Iraq to Shutdown Camp Ashraf

U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force MEK from Ashraf

The United States expressed concern on Wednesday over Iraqi threats to force an Iranian U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force MEK from Ashraf dissident group out of a camp in Iraq, but also urged members of the group to relocate voluntarily to a large former U.S. military base in Baghdad.

Iraqi authorities have been locked in a protracted dispute with the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) over plans to move 3,000 MEK members from Camp Ashraf, where they have lived for years, to a former U.S. base near Baghdad’s airport – a step toward their ultimate expulsion from Iraq.

The Iranian group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical leaders and was supported by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shiite-led government that came to power after Saddam’s downfall in 2003. Clashes between Ashraf residents and Iraqi security forces last year killed 34 people.

“The United States is concerned by the government of Iraq’s reference on July 31 to the possible closure of Camp Ashraf by involuntary relocation of its residents,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

“We urge the government of Iraq to remain patient and flexible in seeking a voluntary arrangement for continued relocations, as only a peaceful resolution to the situation at Camp Ashraf is acceptable,” he said in a statement.

“We also call on the Ashraf leadership to immediately resume cooperation with the relocation,” Ventrell added.

The MEK has complained of poor conditions at the former U.S. base, known as Camp Liberty. Only about two-thirds of the group have moved there. The others, around 1,200 people, are refusing to leave Camp Ashraf. None have moved since May, U.S. officials say.

Iraq on Tuesday told them they have to move or it would be free to transfer them “to where we find appropriate,” as Iraq’s National Security Advisor Falih al-Fayadh put it.

Ventrell said U.S. government officials who have recently visited Camp Liberty did not find the “dire humanitarian conditions” that MEK members had alleged. He noted that Iraq had delivered goods demanded by Liberty’s residents two weeks ago. These included air conditioners, generators, food and water tanks.

“It is clear that the quality of life (at Camp Liberty) exceeds accepted humanitarian standards,” Ventrell said.

“The continued intransigence of the residents’ leadership in placing preconditions and making demands prior to any agreement to relocate further Ashraf residents is unacceptable,” he said, adding that finally closing Ashraf would let the United Nations, the United States and others focus on a “durable solution for the residents’ relocation outside of Iraq.”

The United Nations has been interviewing members of the Iranian group and approaching foreign governments to ask that they accept them for resettlement.

The United States has warned the MEK that its cooperation in moving from Camp Ashraf would be a key factor as the United States weighs whether to remove it from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Also known as the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the group led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s, including attacks on U.S. targets. Some Iranians vilify the group for allying itself with Iraq’s Saddam during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Will Dunham)
Reuters, August 01 2012
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/1605664-us-
concerned-over-iraqi-threats-to-force-iran-dissidents-from-camp/

August 2, 2012 0 comments

UN chief tells Mojahedin Khalq in Iraq to move

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. chief is urging some 1,200 Iranian exiles who are refusing to UN chief tells Mojahedin Khalq in Iraq to move leave Camp Ashraf to cooperate with Iraqi authorities and resettle in a new refugee camp near Baghdad.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday also urged other countries to give asylum to the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, an exiled Iranian dissident group that had waged a campaign from foreign bases to overthrow Iran’s clerical government.

The exile group, also known by its Farsi name, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, have already moved about 2,000 of its residents from Camp Asraf in northern Iraq to a Baghdad refugee camp, Camp Hurriya, which is a former U.S. military base. But they ignored a July 20 deadline to move the remaining 1,200 members, saying they will not go until they see proof of more water, increased electricity, better facilities for sick and disabled people and other improvements to the base. The U.N. says the services there are already far better than at most other refugee camps worldwide.

On Tuesday, Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayadh warned the group to move soon or his government will take matters into its own hands.

Ban expressed "appreciation" for Iraq’s government and urged the refugees to "earnestly prepare for their next transfer."

But he added that "violence should, at all costs, be avoided" and urged Iraq’s government to "exercise restraint."

The People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran has been labeled everything from a cult to a terrorist organization — although one that has provided the U.S. with intelligence on Iran. The group says it renounced violence in 2001, after carrying out bloody bombings and assassinations in Iran in the 1980s.

