Three examples of such lies are found in a letter dated April 6. He has extensively repeated these lies in Geneva, Brussels, Berlin, New York, Washington and Baghdad.
In his letter, he repeated a false claim which had already been denied before. He claimed that ‘monitors’ of UNAMI did not have access ‘to all areas of Camp Liberty’. And he wrote: “I am told that some areas, like the triangle area, is off limits to the monitors and even locked.”
In fact, UNAMI monitors have access to all areas of the camp, including the triangle area, and they have gone to this area repeatedly either on foot or in their vehicles.
In the 20-day period between March 19 and April 8, monitors visited this area nine times. After the missile attack on February 9th, UNAMI monitors did not enter the camp in fear of another attack until March 12.
– They patrolled the triangle area at 10:20am on March 19; at 15:10pm on March 21 and at 14:35pm on April 5.
– They also took part in the residents’ celebration on the occasion of Nowrouz, which was held in the same area on March 20, they took pictures and talked with a number of residents.
– At 14:15pm on March 23, they took pictures of the stage prepared by residents for the Nowrouz celebration.
– They visited various locations in this area and took photos at 11:30am on March 28; 14:50pm on March 29; and 10am on April 4.
– They visited the site that was set up to mark the martyrs of 8 April 2011 in the same area; they took photos and talked with different people there.
– Furthermore, at 11:20am on March 28, UNAMI’s deputy human rights officer went to this area, visited the area and the installations there, and talked with a number of residents.
In another ridiculous lie, Kobler writes: “I was told that bunkers are partially used for… the solid ground of a sports field.”
During first months after the residents moved to Liberty (i.e. February to April 2012), Iraqi forces hurriedly moved 17,500 T-walls out of the camp, during which a number of T-walls fell down and broke; they have been left on the ground ever since.
Now, attempting to justify obstructions by the Government of Iraq to returning the T-walls, Kobler is blaming residents for the broken T-walls; nonetheless, it is not clear what use concrete blocks have for a sports field!
In order to construct a small sports field, the residents worked for days to prepare and level the ground with their hands and handmade tools, and UNAMI monitors have on numerous occasions filmed or taken pictures of this excruciating work and have listened to complaints by residents in this regard.
In yet another lie, Kobler writes: “Sandbags should be used for protection against possible blasts and not as visibility and separation barriers in and between the sections or for providing stability for your stages.”
Maybe Kobler is referring to the stage the residents had constructed with elementary material to commemorate the martyrs of April 8, 2011. UNAMI monitors have seen this stage and no sandbags have been used to build it.
This ludicrous lie is to whitewash obstructions by the Government of Iraq, that refuses to allow sandbags into the camp. The truth of the matter is that these sandbags are necessary in completing a number of small bunkers residents have. Without these sandbags, these bunkers are extremely vulnerable.
On February 12, residents’ representatives requested representatives of the Iraqi government, UNAMI and UNHCR to allow 200,000 sandbags into the camp.
On February 19 and on March 3, representatives of the Government of Iraq, in the presence of UNAMI and UNHCR, told residents’ representative that bringing sandbags to the camp is prohibited and that the Iraqi government has turned down the request.
On March 6, permission was given for a limited number of sandbags to be brought to the camp.
On March 24, following entry of a few thousand sandbags, upon the orders of the Suppression Committee in the Iraqi prime ministry, Captain Haidar Azab obstructed the entry of sandbags purchased by residents.
On March 26, an Iraqi officer and three policemen visited parts of Sections 3 and 5 in the camp and saw the sandbags that had been used for the bunkers.
On March 28, a delegation of Iraqi officers visited the camp and saw the existing sandbags and estimated that 150,000 sandbags were needed to complete the bunkers, and it was decided that the purchased sandbags be brought to the camp. However until now, despite numerous calls by residents’ representatives, the entry of sandbags has been obstructed.
The Iranian Resistance once again warns the UN Secretary-General, the UNHCR, and the U.S. Embassy in Iraq against the dangerous objectives of Martin Kobler in fabricating these lies, considers them a prelude to a crime against humanity, and requests an immediate dispatch of a delegation from the U.S. Embassy and UNHCR to investigate these fabrications and prevent another bloodbath that Martin Kobler is facilitating.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
April 11, 2013