NCRI – All Liberty residents issued a joint letter to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees emphasizing the fact that they are under the threat of mass murder and the February 9th missile barrage can be repeated at any time. The residents wrote they were forced to depart Ashraf after three deceitful promises made by Kobler – which were nothing but lies – being Liberty meeting humanitarian standards, quick resettlement and their safety and security.
This letter, signed by some 3,100 Liberty residents, emphasizes, “So far, 2,800 people have been registered, and 2,000 have been interviewed. Authorities from U.S., German, France and Italy have interviewed a total number of 274 residents. But in 2012 and 2013 only seven residents were resettled, and there is no near prospect and certain time frame for resettlement of interviewees.” The letter adds while 3,100 residents have been piled up in the Liberty killing field, “we are now even deprived of having the helmets and civil protective vests we had in Ashraf. Despite his assets and armed guards who accompany him, Mr. Kobler was not willing to enter the camp even for a quick 30-minute inspection after the missile attack for ‘security reasons and unexploded rockets’.”
Liberty residents in this letter to the Antonio Guterres demanded the UNHCR’s efforts be focused on the subject of the residents’ urgent collective security, adding, “the slow resettlement method” and continuing the interviews “portrays this wrong image and provides this excuse as if everything is normal and taken care of”, matters are being pursued in the right path” and “as if all the residents will be resettled soon”. This is something that “increases the dangers for the wide majority that will remain in Liberty for a long period” and through bypassing urgent collective security, “plays with the lives of innocent and defenseless people.”
As an urgent solution, Liberty residents wrote, “the US government that signed a security agreement with every single resident until their final disposition… can transfer all the residents quickly to the US as a way station, even temporarily and at our own expense. This immediate and collective transfer can take place to other countries under UNHCR supervision. If such an urgent transfer is not possible, the only practical solution is our immediate return to Ashraf. At least … the 2,000 individuals who have finalized their RSD process be returned to Ashraf, and be resettled from there”.
The residents added 18 months after the beginning of the refugee status determination process, recognizing all residents as refugees will act as a serious preventive measure in relation to their security.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 15, 2013