The Iraqi government considers them a terrorist group that is in the country illegally. Over the last six months, the U.N. has tried to mediate, and helped broker an agreement to close Ashraf and temporarily move the exiles into the refugee camp. Ultimately, Iraqi and U.N. officials want to give the Ashraf residents refugee status and resettle them outside of Iraq.

The distrust between the exiles and Iraq’s government has always been palatable, but it peaked after security forces led deadly raids in Ashraf twice in the last four years.

"The government of Iraq receives all of its orders on Ashraf from the Iranian regime, refrains from implementing this simple and practical plan, and it’s planning for the third massacre at Ashraf," the exiles said in a statement Tuesday.

CBS News

August 2, 2012 0 comments

Iraq

Iraq tells MKO to leave Camp Ashraf or be forced out

The Iraqi government on Tuesday told the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization that it must move out of Camp New Iraq, which was formerly known as Camp Ashraf, immediately or be forced to leave, Reuters reported.

Iraqi authorities have been locked in a protracted row with the MKO over their plan to move 3,000 members of the group from Camp Ashraf to a large former U.S. military base, a step toward expelling the group from Iraqi territory.

The United States also said last month that the group should close the camp, saying it was “gravely mistaken” to think there was another option.

“We have reached a dead end (with them) and the extension ends today, they have to move,” Falih al-Fayadh, Iraq’s national security advisor, told a conference attended by the UN mission in Iraq, aid groups, and Western and Arab diplomats on Tuesday.

“Now we are free to implement the mechanisms required to transfer those who live in (Camp Ashraf) to where we find appropriate.”

The MKO started its activities as a terrorist group based in Iraq in the early 1980s. In addition to the assassination of hundreds of Iranian officials and citizens, the group cooperated with Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in its repression of the Iraqi people.

It took refuge at Camp Ashraf, 65 km (40 miles) from Baghdad, during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The United States added the MKO to its blacklist of foreign terrorist organizations in 1997, but the group has since said that it has renounced violence and has mounted a legal and public relations campaign to have the designation dropped.

August 2, 2012 0 comments

Iraq

Iraq says will force out Iran dissident group MEK

Iraq on Tuesday told an Iranian dissident group that was given a base in Iraq by Saddam Hussein but is now out of favor with a government that is close to Iran that it must move out of the camp immediately or be forced to leave.

Iraqi authorities have been locked in a protracted row with the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) over their plan to move 3,000 MEK members from Camp Ashraf to a large former U.S. military base – a step toward expelling the group from Iraqi territory.

The United States also said last month that the group should close the camp, saying it was "gravely mistaken" to think there was another option.

"We have reached a dead end (with them) and the extension ends today, they have to move," Falih al-Fayadh, Iraq’s National Security Advisor, told a conference attended by the U.N. mission in Iraq, aid groups and Western and Arab diplomats.

"Now we are free to implement the mechanisms required to transfer those who live in (Camp Ashraf) to where we find appropriate."

The MEK has complained of mistreatment and poor conditions at the new facility, known as Camp Liberty, and U.S. officials say they have urged the Iraqi government to address some of its concerns.

A spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Paris (NCRI), an affiliated group, said the 1,200 members still living at the camp would leave only when specific demands, including the provision of clean water, were met.

About 1,800 to 1,900 people have already been moved to the new facility, according to officials.

PEACEFUL TRANSFER URGED

Also known as the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the group led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s that also included attacks on U.S. targets. It took refuge at Camp Ashraf, 65 km (40 miles) from Baghdad, during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The MEK, which wants to overthrow Iran’s clerical leaders, is no longer welcome in Iraq under the country’s Shi’ite-led government, which is close to Iran.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Iraq, Martin Kobler, urged Iraqi authorities to avoid violence in their efforts to remove the group.

Clashes between Ashraf residents and Iraqi security forces last year killed 34 people. The NCRI has also blamed rocket attacks on Ashraf on the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

"The Iraqi government does not define involuntary transfer as being through violence or the use of weapons," Fayadh told the conference.

Iraq said it will observe a grace period of "a few days" to allow foreign governments to offer the group sanctuary or to suggest other solutions to the dispute.

The United States added the MEK to its blacklist of foreign terrorist organizations in 1997, but the group has since said that it has renounced violence and has mounted a legal and public relations campaign to have the designation dropped.

