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In this Issue:
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Anglican Church leader concerned about Iraq's Camp
Ashraf,
Reuters,
September 20,
2009
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Hunger Strikers Press for Iraq’s
Release of Iranian Exiles,
The New York Times,
September 19, 2009
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Hunger strikers in Washington put While House
in a bind,
International Herald Tribune,
September 18, 2009
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A plea for Ashraf,
Ottawa Citizen, September 19,
2009
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Iraqi lawmaker, panelists urge US to ensure
protection of Camp Ashraf; plan for fact-finding mission,
Reuters, September 16,
2009
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"Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs.”
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
“In no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred to a country where
he or she may have reason to fear persecution for his or her political opinions
or religious beliefs.”
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
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Anglican Church leader
concerned about Iraq's Camp Ashraf
Reuters
September 21, 2009
LONDON (Reuters) - The spiritual head of the Anglican Church expressed concern
Sunday about Iranian exiles living in a camp in Iraq, saying they faced "human
rights violations" that needed to be addressed urgently.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said both the United States and the
Iraqi government had a duty to protect the residents of Camp Ashraf, home to the
People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI) dissident group.
"The continuing situation in Camp Ashraf, together with the fact that the 36
people taken from the camp in July have not been released, constitutes a
humanitarian and human rights issue of real magnitude and urgency," Williams
said in a statement...
"Both the government of Iraq and the government of the United States -- as the
agency responsible for the transfer of the residents to another jurisdiction --
have an obligation to secure the rights of these residents and to defend them
from violence or abuse," Williams said on his Website.
"I hope that all concerned will listen to what those across the world who are
deeply anxious about these human rights violations are saying, and respond as a
matter of urgency."...
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Hunger Strikers Press for Iraq’s Release of Iranian
Exiles
The New York Times
September 19, 2009
WASHINGTON — Wednesday was the 50th day of their hunger strike, but Hamid
Goudarzi, 26, and his fellow Iranian-immigrant protesters here swore they would
never give up. “I’m getting weaker every day,” said Mr. Goudarzi, who gave up
his job in San Antonio to join the protest. “But I’m here to the end.”
He is among two dozen hunger strikers encamped a stone’s throw from the White
House to protest the deaths in Iraq of at least six members of the People’s
Mujahedeen of Iran, an exile group based in Iraq and committed to the overthrow
of the Islamic revolutionary government in Tehran. Similar sympathy strikes are
under way in Ottawa, London, Berlin, Stockholm and The Hague.
The protesters are calling for the resumption of American protection of the camp
until a United Nations presence can be arranged and for the release of 36
members who have been detained since the clash at Camp Ashraf, which is home to
about 3,400 people. A local Iraqi court has ordered the detainees’ release, but
the government has appealed...
Asked about the group this week, a White House spokesman, Tommy Vietor, said,
“The U.S. government continues to urge the government of Iraq to honor its
public commitments to treat the M.E.K. humanely and in accordance with Iraqi and
international law.”
“We are working with international organizations to help address the difficult
situation of this group in Iraq,” he said. “We empathize with and respect the
concerns that many have expressed for their friends and loved ones in Iraq...
The protesters in Washington say they are limiting themselves to tea, water,
sugar and Gatorade. Dr. Gary Morsch, 58, an Army Reserve doctor who served at
Camp Ashraf in 2004 — and expresses sympathy for the Iranians’ cause — said that
situation was precarious. A half-dozen have required hospital treatment...
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Hunger strikers in
Washington put While House in a bind
International Herald Tribune
September 18, 2009
WASHINGTON - By Wednesday, the 50th day of their hunger strike, Zolal Habibi
said she had lost 20 pounds, Zahra Rashidi reported losing 25, Hamid Goudarzi,
26, and Mehran Ebrahimi, 33, for a total of 104 pounds — which is exactly how
much is left of the now-skeletal Mr. Goudarzi.
“I’m getting weaker every day,” said the diminutive Mr. Goudarzi, who gave up
his job in San Antonio, Texas, to join the protest and now weighs 47 kilograms.
“But I’m here to the end.”
He and the others are among two dozen Iranian-American hunger strikers in
Washington protesting the deaths of 11 of their friends and comrades, part of
the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e Khalq, in a bloody clash with Iraqi
troops trying to enter their camp north of Baghdad. Similar sympathy strikes are
under way in Ottawa, London, Berlin, Stockholm and The Hague...
The controversies over the group aside, the hunger strikers appear committed.
Ms. Habibi, 28, of Washington, said that her mother had moved to Ashraf to take
up her husband’s cause after he was killed in Iran because of his protest
activities, in 1988. “That changed everything in our lives;’ she said.
She said she had no doubt that the Iraqi incursion in Ashraf was done “at the
demand and at the behest of the Iranian regime;’ by an Iraqi government with
sympathies to Tehran.
Saleh al-Mutlak, who heads the National Dialogue Front, a small opposition party
in Iraq, said during a visit to the Washington protest site that he shared Ms.
Habibi’s sense, and added that many Iraqis were angered by the treatment of
people at Ashraf.
Mr. Ebrahimi, 53, said he was disappointed that the administration has not done
more for those in the camp, including his sister, who has lived there for 20
years.
“I was an Obama supporter — a staunch Obama supporter — and I feel like I was
betrayed;’ he said. “Now,” he said, “whatever happens to us will be on their
watch ...
