Camp Ashraf Inhabitants

UN welcomes relocation of MKO members

The United Nations has welcomed safe relocation of about 400 residents of the Iraqi settlement formerly known as Camp Ashraf to a new transit centre elsewhere in the country, calling it “the first step towards a better future” for the residents, who are Iranian exiles. Martin Kobler, the head of UNAMI and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq

The 400 people who voluntarily relocated today – the first to do so – now reside in Camp Hurriya, a temporary transit location, according to a press release issued by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in Baghdad.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will immediately start the process of verification and refugee status determinations, a key step in preparing the submissions of eligible candidates for resettlement in third countries.

Today’s relocation is in line with the memorandum of understanding signed in December by the UN and the Iraqi Government to resolve the situation facing the residents of Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf), who are members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran.

Martin Kobler, the head of UNAMI and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, commended the 400 or so residents for their decision to move to Camp Hurriya.

“This is the first step towards a better future outside Iraq,” he said. “I look forward to their continued cooperation with the Iraqi authorities to complete the relocation without delay.”

Mr. Kobler also commended Iraqi authorities “for having ensured a safe and secure relocation of the first group of residents. I urge them to pursue the relocation of the remaining residents in a manner that continues to guarantee the human rights, safety and welfare of all residents.”

He urged other Member States to confirm that they are ready and willing to accept eligible candidates from Camp Hurriya who want to resettle in third countries.

UN News Centre

February 20, 2012 0 comments

USA

U.S. welcomes peaceful departure of Ashraf residents

The United States welcomes the peaceful departure of the first 397 residents from Camp Ashraf and joins the United Nations in welcoming their safe arrival at Camp Hurriya, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Saturday.

"The United States commends the Iraqi government for its facilitation of a secure and peaceful relocation process and its willingness to invest significant resources in that regard," she said in a statement released by the department. "The United States also commends the decision by the Ashraf residents to begin to relocate to Hurriya, where the United Nations will begin a process aimed at facilitating their eventual departure from Iraq." The United States encourages Ashraf residents to continue their cooperation with Iraqi authorities and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) as they work to complete the relocation to Hurriya, she said. The United States will continue to coordinate with UNAMI and the Iraqi government to follow the relocation process, she said. In addition to around-the-clock UN human rights monitoring, the U.S. will visit the temporary transit facility at Hurriya regularly and frequently, she said.

"The United States acknowledges and echoes the call of the United Nations for the international community to expeditiously assist the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as its work at Hurriya begins, to ensure that those recognized as refugees by UNHCR under its mandate can be safely relocated out of Iraq as quickly as possible," the statement said.

February 19, 2012 0 comments

European Union

EU welcomes first transfers from Camp Ashraf

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton Saturday "very much welcomed" the news from Iraq that the first group of residents from Camp Ashraf has moved in a voluntary, orderly and peaceful manner to Camp Hurriya. EU welcomes first transfers from Camp Ashraf

"I congratulate the United Nations – in particular the Secretary General’s Special Representative Martin Kobler – for many weeks of sustained efforts to facilitate this critical first step towards a peaceful solution to the situation of Camp Ashraf," she said in a statement.

She also commended the Government of Iraq, and the Camp residents themselves, for the commitment and flexibility which enabled this first move to take place.

Ashton said she will continue discussing with EU Ministers how best the EU can continue to support a peaceful and durable solution to this humanitarian concern.

Over 30,000 Iranians belonging to the dissident group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) are housed in the Camp near Baghdad.

February 19, 2012 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iranian exiles move to new Iraq camp

Several hundred Iranian exiles were travelling to a UN-approved site near Baghdad on Saturday after leaving Camp Ashraf, where Iranian opposition members have been based for decades.

The move is part of a December 25 deal between the UN and Iraq, which was reached after extensive talks, under which around 3,400 Iranians opposed to the regime in Tehran will be moved to a new location called Camp Liberty, as part of a process that aims to see them resettled outside Iraq.

Three hundred and ninety seven exiles departed in 18 buses beginning about 1:30 am on Saturday (2230 GMT on Friday), escorted by Iraqi security forces, Behzad Saffari, the legal adviser for residents of the camp, told AFP by telephone.

