NCRI – Former European Commissioner Gunter Verheugen has said he feels ‘cheated and betrayed’ over claims by the United Nations and its Iraqi representative Martin Kobler that Iranian refugees would be safe in Camp Liberty.
Germany’s Mr Verheugen said he initially supported plans to move the residents of Camp Ashraf to Liberty after hearing promises and guarantees the dissidents would be safe well treated.
But in the wake of the deadly February 9 bombing that left seven dead and 100 injured, he now feels ‘very angry’ that pledges for the security of Camp Liberty residents were worthless, Mr Verhugen said.
Speaking at a conference at the UN in Geneva on Wednesday, he recalled history at the delisting of the MEK as a terrorist organization and his hope that a solution could be found for the future of those living in Camp Ashraf.
But the former enterprise and industry commissioner from 2004 to 2010 added: “Today I must confess I am in a different mood. I am angry, really really angry.
“The attack shows that we could not guarantee freedom, we could not guarantee the security of the people there. And we have to ask some very serious questions.
“After some initials doubts, I supported the decision to recommend that the Ashrafians went to camp Liberty because I trusted the promises and guarantees we got from the representatives of the international institutions. But today I can only say, I feel cheated. I feel betrayed.
“The question for me is whether there was ever the intention to find safety for the Ashrafians and if the purpose was simply to put them in an even worse position and make them an easier targets for attacks.
“Therefore I believe they should no longer stay in this prison but return to a place of safety where their security can be ensured not by the Iraqi forces but by themselves, and I hope the international community will react to this.”
He urged the ‘sluggish and bureaucratic’ United Nations for leadership and courage to act now to protect the vulnerable residents of Liberty.
Mr Verhugen also said the UN Secretary General should replace Mr Kobler after his role in displacing the Ashraf residents to Liberty, and after his wife – the German ambassador to Baghdad – issued an ‘unacceptable statement’ on their plight.
“His obligation is to do his job. His obligation is to do what the charter of the United Nations and recommendation of the human rights requires him to do.”
He added: “I expect the German Chancellor and the German foreign affairs ministry to make it very clear that statement of the German ambassador to Baghdad is not the position of the German Government.
“This statement displays sheer ignorance and political incompetence. The German Ambassador is supposed to represent German people in those countries, but I can only say she doesn’t represent me, she doesn’t represent hundreds of thousands of others. She doesn’t represent hundreds of thousands supporters of peace in my country.
“We know what it means for people to need protection from suppression and prosecution, so I would expect especially the German Government to show more responsibility and solidarity with those in camp Liberty.”
Mr Verhugen pleaded to the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, “to make it his priority to help the people of Camp Liberty.”
Mr Verhugen also praised Iranian Resistance president-elect Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan for the future of Iran, asking: “What more could you possibly ask for than proving you are a democratic alternative for this country and that you have a credible program that deserves support of the people.
“We cannot get a democratic Iran without the democratic opposition. And the Democratic opposition of Iran is represented here, and that’s the reason why the struggle must continue.”
