The Washington Post, October 9, 2009
LEGISLATORS CALL FOR GUARANTEES FOR PROTECTION OF
CAMP ASHRAF RESIDENTS BY U.S. FORCES, ESTABLISHMENT OF U.N. MONITORING TEAM TO PREVENT ATTACKS ON ASHRAF RESIDENTS OR THEIR FORCIBLE DISPLACEMENT
Camp Ashraf is the residence of Iranian opposition in Iraq
We are deeply concerned about the situation of 3,400 members of the Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. The Iranian regime is attempting to obliterate the residents through the Iraqi Government. The deadly attack by Iraqi forces against the camp on July 28-29 left 11 dead and 500 injured while 36 members of the opposition PMOI were taken hostage.
Amnesty International, International Federation of Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture, Human Rights Watch, and the Archbishop of Canterbury have condemned the attack in a number of different statements. They have all expressed their worries about the situation of Ashraf residents.
A Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 24, 2009, reiterates that the residents of Ashraf are Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. It calls on the Iraqi Government to respect their rights and refrain from their expulsion or forcible displacement within Iraq and to put an end to the siege imposed on them.
There is a general anxiety today that the Iraqi forces would once again attack Ashraf residents and carry out a massacre against them at the behest of the Iranian regime. The assailant forces have taken up positions inside Ashraf and in its vicinity.
While expressing our solidarity with the residents of Ashraf and their families who launched a hunger strike to prevent a repeat of the tragedy, we call on the U.S. Government, the United Nations, and the European Union to fulfill the following demands immediately:
• The U.S. forces to guarantee protection of Ashraf residents and prevent further attacks or violence against the residents or their forcible displacement within Iraq;
• Establishment of a permanent UN monitoring team in Ashraf to prevent further violence and a repeat of the attack or forced displacement of these people, which would be in contravention of international conventions;
• Acknowledge the fundamental rights and protections enjoyed by Ashraf residents under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
We also call on the Iraqi Government to respect and implement the above mentioned articles, which rely on international law as well as International Humanitarian Laws and the International Human Rights Law. Such action would serve to restore and improve the credibility and dignity of Iraq as an independent and democratic state, which have sadly been subjected to doubt.
International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ)
Dr Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice President of the European Parliament
1. The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom, Lord Robin Corbett
2. Comité Français pour un Iran Démocratique, Sen. Jean Pierre Michel
3. Comitato Italiano di parlamentari e cittadini Iran Libero,
Presidente: On. Carlo Ciccioli, Co-presidente :On. Elisabetta Zamparutti
4. Deutsches Solidaritätskomitee für einen freien Iran, Hermann- Joseph Scharf
5. Friends of a Free Iran intergroup in the European Parliament, Stephen Hughes
6. The Swedish Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (SPCIF), Kent Olsson
7. Belgian Committee of Parliamentarians for a Democratic Iran, Sen. Dirk Claes
8. Committee of Friends of Free Iran in Danish parliament, Jens Christian Lund
9. Friends of a Free Iran – Swedish branch, Lennart Friden
10. Friends of a Free Iran – Norway, Lars Rise
11. The Dutch Group of Friends of a Free Iran, Hank de Haan
12. Luxembourg Parliamentary Committee for a Free and Democratic Iran, Jean Huss
13. The Swiss Committee in Defence of Ashraf, Co-presidente: Nils de Dardel,
Francine John-Calame
EXCERPTS FROM A LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
BY ASHRAF RESIDENTS, OCTOBER 3, 2009
Plans by Iraqi authorities regarding displacement of Camp Ashraf residents within Iraq are parts of a broader plan by the Iranian regime to kill us. This Displacement is a blatant violation of a number of provisions of International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law and international law.
Within this context and based on an agreement signed between the American forces and every single resident of Ashraf, we call on you to task the U.S. embassy and the U.S. forces in Iraq to guarantee respect for human rights of the residents and prevent violence and attacks on us or our forcible displacement within Iraq which will be a prelude to a humanitarian catastrophe.