Concurrently, hunger strikes by freedom-loving Iranians in cities of Geneva, Berlin, London and Ottawa continue. Iranians in many other cities around the world, including Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Northern California, Oakland (United States), Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto (Canada), Paris (France), Stockholm, Gothenburg, Boras (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), The Hague (Netherlands), Copenhagen (Denmark), Vienna (Austria), Brussels (Belgium), Melbourne, Sidney, Canberra (Australia), and Bucharest (Romania) staged sit-ins and protests to voice their support for PMOI members in Camp Liberty and their demands.
Many of those on hunger strike whose immediate demand is the expeditious release and return of the hostages are in dire physical conditions. Hunger strikers are also demanding deployment of UN Blue Helmet forces in Camp Liberty and providing imperatives security provisions to the camp (such as 17,500 T-walls, protective vests and helmets), and establishment of an international fact-finding committee to probe the human catastrophe of September 1 and bring its perpetrators to justice.
The 52 martyrs of crime against humanity in Ashraf and the seven hostages have all been under protection by the 4th Geneva Convention and as stipulated by the High Commissioner for Refugees are ‘people of concern’ with all of them having been promised protection. Hunger strikers stipulated that this tragedy need not have happened if U.S. and UN had abided by their guarantees for residents’ safety and security.
They expressed their abhorrence that United States and United Nations have not taken any effective measures to save the seven hostages who are in danger of extradition to the religious fascism ruling Iran at any moment from the claws of Maliki’s assassins. They reiterated that until liberation of hostages and realizing security at Camp Liberty through deployment of UN Blue Helmet forces, they shall continue with their hunger strike.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
September 21, 2013
