NCRI, 04 July 2010 – The French magazine Valeurs Actuelles published a report entitled “Ashraf the symbol of a pioneering base,” and wrote, “Ashraf City is situated 80 km from the Iran-Iraq border. It has been the Iranian resistance’s base since June 1986, and 3,400 uncompromising People’s Mojahedin members live there under difficult conditions.”

Mehdi Abrishamchi explains, “These women and men, many of whose incarcerated political colleagues have been executed, constitute a priceless human treasure.” The residents are considered “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention. In May 2003, when the US invaded Iraq, they voluntarily handed over their weaponry and in exchange the US assumed their protection, but has not stayed loyal to its commitment.

The issue of Ashraf has been a problem in relations between the Iranian regime and the Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad. The ruling regime in Tehran wants to destroy this symbol of resistance, which has brought Ashraf under a siege and faced with threats for the past several months.

Ashraf residents say, “We are confronted with a psychological warfare because the regime’s agents, sponsored by Iraqi forces, use powerful loudspeakers to chant revolting propaganda to force us to leave Ashraf.”

Many of the residents’ families have been arrested inside Iran and sentenced to long-term prison sentences or even death.

Members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran say, “The resistance of Ashraf residents with empty hands in the face of attacks in July 2009, which left several dead, placed Ashraf in the heart of the nationwide uprising and transformed it into a symbol of resistance for the younger generations. Ashraf showed the Iranian people and the international community that one can indeed stand against the cruel religious dictatorship if one is prepared to pay the price for it.”