The Hill (Congress Blog) By Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) August 10, 2011 The Middle East is experiencing its most tumultuous wave of political change in decades. From Egypt to Syria to Yemen, the people of the Arab World are rejecting the status quo dictatorships and demanding democracy. Those who have been silenced for their whole lives are standing up to their oppressive leaders. Their cries for democracy, human rights and dignity are ringing loud throughout the Middle East and we hear their voices loud and clear. The United States must stand with the freedom fighters in the Middle East and support their desire for the basic values and principles that Americans enjoy every day. However, … [Read more...]
Irony Of Promise And Action
August 9, 2011 By
“The United States will continue to stand with those who struggle to assert their fundamental humanity. It is essential that these brave people know that the international community supports them, just as it is essential that human rights abusers in Damascus and Tehran know that we are watching them. Until such time as they are held accountable by domestic authorities, it is our responsibility to hold them accountable at the international level,”(Testimony of Jeffrey D. Feltman , Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Washington, DC July 27, 2011.) Writing the above statements on stacks of … [Read more...]
Abandoned allies?
August 3, 2011 By
THE NEW YORK POST Don’t betray Iranian refugees Some 3,400 innocent Iranian dissidents now living in a camp in Iraq are in imminent danger of being slaughtered. These men, women and children — members of Mujahedin-e Khalq, or People’s Mujahedin, a longtime Iranian opposition movement — trusted America’s promise to protect them. But the gradual US withdrawal from Iraq leaves that promise in doubt. As a former base commander of Camp Ashraf, the official name of the MEK’s besieged refuge, I’d like to make one thing clear: Despite charges that the MEK is a terrorist organization, these people are American allies. It would be foolish, as well as wrong, to abandon … [Read more...]
Round-the-Clock Protest at State Department to Demand Swift Decision to Delist MEK and Good Faith Action to Resolve the Humanitarian Crisis at Camp Ashraf
August 2, 2011 By
PRNewswire WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Families of Camp Ashraf residents will join Iranian-Americans to begin a round-the-clock sit-in across from the Department of State in protest against the Department's unlawful delay in completing the Court of Appeals mandated review of the status of Iran's main opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), and delist the group; as well as the failure to protect the residents of Camp Ashraf, Iraq, home to 3,400 MEK members. According to state television, Al-Iraqiya, 30 July, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, Iraq may "sue those … governments that provide refuge to them," dismissing the possibility for Ashraf … [Read more...]
USCCAR Lauds Unanimous Adoption of House Amendment for Camp Ashraf Protection
July 22, 2011 By
PRNewswire WASHINGTON, July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR) lauds the unanimous adoption of an amendment on the need to prevent the forcible relocation of the residents inside Iraq and facilitate the robust presence of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq in Camp Ashraf, to H.R. 2583, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 2012. The amendment, introduced by Congressman "Judge" Ted Poe (R-TX), is a major step toward ensuring the safety and security of our loved ones in Camp Ashraf, home to nearly 3,400 members of Iran's principal opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) and their families. The … [Read more...]
Avoid Another Srebrenica at Camp Ashraf
July 21, 2011 By
The Huffington Post At first glance, the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica almost two decades ago has little in common with the plight of some 3,500 dissident Iranians at a place called Camp Ashraf in Iraq. But a closer look shows the opposite. In 1995, Dutch forces serving as UN peacekeepers to monitor the situation during the siege of Srebrenica did nothing to protect Muslim civilians, who were turned over to the Serb military and slaughtered. In 2003, residents of Ashraf surrendered their weapons to U.S.-led Coalition forces and, after a 16-month investigation, the U.S. government recognised each one of them as a Protected Person under the Fourth Geneva Convention and … [Read more...]
Howard Dean: Why is the MEK on the terrorist list?
July 21, 2011 By
Speech by Governor Howard Dean, Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (2005-2009), “Middle East, Iran Spring: Obstacles, Opportunities and U.S. Policy,” Washington, DC, July 16, 2011, Excerpt: I just do want to say two thanks before I start: the first is to the leadership of this organization [MEK] which has worked so incredibly hard to save 3400 unarmed people in Ashraf and to stand up for what's right in their own country.So I want to thank all of you who have put all these together. I don't know what number this is, the one that I've done, but when this happens -- and we will free the people of Ashraf, and we will free Iran from the tyranny of the mullahs -- when … [Read more...]
“Wake Up State Department, Take the MEK off the FTO List Today”
July 20, 2011 By
General Hugh Shelton, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1997-2001), Saturday, July 16, 2011, Washington, DC Excerpts: Thank you for a very warm welcome. It is truly great to be with you here in Washington today and to join such a distinguished group of colleagues. I'd also like to offer greetings to the residents of Camp Ashraf that may be watching or may see this later on. You know, there have been some substantive changes that have occurred in the political landscape and in the challenges that the Ashraf residents face since I last spoke to you or this group in May of this year, but some things have not changed. First is the United States' guarantee of protection for the … [Read more...]
Iranian resistance demands Clinton remove it from terrorist list
July 19, 2011 By
The Washington Times July 19, 2011 By Marieke van der Vaart Delay said to appease Tehran Iranian opposition activists are accusing the State Department of flouting a federal court’s year-old ruling ordering the removal of the Iranian resistance from the U.S. list of international terrorist organizations. Supporters of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to comply with the court order as they rallied outside the State Department last week to mark the anniversary of the ruling. The State Department says it is still reviewing evidence about the group. “Until the [MEK] are removed from the list, the U.S. policy is appeasing the … [Read more...]
The clock is ticking
St. Louis Post Dispatch August 10, 2011 As U.S. troops prepare to leave Iraq by the end of this year, a humanitarian crisis is emerging that has a real chance of tarnishing President Obama’s legacy. More than 3,400 Iranian dissidents who reside in Camp Ashraf in Iraq face growing threats from a pro-Tehran Iraqi government bent on destroying them. That has been understandably worrisome for Iranian-Americans all over the United States, including the ones in Missouri, but the repercussions of their fate should concern all of us. In April, Iraqi troops raided the camp at the behest of the Iranian regime, murdering 36 defenseless civilian residents and injuring hundreds more. Sen. John … [Read more...]