- Martin Kobler paves the way for stealing Ashraf resident’s property and third massacre in Ashraf by Al-Maliki at behest of the Iranian regime
• Given his extreme bias toward Al-Maliki, Kobler has judicial responsibility in any attack or assault on Ashraf or expropriation of their property, and must be held accountable
Seventeen days after Senator Torricelli’s return from Iraq, in a threatening and deceptive letter Martin Kobler, Special Representative of Secretary General ignored all his previous promises and proved once again that he simply advocates Al-Maliki and the Iranian regime interests against members of the Iranian opposition.
In contradiction of proposal and written agreement of UNAMI with Senator Torricelli, Mr. Kobler has rejected the solution of issue of property through international lawyers and now unscrupulously and brazenly states that the GoI only accepts the engagement of Iraqi lawyers in this issue subsequent to their screening by Iraqi organs.
In September 2012 Kobler tried to impose agents of Iraq’s security organs as merchants to residents’ lawyers. Subsequently, in order to satisfy Al-Maliki, Kobler brought the solution of the British Company into failure. The British Company that its contract for purchasing the moveable and non-moveable property of the residents was approved by the Iraqi Embassy in London, the UK Foreign Office and the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, was forced to walk away from the contract as a result of intimidation of its Iraqi representative by Al-Maliki agents and the hysterical pressures that Martin Kobler exerted on company’s chairman.
In his January 21, 2013 letter, Mr. Kobler has torpedoed the process by deliberately ignoring the good intentions and two-month long endeavors of the representatives and lawyers of the Ashraf and Liberty residents who organized the expensive and elaborate project of the trip of Senator Torricelli and Professor Schneebaum to Iraq on the New Year’s Eve, a project that was initiated from November 24 upon the suggestion of Mr. Busztin.
By doing so, Kobler wants to start the game all over again and to that effect has sought the names and telephone numbers of the three Iraqi lawyers in order to provide them to Al-Maliki’s criminal agents for being “checked”. Senator Torricelli had hired the three Iraqi lawyers so that they would function under his supervision and control as legal assistants and advisers of the delegation of international lawyers. By removing the international lawyers, Kobler intends to remove the head from the body of the legal team and to set the stage for removing the Iraqi lawyers from the scene (similar to Iraqi representative of the British Company) and to pave the way for plundering the property and future massacre of the residents.
According to the ratification of Al-Maliki’s Council of Ministers on June 17, 2008 and according to Al-Maliki’s suppressive law on terrorism that is strongly protested by patriotic Iraqi forces and Iraqi people “any cooperation with the terrorist organization of the Mojahedin Khalq by any organization, party, institution or Iraqi citizens or foreigners in Iraq would be subject to laws of combating terrorism and would be referred to judiciary according to that law.”
2- Based on previous experiences including preventing the implementation of residents’ agreement with an Iraqi merchant (April to September 2012), threatening of the Iraqi representative of a British firm and preventing the implementation of agreement with this firm (September to November 2012) and assassination of Akram Nagheeb, Ashraf residents’ lawyer (September 2012), Senator Torricelli wrote in several occasions specially on January 13, 2012 to Mr. Kobler that in order to identify Iraqi lawyers to the Iraqi government, the SRSG has to guarantee three points on behalf of the Iraqi government in an official letter:
“First, the directive from the Council of Ministers regarding cooperation with the MEK by Iraqi citizens has no impact on the right to ownership of this organization and does not apply to Lawyers generally and specifically is not relevant to these circumstances since the GOI welcomes their involvement. I’m also pleased to report that your lawyers will not be prosecuted and their security would not be jeopardized.
Second. The GOI recognizes that the Attorneys represent the Residents for the purpose of presenting and receiving proposals for the sale or liquidation of their assets in Iraq. Senator Torricelli and Steven Schneebaum as the legal representatives of the Residents retain the exclusive right to negotiate, accept or reject proposals and to maintain or discharge Counsel. Ultimate authority rests entirely with the Residents’ representatives in Paris.
Third. Negotiations between legal representatives of the Residents and the GOI will be held without preconditions and includes all personal property, movable property, immovable property and real estate. No agreement on any issue will be deemed accepted or inferred until Steven Schneebaum and Senator Torricelli have delivered written affirmation”.
These three points are neither new nor illogical and Senator has insisted upon them from the onset. In addition to verbal discussions in trip to Baghdad, the same points have been clearly mentioned in his January 7 letter to Mr., Basztin, and Para.35 of his report.
3- But Mr. Kobler in his today’s letter has ignored the most fundamental issue that the main party with respect to Ashraf property is Senator Torricelli and not the Iraqi lawyers, so that the Iraqi government can easily exert pressure on Iraqi lawyers and intimidate the residents. Kobler writes:
“The GOI expressed disappointment that you did not authorize us to give them the names and telenumbers of the advocates for background check.
These direct counterparts can only be Iraqi advocates which they consider representing the residents, not the international lawyers as they are considered to represent the mek”.
4- Kobler adds: “in the absence of the nomination of the iraqi lawyers the ashraf committee will be seized with the matter on Tuesday. They consider to report to the government, that after all the efforts of the last months with even the three conditions suggested by senator Torricelli being met, there is still no progress and no cooperation from the side of the residents. The Ashraf committee will then refer the matter back to the cabinett for further decision”.
This is a clear blackmail for expropriation of the residents’ property and laying ground for next massacre of the opposition members in Iraq, which Al-Maliki and Khamenei in their shaky position greatly need. Given his extreme bias toward Al-Maliki, Kobler has judicial responsibility in any attack or assault on Ashraf or expropriation of their property, and must be held accountable. Disregarding the international lawyers delegation is clearly a deceptive act and unacceptable.
The Iranian Resistance calls for immediate intervention by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the High Commissioner Antonio Guterres, the High Commissioner Navi Pillay, The European Union, and particularly the U.S. government to Guaranty the safety and security and fundamental rights of ashraf and Liberty residents.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 21, 2013
