Source: Iran Policy Committee
Washington, DC— As tens thousands of peaceful Iranian protestors take to the streets and battle police to commemorate National Student Day, the Iranian regime is violently suppressing dissidents both inside and outside of Iran. With the surge of U.S. troops to Afghanistan dominating the news cycle, the Iranian regime ramps up its violent suppression of pro-democracy oppositionists not only on the streets of Tehran but also in Iraq.
International organizations, human rights activists, and U.S. Members of Congress are raising the alarm about Iraqi government plans to expel Iranian dissidents from their home in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. In July 2009, seven months after Iraqi Security Forces took control of the camp from the U.S. military, an ensuing raid killed 11 and wounded hundreds more. Dozens were taken hostage by the Iraqis and only released after weeks of worldwide hunger strikes.
Now that Ashraf is firmly under Baghdad’s control, Iraqi officials probably operating at the behest of Tehran, deny the Iranian dissidents outside medical care in advance of an intention to close Ashraf forcibly. The Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs said in response to a question from a Member of Congress who expressed concern that Baghdad would expel the Iranian dissidents, “The expectation is not they’re going to expel the Camp Ashraf residents, but that they would try to forcibly move them to a different location in Iraq and that, too, could lead to bloodshed.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has also expressed concern regarding the human rights situation at Camp Ashraf. Ad Malkert, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, has voiced his unease and a UNAMI press release declares, “The UN continues to advocate that Camp Ashraf residents be protected from forcible deportation, expulsion or repatriation…” A Spanish judge is even considering opening a probe into Iraqi malfeasance in the killing of 11 Iranians during the July raid on Ashraf, under the “universal justice doctrine,” which allows grave crimes alleged to have been committed in other countries to be prosecuted in Spain.
According to IPC President and former member of the National Security Council staff in the Executive Office of the President, Professor Raymond Tanter, “Ashraf residents are ‘protected persons’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention and as such cannot be forcibly displaced within Iraq in violation of International Humanitarian Law. But the Iraqi government is paying no heed to international law or written assurances: Prime Minister Maliki has declared, ‘The Iraqi government and parliament are resolved to expel members of the group.’ An indication of possible collusion with Tehran is how Iran’s ambassador to Iraq welcomed news that Baghdad was seriously pursuing a policy of expulsion of the Iranian dissidents, despite opposition to expulsion.”
General Thomas McInerney (Lt Gen, US Air Force Ret, chair of the IPC Advisory Council), stated that “If Iranian oppositionists were extradited to Iran, they would certainly face persecution. Just last week, an Iranian activist who had taken part in election protests was sentenced to death after being found guilty of membership in the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), the opposition group of which the Iranian dissidents at Ashraf are members. This sentence should dispel any expectation of humane treatment of repatriated MEK members who refuse to renounce the MEK. At the very least, it should make clear that MEK members have a legitimate fear of persecution if sent to Iran. Under the Iranian constitution, simply being a member of the MEK is illegal.”
R. Bruce McColm, President of the Institute for Democratic Strategies, IPC Board of Directors said, “The United States, as an Occupying Power, was responsible for the security of Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf who were designated as ‘protected persons.’ The United States may not transfer responsibility for such protection to another state without guarantees that their ‘protected persons’ status will be upheld. The Government of Iraq gave the United States such assurances, but violated them with the July 2009 attack on Ashraf and continued declarations of the intention to expel Ashraf residents. According to Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, if the state that assumes authority does not honor its obligations, the transferring Power—in this case the United States—is obliged to ‘take effective measures to correct the situation, or shall request the return of the protected persons…Such request must be complied with.’”
Regarding the Iraqi Security Forces attack on Camp Ashraf, MG Paul Vallely (US Army Ret, IPC Advisory Council) said, “Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf have played a crucial intelligence role in identifying Tehran’s subversion of Iraq. They have identified Tehran’s proxies, terrorism financing mechanisms, and border crossing points for weapons and personnel. Ashraf’s role in exposing Tehran’s nefarious influence in Iraq is no doubt animating the Iranian regime’s efforts to have the group forcibly dispersed within Iraq or extradited to Iran. If the United States allows such crimes to occur, not only will Washington be complicit in a human rights catastrophe, it will also lose a valuable intelligence asset.”
The simultaneous crackdown on protesters in Iran and Iranian dissidents in Iraq confirms that Tehran views the increasingly unified pro-democracy movement as an existential threat.
The National Student Day protests are to be followed by demonstrations during the 10-day Shiite religious festival of Ashura, which begins 18 December and climaxes 27 December; Ashura commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, a Shiite martyr killed in war during the 7th century. Because of the prospect of more protests, IPC President and former member of the National Security Council staff in the Executive Office of the President, Professor Raymond Tanter, states that “The Obama administration has an opportunity to issue strong public statements in support of both the protestors on the Streets of Tehran as well as their sisters and brothers in Iraq.”
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