Press Release
SOURCE US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents
On Friday, December 5, 2008, families and friends of Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, rallied across from the White House to prevent a looming humanitarian crisis.
Press Release
SOURCE US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents
On Friday, December 5, 2008, families and friends of Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, rallied across from the White House to prevent a looming humanitarian crisis. Protestors sought the United States' continued commitment to protection of Ashraf unarmed residents following the signing of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which provides a basis for continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq by December 31, 2011. Nearly 3,500 members of the main opposition group, the People's Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and their families are in Camp Ashraf.
The rally coincided with the 85th day of the open-ended vigil, held for 67 days at the U.N. Headquarters in New York and moved across from the White House after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon addressed the humanitarian rights of Ashraf refugees in his report to the Security Council.
Ashraf residents are formally recognized "Protected Persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Furthermore, under the Iraq Asylum Act of 1971, the status of the PMOI members was recognized as refugees because their freedom and rights have been infringed in Iran. The recognition in the 1971 Act is binding on the new Government of Iraq.
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, addressed the rally via phone expressing his support for Camp Ashraf. He said the road for democracy was fraught with many ups and downs but one should not give up the fight. Bruce McCulm, former head of the Freedom House addressed the rally calling on the administration to uphold its humanitarian obligations and continue its protection of Camp Asharf.
The rally stressed that transfer of Ashraf protection to Iraqi Government would make it more vulnerable to Tehran's pressure and result in possible detention, extradition, and direct attacks by Tehran and its Iraqi surrogates. The United States, therefore, must continue its protection so long as its forces are in Iraq.
Since last summer, families of Ashraf residents have campaigned to prevent a likely repeat of the 1988 massacre of PMOI members in Iran. Amnesty International said in November Ashraf residents are at "risk of serious human rights violations if they were forcibly returned to Iran." On October 30, Abdolreza Rajabi, a PMOI member, was killed after 7 years of incarceration and severe torture.
