Statement signed by 5,000 Genevans in support of the sit-in outside the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) calls on the UN body to reaffirm the status of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI) as political refugees in Iraq
NCRI, Geneva – As the sit-in by Iranians outside the UNHCR building in Geneva enters its third week, more than 5,000 Swiss people have signed a statement expressing their deep concern over plots against PMOI members by the clerical fascism ruling Iran. The petition calls on "the Iraqi government, the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to guarantee the rights of PMOI members and reaffirm their political status in Iraq."
Among the signatories of the petition are many human rights activists and renowned Swiss figures who have "questioned the comments attributed to the Iraqi Prime Minister calling for the imposition of further restrictions against the PMOI" and described them as a "blatant violation of refugee rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention."
The statement reiterates, "The mullahs’ regime’s meddling in Iraq and warmongering in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon, have pushed the region to the brink of a major disaster." It further adds, "Support for the PMOI is not only an aid to democracy in Iran but also ensures democracy in Iraq."
The signatories indicated that the increasing pressure on the PMOI has come at a time when 5.2 million Iraqis have condemned the Iranian regime’s increasing meddling in Iraq and its hidden occupation of Iraq in a statement which was published in the New York Times on June 23. The statement also expressed support for the PMOI as a strong bulwark against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism to Iraq and the Middle East and called on the Iraqi government to respect the rights of its members according to international conventions, especially the principle of "non-refoulement". It also reiterated their rights as refugees.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 16, 2006