The departing exiles and their belongings were searched prior to their departure in a lengthy process that began around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Friday, and continued until 1:15 am on Saturday (2215 GMT on Friday), said Saffari, who was travelling with the group to Camp Liberty, near Baghdad airport.

Iraq had previously aimed to close Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, which now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein allowed the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) to set up during his 1980-88 war with Iran, by the end of the year.

But Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki said on December 21 that his government had agreed to extend the deadline to April, and signed the deal with the UN on moving the exiles a few days later.

The National Council of Resistence of Iran, an umbrella group that includes the PMOI, has complained about the conditions at Camp Liberty, and called for Iraqi police to be withdrawn from the camp before additional exiles move there.

The left-wing PMOI was founded in 1960s to oppose the shah of Iran, but took up arms against Iran’s new clerical rulers after the Islamic revolution in 1979. It said in 2001 that it had renounced violence.

Spokesman Shahriar Kia has said that the PMOI is "seeking a democratic change in Iran."

The US State Department has blacklisted the PMOI as a terrorist organisation since 1997, and says that members of the group carried out a large number of attacks over several decades against Iranian targets, and also against Americans.

The PMOI strongly opposes the terrorist designation and is seeking to have it lifted in the United States as it has been in Europe.

In a May 2005 report, Human Rights Watch cited former PMOI members as having "reported abuses ranging from detention and persecution of ordinary members wishing to leave the organization, to lengthy solitary confinements, severe beatings, and torture of dissident members."

An October 2005 US diplomatic cable from Baghdad released by whistleblower website Wikileaks discussed the cases of two people of Iranian origin who had lived in Germany, saying that after they arrived at Camp Ashraf in 1999, their travel documents were confiscated and they were told they could not leave.

The cable said that a claim by one of the two "that Ashraf residents found planning to depart were punished and threatened with death is corroborated by numerous former residents."

Camp Ashraf was disarmed following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and came under US military protection, but American forces handed over security responsibilities for the site to the Baghdad authorities in January 2009.

Iraqi security forces raided Camp Ashraf in late July 2009, leading to clashes in which 11 residents of the camp were said to have been killed and several hundred wounded.

Camp Ashraf has been back in the spotlight since a controversial April 2011 raid by Iraqi security forces left at least 34 people dead and scores injured.

February 18, 2012 0 comments

A U.N. Call to Aid Iraq’s Iranian Refugees MEK

After decades of dictatorship followed by invasion and conflict, Iraqis began this year with a chance to build a peaceful future. If not managed carefully, however, a lingering issue from the Martin Kobler is the special representative of the U.N. secretary general for Iraq. past could stain this moment of opportunity with tragedy.

I am referring to the situation of Camp Ashraf, where a tense standoff has persisted between the government of Iraq and an Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), which for the last 25 years has occupied a self-enclosed camp only a few hours drive from Baghdad.

The government has made it clear that it wants Camp Ashraf shut down and MEK — which once fought alongside Saddam Hussein and is designated by the United States and some other governments as a terrorist organization — to leave Iraq. Baghdad sees its presence, in a place which is off-limits to the government, as an affront to national sovereignty.

At the same time, there are very real concerns about what closing this camp would mean for the human rights, safety and welfare of the approximately 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf. The United Nations strongly shares these concerns, which have been underscored vocally by the group’s supporters internationally, among them a number of U.S. and European officials and former officials.

There should be no confusion about the stance of the United Nations. We support only a peaceful, humanitarian solution for Camp Ashraf. We have been working hard to facilitate such an outcome — one that both respects Iraq’s sovereignty and provides the people of Camp Ashraf with a safe and voluntary path to a more hopeful life outside of Iraq.

When the Iraqi government announced late last year that it would be closing the camp by Dec. 31, the U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, spoke with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to ask for more time for negotiation. Many feared a repeat of the violence of April 2011, when dozens of Ashraf residents were killed in clashes with Iraqi security forces at the camp.

The United Nations welcomed Mr. Maliki’s decision to extend the deadline until April. We have carried out an exhaustive and impartial diplomatic effort since then, with the support of the United States and the European Union, to encourage a peaceful solution. We have gone the extra mile to consult with Camp Ashraf residents and their leadership in order to address their concerns.

The plan now agreed to by the Iraqi government should be given a chance to work.

