In his Daily Press Briefing in Washington on September 3, 2009, Philip J. Crowley, U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary, once again called what happened in Ashraf an avoidable tragedy and expressed hope that “both those at Camp Ashraf and the Iraqi Government will continue to interact in a peaceful way”.
Following is an exert of the Press Briefing:
QUESTION: P.J., on Iraq, the Iraqi Government and Camp Ashraf, there’s still tension going on between them. Their families and relatives have been on a hunger strike in front of the White House for about two months now. And today, some U.S. military officers were at the Foreign Press Center talking about the responsibilities of the U.S. towards those people. What exactly does the SOFA agreement talk about with respect to the Camp Ashraf residents there that the Iraqi Government has actually undertaken?
MR. CROWLEY: This is a complicated issue. We have stated many times that the action by the Iraqi Government to extend its sovereignty to Camp Ashraf was an appropriate step; however, it was a step that was done badly and that this was an avoidable tragedy. And – but the responsibility for the protection of those at Camp Ashraf is an Iraqi responsibility. We continue to hope that this can – going forward this can be done in a peaceful way, and we hope that both those at Camp Ashraf and the Iraqi Government will continue to interact in a peaceful way.
QUESTION: What about the agreement between the U.S. and those people? Is that in any way – has it been considered into the SOFA agreement or talked about?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I mean, under the SOFA agreement, the responsibility passed to the Government of Iraq, and we continue to hope the Government of Iraq will work constructively and peacefully with the people at Camp Ashraf.
QUESTION: Just one more on that, actually.
MR. CROWLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: The group today at the press conference was calling for some sort of UN monitoring force to go in and protect them. They don’t feel that the Iraqis are going to do so. Is that something the U.S. would support?
MR. CROWLEY: I can’t – I’ll take that question. If we – if we have a view on that, I – we will let you know.