Wednesday, December 24, 2008

In its letter to the US President Bush, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and Multi National Force in Iraq’s command, the International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf (ICJDA), has condemned the remarks of Mr. Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, the Iraqi government’s National Security Advisor on Ashraf on the verge of Iraqi Prime Minister’s visit to Tehran.

Parts of the letter read:

“We were shocked to learn that he has asked the residents of Camp Ashraf to “cooperate with Iraq’s security forces to complete smoothly the transition of responsibility for the Camp and subsequently expel the residents of the Camp and close it down”. This statement makes no mention of the principle of non-refoulement, international law, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and international covenants.

“This frightening statement has shocked legal professionals across the world, since it openly violates the basic principles of human rights, basic freedoms, the Fourth Geneva Convention, international law, International Humanitarian Law, the Convention on Refugees, the Convention Against Torture, as well as international treaties. Experience has shown that such remarks pave the way for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Various international bodies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Amnesty International, and the International Federation of Human Rights, as well as grand religious figures such as the Dean of the al-Azhar University, the highest Sunni religious authority, and U.S. and Canadian Catholic leaders have on numerous occasions reiterated the unalienable rights of the residents of Ashraf and declared that their expulsion or displacement within Iraq is illegal.

“Mr al-Rubaie has threatened the residents of Ashraf over any cultural, religious, or social activities, all the while remaining completely silent in the face of crimes perpetrated by the Iranian regime and its agents in Iraq such as the terrorist Qods Force. Such crimes include the bombing of the water pumping station and pipelines of Ashraf, two instances of Katyusha rocket attacks on Ashraf, kidnapping of its residents, bombing a passenger bus carrying Iraqi workers to Ashraf, and the assassination of more than 50 of its aid workers.

“It can therefore be predicted that his remarks are setting the stage for an increase in such terrorist attacks by the regime against Ashraf and an humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there.

“We are aware that the Iranian regime has stepped up pressure on Iraq in particular following the signing of the Status of Forces Agreement with the United States. We have no doubt that once the regime learnt that the terrorist tag against the PMOI had been discredited and made redundant by the December 4 and December 17 rulings of the European Court of Justice, it has mustered all its strengths to destroy Ashraf”.