MPs, jurists worldwide condemn Iraqi forces’ attack against Ashraf residents

The wave of international condemnations continues against the Iraqi forces’ vicious Monday attack on Ashraf residents during the inspections of the 6th convoy headed to Liberty. 

Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former president of the German Federal Parliament Bundestag, the International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf representing 8,500 jurists from around the world, the International-Parliamentary Campaign in Defense of Ashraf and Klaus Bresser, former chief editor of German 2. TV ZDF, issued statements strongly condemning the Iraqi forces’ violence against Ashraf residents.

Criticizing and protesting UNAMI’s inaction vis-à-vis these illegal measures and flagrant aggressions, these dignitaries and societies stressed that the Iraqi government’s aggressive measures against Iranian regime dissidents have raised international abhorrence. They emphasized the UN and US government have the obligation to condemn these violent measures and use all means at their proposal to prevent any similar reoccurrence.

Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former president of the German Federal Parliament Bundestag 

Is Department of State Blackmailing Iranian MEK?

Nima SharifIn an “on-the-record conference call” with journalist, officials from the State Department, Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Daniel Benjamin and Special Advisor to the Secretary on Camp Ashraf Ambassador Daniel Fried, pressed members of the Iranian opposition movement living in Camp Ashraf to leave the camp and move to Camp Liberty in Baghdad in order for the Secretary of State Clinton to ‘possibly’ remove the name of the organization, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list of the Department.  They complained that there has been no relocation since May 4, 2012, when the last group of 400 dissidents left Ashraf for Camp Liberty.

"The Iraqi government, clearly at the behest of the Iranian regime, is preventing any basic items to be moved to Camp Liberty or facilities be established there, of course at the expense of the residents.  Water, electricity, proper sanitation, and cooling systems in a 130F (55°C) heat, while you are willing to pay for it yourself, is not too much to ask for and is certainly not maximalist."

The officials failed to state clearly the reason why the move is not taking place, specifically the humanitarian situation at Camp Liberty which by no means meets international standards.  In fact, after 2000 residents of Camp Ashraf have already moved to Liberty, the camp can no longer accept more residents due to lack of basic living needs such as water, electricity and sewage system and etc...

Residents of Camps Ashraf and Liberty are members of the main Iranian opposition movement, MEK, that have lived for years in Iraq fleeing persecution by the Iranian dictatorial regime.  But the current government of Iraq, having close ties to the Iranian regime, has been persecuting the exiles in their home of 25 years which is called Camp Ashraf situated at about 80 miles north of Baghdad. In two separate attacks on the camp in 2009 and 2011, total of 47 residents including 8 women were killed by Iraqi forces as the American forces nearby looked away.  Video shots of the April 2011 massacre on YouTube, shows Iraqi officers directly shooting at unarmed residents who empty handedly tried to prevent the Iraqi forces from taking over their homes.

In 1997, the Clinton administration, in a move to win favor with Iran’s then new, so-called moderate president, Mohammed Khatami, blacklisted Iran’s main opposition in exile, MEK.  But the passage of years since the war in Iraq and fall of Saddam Hussein, have proven that the group is not a terrorist organization and is no threat to the United States.  On the contrary, MEK is a legitimate opposition movement, trying to bring a democratic change to Iran and advocates peace, democracy and freedom, and separation of church and state for that country.

A court ruling in Washington on June 1 this year called on the Secretary of State to decide whether to continue listing of the group or delist them by October 1 or, otherwise, by the order of the court, the group will automatically be removed from the Department’s FTO list.

But the Secretary of State has subjected the delisting to a move from Camp Ashraf to Liberty by the residents, who are members of the MEK, and a successful closure of the camp.  While such contingency is not defined by law and it should be unlawful for the Secretary to declare such conditions for delisting, the MEK has already committed to the closure of Camp Ashraf in order to prevent further bloodshed of the residents at the hands of the Iraqi government.

The MEK has convincingly demonstrated its desire for a peaceful solution. 2000 residents have already moved to Camp Liberty and the remaining, about 1200, have publicly stated that they are ready to depart as soon as humanitarian conditions at Camp Liberty are brought up to standards and minimum living requirements for 3200 people at the 0.5 km²camp allocated to them are met.

