US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents

(USCCAR)


ph: (202) 640-1947

Get the latest news on Camp Ashraf
Iranian-American supporters of the Iranian Resistance, and families of Camp Ashraf residents, rally across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

 

December 10, 2009

USCCAR Urges President Obama to Intervene Immediately and Stop Iraq's Displacement of Ashraf Residents

WASHINGTON, DC -- In a move, which according to Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, "could lead to bloodshed," the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, announced plans for the "transfer of Camp Ashraf residents to Nuqrat al-Salman" south of Iraq as a "step towards expelling them (from Iraq)."

The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR) strongly condemns this unlawful decision which blatantly violates international humanitarian law and runs counter to the Iraqi Government's written assurances to the United States about upholding the human rights of Ashraf residents.

USCCAR calls on President Obama, who received the Nobel Peace Prize earlier today in Oslo, to fulfill the administration's responsibilities in the framework of official agreements it has signed with the people of Ashraf and Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Committee urges the President to undertake immediate steps to avert another humanitarian catastrophe.

In a Congressional hearing on October 28, Ambassador Feltman warned, "We're concerned about Iraqi desire to move Camp Ashraf to someplace else inside Iraq... they would try to forcibly move them to a different location in Iraq, and that could lead to bloodshed."

Noting that Ashraf residents are recognized as "Protected Persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention, a Spanish court last month said it has the authority to and will probe the Iraqi forces' deadly July attack against Ashraf residents. Camp Ashraf is home to 3,400 members of Iran's main opposition People's Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) and their families.

Agence France Presse quoted the Iraqi Prime Minister as saying that his government will move the Ashraf residents to Nuqrat al-Salman, 220 miles south of Baghdad in the desert, where Iraq's former regime used to send its opponents. Reuters news agency reported yesterday that Mr. al-Maliki intends to "uproot" the PMOI in order to nurture its relationship with Tehran.

There is hardly any doubt that the Tehran regime, fighting for survival in the face of nationwide uprisings in Iran, has pressured the Iraqi Government to create another bloodshed in Ashraf and rid Tehran of its main and most organized democratic opposition.

USCCAR also urges the United Nations Secretary General High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Representative for Iraq to intervene and thwart the forcible displacement of Ashraf residents.

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October 7, 2009

Tehran's Plot Against Ashraf Residents Foiled: 36 Abducted Residents Return to Ashraf

WASHINGTON, DC -- The 36 Camp Ashraf residents, taken hostage by Iraqi security forces 71 days ago and subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment at the hands of their captors, triumphantly returned to Ashraf earlier today, thereby foiling a plot, designed by the Iranian regime and implemented by its Iraqi proxies, to destroy Ashraf and slaughter its residents.

The Iraqi Government, which attacked Ashraf on July 28 & 29 at the behest of Tehran, finally bowed to the unflinching resolve of the 36 hostages, hundreds of Ashraf residents, their supporters and families - on hunger strike outside the White House, in Ottawa and in several European capitals - and to the universal condemnation of the deadly and unprovoked assault on Camp Ashraf, home to 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition group, the PMOI/MEK.

Following this major victory and upon the appeal by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, those in Ashraf and around the world have decided to end their hunger strike and pursue other peaceful means at their disposal until clear, effective and practical guarantees concerning the protection of the residents of Ashraf and their non-displacement within the territory of Iraq as mandated by International Humanitarian Law are put in place. The 10-month siege of Ashraf by Iraqi forces must also end and families, lawyers and friends of Ashraf residents must be allowed to visit the Camp. If these justified demands are not met, the hunger strikers vowed to resume their fast.

The deadly July attack has made it abundantly clear that the Iraqi Government's assurances to treat the residents of Ashraf humanely and consistent with international and Iraqi laws were hallow. Therefore, a permanent UN representation must be established at Ashraf to ensure their well-being.

The 36 had been ordered released three times by Judge Ghadhanfar Jassim Mohammad. Iraq's Chief Prosecutor had also issued a blanket order to release them. The Interior Ministry, acting on dictates from Tehran, however, mocked that country's judiciary and refused to let them return to Ashraf.

