NCRI – The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Mohammad Mohaddessin, has asked the Iraqi government to comply with international law and a European Parliament resolution when it comes to Camp Ashraf residents. His remarks were published in an opinion piece on Wednesday by the al-Sharq al-Awsat daily.
Camp Ashraf, located northeast of Baghdad is home to close to some 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
NCRI – The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Mohammad Mohaddessin, has asked the Iraqi government to comply with international law and a European Parliament resolution when it comes to Camp Ashraf residents. His remarks were published in an opinion piece on Wednesday by the al-Sharq al-Awsat daily.
Camp Ashraf, located northeast of Baghdad is home to close to some 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Entitled, “The Iranian Regime's Constant Attempts to Harm the Resistance,” Mohaddessin’s article states:
“On February 28, Khamenei asked the Iraqi President using an authoritarian tone to implement a bilateral agreement regarding the expulsion of residents of Ashraf. After that, a number of Iranian regime officials visited Iraq to implement the bilateral agreement under the supervision of Muwaffaq al-Rubaie. Later, Ahmadinejad and the Secretary of the regime’s Supreme National Security Council, Jalili, demanded the implementation of an agreement signed in May.
The legal rights of Ashraf residents are very clear and this is something that the international community acknowledged in an April 24 resolution passed by the European Parliament. The resolution stressed ensuring prevention of any action that would amount to human rights abuses by Iraqi authorities against Ashraf residents. It has also clearly asked Iraqi officials to protect the lives and physical and psychological health of Ashraf residents and to treat them in accordance with the principles of the Geneva conventions. It especially said that displacement, expulsion, or repatriation of the residents to their country of origin would count as a violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
The resolution asked the Iraqi government to end its siege on Ashraf and respect the residents’ legal status as "protected persons" in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. it also called against any decision that would threaten the lives or security of Ashraf residents.
The goal of the Iranian regime for closing Ashraf is not only limited to annihilating its opposition. Rather, the Iranian regime wants to do this to pave the way to completely dominate Iraq and impose its complete hegemony over the region.”