But the Iraqi government, clearly at the behest of the Iranian regime, is preventing any basic items to be moved to Camp Liberty or facilities be established there, of course at the expense of the residents.  Water, electricity, proper sanitation, and cooling systems in a 130F (55°C) heat, while you are willing to pay for it yourself, is not too much to ask for and is certainly not maximalist.

The Department of State should stop threatening and pressuring the already under pressure and defenseless residents of Camp Ashraf, to give up basic human rights and surrender to a forcible move to Liberty.  Instead, it is expected from the United States to press the government of Iraq to respect the human rights of the residents and allow them access to basic needs that they will acquire at their own expense, thus, facilitating further move of the remaining residents to Liberty. It is perfectly legitimate for the residents to ask to have access to running water, and not for the water to be delivered by tanker on daily basis. It is totally unacceptable that in 21^st centaury people be forced to live in such condition. What is absolutely appalling is that both UN and U.S. are supporting this inhumane condition simply because they do not want to jeopardize their relation with Nouri al-Maliki.

Ambassador Fried that, in his view, the residents should not ask to take their own personal cars to Camp Liberty is shocking. The question is why should there be any restriction on the residents to take their own properties. They are being unlawfully evicted by the Iraqi government, ironically supported by the US and UN Secretary General Special Representative, and yet are even denied the right to take their own property. The Iraqi government has so far even prevented the disabled to take their indispensible facilities, without which they cannot survive. Yet, the UN and State Department are blaming the residents for not moving ahead while keeping silent on the Iraqis suppressive measures.

Using FTO listing to force the resident to move into an inhumane environment is nothing but blackmail.  It intends to force the MEK to trade delisting of the organization with the well-being and safety of its members in Iraq.  That is something that is not becoming of a well respected, internationally known and recognized movement for freedom and democracy.  It is not the MEK Iranians know.  It will not happen. The safety and security of the residents should have priority to every other consideration including delisting of the MEK.

On the other hand, it would bring much shame to the Department of State to deceive the Iranian exiles, who are there fleeing persecution at the hands of the mullahs’ regime, into walking into what may well turn into their killing field.

Camp Liberty

World Heroes Support MEK; We Will not Relent

The US State Department is best at toppling Heroes; According to Washington’s’ definition of a ‘terrorist’; George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela were terrorists.

Dedicated to Mahin Saremi: Iranian political prisoner and 2009 protest organizer

With the US State Departments’ contentious defiance of the Rule of the law to delist MEK , the main question repeated is: Who are the terrorists? Those who are at the very center of an international network of terrorism, or those who are protesting at their activities and presenting the best revelations for the sake of International peace and security?

Danielle Mitterrand, the First Lady of human rights, Raymond Aubrac and his comrade in arms Lucie Aubrac, Lord Corbett and Lord Archer, have one thing in common; the struggled for global justice. Each had remarkable achievements ranking them one of a kind in the war against misery, injustice and oppression. Daniel Mitterrand was labeled a terrorist by France and later named a hero. Raymond Aubrac was accused of spying by the French government while his fame for “courage and resistance” against the Gestapo became a beacon of hope for thousands who fought fascism. Lord Corbett of Castle Vale was accused of vehemently supporting a terrorist Iranian group (MEK) while his gallant journalism revealing the Iranian spying network was a serious setback for the ayatollahs’’ ominous plans. Lord Archer a former Solicitor-General, Crown Court Recorder, and Chairman of the Council on Tribunals and a member of the Select Intelligence and Security Committee of the UK parliament, was a stout supporter of the MEK who announced the de-listing of the group by the EU high court as “important stepping stone to a new beginning for the Iranian people.”

They all challenged rehash of accusations and lies spurred by their government, at the behest of Tehran against the pro-democracy MEK.