Following the attack which left 11 dead, nearly 500 wounded, and 36 abducted, Iranians in and out of Iran, members of the U.S. Congress, hundreds of parliamentarians in Iraq, Europe, Canada and the Middle East, human rights advocates and organizations, such as Amnesty International, and distinguished religious leaders, including Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, unequivocally condemned the actions of the Iraqi Government and demanded that the United States and the United Nations guarantee the safety and security of "protected persons" of Ashraf.

The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents extends its sincere gratitude to all those who joined this valiant campaign and calls on the U.S. and the UN to initiate a thorough investigation into the July raid on Ashraf and the subsequent illegal detention of 36 residents, so that those responsible for this humanitarian tragedy are held to account.

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July 2009 

Crimes Against Humanity in Camp Ashraf

Fears of a Humanitarian Catastrophe for Iranian Refugees Come True

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Heeding Khamenei's Orders, Launches a Savage Assault on Camp Ashraf Residents

11 Murdered, 500 Wounded, 36 Abducted; As American Forces Watch


On July 28, 2009, after seven months of complete siege of Camp Ashraf, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, complying with order of Iranian regime’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and in what amount to crimes against humanity directed his troops to attack the unarmed and defenseless residents of Camp Ashraf.

As a detachment of American forces stood by watching nearby, the Iraqi forces, with many Qods Force-trained notorious Badr Corps members among them, savagely attacked the residents with deadly force and opened fire on the unarmed residents who are recognized as “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention since 2004. The Iraqi troops rammed US-Donated Humvees into the crowd of protestors and rolled over them with Loaders.


Direct appeals to Iraqi forces by the Camp residents to allow for medical aid from outside for the wounded were rejected. Similar appeals to American Forces who sufficed to only taking pictures of the attack went un-answered for nearly three after three of the wounded died of severe head injuries.

As a result of this unprovoked attack, which was aimed at appeasing Khamenei and his decaying tyrannical regime in Iran, 9 residents have so far died and nearly 500 are wounded, some in very critical condition. 36 residents have been abducted by the Iraqis and transferred to notorious prisons in Baghdad.

The United States was, and still is legally bound to ensure the protection of Camp Ashraf residents who were officially recognized as “Protected Persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

To denounce Nuri al-Maliki’s crimes against humanity and demand the United States to end its shameful, US families of Ashraf residents joined by many freedom-loving Iranians have begun an open-ended hunger strike outside the White House since Wednesday July 29, 2009.
The hunger strikers demands are:

  1. Withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Ashraf, halt to the assault and the release of those abducted.
  2. Immediate intervention of President Obama to ensure that Ashraf residents are protected by the US military and that those ordering and carrying out the carnage at Ashraf to be brought to justice.
  3. The State Department to summon the Iraqi Ambassador immediately to provide an explanation.
  4. The U.S. military to medevac all the injured who need levels of care not available at Ashraf.
  5. Commanders of the Iraqi police and army units that conducted the raid to be relieved of their commands until there is a full and proper investigation.
  6. Presence of Ashraf residents' lawyers who have been prevented from visiting the Camp in the past seven months.
  7. Dispatch of an international delegation consisting of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq and a representative of the UN Secretary General to assess the extent of damage and injury to the residents.

 

Camp Ashraf on the Verge of a Humanitarian Catastrophe

In an unlawful and suppressive act to please Iran regime, Iraqi police enters Camp Ashraf

 On May 28, 2009, the Iraqi police force suddenly entered Camp Ashraf, home to some 3,400 members of the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) in Iraq, pursuant to renewed calls by the Iranian regime to “implement bilateral agreements.”

This suppressive measure took place while the Iraqi Army is currently protecting Camp Ashraf and there was no need for the Iraqi police to enter the Camp. In recent days, the clerical regime’s president Ahmadinejad and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council have openly been exerting pressures on the Iraqi government to suppress the Iranian opposition in Iraq... More

 

Iraqi police intensifies Camp Ashraf siege, threats residents with arrest and death
Friday, June 5, 2009 

On Friday, June 5, since 5:30 am (local time - Iraq) rapid deployment forces of the Iraqi police blocked the road and entrance to Ashraf. They blocked entry of goods and people to the Camp and intensified the suppressive siege of Ashraf. Eight members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) who were at the entry point of the Camp were threatened by arrest and death.

