NCRI – The British Government has failed to put enough pressure on the Iraqi Prime Minister to answer the charge that Iraqi military forces are responsible for the deaths of 52 people at Camp Ashraf in September, the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard has said this week.
In a letter sent to the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, on Monday, the Bishop, writing on behalf of a “considerable number of bishops”, expresses “deep concern” about the response to the massacre and disappearance of seven former residents of the camp.
“The UK Government shares responsibility under the Geneva Convention for ensuring that Iranian dissidents are properly protected,” he writes, according to Church Times.
Also recently, British MPs in an early day motion supported by 72 lawmakers has also called for a full inquiry into the slaughter of the victims who were all protected person under the Geneva Convention.
The full motion presented to the British parliament states: “That this House is aware of the tragic events that took place in Camp Ashraf in the early morning of 1 September 2013, when an armed raid led by Iraqi forces who needlessly slaughtered at least 52 persons and kidnapped a number of other people who remain hostages; condemns unreservedly the actions which led to these deaths, with many of the deceased appearing to have died of gunshot wounds, the majority of which were to the head and upper body and several with their hands tied; reminds the Iraqi government of its human rights responsibilities and that those killed and taken were protected persons under the terms of the Geneva Convention; and demands the safe release of those held and an immediate and full inquiry into these actions.”
Despite an extensive demand by the international community for an impartial inquiry, the United Nations refrains from any action. This unquestionably encourages the Iraqi government and the Iranian regime to continue and repeat their atrocities.
