Senior House Members Press U.S. Envoy over Protection of Camp Ashraf

Senior House Members Press U.S. Envoy over Protection of Camp Ashraf, Demand Release of 36 Iranian Dissidents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 12, 2009

CONTACT: Majid Roshan
PHONE: (202) 640-1947
E-MAIL: info@usccar.org

WASHINGTON - At a hearing on September 10, senior members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, voiced outrage over a July attack by Iraqi forces against Camp Ashraf, where 3,400 Iranian refugees reside. Christopher Hill, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq was testifying.

Committee Chair Howard Berman (D-CA) had already expressed deep concerns over the assault in a July 29 joint statement with the Committee Ranking Republican, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).

Congresswomen Ros-Lehtinen told Ambassador Hill: "I'm concerned about Iraqi actions being undertaken at the behest of the Iranian regime with respect to Ashraf." She then asked about specific measures to ensure rights of Ashraf residents and to prevent their forcible return to Iran.

Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) pointed out that the 36 abducted residents of Ashraf are still in captivity "even though an Iraqi judge has ordered these individuals to be released."

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) referred to the 1,000 women in Ashraf and said that there is no excuse for attacking the residents.

Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) asked Ambassador Hill to "take back with you to the Iraqi government that there are senior members of the United States Congress that are watching what they're doing."

Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) called the attack a violation of the Geneva Conventions and called for "pressure on the Iraqis to act in a humane way and consistent with the conventions."

Ambassador Hill told the lawmakers, "We have made it very clear to the Iraqi government . . . that we are interested in the well being of these people, we're interested in the preservation of their human rights, we're interested in the fact that they should not be forcibly repatriated to Iran."

The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents welcomes Ambassador Hill's acknowledgement that exercise of "sovereignty should not come at the expense of human rights or repatriation."

However, echoing the demands raised in an open letter to President Obama by two dozen Iranian-American communities, the Committee calls on the United States, in particular the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, to undertake practical measures to secure the release of 36 abducted residents.

It also urges the U.S. to take the lead in facilitating the stationing of a permanent United Nations monitoring post at Ashraf.

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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