At 9:30 am a fully equipped anti-riot unit entered the scene and some units of Special Operations Brigade of the Ministry of Interior moved towards Ashraf around noon. Ashraf residents have gathered behind the entrance gates since 6:00 am. The weather in the Camp was around 50 degrees Celsius at 11:00 am. The entrance to Ashraf as of 13:00 remains to be closed with police vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns... More  

 

Iraqi police blocks entry of workers, basic needs to Camp Ashraf
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 
In the fourth month of siege of Ashraf, Iraqi police fully blocked entry of workers and basic needs to Ashraf

NCRI - On Monday, June 8, 2009, Iraqi police prevented workers from entering Camp Ashraf for the fourth consecutive day. They were threatened and sent back. In the past five months about one third of workers in Ashraf who were about 750 at the end of 2008 were able to enter Ashraf after passing through various controls and obstacles but in recent days not even one worker could get in. Blocking the entry of basic necessities such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, glasses, ice cooler to store ice in 50oC and even sandals and socks is still continuing... More

 

International Outrage over Unlawful Intrusion by Iraqi Police

 

EU calls on Iraq to protect exiled Iranian group
Agence France Presse, April 24, 2009


STRASBOURG (AFP) — The European Parliament on Friday called on Iraq to respect the "protected persons" status of an exiled Iranian opposition group and withdraw a threat to close their camp north of Baghdad. The parliamentary text, adopted during a plenary session in Strasbourg, called on the Iraqi prime minister "to ensure that no action is taken by the Iraqi authorities which violates the human rights of the Camp Ashraf residents and to clarify the government's intentions towards them."... More

Amnesty International expresses concern regarding Camp Ashraf residents
NCRI Website, April 21, 2009
“Amnesty International has written directly to the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki about recent developments relating to the more than 3,000 Iranian exiles currently living in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad, who Iraqi officials have said should leave the country.  The statement by Amnesty International continued: "In particular, Amnesty International expressed concern at a recent statement reportedly made in an interview with al-Forat, an Iraqi TV channel, by National Security Advisor Dr Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, in which he said that the authorities intend gradually to make the continued presence of the Camp Ashraf residents "intolerable"... More

Iranians in Camp Ashraf in Iraq are in urgent need of international protection
Website of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, April  14, 2009


Strasbourg – “The situation of Iranians in Camp Ashraf in Iraq has become more than alarming. These persons must, as a matter of urgency, receive full guarantees of international protection,” said Corien Jonker (Netherlands, EPP/CD), Chair of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)... “The situation in Camp Ashraf is going from bad to worse,” said Mrs Jonker. “The Iraqi government has made it clear that it wants to close the camp and expects the people living there to return to Iran or leave to a third country. Also, according to remarks by Iraqi officials, consideration is being given to moving these people to the middle of the desert in the south of Iraq. Many of the residents in Camp Ashraf are Iranian opposition members from the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), who risk persecution in Iran if they are forced to return. The screws are being applied to these people to make them leave.”... More

 

Statement by the US Embassy in Iraq, December 28, 2008

U.S. forces will maintain a presence at Camp Ashraf and will continue to assist the Government of Iraq in carrying out its assurances of humane treatment of the residents of Camp Ashraf... The US Government, through its Embassy in Iraq and the military forces present under the new bilateral security agreement, will continue to work to ensure a smooth transition for the camp residents...

What We Do

Iranians and third-country nationals in Iraq should enjoy the same fundamental rights to which all of us are entitled by virtue of our humanity. Most fundamentally, no persons with a reasonable fear of persecution by Iran should be forcibly returned or deported there. USCCAR 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. The Committee will attempt to persuade the relevant authorities that all uprooted victims of human conflict, regardless of whether they reside in their own countries of nationality, have the right to humane treatment, as well as the protection and assistance of international law.

Join Us Today!

Our Objectives
* Get resources into the field in Iraq to monitor the situation of Camp Ashraf Residents.

* Ensure that we are able to document and report any abuses in Iraq of the rights of Camp Ashraf Residents.

* Support efforts to work toward an enduring solution regarding the current and future situation of Camp Ashraf Residents.

* Educate policy makers, international organizations and individuals about the historical causes and probable effects of the crisis of the Camp Ashraf Residents in Iraq.

USCCAR Copyright 2004


ph: (202) 640-1947