Following three murderous attacks on the residents of Camp Liberty and Ashraf in Iraq, the simple admission of 210 people to Albania and a series of statements expressing hope does not now mean the urgent issue of security can be ignored
NCRI – The Iranian Resistance offers its gratitude to the Albanian Government for admitting 210 residents of Camp Liberty.
The Iranian Resistance has provided the UNHCR and US officials with the first list of patients and others who it has requested to be resettled expeditiously on several occasions since December 2012.
In addition, the interviews and the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process of 2,000 of the residents has been completed and they could have been immediately transferred to the US a year ago.
However, after three attacks against defenseless Liberty residents, the vital security issue regarding all of the population of the camp can not be ignored or avoided, and be forgotten behind the humanitarian measure of the Albanian Government and the acceptance of 210 residents, on which discussions began a year ago. A series of statements expressing hope and unfulfilled commitments regarding protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and who are refugees recognized as persons of concern under International Law, will not resolve the vital security issue. Security is not something that one can back down from or pass over to the ‘MEK leadership’.
The residents of Ashraf, in a forcible displacement and with the unrelenting deceptions of Martin Kobler, were sent to a place worse than Guantanamo; a place that exceeds a prison and is a killing field. The MOU between Kobler and the Iraqi Government’s National Security Advisor was signed in December 2011 without the knowledge and consent of the residents, which – as the UN Secretary General agreed – was a clear breach of the Vienna Convention. The State Department, various UN organs and the EU, presuming that the residents’ security was guaranteed at Liberty, then issued several statements encouraging Ashraf residents to transfer to Liberty.
Camp Liberty was supposed to be a temporary transit station for a couple of weeks or a couple of months at the most. The residents were not permitted to take along with them their moveable property and to sell their immovable property. Not only the residents’ representatives, but even American dignitaries, generals and officers were not allowed to visit Liberty, which was initially said to be 40 square kilometers, prior to the residents transfer.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on two occasions described Liberty as a prison. The UNHCR stresses in a document dated January 19, 2012 that this location lacks minimum humanitarian standards.
The Iraqi Government never paid any attention to five calls made by High Commissioner Guterres to allow freedom of movement and open the gates of Liberty.
Moreover, the area of Liberty was shrunk to half a square kilometer (80 times smaller than Ashraf) and the 3,100 residents were squashed in dilapidated trailers without any protection. Despite the residents’ protests, 17,500 T-walls, which protected the trailers while US forces were stationed at the camp, were swiftly and intentionally removed by the Iraqi Government to inflict more casualties in the future planned attacks.
The residents are still deprived of the vests and helmets that protect them from shrapnel, which they had in Ashraf based on an official and written agreement with US forces, and even contrary to the MOU, are prohibited from any construction and gardening and planting trees higher than 1.5 meters
The contaminated environment and extremely insanitary conditions in Liberty, due to the damaged sewage system and septic tanks overflowing, the outbreak of contagious illnesses, the medical siege and crisis, has to this day led to the death of 5 residents, in addition to the 8 residents killed and 100 wounded as a result of the February 9 missile attack.
There is a widespread global belief based on bitter and bloody experiences that Martin Kobler, with his deceitful measures, lies and dissimulation, is facilitating crimes against humanity and the objectives of the religious fascism ruling Iran against its opposition. This is a stain on the UN’s history, and he therefore must be replaced with an impartial individual.
1. The first preferred solution for security is for the US government – which has signed agreements with each and every resident in return for delivery of their weapons and has assumed responsibility for their protection until their final disposition – to transfer 3,200 people at their own expense to the US, even on a temporary basis and for their following resettlement.
2. Otherwise, the place where the residents enjoy more security is Ashraf. As suggested in the High Commissioner Guterres’ statement of March 1, 2013, the US, EU and UN should this project. The ‘UNHCR Manual on Security of Persons of Concern’ states:
“If the host government is unable or unwilling to provide adequate security and cannot guarantee the safety and welfare of persons of concern, consider the merits of relocating the camp or settlement population.” It is clear that interviews and resettlement can continue in Ashraf.
On the matter of returning to Ashraf, there is a wide consensus in the US and Europe, including Resolution 89 proposed in the US House of Representatives, the letter of European Parliament leaders to the EU President, the statement of religious leaders from Europe and the US, in the statements of over 5,000 MPs from various countries across the globe, and a letter from Iraqi MPs to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and US officials.
3. The Press Statement issued by the US Department of State spokesperson says: “We believe the permanent resettlement of former Ashraf residents outside Iraq is the only sustainable solution.” This is while the Iranian regime’s agents in Baghdad are openly speaking of preparing the next attack on Liberty, and as the US Embassy in Baghdad reiterated on February 11, 2013, attacks similar to what occurred on February 9 in Liberty ‘may occur at any time’.
On the other hand, the Revolutionary Guards of the Iranian regime (IRGC) have threatened: “Albania should be aware of the perilous consequences of its offer, learning from the experience of some countries which have supported the MEK in the past.” (FARS, IRGC news agency, March 18, 2013)
Under such conditions, how could the residents be convinced to remain at risk of more bloody attacks without guaranteeing their security, unless the United States specify a precise date and a schedule for the departure of the last resident from Iraq and guarantee it.
The State Department spokesperson announced on 29 August 2012: “The United States also reiterates its commitment to support the safety and security of the residents throughout the process of their relocation outside of Iraq.”
4. The Liberty residents’ urgent and legitimate security demands, in order to save their lives following the missile attack, and which the Iraqi government has evaded for the past 40 days or has very bluntly opposed, are as follows:
– Return of 17,500 T-walls to their previous positions
– Transfer of the residents’ protective vests and helmets from Ashraf to Liberty
– Transfer of medical equipment from Ashraf to Liberty due to the lack of basic supplies to save the lives of patients and wounded residents
– Residents be immediately allowed to take up construction projects in Liberty
– Expanding Liberty’s current area to 2.5 square kilometers, as Martin Kobler guaranteed in his December 26, 2011, meeting with Mrs Rajavi in Paris after checking with Baghdad. The objective is to prevent the concentration of all the population in a very small area, making them vulnerable to future attacks while they remain at Camp Liberty and no solution has been found.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 19, 2013
