Call on US and UN to immediately return residents to Ashraf as only way to ensure their safety
NCRI – On Tuesday, June 11, four months after the rocket barrage of February 9, 2013, the representative of the Government of Iraq, speaking at the camp’s management meeting held after a five week delay, once again officially declared his government’s opposition to providing security provisions at Camp Liberty.
He specifically stipulated that the entry of any T-walls or the transfer of protective helmets and vests to Liberty have not been approved.
Moreover, he informed residents’ representatives that the continuation of the transfer of 500 small bunkers, approved by Government of Iraq the day after the rocket attack, had been cancelled. Only half of these bunkers were brought to the camp in past months at residents’ own expense.
The minimum provisions that residents and their representatives have requested from the US, UN and the Iraqi government in hundreds of letters, meetings and press statements since February 9, and have agreed to pay for them, are:
Return of 17,500 protective T-walls
Transfer of residents’ protective helmets and vests from Ashraf to Camp Liberty
Transfer of residents’ essential medical equipment from Ashraf to Camp Liberty
Increasing camp area to lower vulnerability coefficient
Permitting construction at Camp Liberty
Previously, on April 16, 2013, in presence of representatives from the UNHCR and UNAMI’s deputy, the representative of Government of Iraq had agreed to the transfer of large T-walls and continuing the transfer of small bunkers.
Last month, following a May 8 visit to Liberty by a delegation of UNAMI officers and representatives of Government of Iraq, the residents’ representatives were informed that only 2,600 protective T-walls had been approved for entry. The Iraqi government is now reneging on its agreements.
Since the rocket attack, Martin Kobler – who is well aware of the Iraqi government’s defiance concerning minimum security provisions – has in at least eleven letters to residents’ representative and in his speeches at the Security Council and the European parliament, falsely bragged about his efforts to provide security to Camp Liberty, of the progress being made, and of the good intentions of Iraq. On March 4 he wrote to the residents’ representative: “We fully support your requests to improve security in Camp Liberty to the highest level.”
And then on March 15 he again wrote: “We continue to fully support your security demands vis a vis the government of Iraq. I hear progress has been made during the last week. We will continue to follow up during the week to come.”
Kobler’s deputy wrote on April 11: “Work under way for improving security at CL, followed closely by our monitors, is progressing.”
On April 13 Kobler wrote: “I have in front of me the latest statistics on where we stand on large T-walls, small T-walls, bunkers, sandbags, personal protection equipment (PPE) and the emergency equipment in the clinic.” He craftily implies that part of the essential security requests of residents has been implemented.
The Iraqi government’s inimical measures and its opposition to the minimum security provisions at Camp Liberty vividly demonstrates that this government not only lacks any intention to resolve Liberty residents’ problems with their protection, but in fact wishes them to suffer more damage in future attacks.
Given absence of minimum security at Camp Liberty and that the area of the camp is 80 times smaller than Ashraf with no buildings, and considering that the project for transfer to third countries has failed, and 16 months after the transfer of residents to Liberty, just 1.5% of them have been transferred outside of Iraq, the only solution to provide minimum protection to the defenseless Liberty residents is their immediate return to Ashraf and their gradual transfer abroad from there.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
June 12, 2013