By Aseel Kami
Editing by Barry Malone and Tim Pearce

August 1, 2012 0 comments

Iraq

International Conference in Baghdad on Camp Ashraf

An International Conference will be held in Baghdad tomorrow [July31,2012] devoted to highlight the position of Iraqi government regarding eliminating the existence of the PMOI elements on Iraqi territory.

A statement by the press office at the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers said today: “The conference will present the reality of Camp Ashraf in the light of recent developments, and to guarantee the rights and interests of Iraq.

.."The countries that will attend the conference are (U.S. / UK / EU / Australia / Canada / Russia / China / Japan / in addition to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ,the mission of the Red Cross in Iraq and the Arab League representative in Baghdad"..

NINA

July 31, 2012 0 comments

UN calls for cooperation to find solutions to relocate Mujahedin

The United Nations refugee agency today called for cooperation, patience and understanding among all parties involved in finding solutions for the 3,200 Iranian exiles residing in Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller
In a news release, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it is currently assessing individual protection needs of former residents of the camp, situated in the north of Baghdad, the capital, in an effort to close the camp peacefully and resolve the situation of its residents.

Camp Ashraf is made up of several thousand Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran. In line with a memorandum of understanding signed in December by the UN and the Iraqi Government, some two-thirds of the residents, or nearly 2,000 people, were re-located to a temporary transit location near Baghdad known as Camp Hurriya, where a process to determine refugee status is being carried out by UNHCR. Another 1,286 individuals are still awaiting transfer to the transit centre.

According to the agency, those found to be in need of international protection may have the possibility of being resettled to another country.

“Status determination, however, does not in itself resolve things,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Erika Feller. “It must be accompanied by efforts from all concerned, in good faith and in a spirit of international solidarity, to offer resettlement solutions and, in the interim, to assist people to stay safely and decently until such solutions can be materialized.”

UNHCR called on countries to cooperate by allowing for re-admission of individuals having had previous links with them, or by offering resettlement places or other forms of humanitarian admission. It also said it hoped that the Government of Iraq will maintain the asylum option in Iraq pending realization of solutions for these individuals.

In addition, UNHCR appealed to States for financial support, including for the host country to meet costs associated with transferring, hosting, housing, assisting and processing the cases of these individuals until solutions have been found.

July 28, 2012 0 comments

Open letter of the Faryadeh Azadi to Mr. Kobler

the United Nations’ special representative for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Open letter of the Faryadeh Azadi to Mr. Kobler

Mr. Kobler, your peaceful actions and devoid of any violence and the bloody skirmish between the Rajavi’s cult and the Iraqi government in relocating of the Rajavi’s cult captives to the liberty camp and to the free world , has provoked the Rajavis’ anger and wrath against you!

With greetings and respect to you and your colleagues in the United Nations and UNAMI,

First , we should mention that your efforts and struggles in peaceful relocation of 3400 man and woman ,who have been stranded and stuck in Rajavi’s cultic thoughts to the camp liberty and from there to the free world , is a humanitarian deed and very admirable and we as the separated members and the victims of this cult thank you for your endeavors and efforts to relocate our captive friends peacefully and without any bloodshed from Ashraf Garrison to Liberty camp . we know that the cult leadership who have always welcomed the bloodshed and the tension of their members with the Iraqi government , do not like and appreciate your peaceful roadmap and solution for the relocation of their 3400 members and instead of showing their gratitude to you and the United Nations for your endeavors , they have consecutively created spurious and baseless tensions , problems , excuses and obstructions in this peaceful relocation.

We are separated members of this dangerous religious cult who had been living with the cultic thoughts in this dangerous cult for decades so we are completely familiar and acquainted with the real character and the content of this cult.

