VICE PRESIDENT
Press release
2 August 2012
Iranian-Iraqi regimes’ Plan for Massacre at Ashraf and A Green Light by UN Envoy
Call on the USA for protection of Ashraf and Liberty
Call on the UN Secretary General for appointment of an impartial personal envoy for Ashraf
The International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ) has issued a warning cautioning about a planned scheme by the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government for suppression and massacre of Ashraf and Liberty residents and condemns the recent positions taken by Secretary General’s special representative Martin Kobler at the Security Council which is considered a green light for this attack and violence, and asks the U.S. Government to act in accordance with its duty vis-à-vis Ashraf residents in conjunction with the international laws and its mutual agreement with each and every Ashraf residents.
1. In his report to the Security Council on July 19, UN envoy Martin Kobler thanked the Government of Iraq for its flexibility and blamed the residents of Ashraf and Liberty for stopping the relocation process and said that Camp Liberty has the capacity to accommodate the remaining 1200 residents and meets acceptable humanitarian standards. He then called on camp’s residents “to abide by Iraqi laws and avoid provocation and violence.”
Despite Secretary General’s repeated emphasis that any accord must be mutually agreed upon, Mr. Kobler changed SG’s words and said: “Time is running out to find sustainable solution. The Government’s patience is wearing thin. I therefore would like to echo the Secretary General and urge Camp Ashraf residents to cooperate with Iraqi authorities and to relocate from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriyeh.”
2. On July 24, the UN envoy presented a document as a roadmap which was nothing but the Iraqi plan for evacuating Ashraf without providing minimum human needs. According to this roadmap, the residents are to immediately forego all their requests and postpone them to an unknown future promised by Mr. Kobler.
As stated in ISJ’s report to the Security Council with detailed documentations, this is a scenario repeated constantly during the relocation of previous groups and every time Mr. Kobler pressured for evacuation of Ashraf by promising fulfillment of demands for the next group. This roadmap reconfirms previous ISJ reports that his goal is to close Ashraf at any cost and concentrate the residents at Liberty prison.
3. On July 26, Mr. Kobler met with Madame Rajavi, the president of the National Council of Resistance, in Paris. Madame Rajavi, taking the most flexible position, provided a very practical solution to assure that the minimum humanitarian needs of the residents relocating to Liberty would be met. On behalf of the residents she pledged that the 8 demands of the residents of the Camp Liberty would be fulfilled in less than one month by employing Iraqi contractors and that the residents would be responsible for the incurring costs. Upon completion of the project, the sixth group shall leave to Liberty at the end of the month of Ramadan. Her only demand was for the Iraqi government to accept this plan and not to create any obstacles. The 8 demands of the residents are;
i. Connection of Liberty to the city water network or pumping water from a river adjacent to the camp
ii. Transfer of the main generators of 1.5 Mega Watt to the Liberty Camp
iii. Allowing the sale of the movable and immovable properties belonging to the residents
iv. Minimum constructions particularly of special facilities for disabled and ill people
v. Transfer of the six utility vehicles
vi. Transfer 6 trailers for transportation of the disabled
vii. Transfer of 5 forklifts
viii. Transfer of 50 passenger cars
It is worth noting that all of these 8 demands are exactly the same ones that were requested by the Camp Ashraf residents in February 2012 prior to the relocation.
4. The Un envoy later informed the representatives of the residents in the camp that the Iraqi Government does not agree with any of the demands and wants to relocate the sixth group immediately. Mr. Kobler also added that he believed that the facilities in camp Liberty met the minimum requirements for the sixth group’s relocation and that there was no urgent need for the demands of the residents to be met in near future.
5. Pursuant to these green lights by Mr. Kobler, the Iraqi government’s National Security Advisor and a well-known backer of the Iranian regime, Faleh Fayaz, declared that the residents of Ashraf will be forcefully removed from the camp and that all the relocations shall be non-voluntary. This is but a prelude for the third massacre in Ashraf and yet another humanitarian disaster.
6. Madame Rajavi’s proposal puts no burden, financial or otherwise, on the Iraqi Government. It offers a clear time line and practical plan. So one must believe that the real goal behind rejection of this proposal is not to relocate the residents of the camp or remove the PMOI from Iraq but rather is to destroy the organized opposition to the mullahs’ regime, especially now that the Iranian regime is faced with very serious challenges domestically as well as internationally.
Hence, ISJ is requesting an immediate intervention by the UN Secretary General, Secretary Clinton, Baroness Ashton, and the European leaders to prevent another humanitarian disaster. We urgently request that;
a) Secretary General appoints a personal Envoy to oversee Ashraf case. Martin Kobler has repeatedly shown that his bias and lack of neutrality.
b) The United States Government and specially Secretary Clinton must take all the necessary steps to guarantee the safety of the residents of Ashraf and prevent the Iraqi Government from taking any hostile actions against the residents. Indeed this is the responsibility of the United States and undoubtedly it has the political and physical capacity of doing so.
c) The US and the UN must firmly request the Iraqi government to abide by the humanitarian norms and fulfill the basic humanitarian needs of the residents. Only then the relocation can take place.
d) EU and other European countries should open their doors and accept asylum seekers from Ashraf and Liberty Camps without any further delay.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras
Vice-President of the European Parliament
President, International Committee In Search of Justice
International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ) enjoys the support of over 4,000 parliamentarians throughout the world