Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Iranians and supporters of the PMOI staged a gathering outside of the White House to call for guaranteeing Ashraf residents’ rights based on international conventions and laws.

In this gathering, the letter of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, representative from California and the senior member of the Congress Foreign Relation Committee, and also the letter of Bob Filner, the senior member of Congress and chairman of the “Committee of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran” were read out.

In his letter to the US President, Congressman Rohrabacher warned of a human catastrophe due to the clerical regime’s threats against Ashraf City and wrote: “The US commitments with regard to the international law requires that we keep our military forces in Ashraf as joint guards; simultaneously, the US must be bound to its obligations regarding ” protected persons” in Camp Ashraf aligned with the Fourth Geneva Convention and ask the Iraqi government to treat Ashraf residents on this basis.”

Referring to removal of the PMOI from the blacklists of Britain and the EU, Congressman Rohrabacher added:” A bipartisan group of US Congressmen believe that the US must recognize this group as a legitimate opposition.”

In the gathering the letter of Bob Filner to the US Secretary of State was also read out. He asked her to study removal of the PMOI from US State Department’s list of proscribed organizations.

The participants chanted slogans in support of the PMOI and rallied in front of the White House.