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A plea for Ashraf: Canada and the U.S. must intervene to
protect a besieged camp for Iranian exiles in Iraq
By David Kilgour, a Canadian member of the
International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf
Ottawa Citizen
September 19, 2009
Anyone who has passed along Sussex Drive over the past 50 days or so would have
noticed 10 Iranian Canadians on hunger strike in front of the American Embassy.
As their health deteriorates, their appeal to the Canadian and American
governments to intervene effectively against Iraqi brutality would appear to be
continuing to fall on deaf ears.
On July 28, Iraqi security forces attacked unarmed Iranian refugees at Camp
Ashraf, using guns, axes, clubs and American-made Humvee armoured vehicles. They
left 11 people dead and 500 injured; 36, who also continue to hunger strike,
were taken into custody and remain so without being charged with any offence
despite an Iraqi court order releasing them.
Unchallenged, the Iraqi military is still in Ashraf and can commit further
criminal acts. American soldiers were present at the scene but did nothing but
film what was happening…
At a press conference in Paris, David Matas, one of Canada's best-known lawyers
and my colleague on the International Commission of Jurists in Defence of
Ashraf, noted: "The United States, elsewhere in the world, condemns violations
of human rights. It should do no less in Iraq when the violations occur in front
of its own armed forces. I expect and hope that the U.S. would take note of and
censure grave violations of the human rights of the residents of Camp Ashraf.
But now that is not happening. We have to find others in the international
community who are able and willing to do what the United States is not doing."…
To avoid further human disaster, Iraq must withdraw its forces from Ashraf and
American protection of Ashraf residents must be reinstated immediately. Lawyers
and international human rights organizations as well as journalists must be
given access to the camp.
A representative of the UN Security Council or Secretary General should go to
Ashraf immediately to bear witness to any further attacks. Those who ordered or
perpetrated the brutal attacks and massacre in Camp Ashraf should be prosecuted
by an international tribunal for crimes against humanity...
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Iraqi lawmaker, panelists urge US to ensure
protection of Camp Ashraf; plan for fact-finding mission
Near East Human Rights Initiative via Reuters
Thursday, September 17, 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a briefing in the US House of
Representatives, the Near East Human Rights Initiative (NEHRI) announced plans
to send a humanitarian fact-finding mission to Camp Ashraf, Iraq, home to 3,500
Iranian dissidents.
Col. Dr. Gary Morsch, US Army Reservist and President of Heart to Heart
International, who chaired the briefing, said, "Having had the privilege of
serving in Ashraf, I feel embarrassed that my fellow soldiers simply stood by
and did nothing to prevent the carnage at Ashraf. Our government has both the
moral and legal obligation to protect the residents of Ashraf. The 36 who have
been taken hostage by Iraqi police must be freed."
Dr. Saleh Mutlak, Secretary General of Iraq's National Dialogue Front and a
senior member of Iraq's Parliament, remarked, "On behalf of millions of Iraqis,
I ask the United States and President Obama to uphold and follow through with US
commitment for the safety and security of Ashraf residents in a proper manner."
Dr. Mutlak stressed, "The people and political forces in Iraq and Arab countries
are monitoring this situation vigilantly and for Iran to hold the upper hand in
Iraq and to even be able to destroy Iranian refugees in Iraq would be a
nightmare which we must prevent." ...
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About Humanitarian Crisis for
Iranian Dissidents and their Families in Camp Ashraf
More than 3,400 members of Iran’s
main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) and their families, among
them nearly 1,000 Muslim women, reside in Camp Ashraf in
Iraq. The PMOI was the source of ground breaking revelation in the United
States in 2002 about Iran’s two until-then secret nuclear sites at Natanz and
Arak.
On July 28-29, 2009, Iraqi forces
ordered directly by Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acting at the behest
of Iran rulers, carried out a violent, unprovoked raid on Camp Ashraf, killing
11 residents, wounding 500, and abducting 36.
The brutal raid on Ashraf was a
blatant violation of the solemn commitment Iraq had given to the United States
that it would provide "humane treatment of the Camp Ashraf residents in
accordance with Iraq’s Constitution, laws, and international obligations."
The assault took place while U.S. service members on the scene were observing
the situation closely. Regrettably they took no action to prevent the
premeditated violence despite direct appeals by Ashraf residents at the outset
and during the attack.
International Humanitarian Law Obligate U.S. to Provide Continued Protection for
Camp Ashraf Residents in Iraq
On July 2, 2004, the United States formally
recognized members of the PMOI in Camp Ashraf as “protected persons” under the
Fourth Geneva Convention.
Both the U.S. and Iraq are parties to all four
1949 Geneva Conventions.
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs […]”.
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“In no circumstances shall a protected person
be transferred to a country where he or she may have reason to fear persecution
for his or her political opinions or religious beliefs.“
United States had legal and moral
obligations and responsibilities under international humanitarian law to protect
these Iranian exiles.
About
the U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents:
The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf
Residents (USCCAR) was established in December of 2003 by families and relatives
of residents of Camp Ashraf. The purpose of the Committee is to ensure the
safety and security of those Iranians and others living in Camp Ashraf. The
Committee will defend the proposition that the protections of the Fourth Geneva
Convention, as well as of other treaties and customary international law, must
be applied to the Iranians in Iraq. For more information please visit:
www.usccar.org
About
Ashraf Monitor
Ashraf Monitor newsletter is a
compilation of news and commentaries about the developing humanitarian
crisis for nearly 3,500 members of Iran's main opposition, the People's
Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Ashraf Monitor is
compiled and distributed by the US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR).
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