show.

As mentioned in NCRI’s statement 156, the mullahs’ regime embassy in Baghdad with the help of the Committee for suppression of Ashraf in the Prime Minister’s office, is supposed to bring a number of Iraqi mercenaries for sit-in in front of Ashraf in order to pretend that local residents are demanding the closure of Camp Ashraf.

The Iranian Resistance warns that the clerical regime and the Government of Iraq are setting the stage for a bloodbath in Ashraf and calls on the U.S., EU, the U.N. and other international parties to prevent a new bloodbath in Ashraf. It calls for implementation of the directive of the U.N. Secretary General underscored in his July 7 report to the UN Security Council. The UN Secretary General reiterated: “I encourage all stakeholders involved to increase their efforts to explore options and seek a consensual solution,” and “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.”

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
November 01, 2011

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/ashraf/11398-army-battalions-and-iraqi-police-are-preparing-to-attack-ashraf

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Remarks by Iraqi Foreign Minister, stage-setting for a greater massacre in Ashraf

November 1, 2011 by

National Council of Resistance of Iran – Press Release

Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee

NCRI – Yesterday, 31 October 2011, foreign minister of Iraq Mr. Hoshyar Zebari, in a joint press conference with the foreign minister of the fascist clerical regime ruling Iran Salehi, in a repulsive kowtow promised him: “We have declared that the decision to close down Ashraf by the end of the year shall be implemented. In letters to the United Nations Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Refugees, and the European Union, we have emphasized the government’s decision in this regard… There is no government that would accept the presence of a group or an organization on its soil against its will, its laws, and its sovereignty… this is not an acceptable matter in the international laws or conventions… we have even requested from our brothers in the Islamic Republic to adopt a clear and unequivocal stance regarding the issuance of amnesty or to offer specific facilities to those members of the organization that would voluntarily desire to return to their families in the Islamic Republic or to third countries in for their resettlement.”

Mr. Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee, stated in this regard:

1- The repressive deadline to close down Ashraf by the end of 2011 is a flagrant violation of many articles and principles of the international law, the international human rights law, and the international humanitarian law. This ultimatum is a dictate of the religious fascism ruling Iran. This ultimatum lacks any justification and vividly demonstrates the ominous intents of the Iraqi government to massacre Ashraf residents at the behest of the Iranian regime, especially after Ashraf residents, despite their absolute right to remain in a place they have lawfully lived for 26 years, have accepted the European parliament plan for resettlement in third countries.
2- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, together with many other UN agencies  and many international parties have called on the Iraqi government to revoke this deadline thereby making possible the reconfirmation of the status of residents as political refugees and opening the way for a peaceful resolution of Ashraf issue and the transfer of residents to third countries.
3- Mr. Zebari’s statements are a blatant violation of UN Secretary-General’s instruction in article 66 of his report to the Security Council on July 7. Expressing his concern for “the loss of life during the violent incident on 7 and 8 April”, the Secretary-General wrote, “I urge the Iraqi authorities to refrain from the use of force, and to ensure adequate access for camp residents to goods and services”. He added, “I therefore encourage all stakeholders involved to increase their efforts to explore options and seek a consensual solution” and “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”.

4- Contrary to the statement made by Maliki’s foreign minister, Ashraf residents reside in Iraq in the context of the international law; they have never violated Iraq’s sovereignty, they have not occupied Iraqi land, and their presence in Iraq is in accordance with the international law. During the recent years, more than twenty legal opinions by the most significant international jurists have emphasized Ashraf residents’ rights as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and political refugees. There is an international consensus that forcible relocation of Ashraf residents inside Iraq is illegal, forbidden and considered as a crime against humanity.

5- Zebari’s remarks set the stage for a yet greater massacre and justify the last two massacres against Ashraf residents on April 8, 2011 and July 28-29, 2009. The National Court of Spain has already opened a file against al-Maliki for crime against international community, crime against humanity and war crime.

6- We remind the foreign minister of Iraq that as the main minister in Maliki’s government, he is responsible for all the crimes committed by this government including massacre of Ashraf residents, and hence, he is liable to prosecution and trial in international tribunals. His statements concerning closure of Ashraf, which prepares the ground for a more massive crime, make him even more involved in these crimes. Zebari should not forget that the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal held all Hitler’s top ranking officials responsible for his crimes.

7-The members and supporters of Iranian Resistance including residents of Ashraf have only one red line which is giving in to the religious fascism ruling Iran. The clerical regime suffering total internal isolation, vainly attempts to eradicate the Ashraf residents to rescue its faltering regime. Through the overthrow of this regime and establishment of democracy in their homeland, the Ashraf resident, like other members of the Resistance, will soon go back to Iran. Mr. Zebari should think about the legal consequences of his partnership in Maliki’s crimes.

8- Mr. Zebari’s shameless remarks, doubles the responsibility of international community in this issue. The Iranian Resistance warns the UN Secretary-General, High Commissioner for refugees, High Commissioner for Human Rights, European Union and its high representative Baroness Ashton, Ambassador Jean De Ruyt and the United States against a further massacre in Ashraf. The Iranian Resistance calls on these authorities to take a clear and explicit stance against the deadline and compulsory relocation of Ashraf residents inside Iraq. It also calls for imperative measures by the UN to undertake protection responsibility of Ashraf residents and to station permanent international monitoring team in Ashraf.      

Foreign Affairs Committee
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
November 1, 2011

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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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