AFP (Arabic Wire), 30 Dec 2012 – According to the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran spokesman, the Iranian dissidents’ camp located near Baghdad remains engulfed in rainwater after the worst rainfall in the past 30 years hit the area 4 days ago.
“Although four days passes since the rainfall, still many parts of Camp Liberty, especially the southern and southwestern sections, are engulfed in water and sludge,” said organization spokesman Shahriar Kia.
“Water level remains knee high while the spread of sewage in the camp and its mixing with rainwater has greatly polluted the environment causing propagation of infectious diseases,” Shahriar Kia added.
Heavy rains in Baghdad caused four deaths and residents of the capital faced problems in commuting on Wednesday, which the government officially announced a holiday due to streets flooded with water.
“Camp Liberty residents were able to drain and transfer 9 million liters of water out of the camp with their limited tankers and basic equipment, and despite the obstacles imposed by the Iraqi government,” Shahriar Kia added.
Furthermore, a number of Iraqi MPs in a letter to the UN Secretary-General called for the recognition of Liberty as a refugee camp under UNHCR supervision and guarantees for the residents’ right to sell their property in Ashraf.
The MPs in their letter called for the recognition of Camp Liberty as a refugee camp under UN supervision, not a temporary camp which had been agreed upon.
The US State Department in September announced it has delisted the “People’s Mojahedin” organization from its black list after years of pressure imposed by this organization, whose leadership is based in Paris.
At Iraq’s request, around 3,000 PMOI members from their historic Camp Ashraf, built in the 1980s, were transferred to a camp closer to the capital Baghdad known as Camp Hurriya “Liberty”.
Iranian dissidents have complaints of the “security” atmosphere of the new camp. This transfer took placed based on an agreement between Baghdad and the UN, and in a measure aimed at transferring the residents to third countries.
The PMOI, established in the 1960s for the struggle against the Shah of Iran, following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran stationed in Iraq and enjoyed the support of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to attack Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.