In a letter to the United States President, the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, asked President Obama to urgently intervene to compel the Iraqis to lift the siege of Ashraf and restrictions on the entry of all goods and people and uphold the judicial protection of the residents. They wrote: ’ We believe that Washington both has a moral and legal obligation under international law and the ’Responsibility to Protect (RtoP)’ mandate to guarantee the safety and security of the residents of the camp.’
The text of the letter is as follows:
The text of the letter is as follows:
Lord Corbett of Castle Vale
House of Lords
London SW1A 0PW
The Honourable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
30 June 2009
Dear Mr. President,
We write on behalf of a majority of MPs and over 200 Members of the House of Lords in the UK
after receiving word of threatening developments in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, where the Iranian
opposition PMOI is based.
We are deeply concerned by reports that the Iraqi government forces have prevented at least 9
trucks carrying food from reaching the residents of the camp since 25 June. This action is in
breach of international law and comes against a background of Baghdad recently claiming that
Ashraf residents have no legal status despite having lived in Iraq lawfully for the past 23 years and having been recognized by the US as ’Protected Persons’ under the 4th Geneva Convention.
This goes against the European Parliament’s 24 April 2009 resolution on the humanitarian
situation in Ashraf which urged Baghdad to make clear it would not expel or displace the
residents, and would instead end its siege of the camp and recognise the residents’ status as
’Protected Persons’ under the 4th Geneva Convention. Some 5.2 million Iraqis and 3 million Iraqi Shiites have also voiced support for the PMOI’s presence in Iraq. Iraq’s Sunni Vice-President Dr. Tariq al-Hashemi on 6 April said the PMOI’s presence fell within the articles of international law.
Since Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei asked Iraq to expel Ashraf residents, Iraqi forces have
tightened the siege around Ashraf, and over the past six months we have seen that given Iran’s
influence on some parts of the Iraqi government, Baghdad has been unable to uphold the basic
rights of the residents. It has prevented lawyers, lawmakers and even the residents’ relatives from visiting the camp in violation of international law. We suspect that Iranian pressure on Baghdad will increase as events unfold in Iran’s streets with the current nationwide protests that are in progress.
The Iraqis say that they must install their police in Ashraf as in all other Iraqi cities but refuse to
acknowledge the rights of the people there as residents of a city. We thus feel that there can be no question of negotiations on the presence of Iraqi forces inside the camp until Iraq formally
recognises the residents’ rights in accordance with the European Parliament resolution and
international humanitarian law.
We ask you to urgently intervene to compel the Iraqis to lift the siege of Ashraf and restrictions on the entry of all goods and people and uphold the judicial protection of the residents. We believe that Washington both has a moral and legal obligation under international law and the
’Responsibility to Protect (RtoP)’ mandate to guarantee the safety and security of the residents of the camp.
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
30 June 2009
Dear Mr. President,
We write on behalf of a majority of MPs and over 200 Members of the House of Lords in the UK
after receiving word of threatening developments in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, where the Iranian
opposition PMOI is based.
We are deeply concerned by reports that the Iraqi government forces have prevented at least 9
trucks carrying food from reaching the residents of the camp since 25 June. This action is in
breach of international law and comes against a background of Baghdad recently claiming that
Ashraf residents have no legal status despite having lived in Iraq lawfully for the past 23 years and having been recognized by the US as ’Protected Persons’ under the 4th Geneva Convention.
This goes against the European Parliament’s 24 April 2009 resolution on the humanitarian
situation in Ashraf which urged Baghdad to make clear it would not expel or displace the
residents, and would instead end its siege of the camp and recognise the residents’ status as
’Protected Persons’ under the 4th Geneva Convention. Some 5.2 million Iraqis and 3 million Iraqi Shiites have also voiced support for the PMOI’s presence in Iraq. Iraq’s Sunni Vice-President Dr. Tariq al-Hashemi on 6 April said the PMOI’s presence fell within the articles of international law.
Since Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei asked Iraq to expel Ashraf residents, Iraqi forces have
tightened the siege around Ashraf, and over the past six months we have seen that given Iran’s
influence on some parts of the Iraqi government, Baghdad has been unable to uphold the basic
rights of the residents. It has prevented lawyers, lawmakers and even the residents’ relatives from visiting the camp in violation of international law. We suspect that Iranian pressure on Baghdad will increase as events unfold in Iran’s streets with the current nationwide protests that are in progress.
The Iraqis say that they must install their police in Ashraf as in all other Iraqi cities but refuse to
acknowledge the rights of the people there as residents of a city. We thus feel that there can be no question of negotiations on the presence of Iraqi forces inside the camp until Iraq formally
recognises the residents’ rights in accordance with the European Parliament resolution and
international humanitarian law.
