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In this Issue:
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Iraqi physicians refused entry to Camp Ashraf to treat
patients,
NCRI Press Release, April 3,
2009
-
Iranians Exiles continue protest
al-Rubaie measures against Camp Ashraf,
NCRI Website, April 4, 2009
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OMCT: Concerns for the 3,500 PMOI members
living in Camp Ashraf,
OMTC website, April 2,
2009
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Iraqi Vice-President: PMOI presence in Iraq
is lawful,
NCRI Website, April 8,
2009
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Iraq: A shameful human catastrophe awaiting
Camp Ashraf refugees,
Al-Siyasa (Kuwaiti Daily), April 5,
2009
-
German government supports a humanitarian
solution for Iranian opposition in Iraq,
NCRI Website, April 10,
2009
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"Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs.”
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
“In no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred to a country where
he or she may have reason to fear persecution for his or her political opinions
or religious beliefs.”
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
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Iraqi physicians refused
entry to Camp Ashraf to treat patients
NCRI Press Release
April 3, 2009
Operation on a cancer patient and four others were
prevented by order of Iraqi National Security Advisor
NCRI - On April 3, the Iraqi forces prevented three Iraqi physician entering
Camp Ashraf, home to members of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI),
in Iraq, to carry out an operation on Ms. Fatemeh Alizadeh suffering from an
internal tumor and four other patients. Arrangements for the Iraqi physicians
including a female anesthetist and two specialized surgeons to pay a visit to
Ashraf had been made since a long time ago.
The Iraqi government representative as well as the commander of Iraqi forces had
previously agreed with the physicians’ visit to Ashraf in the presence of the
U.S. military commander and the details of the three medical doctors were
provided to the Iraqi forces. In addition, another Ashraf resident, Ms. Qodsieh
Ganje’i, suffering from sudden ailment suspected of being acute appendicitis
urgently need medical attention.
While Ashraf residents cannot leave the camp and have no access to Iraqi
hospitals, they meet their medical needs either self-sufficiently or by inviting
Iraqi doctors to Ashraf. Under these circumstances, preventing doctors to enter
the camp is an anti-human criminal act...
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Iranians Exiles continue protest al-Rubaie measures
against Camp Ashraf
NCRI Website
April 4, 2009
NCRI – For the third week running, Iranian exiles and members of families of
Camp Ashraf residents have been protesting illegal measures by Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie,
Iraqi National Security Advisor against camp residents. The demonstrations were
staged in front of the Iraqi embassies in Paris, Berlin, London, Washington, and
Ottawa.
In the rally in Ottawa, Canada, Mrs. Raymonde Folco, member of Canadian
Parliament from Montreal expressed her concern about the safety of some 3,500
members of Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojaheidn Organization of Iran
(PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf in Iraq...
In the Paris demonstration, several French and Iranian personalities delivered
speeches including Mr. Mohammad Ali Jaberzadeh and Dr. Karim Qasim chair of the
Political Studies Committee and Environment Committee of the National Councils
of Resistance of Iran respectively.
The participant condemned illegal remarks by al-Rubaie against Camp Ashraf and
called for an immediate end to restrictions imposed on Camp Ashraf residents.
In Washington the Protestors chanted: “Protection of Ashraf City must be
guaranteed.”...
In Britain, supporters of the PMOI (MEK) and Ashraf residents’ families staged
rally outside the Iraqi embassy in London. In a protest in front of the Iraqi
Embassy in Berlin, a delegation presented list of demands to the Iraqi
Embassy...
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OMCT: Concerns for the 3,500 PMOI members living in Camp
Ashraf
OMCT Website
April 2, 2009
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) calls
upon the US authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure the effective
protection of Ashraf residents.
Urgent Action, Geneva - The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is deeply
concerned that around 3,500 members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of
Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition group, living in Camp Ashraf, in Iraq, may be
expelled from Iraq as, according to the latest information received, the Iraqi
security forces have surrounded the Camp to prevent people from entering or
exiting. This event follows several statements by both Iranian and Iraqi
officials that the PMOI should be expelled from Iraq and the camp closed.
OMCT considers that those living in Camp Ashraf, having left Iran for political
reason, to escape persecution and to organise resistance against the Iranian
regime, would be at grave risk of torture or other serious human rights
violations if they were to be returned involuntarily to Iran. OMCT therefore
calls on Iraq to strictly abide by the principle of non-refoulement that
prohibits sending a person to a country where there are serious reasons for
believing that he or she would be subjected to torture or other forms of
ill-treatment.
OMCT also would like to recall that it has been recognised from the beginning of
the conflict that PMOI members are not involved in the confrontation between
Americans and Iraqis. In addition, since PMOI members living in the camp have
been disarmed, they have been designated as “protected persons” under Article 27
of the Fourth Geneva Convention, of which guarantees were clearly stipulated in
various protocols signed with United States (US) forces.
From autumn 2008, and due to the rapprochement between some Iraqi governmental
factions and Iranian authorities, fears were expressed regarding the guarantees
provided to the PMOI members if the US were to transfer the protection of the
camp to the Iraqi authorities without ensuring beforehand that the latter could
indeed guarantee this protection...
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Iraqi Vice-President: PMOI presence in Iraq is lawful
NCRI Website
April 8, 2009
NCRI – Dr. Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraqi Vice-President said in an interview with the
Arabic Language Al-Salam TV on Tuesday that presence of the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Iraq “is in the frame work of the
international treaties.”
