Camp Ashraf military occupation – No. 45
NCRI – On Monday, April 11, Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, stated that the Iraqi government is committed to carry out its previous decision for expulsion of the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from Iraq by the end of this year. These remarks mean nothing other than implementing the dictates of the religious fascism ruling Iran and the instructions of the terrorist Quds Force, clearly setting the stage for continuation of the crimes against PMOI members at Camp Ashraf and revealing al-Maliki’s ominous intentions for further killings.
On Sunday, April 10, Iranian regime’s foreign minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said: “We appreciate the action taken by the Iraqi government which is a step forward in implementing its Constitution” (Iran regime’s official TV channel, April 10.) Also, while praising al-Maliki’s atrocities at Camp Ashraf, the regime’s Revolutionary Guards’ news agency while addressing al-Maliki wrote: “If your move is not going to be completed today with their full expulsion from Iraqi soil, it will soon turn into an instrument for them to undermine you and the Iraqi government on the charge of violating human rights.” The official website of Ali Larijani, Speaker of Iranian regime’s parliament said: “Three months ago, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran had predicted that the Iraqi government would put an end to the presence of the terrorist Monafeqin grouplet [the regime’s derogatory term to describe the PMOI] in less than a year.”
The Iraqi media also described the link between Ali Dabbagh’s statements and the Iranian regime’s instructions; they wrote: “Qassem Soleymanie, Commander of the Iranian Quds Force asked those Iraqi political parties and personalities who receive financial and military backing from Iran to mobilize a political move against the defenseless residents of Camp Ashraf, PMOI members who are opponents of the Iranian government.” He added: “Intelligence sources in Baghdad said some of the members of the Council of Ministers who are organizationally and directly linked to the IRGC, brought up the issue of the PMOI during yesterday’s meeting of the council and tried to instigate measures against them. They proposed that in return for continued Iranian support for certain political currents inside the Iraqi government, for expulsion of PMOI from Iraq their dossier be forwarded from the Council of Ministers to the parliament.” (Al-Sharqya Television, April 12.)
After his trip to Iran a few years ago, al-Maliki stated that the PMOI must leave Iraq within 6 months. In June of 2008, Ali Dabbagh announced a similar decision by the Council of Ministers. Prior to that, in December of 2003, al-Maliki’s cohorts in the Iraqi Governing Council announced that the PMOI had to leave Iraq within three weeks.
However, before all, al-Maliki and his accomplices such as Ali Gheidan and Ali Dabbagh must face trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for killing 34 and wounding more than 300 unarmed residents at Camp Ashraf on April 8th. The PMOI members at Camp Ashraf are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and their presence in Iraq is in compliance with international law. Any serious violation of their rights, according to the writ by the National Court of Spain and according to the statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) is considered crime against humanity and war crimes. It is so that the National Court of Spain is prosecuting and has thus far summoned five of Maliki’s officials.
On Monday, April 11, during a ceremony commemorating the martyrs of April 8 of Camp Ashraf, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, said in her speech: “According to the international laws and conventions, Camp Ashraf residents’ rights are undeniable and cannot be ignored; unless one wishes to sacrifice the children of Iran to please the dictators. Nevertheless, since day one, Ashraf representatives said to the Deputy Commander of the MNF-I and representatives of the American Embassy and government, as they did say, two days prior to the April 8 attack, to the United Nations representatives and the Americans that they do not insist on remaining in Iraq. They could bring an airplane right away and take all residents of Ashraf to the United States that has disarmed them, or to Europe. We would pay the airplane expenses ourselves… Moreover, we declared previously and I personally announced it before, that we are ready and prefer to go to Iran, to our own homeland, on the condition of sufficient provisions for our security, freedom of speech, freedom of political activity, with guarantees from the Security Council and international bodies plus acceptance and announcement of such acceptance by the Iranian supreme leader with his own signature.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
April 12, 2011
