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Press release
European Parliament rejects Iraqi official’s entry to Parliament for role in two Camp Ashraf massacres
Euro MPs reveal the false reports given by Iraqi Government in the meeting
Brussels- 19 June 2012 – The monthly meeting of the Delegation for Relations with Iraq in the European Parliament, chaired by MEP Struan Stevenson, was held this morning.
A large number of Iraqi Government officials from Baghdad were present, some from a special committee within Prime Minister Maliki’s office, responsible for Camp Ashraf.
Several members of the delegation were from the military, including generals, colonels and intelligence officials. Among this delegation was Colonel Al-Farhan Sadiq Mohammed Katum/Kazem, who is the Iraqi Governmental head of Camp Liberty and has been summoned by the Spanish National Court for his role in the two massacres of July 2009 and April 2011in Ashraf.
Because of his involvements in the massacres in Ashraf, the European Parliament did not allow Colonel Sadiq to enter the Parliament building and a badge issued for him was withdrawn shortly before the arrival of the delegation.
This delegation tried to show that, in Liberty and Ashraf camps, everything is going smoothly and that the Iraqi Government is responding positively to the demands of the residents, but that the problem is that the residents are not cooperating, changing their demands frequently and asking too much.
Georges Bakoos, a deputy to the Iraqi national security adviser of Prime Minister Maliki, said that Iraq has fulfilled all its humanitarian demands and will continue to do so but the residents do not cooperate and, since 5 May, the convoys from Ashraf to Liberty have been stopped. He threatened that Ashraf must be closed before 20 July.
Struan Stevenson said: “the halt of the transfer to Liberty has nothing to do with the residents, but is because of Iraq not implementing its agreements with the UN. Six weeks after the transfer of the fifth group to Liberty, their belongings have not yet been transferred and the UN envoy Martin Kobler has written to me that 25 trucks will be in Ashraf to take these belongings. However, this was cancelled again and, similar to other promises of the Iraqi Government, has proved to be hollow.” Struan Stevenson said to the Iraqis: “if you think our information is wrong, why you do not permit us to go and visit Ashraf and Liberty?”
Vice President of the European Parliament, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, said “the Government of Iraq has murdered 47 unarmed residents of Ashraf including 8 women and it must first apologise. The information provided by the Iraqi Government representatives here contradicts our information and facts. The demands of the residents have been formulated to six points but the Government of Iraq does not implement any of them.” Addressing the Iraqi delegation, he said: “Your soldiers have brutally shot and killed the residents and you are still giving us false information. This is not the behaviour of a supposedly democratic Government. This cruel action was a shame and dishonour for those that ordered and executed it.”
Alejo Vidal-Quadras MEP