Terrorism can be extremely inhuman, particularly when it undermines essential values and benchmarks. When State terrorism includes ‘coercing’ heroes instead of villains, and leashing the bacon of hope of millions of people in a crusade of insidious calumnies buried under a double entendre, there is a need for stupendous gallantry to break the spell.

The US “FTO” listing of the Iranian pro-democracy movement of (MEK), anti-thesis to Islamic fundamentalism, has been an outstanding stain in the history of American failures for the good and the advent of evil.

Heroes are not only legendary characters in comic strips or ‘Smallville’ scenarios, but are real people who take on tasks to change the nature of the world through their acts of courage and selflessness. They endure much resistance, hardship, and danger organizing change in the advent of greatness; make difficult choices and bring out the best in people. Stories for heroism have served as moral examples for centuries. In counter factual history, we tend to question what would happen if heroes did not exist.

In the case of Iran, the axis of world crisis, the question of ‘to be or not to be’ is very much contingent with how the world is setting boundaries to distinguish heroes from vigilantes and terrorists.

We would have to comprehend that ‘resistance’ in Iran exists because there is a vile tyranny unleashed that manipulates religion to stone women; gouge eyes and mutilate bodies; carry out collective hangings; train zealots ready to massacre in Syria and anywhere else in the world and fool the world to acquire the nuclear arsenal.

Resistance against mullahs’ dictatorship is the legitimate right of the Iranian people challenged by the Obama administration.

The pro-democracy organization, MEK, has been targeted in a criminal scenario and ploy orchestrated in Tehran; downplayed by the US state department is only the consequence of misplacing advocacy values for short-term objectives. The best-case scenario in this ploy is “US state Department toppling of heroes instead of the villains.” Let us not forget that the sweep of human history is for freedom.

What has MEK achieved in the past 30 years that would absolve it from any terrorist accusations?

• It has provided the International Community with extensive Human right revelations, first hand testimonies and documents for the UN human rights council and rappateurs leading to fifty Five UN resolutions; limiting Iranian regime’s ability to expand massacre.

• It has provided the International community with the best intelligence on warmongering ambitions of the clerics in Iran to obtain nuclear arsenal as part of a broader objective to establish an Islamic Empire, demanded in Khomeini’s will.

• It has been a thorn in the throat and a solid barrier to expansion of Islamic fundamentalism, because of its tolerant nature and belief in true democracy; separation of church and State and freedom of choice and belief based on the Universal declaration of Human rights, despite its Muslim tendency.

• It has been the “most feared” opposition of the Ayatollahs with an extensive role in organized protests as exclaimed by clerics in State-run media. 

• It has the only serving heroes, resolved to support “freedom and democracy” in Iran, Camp Ashraf, Camp Liberty and throughout the world, despite a multimillion dollar mud-sliding campaign by Tehran.

• It is the only opposition movement to have united bi-partisan tendencies from five continents on one axis: to prevent a third world war speared by the ruling mediaeval fascists in Iran; while helping the flow of untapped potentials within the movement to bring about a lasting peace in Iran and the region through a democratic change.

• It is the only freedom movement with the ability to sustain financial independence because of a spectacular host of popularity around the globe.

• It has led an unprecedented legal battle to retain its just status as a “pro-democracy” movement and has won 22 judicial requisitions, which rejected the terrorist label as “perverse” (2).

Coherently; in the world of armchair bloggers who created a generation of critics instead of leaders and heroes, the MEK/PMOI is actually working to establish freedom and democracy in Iran.

The astounding heroism of the movement is met with denial by the US State Department, partially out of fear and partly malfeasance.

The MEK’s activities have been painted with an unjustified brush of terrorism, thereby conflating instances of otherwise legitimate resistance against a tyrannical system with horrid acts of blind terrorism.

John F. Kennedy, underlined the benchmark in his inauguration speech; Taking responsibility alongside heroes.

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it – and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

The fallen hero of America saw a hero in all those who bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, rejoicing hope for millions, in a struggle “against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.” He embraced the values that America stood for with a cost, because heroes are set in the moment against a mutual enemy, and not in the past or hesitation of the future.

