By Benito Perez
Le Courrier, Gen̬ve РThe fate of the Iranian opponents in Iraq gives rise to mobilization. Under pressures from Tehran, Baghdad wants to expel them in early 2007.
Hundred days. It has been more than three months that supporters of the People’s Mojahedin demonstrate everyday outside the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. Coming from all over Europe, activists of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) protest against the threat of expulsion against their comrades in Iraq.
Under Tehran’s pressure, the Shiite-led Iraqi government gave them until the beginning of 2007 to leave the country. Baghdad accuses the People’s Mojahedin of meddling and reminds that they appear on the lists of terrorist organizations of the European Union and of the United States. Yesterday, several Swiss and British deputies along with French personalities demanded the international community to reaffirm the refugee status of the 3,500 Iranians living in the former military base of Ashraf.
The Geneva residents were not impervious to the long sit-in of the NCRI militants – a coalition group of secular, democratic movements including the People’s Mojahedin Organization. According to estimates published yesterday, more than 20,000 signatures have been collected in their support since August.
At a press conference at the Swiss Press Club, the Geneva deputies Antonio Hodgers (Greens) and Luc Barthassat (PDC), as well as the former leader of the Left Alliance, Erika Deuber-Ziegler, gave the support of local political circles to the claims of the Iranian opponents. “International organizations must give guarantees so that no abuse is committed”, stressed Mrs. Deuber-Ziegler.
Another Islam
Two British deputies, Lord Corbett of Castle Vale and Andrew MacKinley, handed over a declaration signed by 200 British political leaders to the ICRC and the UNHCR. “By supporting the Mojahedin, we support all Iraqi democrats who do not want to see their country becoming an Islamic state in Iranian pattern.”
For Tehran, “Ashraf City constitutes a major impediment, since it shows that we can live Islam in an open, democratic and tolerant way”, Mohammad Mohaddessin, spokesman for the NCRI, added.
Who are the terrorists?
The French lawyer Gilles Paruelle rejected the “terrorist” nature of the people’s Mojahedin. In 2003, he reminded, a systematic interrogation of Ashraf inhabitants carried out by the American authorities did not lead to any evidence of illegal activities. “On the contrary, those who carry out terrorist activities in Iraq are Tehran’s agents,” Lord Corbett stated.
In July 1994, the United States acknowledged that the Iranian refugees – some of whom have been in Iraq since 1986 – were protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. “Consequently Washington has the moral and legal obligation to guarantee their protection,” Andrew MacKinley said.
“Unsatisfactory response”
Regarding the HCR, Mr Mohaddessin said, in spite of three months of intense lobbying of the NCRI, it gave no “satisfactory response to our request. Yet what we want is very simple: that they reaffirm the refugee status of the people of Ashraf. The UNHCR has been created in that purpose, to safeguard the right of asylum. It cannot neglect its responsibilities.”