It is worth knowing that the Rajavi’s cult has an important strategic slogan which its all policies are based upon this slogan:

¨¨ Anyone and any stream that is with me is my friend if not, is considered as my enemy ! ¨¨

This cult ,which its criteria vis a vis any person or any stream is evaluated and assessed by this slogan , tries its best to disfigure and ruin the prestige and the honor of its opponents and critics by attaching them to Iranian regime and the Iranian intelligence service as the mercenaries of the Iranian government to intimidate them and force them to silence . This is the policy which the cult leadership has utilized for decades against its opponents and the dissidents either in or out of the cult. The leaders of this cult have ruined the honor and prestige of their dissidents inside the cult in Ashraf garrison as well as in other garrisons by labeling them as mercenary …..etc, even if someone Inside this cult has a small perspective and point of view in contradiction and different from the cult leadership specifically with Massoud Rajavi’s perspectives, that person will be severely suppressed ,beaten up , tortured physically and psychologically and imprisoned . Right now , we have some separated members among us who have already experienced the Rajavi’s anger and his wrath by being tortured and beaten up and imprisoned just because of their different ideas and point of views with the Rajavis’ , and also they had been labeled as the members of the Iranian revolutionary guards! and the Iranian intelligence service agents ! and even some of them were transferred from the pmoi prisons to the notorious prison of Abu-Qoraib during the Saddam Hussein’s government. These people have mentioned to their experiences of the torture and the beating and the prison in different occasions and they have shared all those experiences with the prominent political figures and parliamentarians and politicians in European countries.

In this regard , we the separated members and the critics of this cult are ready to share with you our experiences and information to help you to become more familiar and acquainted with this dangerous cult and their tricks as well as helping our stranded friends in this cult to be free and rescued from the Ashraf.

Mr. Kobler , the cult leadership by keeping the 3400 man and woman in Iraq during these decades, have taken the gesture of an opposition group by destroying and annihilation of our life and youth and theirs towards the cultic and terrorist objectives. The leadership of this cult considers the shutting down of their main cultic stronghold , Ashraf, as a blow to its years of deceptions and demagoguery through taking advantage of the life of 3400 man and woman ,for this reason the leaders of this cult consider your efforts and your endeavors to relocate those stranded members to liberty camp as an action against their cultic interests and therefore they are trying their best to disfigure and ruin your prestige and honor and even by undermining you and your position to obstruct in the peaceful relocation process of the remaining members to the liberty camp.

Mr. Kobler , the Rajavi’s cult as a result of the years of cooperation and service with Iran’s and Iranian people’s enemy , Saddam Hussein ,specially during the 8 years war between Iraq and Iran, have become very unpopular and outcast among the Iranian people and they do not have any serious and earnest supporters among the Iranian people in and out of Iran ,so the leadership of this cult is trying its best to carry its fake and spurious title as an popular opposition by keeping those 3400 people in Iraq by all means to deceive the foreign politicians to support this cult specially to gain the support of the warmongering factions ,so keeping those 3400 people in Iraq for the leadership of this cult is an undeniable and vital element ,for this reason the leadership of this cult have obstructed so far in the relocation of its remaining members to camp liberty . we assure you that the leadership of this cult will resort to any action to obstruct in the peaceful relocation process because the political and cultic life of this organization depends on keeping those 3400 man and woman in Iraq.

Mr. Kobler , we would like to appreciate and thank you again for all your endeavors to relocate the remaining members to the liberty camp and from there to the free world peacefully. in this regard , we are ready to help you and the United Nations to ease the relocation process as much as possible through face to face meetings or by mail and fax .

Respectfully

Faryade Azadi, Paris

July 28, 2012 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

U.S. Support for UN Roadmap on Camp Ashraf

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland U.S. Support for UN Roadmap on Camp Ashraf
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 25, 2012

The United States supports the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq’s (UNAMI) “Roadmap,” which suggests remaining steps for the closure of Camp Ashraf and builds upon the work that has produced the safe relocation of almost two-thirds of the residents from Ashraf to Camp Hurriya. We urge the leadership of Camp Ashraf and the Government of Iraq to cooperate in moving forward with this plan, which can advance our shared objective: the safe departure of the residents from Iraq.

The Government of Iraq has recently taken constructive steps to advance this process. On July 15, it transported from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya a cargo convoy of 300 additional air conditioners, several large water tanks, additional generators, and other goods to improve the residents’ quality of life at Camp Hurriya. On July 19, the Iraqi Government transported to Camp Hurriya three specially-equipped vehicles for residents with disabilities. We commend the Government for these positive measures and for its stated commitment to a peaceful resolution of this issue, which is the only acceptable outcome. It is now time for the leaders of the residents at Camp Ashraf to take a similarly constructive step and immediately resume the relocation of residents from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya. While some legitimate humanitarian issues need continued attention, prompt cooperation with UNAMI’s suggestions is critical to achieving a peaceful, humane, and secure outcome for the Ashraf residents.