In a mutual article Gen. David Phillips, Col. Wesley Martin and Lt. Col. Leo McCloskey defined margins that distinguished the “hero” from the villain and the “friend” from the “foe”:

“The first and the most common interpretation is the need for leaders to understand the plans, intentions, and motives of an avowed adversary. The second meaning is more fundamental, and in many ways more crucial: know who is, in fact, your enemy – and who isn’t. The failure to detect a real enemy means not only diverting precious resources and attention from dealing with a threat; it can also mean mistaking a friend for a foe.”

Unfortunately, the staggering brazen orchestra of denial by the State department overwhelms any moral substance, while promoting judicial Machiavellianism.

Recently, US Federal Court of Appeal in Washington asked the US Secretary of State to review the FTO designation of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) within four months after this issuance of this writ adding, “Should the Secretary fail to take action within the four-month period, the petition for writ of mandamus setting aside the FTO designation will be granted.”

The US State department, however, announced that a “key factor” in making a decision on PMOI’s 2008 petition to revoke its FTO status, is “cooperation in the successful and peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf.” (3)

By taking a humanitarian crisis “hostage,” manipulating the safety and security of 3400 pro-democracy dissidents of Camp Ashraf, the State Department has landed the Obama Administration on a slippery slope of ethical values.

The MEK welcomed the change immediately; publicly announced its willingness to leave Ashraf (4)cooperated in the transfer of 1,200 residents to Camp Liberty/Hurriya under challenging circumstances (5) praised by State Department officials for its cooperation. (6)

Despite hoax promises that have turned ‘Liberty’ into a concentration camp, the residents have co-operated at a new level of leniency, while asserting there are limits to refuted unilateral goodwill gesture.

The US will not win the war against terrorism and its policy of sanctions against the tyrants in Tehran, unless it abides by its founded values and integral laws.

To break way from political archetypes, the secretary of State, Clinton, has to act like a hero; stand firm on legal principles and not political assumptions which will be misleading.

Do not topple the heroes that make our world a better place; face our mutual enemy: de-list the MEK.

Annotations:

(1): For more information on MEK please refer to the link below :http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-safavi/reality-check-the-guardia_b_814605.html

(2): On May 7, 2008, Britain’s Court of Appeal Court ruled that “The reality is that neither in the open material nor in the closed material is there any reliable evidence that supported a conclusion that PMOI retained an intention to resort to terrorist activities in the future. There is no evidence that the [MEK] has at any time since 2003 sought to re-create any form of structure that was capable of carrying out or supporting terrorist acts. There is no evidence of any attempt to “prepare” for terrorism. There is no evidence of any encouragement to others to commit acts of terrorism…”

(3): Quoted in MEK Status on Blacklist Hinges on Iraq Camp Closure, Reuters, Feb. 29, 2012.

(4): Maryam Rajavi, 400 Ashraf Residents Are Prepared to Go to Camp Liberty at First Opportunity, NCR-Iran.org (Dec. 28, 2011), http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/ashraf/11575.

(5) UNHCR, Camp New Iraq (Formerly Camp Ashraf) Residents and the Determination of Their Refugee Status Claims (Mar. 28, 2012), http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4f7417e72.pdf.

(6): Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of State, Update on Camp Ashraf (Feb. 18, 2012),http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/02/184204.htm

Mahin Saremi is a former political prisoner who escaped from Iran last year, one of the active organizers of the 2009 protests in Iran and activist has recently entered the realm of freelance writers. Her articles have been published since she escaped from Iran.

Bipartisan Political Leaders Urge Removal of MEK from Terrorist List, Denounce Attempt to Silence State Department Policy Critics

WASHINGTON, March, 24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX

With a federal appeals court deadline looming for the U.S. State Department to answer why it has defied earlier court rulings requiring review of a decision to maintain the main Iranian opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khaq (MEK) on the terrorist list, top former US officials and Members of Congress are urging the Department to remove the group immediately.

"I believe we will not only get our day in court, I believe we will succeed," former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge told an audience of Members of Congress, staff members, and Iranian-Americans during an event, marking the Iranian New Year, Nowrouz. "Sometimes justice takes a little longer than normal, but sooner or later, righteousness and the law prevail, and we will prevail."

