Numerous MEPs strongly protest trade deal with Maliki’s government

Article (20) of the TEXTS ADOPTED
At the sitting of Thursday
17 January 2013

P7_TA-PROV(2013)0022
Iraq
European Parliament resolution of 17 January 2013 on the EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (2012/2850(RSP))

20. Calls on the Iraqi authorities, while acknowledging their commitment, to secure the safety of, and humane living conditions for the residents of Camp Ashraf and Camp Hurriya; asks the Member States to honour Article 105(3)(b) and (4) of the partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and Iraq and to do everything possible to facilitate the resettlement or repatriation of the residents of Camp Hurriya on an individual basis, and according to their own free will, so that the issue of their presence on Iraqi territory can finally be settled;

MEP Struan Stevenson:
This morning I have received a letter from the Council of Representatives in Iraq signed by two committee chairmen and five members of the Iraqi Parliament. Let me read that letter.
“It was with great dismay and shock that we learned that the European Parliament is about to adopt a resolution on Iraq in the coming week in Strasburg which seeks completely out of touch with the real situation and everyday challenges on the ground.
“At a time when our country faces one of its major political crises with our country’s vice president sentenced to death in absentia, and the home and office of a minister raided by government forces, while the number of executions have reached record high levels and the masses are outraged in daily protests over arbitrary incarcerations and mistreatment of women in Iraqi prisons, with several provisional governments calling on Maliki to go, we would have expected of the house of democracy of the European people to be more attentive to the human rights and democracy which are wearing thinner every day. There is no mention of any of these major concerns in this resolution.”

EU Council of Ministers Foreign Affairs Advisor– Representing High Representative Catherine Ashton
“Camp Ashraf remains an important and sensitive issue. There has been some progress but there is still a number of challenges in the critical process facilitated by the United Nations with our full support.
Indeed I think the majority of speakers expressed deep concerns about the Christian community and here again I think there is genuinely reason for concern. And it is an issue that has been raised constantly in our ongoing dialogue with Iraqi authorities. It has been raised again and again the High Representative and her team are very closely monitoring the situation and very, very vigilant about developments in that respect.
The same I think can be said about Camp Ashraf and it’s been raised by a number of members and the transfer to Camp Liberty, and this is of course an extremely complex and a very significant challenge. Not only with regard to the present conditions of all those who have been transferred to the new camp, but also with regard to the whole question about the future and how we can actually deal with the challenge of accommodating and finding options for those who are presently in Camp Liberty. And I think that this very clearly requires constructive engagement from EU members states, a willingness to face this challenge and put in place a practical solution. It also requires the full cooperation of our international partners and we are working on that. It’s an ongoing process. I know that at times it slower that we might like, but that is I think a reflection of the scale of the challenge that’s involved. And so we are giving this constant attention and it is under discussion as I said amongst the EU Member States and indeed with our international partners.