… In the case of occupied territory, the Convention continues to apply for a year after the general close of military operations, and partially thereafter if the occupying power continues to exercise the functions of government. The occupation of Iraq formally ended on 30 June 2004 …The MKO’s supporters in the European Parliament today pushed through a last-minute resolution on Camp Ashraf ..
The focal point of the recent statements of Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, the Iraqi security advisor, on MKO has been the necessity of detoxifying the ideological bastion of Ashraf to make its residents decide their own destiny. Also, it can be used as a model for averting the potential danger of other cults and guaranteeing the freedom of their members..Iraqi officials can prepare the ground for Ashraf residents to make an informed decision and be master of their own destiny forever and free from cultic relations of MKO. .
… The next point is that Ashraf authorities have no problem in transferring their patients to Iraqi hospitals. However, they refrain to do so. If they are truthful in their claims, the conscience necessitates it to transfer their patients to Iraqi hospitals as soon as possible and put their responsibility on the shoulder of human rights organs and Red Cross Not only the organization feels no blame if the condition of the ailing members get worse…
… I urge European and international governments as well as humanitarian agencies to cooperate fully with the Iraqi authorities to help restore basic human rights to the people trapped in Camp Ashraf…since the American Army handed over responsibility for Camp Ashraf in January this year has it been possible for the Government of Iraq (GOI) to take action toward removing the MEK and closing Camp Ashraf as a fundamental aspect of taking full, sovereign control of the country.
The Iraqi government is stepping up efforts to pressure Iranian exiles into leaving the country, pushing an obscure group to the forefront of Baghdad’s relations with Washington and the Obama administration’s overtures to Iran..The Iraqi government says 261 residents were returned to Iran over the last two years and reported no persecution..To outsiders, the MEK/PMOI/MKO may seem a strange cult-like group that bans sex and family life. But both the U.S. and Iran consider it a terrorist organization.
Iranians in Iraq who fought against the Islamic Republic face a shaky future..“IT WAS one of the strangest places I’d ever seen,” says one of the few Farsi-speaking Westerners to have spent weeks in Camp Ashraf, 65km (40 miles) north-east of Baghdad, where some 3,400 Iranian dissidents are hunkered down and are now threatened with expulsion from Iraq, perhaps even back to Iran. It was “like a spiffy midsized town in Iran”, with parks, offices and buildings—but no children. It was “sterile, soulless and sad”.
In an interview with Anne Singleton of Iran-Interlink, Dr. Mowaffak al Rubaie, clarified his approach to the Government of Iraq’s decision to remove the Iranian terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK, aka MKO, PMOI) from the country..Asked what can the UK , European and other western governments do to help resettle the MEK, Dr. al Rubaie replied,”These governments can agree to allow their citizens and others who have status in their country to return.”
… Dr. Mowaffak al Rubaie: We have and will continue to treat the residents of Camp Ashraf humanely and in accordance with Iraqi law and international law and conventions. We will not initiate acts of violence against them. We do expect them to cooperate in our efforts to exercise our sovereignty according to the rule of law. Should they choose extremist acts such as self-immolation, it will be their decision which we would regret…
..the disposition of Camp Ashraf was given a full transfer to the responsibility of the Iraqis on February the 20th. We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations. .Although the United States Government remains engaged on this issue, responsibility for resolving the situation at the camp rests with the Government of Iraq at this time.
Rubay’i says about 1,000 of them have US and European passports and resident permits or political asylum status in the United States and in Europe and they can go there, noting that”900 women are in the camp,”and adding that they can return them to Iran, but stressing that”we will not send anyone to Iran against his will.”..