Other speakers included Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and retired Army Col. Wesley Martin, who commanded Camp Ashraf.

At issue is the fate of 3,400 Iranian dissidents now housed at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty in Iraq; their safe relocation has been vastly complicated by the State Department's refusal the make a decision on the Status of the MEK.

In 2010, a three-judge panel in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ruled that the State Department had violated the due process rights of the MEK and ordered the Obama administration to revisit the issue. Since then, the State Department continues to be in violation of the due process in virtue of its refusal to make a decision based on instructions given by the Court.

Earlier this month, attorneys for the MEK filed a writ of mandamus seeking the court's intervention in light of State inaction. The court did so expeditiously, and gave the government a deadline of March 26 to respond to the mandamus.

In the meantime, in a move which some observers believe is tied to the court developments, the Treasury Department is apparently contemplating a "potential" investigation into the source of funding for events where a number of senior former federal law enforcement, intelligence and national security officials had urged that the MEK be dropped from the State Department's terror list and the residents of Ashraf be protected.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, has called this inquiry "a travesty," adding that it is "a sin that our government is going after these people trying to support the people of Iran."

"It seems that the method to silence those who are in favor of the liberation of the MEK from the foreign terrorist organization... is to attack them personally... That is not going to work. Whoever is behind the attacks on these good men and women with unbelievable credentials, who believe in the de-listing of the MEK, it will not succeed," emphasized the Texas Republican, Rep. Ted Poe.

Since the Court ruling, nearly 130 members of Congress, including House Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI), Oversight and Government Reform Chair Darrel Issa (R-CA) and Armed Services Committee Chair Howard McKeon (R-CA), have co-sponsored resolutions calling for the delisting of the MEK

SOURCE California Society for Democracy in Iran

Vipers at Liberty Prison

Camp Liberty-No.13

NCRI - On the afternoon of Saturday, February 25, near the residents’ sleeping trailers at Liberty, several snakes and vipers were seen, two of them captured by the residents (3 Photos are attached). This is due to the non-livable conditions of this abandoned location and the catastrophic infrastructures at the camp whose readiness and compliance with humanitarian standards were certified at the end of January by Mr. Martin Kobler and his shelter building technician. Meanwhile, the daily walk-through of armed Iraqi forces in the small residential areas of residents continues for 30 to 50 times a day.

Pictures of these snakes tarnish the so-called golden image of liberty and as Alan Dershowitz said two days ago at a conference in Washington, D.C., it leaves behind nothing but a scandal. The world’s most prominent criminal lawyer added:

“What we need immediately is a commission of inquiry to determine how this fraud was perpetrated. Who certified -- who approved that hell hole, that garbage dump? Who said that it met United Nation's standards? Somebody is responsible for perpetrating that fraud and for getting 400 innocent people to risk their lives and their health to be exposed to that kind of trash and that kind of hazard to their health. We have to get to the bottom of this."

Also at that conference Mayor Rudy Guiliani said:

"This isn't a jail. This is a concentration camp. That's what it is. This is a concentration camp. Let's call it what it is."

Consequently, “Liberty residents have come to the conclusion that without the guarantee of their minimum assurances, the only solution to prevent the degeneration of the status quo is their return to Ashraf.” (NCRI Statement on Liberty, No. 12, February 24)

And the Ashraf residents have written in their letters to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that: “We cannot accept any relocation without minimum guarantees. By obtaining confirmation of their conditions for Liberty by UNAMI, the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government want to give us a choice between death and surrender to religious fascism.”

Mrs. Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, drew the attentions of UN Secretary General, Secretary Clinton, and Baroness Ashton to this unhealthy and anti-human environment by her strongest protest against prison-building and catastrophic conditions of Liberty, and asked for immediate attention to this shameful situation. She reiterated that as Ashraf residents have announced repeatedly, without minimum assurances, no one should expect any voluntary relocation from Ashraf to Liberty.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 27, 2012

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/ashraf/11746-vipers-at-liberty-prison