The statement signed by over 6700 Iraqis partly reads: “The hostage taking of the seven Camp Ashrf residents is a disgrace for us and we call on the U.S. government to force Maliki to free the hostages and provide security for the Camp Liberty residents because the U.S. has responsibility towards the protection of the residents.”
The Iraqi dignitaries said:”despite the worldwide expression of abhorrence about the brutal crime committed at Camp Ashraf, Nouri al-Maliki continues to try to escape the responsibility for the crime.”
The signatories demand:
1- Pressure the government of Nouri al-Maliki to free the Camp Ashraf hostages as soon as possible.
2- Station a UN monitoring team in Camp Liberty and deploy UN Blue Helmets in the camp.
3 – The UN Secretary General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to carry out an independent investigation into the September 1 crime in Camp Ashraf and put on trial its perpetuators.
Iranians opposition supporters in Geneva, London, Berlin, Ottawa, and Melbourne along with hundreds of Camp Liberty residents are also on hunger strike after Iraqi forces under the command of Nouri al-Maliki attacked Camp Ashraf on September 1 and killed 52 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and took seven more residents hostage including 6 women.
The release of the seven Camp Ashraf hostages is the strikers’ key demand.