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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 8, 2011
CONTACT: Majid Roshan
PHONE: (202) 640-1947
E-MAIL: info@usccar.org
WASHINGTON - The assault
by 2,500 Iraqi forces against 3,400 unarmed residents of Camp Ashraf that
began at 4:45 am local
time Friday, April 8, has left at least 20 residents, including four women,
killed and dozens wounded.
The names of 11 of those
killed are as follows: Nasser Sepahpour, Saeed Chavoshi, Mohammad Ghayoumi,
Zohair Zakeri, Hanif Kefaie, Akbar Madadzadeh, Qassem Etemadi, Fereidoon Eini,
Massoud Hajiloui, Mohammad Yazdandoust and Jafar Bareji. Two of the four
murdered female residents were Nastaran Azimi and Fa’ezeh Rajabi
In the course of savage
assault, that began simultaneous with the visit to Iraq by US Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, the Iraqi forces were using armored personnel carriers
and 30 caliber heavy machine guns,
running down the residents
and shooting indiscriminately against the unarmed and defenseless residents,
including 1,000 women.
On the orders of the criminal Nuri Al-Maliki, the water to the Camp has been cut
off for the past eight hours, rapidly depleting the water supplies of the
residents.
General Lloyd Austin, Commander of the US Forces in Iraq, ordered the US
battalion that was in Camp Ashraf for the past four days out of the Camp despite
the vehement objection of the Colonel in charge of the US force, who had
requested reinforcements to protect the residents.
At least 154 armored personnel carriers and military vehicles equipped with 30
and 50 caliber machine guns and commando units are taking part in the assault
that is continuing at this hour.
The US Committee for Camp Ashraf residents holds the United States Government
and the person of President Obama responsible for the massacre at Ashraf. The
inaction of the US government is in direct contravention of its obligations
under international law and the agreement it signed with each and every resident
of Camp Ashraf in 2004.
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About Humanitarian Crisis for
Residents of 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 Obligates 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 |
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