As a first step, it calls for the camp residents to voluntarily relocate to a transit site at the Baghdad airport. In contrast to Camp Ashraf, this site would be monitored around the clock by observers from the United Nations. There, the residents would be interviewed by the U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, to determine their eligibility for refugee status, paving the way for their resettlement outside of Iraq. Most have filed refugee claims. A small number have returned to Iran in recent years, but many others will want to go elsewhere.

Under the same agreement, the government of Iraq has made two key commitments that it must uphold. First, it has accepted full responsibility for the safety and security of the residents, from the relocation process throughout their stay at the new facility. Secondly, it has promised that nobody would be forced to go to Iran or elsewhere against their wishes.

The new site is a former U.S. Marine base that can hold more than 5,000 people. It has been equipped at considerable expense to receive the residents of Camp Ashraf. It has cooking and medical facilities, space for recreational activities and provisions for women and religious observance. UNHCR has carried out a careful technical assessment and determined that the new camp meets the humanitarian standards it applies for refugee situations around the world.

The process has arrived at a moment of truth.

After agreeing in principle to move an initial group of 400 residents, Camp Ashraf’s leaders have hesitated in recent days to begin the move, placing new conditions that the Iraqi government rejects. The government’s patience is wearing thin, and further delay could lead to provocation and violence.

I am concerned that the perfect is becoming the enemy of the good. Change is understandably unsettling for the residents, but maintaining the status quo is neither a safe nor viable option.

The relocation of the camp residents is of course only a bridge to a longer-term solution — their resettlement outside Iraq. Without this, the horizon is unclear.

We are calling on the international community — particularly the United States and Europe, which have long traditions of accepting refugees — to confirm publicly their readiness to accept eligible residents. Supporters in the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament could do their part by backing the relocation plan and taking the necessary steps to find a home for the residents.

Equally importantly, we are reminding the government of Iraq of its commitments. Impatience should not lead to miscalculation. Any violent solution would be totally unacceptable.

Time is running out, and lives are at stake. All concerned parties — camp residents, the Iraqi government and the international community — must do their part to ensure that the peaceful path is the route taken on Camp Ashraf.

Martin Kobler is the special representative of the U.N. secretary general for Iraq.

By MARTIN KOBLER

February 16, 2012 0 comments

UN chief: Time has come for MEK relocation

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today- 15 February 2012 called for the start of the relocation of

Ban calls for start of relocation of Iranian exiles living in camp in Iraq

residents of the settlement in Iraq formerly known as Camp Ashraf, urging the Government and the camp dwellers to continue to cooperate so that the process can be carried out in a peaceful manner.

“The Secretary-General reiterates that the Government of Iraq bears the primary responsibility for the security and the welfare of the residents of Camp Ashraf,” said a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“At the same time, the residents of Camp Ashraf also bear a responsibility to abide by the laws of Iraq. Any provocation or violence must be avoided and would be unacceptable.”Camp New Iraq camp houses several thousand members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran.

The United Nations and the Iraqi Government on 25 December signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the voluntary relocation of several thousand Iranian exiles living in Camp New Iraq, previously known as Camp Ashraf, in the north-eastern part of the country.

On 31 January, the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) and the human rights office of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said they had confirmed that the infrastructure and facilities at the new relocation camp met international standards.

In his statement today, Mr. Ban acknowledged the efforts of the Iraqi Government to prepare the temporary transit location to host the residents and allow UNHCR to undertake refugee status determination.

He reiterated his call to Member States to contribute to a durable solution by demonstrating their readiness to accept eligible residents of Camp New Iraq who wish to resettle in third countries.

The Secretary-General stressed that the UN “remains strongly committed to continue to do its utmost to facilitate a peaceful and durable solution.”

Situated in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, Camp New Iraq camp houses several thousand members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran.

