Publicserviceeurop -by Muriel Turner: Iraq is allegedly laundering money for Iran to help it overcome sanctions and is permitting the country to fly over Iraqi airspace to ferry supplies to Syria, so that Bashar Al-Assad can continue to massacre his own citizens, claims British peer
The revelation in The New York Times that the Iraqis are helping Iran skirt the economic sanctions imposed on Tehran makes it clear that the result of the Iraq invasion is hardly what was envisioned when the mission began. Sure, we got rid of a tyrant. But now we have a government that is totally beholden to the mullahs in Iran. This is more evident now by Iraq helping Iran to help Syria. How is that for an axis of evil? Iraq is allegedly laundering money for Iran to help it overcome the sanctions and is permitting Iran to fly over Iraqi airspace to ferry supplies to Syria, so Bashar Al-Assad can continue to massacre his own citizens.
The Iraq-Iran relationship has been common knowledge to a group of Iranian exiles that have been living in peace in Iraq for a quarter century. Since the United States-led invasion, they had been safe under the protection of American troops. But when those troops withdrew, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s administration became free to allegedly carry out the nefarious schemes of its sponsors, the mullahs who rule Iran and who are fearful of any opposition – especially that of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran or PMOI/MEK, the exiles who had resided in Camp Ashraf.
Twice, Iraqi forces stormed Ashraf with the most recent raid causing 49 deaths and the wounding of 1,000 more. Then Maliki ordered Ashraf cleared, with its residents dispersed around Iraq or returned to Iran; where they faced death or a fate worse than death. The United Nations and US brokered a deal to allow these folks to relocate to a former American army base near Baghdad, called Camp Liberty, where liberty is one thing they surely do not have. Indeed – they lack electricity, running water, sewage facilities and all basic humanitarian needs – all of which they had been promised by the UN and the US.
Nonetheless, more than two-thirds of them have made the move, to show their good faith when no other parties have done so. And as announced by the charismatic Iranian resistance leader, Maryam Rajavi – as another sign of goodwill, 400 more residents will move from Ashraf to Liberty soon. Given the evidence of Iraq’s complicity in Iran’s misdeeds, it is time for the US and UN to abide by their commitments.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised to be influenced by the MEK’s show of good faith in moving to Camp Liberty, as she considered lifting the organization’s listing among foreign terrorist organisations. It is time for her to follow through and not wait for the October 1 deadline set by the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit. The PMOI is not a terrorist organisation and never has been. The designation was only the result of a failed attempt by the US State Department to appease supposed ‘moderates’ in Tehran, moderates who never existed. The terrorists in the region are those in power, who have been spreading terrorism across the region and worldwide by supporting Assad to continue his blood-drenched rule and pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Also, the UN should insist on improved conditions at Camp Liberty and should start processing the 4,300 transferees as refugees to be relocated in third countries. The two actions go hand in glove, as the terrorist listing gives the Iraqis an excuse to mistreat the Iranian Resistance members. No wonder the mullahs in Tehran fear the resistance. They see the rumblings across the Middle East, from the Arab Spring to the Syrian uprising. They have witnessed demonstrations within Iran, as the people are growing increasingly restive over living conditions and lack of freedom.
The winds of change clearly are coming. And the words of Thomas Paine become increasingly pertinent: “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” The Iranian Resistance is not seeking troops or even weapons. It is confident it can establish freedom within its homeland’s borders, if only its shackles are removed. Without the terror label, it can mobilise Iranian dissidents from far and wide – and within the country – to restore the country to its role as a beacon of freedom. At the same time, Maliki will be left without a benefactor and Iraq too can join the family of free nations.
In this whole episode, the role of Europe is crucial. European Union leaders must press the UN and US to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of these recognised ‘asylum seekers’ and open their doors, welcoming them as the best hope for a genuine regime change in Iran – and a safer and more peaceful world.
Baroness Turner of Camden was deputy speaker of the British House of Lords until 2008 and is currently a member of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom
