Colonel Leo McCloskey said Martin Kobler, the UN’s representative in Iraq was not doing his job and should be sacked.
NCRI – The residents of Camp Liberty must be urgently moved to safety before more of them are murdered by Iraqi or Iranian forces, a meeting in the US House of Representatives was told.
Colonel Leo McCloskey (rt.) – the former Commander of the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force to Ashraf – said the US had betrayed its promise to protect the Iranian refugees, who were living in the worst refugee camp condition he had ever seen.
He told the meeting on Friday: “Since turning over responsibility for the protection of the people of Ashraf to the government of Iraq in January of 2009, I have not had a restful night of sleep, as have the residents of Ashraf and Liberty.
“We granted the people of Ashraf protected persons status. As the US forces that came into Iraq, the protection we gave to them was unconditional.
“Despite the assurances and memorandums of understanding by the Iraqi government to continue to protect the people of Ashraf, they have not.
“The people of Ashraf and Liberty have been killed by Iraqi soldiers and they have been killed in rocket attacks while they’re at Liberty.
“We need to take some immediate action to save the people of the MEK [the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI)] before more killings take place by the Iraqis or the Iranian forces.”
Col McCloskey also said Martin Kobler, the UN’s representative in Iraq was not doing his job and should be sacked.
He added: “He should be replaced because we need someone in there that truly represents the need for human kindness and the protection of people. These poor people are living in the worst conditions that anybody in any refugee camp could be living in.
“If it were up to me, I would send all the residents of Liberty back to Ashraf until the relocation plan can be implemented and moved to other countries.
“I wait for the day that I can break bread again with my friends from Ashraf in a secure environment. I will not rest comfortably in bed at night until I see these people safe again.”