February 16, 2012 0 comments

Human Rights Abuse in the MEK

Open letter of Mr. Karim Gholami to Mr. Martin Kobler

Karim Gholami: Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) is a cultic organization

Respectfully
I , as one of the former officials of pmoi( People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran) with 25 years Karim Gholami: Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, Rajavi cult) is a cultic organization record of service and a wounded of pmoi military operations, would like to draw your attention to the conditions of the patients and the wounded in this organization. after passing almost one month of the new year , 2012, no one has left Ashraf camp to another place yet. This is the method and the function of the pmoi leadership which by putting obstacles and hurdles and creating different excuses ,disrupt the peaceful routine, but amid all problems the conditions of the patients and the wounded who are residing in Ashraf camp , is the worst , so I am urging you to have special attention to the wounded and patients in this camp and you should prioritize them in leaving the camp , in this regard I draw your attention to the following points:
1.Pmoi is a cultic organization which its members do not have any authority to make a decision . the Iranians who are captive in this cult , for years have been deprived of having any access to the Media . the pmoi members have been deprived of the preliminary facilities such as Radio, TV, Telephone, internet, and Newspaper , and the News which is given to the members of this cult is censored and chosen by the pmoi operatives. For this reason the members of this cult do not have any idea about their rights and international laws to make a decision freely and consciously .

2.The leaders of this cult by severe strangulation and suppression against their own members inside the organization and making false and fake accusations against all separated members of this cult , have created great concern and fear inside the organization and as a result of that the members of this cult because of their fear of punishment do not dare to leave the cult. the members who want to separate from the cult will be facing harsh and cruel punishments such as forcible participation in brainwashing sessions which in these sessions they will be beaten up and in continuation they will be facing imprisonment accompanied by inhuman tortures and in some cases even the dissidents got executed and disappeared .

3.This cult by different ways and methods brainwashes its own members and during many years of nonstop brainwashing, it has filled the head of its own members with many lies, for instance if someone separates from the cult will be indicted by Iranian and Iraqi intelligence service and they will be imprisoned , tortured and finally executed by them , so the members of this cult because of their fear of being caught and executed , do not dare to leave this cult whatsoever.

4.From 2003 to 2009 the Ashraf camp had been under the supervision and control of the US army and during those years , they had been receiving many facilities such as medication and medicine, medical facilities , fuel and food but non of those stuffs had never reached to the hands of the cult members and instead those items were sold in Iraq black markets or they were used by the leaders and operatives of this cult. For instance I programmed a database for the pharmacy in Ashraf camp and to complete this programming I was going to this pharmacy consecutively for one year . I had seen many times that very big size boxes of medicine by the dimensions of 2 cubic meters were given to that pharmacy by the US army but during those years I had never seen even one of those medicines in the hands of the cult members whatsoever, and instead the leaders of this cult were saying to their patients that the Iraqi government does not allow the medical facilities to enter to the camp and we do not have any medicine .

5.The death of the patients and the wounded of this cult as a result of the lack of treatment : I would like to draw your attention to the health situation of the two of my friends , the first one Mr. Abbas Haj Husseini who in one of the cult military operations in 1988 got wounded by a bullet in his Cervical Spinal Cord and he got paralyzed , Abbas always wanted to go to Europe to be treated and cured but the leaders of this cult not only did not pay attention to his request , but also as I saw twice he was threatened by Massoud Rajavi , the leader of this cult , to be handed over to the Iranian government. The first time was in 1995 and the second time was in 2002 , but unfortunately as a result of the lack of attention and treatment , he died and was buried in pmoi cemetery called Ghatayeh Morvarid( The Pearl) in Ashraf Camp.

My second friend , Mr. Farhad……… who in one of the pmoi military operations in 1986 got wounded by a bullet in his Lumbar Spinal Cord and he got paralyzed . Farhad always wanted to leave this cult but the leaders of this cult rejected his request all the time and finally in 2008 as a result of the foot bone fracture and the lack of treatment ,his foot got infected and he died.

6.The leaders of this cult have been always endeavoring and struggling to cover up and conceal the situation of their patients and wounded so no international organizations be able to have access to these patients and wounded because the leaders of this cult do not want to be accountable and responsive for their death .

According to the facts mentioned above , I am urging you to pay special attention to those patients and wounded and their juridical situation be prioritized so they can be able to have access to the doctor and medicine as soon as possible to prevent the death of many more. I had been in this cult till 2009, till then the number of the wounded , paralyzed and mutilation , was 50 and after 2009 during two conflicts which occurred in there , the number of injured has increased.

