NCRI – On the orders of the Committee tasked to suppress Ashraf residents in the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office and as part of the cruel and inhumane siege of Camp Ashraf, Iraqi forces yesterday sent away four containers carrying essential supplies for the residents of Ashraf after holding up the delivery at the camp entrance for several days. All the items had been purchased by the residents with their own money.
The containers which were barred by Iraqi suppressive forces from entering included items such as fridges, freezers, water coolers, fans, air conditioners, florescent lamps, irons, coffee-makers, mixers, washing machines, bicycles and basic and essential supplies for water and electricity maintenance. Since the outset of the siege at the start of 2009, not a single fridge or freezer has been granted entry to the camp. Given the temperatures of more than 50 °C and the gradual degeneration of the current fridges, the residents are facing a crisis in storing food items. While Iraqi forces restrict the entry of fuel and petrol into the camp, bicycles are very essential items for transport for the residents; however, their entry is being barred.
Following the departure of US forces and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) monitoring team from Ashraf, there has been an increase in pressures and suppressive measures against Ashraf, some of which were mentioned in the statements by the NCRI Secretariat on August 25 and 26. In recent days, Iraqi forces constantly use abusive language against the residents and threaten them with arrest and death. In a further new development, Iraqi security forces are photographing Ashraf residents, and according to one of the Iraqi officers, Captain Ahmad Hassan Khodheir, they plan to put these photos at the disposal of the Iranian regime.
Another Iraqi officer yesterday threatened one of the representatives of the Ashraf residents at the entry depot with death. He had gone there to monitor and list the items that the Iraqi forces were barring from entry. This was the same Iraqi officer who commanded armored vehicles that ran over Ashraf residents during the brutal attack of July 28-29, 2009, the films and images of which shocked the world.
The Iranian Resistance reiterates that the cruel siege of Ashraf and the constant threats against the residents violate many articles of international law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law as well as many international conventions. It calls on the UN Secretary General, Security Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, US ambassador to Iraq, US military command in Iraq and all human rights bodies to condemn these criminal actions and to take urgent measures to bring a halt to the siege.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 30, 2010