According to the text of the interview published on alhashemi.org website, the
Iraqi Vice-president added: “we hear of their [Camp Ashraf residents] transfer
to desert areas or persecution of those who remain in the Camp. Such talks are
not in the interest of Iraq and damage its reputation.”
Dr. Tariq al-Hashemi said that we have two unresolved cases; the People's
Mojahedin Organization of Iran and the PKK presence in Iraq. Turkey claims that
it [PKK] is a national security threat. Iraq will settle both in accordance with
its constitution.
Referring to the PMOI, al-Hashemi said, "We do understand the sensitivity of the
presence of groups opposed to the regimes in the neighboring countries. However,
PMOI's presence in Iraq is in the framework of the international treaties.
Today, they pose no threat to Iran since their camp which was previously under
control of the US forces is now controlled by the Iraqi government. Accordingly,
I do not understand how they could interfere with our internal affairs or threat
neighboring countries such as Iran. Today, we hear of their transfer to desert
areas or persecution of those who remain in the Camp [Ashraf]. Such talks are
not in the interest of Iraq and damage its reputation. We should not concentrate
more than it is needed on this case."...
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Iraq: A shameful human catastrophe awaiting Camp
Ashraf refugees
Al-Siyasa (Kuwaiti Daily)
April 5, 2009
By Dr. Iman al-Hashemi
The Following are excerpts from the main article in Arabic
The Iranian regime has targeted the presence of the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Iraq. It continues to intensify this action
through its local agents and security organs which have infiltrated Iraq, with a
chain of criminal operations and false propaganda regarding Ashraf City.
In accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention, the organization’s members are
considered internationally protected persons. Yet the Iranian regime’s plots
against their presence in Iraq are still continuing. In such circumstances,
international law require the protection of its residents because of the fact
that every single one of them is considered to be a protected person in
accordance with the seventh article of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Therefore,
not the PMOI, but its members are in fact de facto refugees and they do not
require a legal status to be considered as refugees. It is sufficient that they
are internationally recognized as refugees.
So, Ashraf City residents are individual refugees, and the Iraqi government or
any other government must treat them as such. The Coalition forces, having
occupied Iraq, confirmed this legal status after exhaustive, thorough and
credible reviews, and the American forces accepted responsibility to protect the
city. This is because the residents’ situation had arisen from the war between
the US and Iraq, a conflict in which the PMOI played no part and remained
neutral. The city’s “foreign” residents received a de facto refugee status. This
description is in reality used by international law and the Geneva Conventions,
and engenders many rights and privileges. The truth of the matter is that the
PMOI’s members reside in Ashraf on a voluntary basis and in accordance with
their own free will. Because of their stay in this honorable stronghold of
resistance and perseverance, they have tolerated a lot of pain and misery...
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German government supports a humanitarian solution
for Iranian opposition in Iraq
NCRI Website
April 10, 2009
NCRI – The Federal Government of Germany supports a humanitarian solution for
the Iranian opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran
(PMOI/MEK) in Iraq, German language Associated Press reported from Berlin today.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Berlin however said on Thursday that Germany
has not yet thought of accepting the members of the group in Germany, the report
added.
She said that there were no German nationals among some 3,500 political
opponents in the Camp Ashraf located in north of Baghdad.
Since February 20, when transfer of protection for the Camp from U.S. to Iraqi
Forces was completed, pressure by the Iranian regime on the Iraqi government has
mounted to close it down. Some inhuman and unlawful restrictions have been
imposed on the residents of the Camp since. One of the facilities of the Camp
with few hundred occupants has been under siege for about a month and last week
medical doctors were not allowed to the Camp to treat patients among them a
cancer patient...
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About Humanitarian Crisis for
Iranian Dissidents and their Families In Camp Ashraf
Nearly 3,500 members of Iran’s
main opposition, the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK), residing in Camp Ashraf in
Iraq, are faced with a humanitarian crisis.
Tehran has put the Iraqi
government under tremendous pressure to take over the protection of Camp Ashraf
from the US-led Multinational Force-Iraq. Under current circumstance in
Iraq, such action would be in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and
International Humanitarian Law. Since 2004, Ashraf residents have been formally
recognized as “Protected Persons“ under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Ashraf Residents are expatriates
holding dual nationality or refugee status of various Western countries. Their
families and relatives are greatly worried for their loved ones in Ashraf.
International Humanitarian Law Obligate U.S. to Provide Continued Protection for
Camp Ashraf Residents in Iraq
On July 2, 2004, the United States formally
recognized members of the PMOI in Camp Ashraf as “protected persons” under the
Fourth Geneva Convention.
Both the U.S. and Iraq are parties to all four
1949 Geneva Conventions.
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and
practices, and their manners and customs […]”.
Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifies that:
“In no circumstances shall a protected person
be transferred to a country where he or she may have reason to fear persecution
for his or her political opinions or religious beliefs.“
Under the present circumstances in Iraq, the U.S.
is the only party qualified and capable of ensuring Camp Ashraf residents’
safety and security under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The U.S. forces must
continue to protect Ashraf residents as long as US forces are in Iraq.
About
the U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents:
The U.S. Committee for Camp Ashraf
Residents (USCCAR) was established in December of 2003 by families and relatives
of residents of Camp Ashraf. The purpose of the Committee is to ensure the
safety and security of those Iranians and others living in Camp Ashraf. The
Committee 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. For more information please visit:
www.usccar.org
About
Ashraf Monitor
Ashraf Monitor newsletter is a
compilation of news and commentaries about the developing humanitarian
crisis for nearly 3,500 members of Iran's main opposition, the People's
Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. Ashraf Monitor is
compiled and distributed by the US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR).
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