To help these people , first you should take them out of the cult perimeter so they can meet their medical needs and get familiar with their rights to make a decision for their future and life freely and consciously . in this regard I am ready to cooperate with you voluntarily and even, if it is necessary to go to Iraq to help those people , I will do it.

Respectfully
Karim Gholami, Iran Fanous, Germany

February 9, 2012 0 comments

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

The Mujahedin’s cult should evacuate Ashraf Camp as soon as possible

The second letter of Iran-Pen Club to the officials of United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR)

Respectfully

If you remember, around 4 months ago on 20 September 2011 , the Iran Pen Club in an open letter addressed to UNHCR showed its appreciation to the UNHCR decision to accept the refuge requests of the pmoi victims who after 20 to 30 years could finally submit their refuge request to this international organization and we welcomed your decision for accepting their refuge requests in clear and transparent form. But we also announced that the leaders of this cult are going to struggle against this historical decision of UNHCR which has respected the rights of these people individually and we mentioned that they will disrupt this decision by creating obstacles and hurdles . In that letter we, with consideration to the positioning of the pmoi leadership , mentioned that :

“…. After issuing of the UNHCR statement , the human rights activists and the critics of this organization warned that the pmoi by utilizing any possible facility will create obstacles to prevent carrying out of the UNHCR statement and Maryam Rajavi the wife of the spiritual leader of this group issued a statement in France that:

“…. We do not permit the decision of the mercenaries, Maliki and Barzani , as interview with each individual to go ahead….”

And in continuation of these fruitless endeavors , she says

“ all the people of Mujahedin must go for their interviews by helicopter ….” And this means that it takes 7000-S of flying for the interview of these pmoi stranded captives , taking and returning them , and all those things are part of the obstacles and problems which have been created by the highest rank of this organization to prevent implementing of the UNHCR plan. the pmoi leadership’s reaction which is mentioned above , has concerned and worried deeply the human rights activists because we think that the leadership of pmoi has begun its efforts to prevent getting out of this dead-end…..”

Now ,after the end of the year 2011, and signing the pmoi resettlement contract and in the beginning of transferring the people from the Ashraf concentration camp to the Liberty camp and despite very good situation which has been begotten for UNHCR to implement and carry out its responsibilities and tasks , the leadership of this organization ,by variety of unreal excuses and pretexts that the Liberty camp does not have the standards required , are not willing to go to the Liberty camp.

Fortunately based on the announcement which was issued in the official site of UNHCR on 31 January 2012 in Baghdad , Mr. Martin Kobler , the special envoy of the UN secretary general , announced :

“…. With many thanks to the UNHCR and human rights team for their efforts to make the Liberty garrison ready , quoting the officials of UNHCR and UN-human rights , he said that the infrastructure and the facilities of the new camp in Iraq for the residents of Ashraf is par with international standards and according to the agreement which last month between UN and Iraqi government for voluntary relocation was concluded , this camp is ready…….”

The same announcement reiterate that the pmoi reasons and reasoning in this regard are baseless completely, on the other hand Mr. Martin Kobler has announced that :

“…..the agreement is the only peaceful solution for voluntary relocation of Ashraf residents and it is very important that the agreement is observed word by word in action…..”

He also added : the constant position of UN is that the violent outcome is unacceptable . the concluded agreement opens the way for UNHCR to determine the refugee status which is the first and necessary step for resettlement In other countries to benefit from freedom and liberation…..”

Honorable officials of UNHCR

As you have observed that the signed agreement between UN and Iraqi government has paved the way seriously for determination of the refugee status for all those pmoi stranded victims and in a safe and secure perimeter far from all pmoi forcible organizational laws , the people can freely submit their reasons and requests.

It seems that your official intervention can be a serious help in this regard and it can overcome all the pmoi leadership’s excuses , pretexts and decisions. We are urging you to force pmoi to stay devoted to its own commitments which officially accepted and signed in front of the UN representative and in this regard they should accept all the consequences if they do not accept and reject the concluded agreement.

Surely ,while pmoi finds out that the lawful competent organizations have found out about their unreal excuses like the announcement of the UN representative concerning to the camp liberty which is par international standards , the maneuver and domain of this terrorist stream will be reduced and they will not be able to force their victims to accept their cultic thoughts.