We ask you to urgently intervene to compel the Iraqis to lift the siege of Ashraf and restrictions on the entry of all goods and people and uphold the judicial protection of the residents. We believe that Washington both has a moral and legal obligation under international law and the
’Responsibility to Protect (RtoP)’ mandate to guarantee the safety and security of the residents of the camp.
Lord Corbett of Castle Vale
Chairman, British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom
Rt. Hon. Baroness Boothroyd OM, Former Speaker of the House of Commons
Rt. Hon. Lord Waddington GCVO DL QC, former Home Secretary
Rt. Hon. Lord Archer of Sandwell QC, former Solicitor-General
Rt. Hon. Lord Fraser of Carmyllie QC, former Lord Advocate for Scotland
Lord Dholakia OBE DL, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party
Rt. Rev. Lord Harries of Pentregarth FKC DD FRSL, former Bishop of Oxford
Mr. David Jones MP, Shadow Minister for Wales
Mr. Henry Bellingham MP, Shadow Minister for Constitutional Affairs/Justice
Baroness Gould of Potternewton, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
Baroness Turner of Camden, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
Lord Taverne QC, former Home Office minister and Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Mr. Andrew Mackinlay MP, Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
Baroness Verma, Opposition Whip and Spokesperson for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Mr. Mike Hancock CBE MP, leader of the UK Liberal Democrats at the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton QC
Rt. Hon. Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde
Lord Alton of Liverpool
Mr. David Amess MP
The Lord Bilston
Rt. Hon. Lord Eden of Winton PC
Mr. Bill Etherington MP
Mr. Austin Mitchell MP
Mr. Robert Wareing MP
Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen OBE
Baroness Masham of Ilton DL
Lord Rea
Lord Roberts of Llandudno
Mr. Martin Caton MP
Mr. Jim Dobbin MP
Mr. Eddie O’Hara MP
Dr. Rudi Vis MP
Mr. Brian Binley MP
Mr. David Drew MP
Lord King of West Bromwich
Mr. Mark Williams MP
Lord Inglewood DL
Lord Turnberg
Mr. Roger Gale MP
Baroness Blood
Mr. John Leech MP
Lord Clarke of Hampstead
Lord Joffe CBE
Dr. Ian Gibson MP
Mr. Bob Russell MP
Lord Cotter
Mr. Joe Benton MP
Chairman, British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom
Rt. Hon. Baroness Boothroyd OM, Former Speaker of the House of Commons
Rt. Hon. Lord Waddington GCVO DL QC, former Home Secretary
Rt. Hon. Lord Archer of Sandwell QC, former Solicitor-General
Rt. Hon. Lord Fraser of Carmyllie QC, former Lord Advocate for Scotland
Lord Dholakia OBE DL, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party
Rt. Rev. Lord Harries of Pentregarth FKC DD FRSL, former Bishop of Oxford
Mr. David Jones MP, Shadow Minister for Wales
Mr. Henry Bellingham MP, Shadow Minister for Constitutional Affairs/Justice
Baroness Gould of Potternewton, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
Baroness Turner of Camden, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
Lord Taverne QC, former Home Office minister and Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Mr. Andrew Mackinlay MP, Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
Baroness Verma, Opposition Whip and Spokesperson for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Mr. Mike Hancock CBE MP, leader of the UK Liberal Democrats at the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton QC
Rt. Hon. Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde
Lord Alton of Liverpool
Mr. David Amess MP
The Lord Bilston
Rt. Hon. Lord Eden of Winton PC
Mr. Bill Etherington MP
Mr. Austin Mitchell MP
Mr. Robert Wareing MP
Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen OBE
Baroness Masham of Ilton DL
Lord Rea
Lord Roberts of Llandudno
Mr. Martin Caton MP
Mr. Jim Dobbin MP
Mr. Eddie O’Hara MP
Dr. Rudi Vis MP
Mr. Brian Binley MP
Mr. David Drew MP
Lord King of West Bromwich
Mr. Mark Williams MP
Lord Inglewood DL
Lord Turnberg
Mr. Roger Gale MP
Baroness Blood
Mr. John Leech MP
Lord Clarke of Hampstead
Lord Joffe CBE
Dr. Ian Gibson MP
Mr. Bob Russell MP
Lord Cotter
Mr. Joe Benton MP
cc:
Hon. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Hon. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State
Hon. Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defence
Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, U.S. Embassy, Baghdad
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq
Gen. David Quantock, Deputy Commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq