The Church of England Newspaper – By Julia Ryan – 11 April 2011
A large group of British Iranians protested this morning in front of the United States Embassy to speak against the US’s perceived inaction on human rights abuses in the Middle East.
The protestors gathered at the embassy in Grovesnor Square in the wake of an attack on the Iranian refugee Camp Ashraf in Iraq last night.
Iraqi forces at the camp killed 28 people and wounded 300 others, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
The attack came just hours after United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates ordered US troops to evacuate Camp Ashraf.
Protestors put up eight large signs around their space outside the embassy in London, including a sign with the faces of all 28 people killed in the Camp Ashraf attack.
A number of the protestors were relatives of those killed or injured in the attack, or were related to other Iranian prisoners being held in the camp.
Eight police officers stood watch as the protestors chanted slogans such as “US shame on you!” and “Ashraf city protection is a US obligation!”
Representatives of the British Iranian community held a press conference during the protest outside the embassy.
David Vaughan, a barrister who has represented the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahideen of Iran (PMOI) in European courts, said he was deeply saddened by the attacks.
This event was something those involved with the camp had feared for quite some time, he said.
He believes the United States has a duty to intervene in Camp Ashraf to uphold the Geneva Convention’s strict laws against human rights violations.
Vaughan wants the US to provide some level of protection to people in Camp Ashraf as an acknowledgement that they did not do enough to prevent the attacks this morning.
“How can [the US] justify what happened?” he said. “It would be extraordinary if they chose not to acknowledge what happened.”
Azadeh Hosseini called the attack on Camp Ashraf “completely unacceptable and horrifying.”
Hosseini’s sister, cousin and two of her aunts currently live at the camp.
She demanded that US troops return to Camp Ashraf and help those injured in the attack get to nearby American hospitals.
She said it is also necessary for Iraqi troops to completely withdraw from the camp and for American troops to take over the camp for the foreseeable future.
“The United States came into Iraq promising to make it a free country,” she said. “But then they let this happen. It’s absolutely appalling.”
Moussa Zabeti, who also spoke at the press conference, said he is frustrated the prisoners of Camp Ashraf were “left in the hands of butchers.”
He is also concerned that United States government has yet to issue a response to this attack.
“Lives can be saved if the United States acts quickly enough,” he said. “The United States has a very clear responsibility- they need to act.”
Camp Ashraf is located about 90 km (55 miles) north of Baghdad. It was established in 1985 and is currently home to 3,500 people, mostly members of the PMOI in exile in Iraq. The residents of Ashraf have “protected persons” status under the Geneva Convention.