The practical experiences in front of the leadership of this organization has shown that decisiveness and political juridical pressure have a very good impact to neutralize and thwart the pmoi totalitarian leaders’ plans which want to convert the peaceful plan for determination of the pmoi victims ‘ refugee status to the Massoud and Maryam Rajavi’s violent and bloody solution .

Respectfully
Iran Pen Club
06.02.2012

Postfach 90 06 63
51116 Köln – Deutschland
Telefon: +49 (0) 1774829905
Email: iran-ghalam@hotmail.com
Iran Pen Club, Germany, February 06 2012
http://iran-fanous.de/middle/580-%20iran-ghalam%2004.02.2012.htm

February 7, 2012 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

Camp New Iraq residents and the determination of their refugee status claims

• UNHCR has been for some time and remains ready to undertake verification and refugee Camp New Iraq residents and the determination of their refugee status claims status adjudication for the residents of Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) who are persons of concern. It has mobilized teams on the ground, and has put in place the necessary soft and hard ware support capabilities. Individual interviews will need to take place in a safe, neutral and confidential location.

• The stipulation of the Government of Iraq remains that these processes take place outside Camp New Iraq, in the new location which is being provisioned to enable the residents voluntarily to move there and to stay on a temporary basis in safe and decent conditions. UNHCR has been advising on the technicalities of improving the camp infrastructure.

• UNHCR attaches utmost importance to peaceful solutions being found, including that any relocation outside Camp New Iraq proceed on a voluntary basis, with freedom of movement the most desirable state at the site of relocation.

• UNHCR is currently looking at how to expedite verification and RSD processing so as to enable it to be done on an individual basis fairly, fully but also speedily, in the interests of gaining time against tight deadlines.

Background

• Camp residents who have submitted requests for refugee status are formally asylum seekers under international law whose claims require adjudication. In the absence of a national system of adjudication in Iraq, UNHCR will consider these requests on an individual basis in a fair and efficient procedure. Each individual case will be judged on its merits and in accordance with international law.

• International law requires that asylum-seekers must be able to benefit from basic protection of their security and well-being. This includes protection against any expulsion or return to the frontiers of territories where their lives or freedom would be threatened (the non-refoulement principle).

• UNHCR, together with the Government of Iraq, UNAMI and other concerned actors, remains committed to finding solutions to this long-standing problem, including resettlement and/or relocation to third countries.
———-
* This document will be updated as needed.

February 5, 2012 0 comments

UN urges EU countries to take Camp Ashraf residents as refugees

Martin Kobler, Special representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq, on Thursday urged the EU Member States to receive the Camp Ashraf’s residents in Iraq as refugees. "My message goes to the governments of EU Member States because the final purpose of the whole exercise to move people from one camp to the other for them to undergo the refugees’ status determination is to bring them abroad, " Kobler told a press conference in Brussels this evening.

"And so far the answer of (EU) Member States to receive the Camp Ashraf’s residents as refugees, once recognised in their host country, was not that enthusiastic. And my appeal goes also to Member States, then at the end once they are refugees, to take them into their countries and to give them a live and freedom and liberty in their countries," he added. Camp Ashraf is a camp of more than 3000 exiled members of the Iranian People’s Mujahedin dissident group , which is located some 60 kilometres north of Baghdad . Camp Ashraf was until 2009 under the control of the US military, but has since been controlled by the Iraqi Government. On 25 December, the Iraqi Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding organising the transfer of the Iranian dissidents to a transit location near Baghdad Airport, Camp Liberty.

It would allow the Iranians to undergo the refugees’ status determination with the assistance of UNHCR. On his part, Hugues Mingarelli, Managing Director for the Middle East and Southern Neighbourhood in the EU, stated that the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton will continue to raise the issue with EU Member States in order to look to possibilities to relocate some of the residents of Camp Ashraf.

Ashton has called on the Iraqi government to refrain from all violence and to fully respect the human rights of the camp’s residents. Ambassador Dan Fried, US Special Advisor for Camp Ashraf told the press conference that people from Camp Ashraf need to be considered individually. "And to make determinations about any specific individual we need to know more about them and such information can be obtained only after they moved to Camp Liberty and participate in the UNHCR status determination process, " he added.

February 4, 2012 0 comments

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