AFP, November 12, 2008 (Excerpts) – Supporters of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, the main Iranian opposition group, began the third month of a protest in front of UN headquarters Tuesday, seeking protection for residents of a group encampment in Iraq.
The several dozen protesters who have parked themselves across from the UN complex for 61 days want a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to draw his attention to the plight of 3,800 people in Camp Ashraf, said Nasser Rashidi, an activist with the movement.
The camp, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Baghdad and 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Iranian border, has for 22 years housed members of the PMOI, considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.
Founded in 1965 with the aim of replacing first the Shah and then the clerical regime in Iran, PMOI has in the past operated an army inside Iran.
According to Rashidi, director of the National Coalition of pro-Democracy Advocates, the demonstrators in front of the UN want Ban “to monitor the situation in Camp Ashraf and to ensure that the Iraqi government admits that the residents of the camp are political refugees protected by the Geneva Convention.
“Their fear is that the influence of Iran on the Iraqi Government could lead to their expulsion, or worse, to their extradition back to Iran,” especially after the US military withdraws from Iraq, he said.
In March, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani declared that the PMOI were terrorists and that Iraq wanted to get rid of them.
“As long as the US has a presence in Iraq, the US is responsible for the protection of the residents in Camp Ashraf,” Rashidi said.