In a statement entitled “Iraqi armored units violate international laws”, the Kurdish Intellectual Assembly of Iraq condemned the attack by Nouri Maliki’s forces on Ashraf and called for the guarantee of Ashraf’s protection.
“In our view, the PMOI are of no threat to Iraq,” this statement read. Furthermore, not only have the members of this organizations never violated Iraq’s laws or sovereignty, they have in fact been severely under siege from 2003 to this day. They have been attacked many times and suffered enormous amounts of losses. Also, dozens of their members have been killed or wounded by the Iraqi government forces. Coming to Iraq in 2003, the US forces signed an agreement gathering all their weapons to guarantee their lives and protection. Around two years ago Camp Ashraf was transferred to Iraqi forces. This time, the Iraqi government gave commitments to the US forces to protect Ashraf residents. This is while by transferring Ashraf to Iraqi forces, the US forces did not live up to their commitment regarding the protection of PMOI members. Instead of protecting the residents of this camp, the Iraqi government attacks them today with armored units.
We in the Kurdish Intellectual Assembly call on the UN in Iraq and the US government, who hold heavy political and military grounds in this country today, and also the European Union and all relevant parties to rise to their humane and moral responsibility by placing pressure on the Iraqi government to not enforce more pressure on Ashraf residents and respect the standards of refugees’ rights. We also call on the Iraqi government to not resort to force and begin talks with the residents, and respect their rights as refugees.