The Mujahedin-e Khalq’s (MEK’s) cooperation in the closure of Camp Ashraf, the MEK’s main paramilitary base, continues to be a key factor in the Department’s upcoming determination regarding the MEK’s Foreign Terrorist Organization status. The MEK’s actions in the days and weeks ahead can show whether the organization remains invested in its violent past of terrorism or is committed to leaving that past behind.

July 26, 2012 0 comments

UN puts forward roadmap for relocation of MKO

The United Nations mission in Iraq today presented a roadmap to the Government suggesting a series of steps to complete the peaceful relocation of Iranian exiles from Camp Ashraf to Camp Martin Kobler Hurriya.

The roadmap has been designed to address the concerns of both the residents and the Government of Iraq, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said in a news release, adding that its roadmap outlines preparations to be made and a “step-by-step approach for the relocation,” which addresses issues such as water and power supply and other humanitarian needs.

“Our commitment is strictly humanitarian: to facilitate a voluntary temporary relocation of residents to Camp Hurriya as a first step of resettlement to countries outside Iraq,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Mr. Martin Kobler.

Camp Ashraf – made up of several thousand Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran – has been one of the main issues dealt with by UNAMI for more than 18 months.

In line with a memorandum of understanding signed in December by the UN and the Iraqi Government to resolve the situation, some two-thirds of the residents, or 2,000 people, were re-located to a temporary transit location near Baghdad known as Camp Hurriya – formerly known as Camp Liberty – where a process to determine refugee status is being carried out by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

To facilitate the remaining moves that will lead to the closure of Camp Ashraf, UNAMI called on the residents “to start the preparations for the next move without delay,” and asked the Government of Iraq “to be generous when it comes to the humanitarian needs of the residents and to continue to seek a peaceful solution to this issue under any circumstances.”

July 25, 2012 0 comments

The MEK Expulsion from Iraq

Iraqi government issues deadline to evacuate Ashraf

Iraqi government issued deadline to evacuate Ashraf camp from elements of terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization after repetitive refusal by MKO.

According to Habilian Foundation website, based on final agreement between Iraqi government and the United Nations, about 1,200 remaining elements of terrorist Mujahideen Khalq Organization were scheduled to leave the camp for a temporary transit camp before the holy month of Ramadan, but, they refused to do so.

Having faced defiance of the MKO to peacefully leave the camp, Iraqi government is now trying to use other legal ways to totally evacuate Camp Ashraf.

Habilian Foundation is a Human Rights NGO comprising of a group of families who have lost their loved ones in terrorist operations after victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in early years of 1980s.

Meanwhile. member of Iraq’s State of Law Coalition Adnan al-Siraj told al-Alam on Sunday that Iraqi government has issued warning to the MKO to get prepared to be transferred to a new camp close to Baghdad Airport and from there to outside Iraq.

He said majority of countries have refused to receive the terrorist MKO members due to their black record of crimes and fearing their criminal measures.

Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq, says no county wants to accept the MKO members and it seems the reason is the group’s background.

The MKO members have conducted terrorist measures against Iranian nation, cooperated with former Iraqi dictatorial regime and conducted many crimes against Iraqi nation too.

Meanwhile, an Iranian lawmaker said the US and certain political factions in Iraq seek to keep the MKO members near the country’s eastern borders with Iran.

“The US and certain Iraqi political factions are trying to keep the MKO near Iraq’s eastern borders in order to use them to pursue their own interests,” said Mohammad Saleh Jowkar.

The US plans to use this group against the Iraqi nation and Iran, he added.

“The Baghdad government must firmly stand against the US and insist on the demand of the Iraqi nation for the MKO to leave the country,” the Iranian lawmaker said.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of the country’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

The group – listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community – is notorious for carrying out numerous acts of terror against Iranian civilians and officials, involvement in the bloody repression of Shia Muslims in southern Iraq in 1991, and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the country’s north under Saddam.

In December 2011, the United Nations and Baghdad agreed to relocate some 3,000 MKO members from Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, in Diyala province to Camp Liberty – a former US military base near Baghdad International Airport.

Tehran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the terrorist group, but the US has been blocking the expulsion by pressuring the Iraqi government.

July 25, 2012 0 comments

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