March 28, 2024

Ban welcomes deal on voluntary relocation of Iranian exiles

UN News Center

27 December 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed an agreement between the United Nations and the Iraqi Government that provides for the voluntary relocation of residents of a camp hosting Iranian exiles, saying the pact lays the foundation for a peaceful and durable solution to the issue.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Sunday stipulates that the Government will relocate the residents of Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, to a temporary transit location where the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will start a process of refugee status determination, a necessary first step for their resettlement outside Iraq.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson last night, Mr. Ban said the agreement respects both Iraq’s sovereignty and the country’s international humanitarian and human rights obligations.

The MoU was the result of intense negotiations between Mr. Ban’s Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler, and representatives of the Iraqi Government. The residents of the camp were also consulted.

“As reflected in the MoU, the Government of Iraq has a clear and exclusive responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the residents,” said the statement. “At the same time, the residents of camp New Iraq have to abide by the laws of Iraq.”

The Secretary-General urged all concerned parties to continue to demonstrate flexibility and good faith and move towards the swift implementation of the relocation plan. He reminded them that that any violence or attempt at a forcible solution would be unacceptable.

Mr. Ban also reiterated his call to Member States to accept camp residents who are eligible for voluntary return or resettlement as soon as possible.

The UN has been involved in the matter from a purely humanitarian perspective and has played the role of an impartial facilitator, Mr. Ban stressed.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, voiced his appreciation of Mr. Kobler’s efforts to find a solution to the Camp New Iraq issue, saying that UNHCR looked forward to the voluntary and peaceful transfer of the asylum-seekers to a temporary site where the agency can proceed with the determination of their status in accordance with its mandate.

“I wish to commend the Government of Iraq for extending the deadline for the closure of the camp and for agreeing to provide the necessary facilities with safety and security, so that the process of verification and adjudication can be conducted in a timely and appropriate manner,” said Mr. Guterres in a statement.

He also urged all sides to cooperate in good faith to ensure a peaceful process, reiterating his appeal to the international community to contribute to finding durable solutions for those recognized as refugees by offering resettlement opportunities.

Situated in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, Camp New Iraq houses several thousands of members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran.

The Iraqi Government had earlier stated its intention to close down the camp by 31 December and to transfer residents to another location until countries willing to accept them for resettlement are found.

 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40843

Political Turmoil in Iraq – Camp Ashraf

Fox News  “Special Report” with Shannon Bream

Special Guests: A.B. Stoddard, Steve Hayes, Charles Krauthammer

MICHAEL MUKASEY, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Now these people are in a camp where they are defenseless, and the United States troops have pulled out with the result that they are now at the mercy of the Iraqi government which is really doing the biding of the Iranian government. They’ve attacked them twice, both times when the U.S., then U.S. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, was in country.

SHANNON BREAM
, GUEST HOST:
That is former Attorney General Michael Mukasey talking about a group of Iranian dissidents who actually live in Iraq, and now they’re losing their space where they’ve felt protected and they are moving elsewhere. Let’s talk about it with our panel. We’re back with Steve, A.B., and Charles. A.B., this Camp Ashraf situation is very delicate at this point.

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, THE HILL : This is really going to put us in a terrible position because we are going to get dragged into it. I mean, the U.S. government is trying to continue to partner with Iraq to secure — for their own security. But we’re trying at the same time to stay out of the sectarian tension and political chaos that is mounting there. We find the prime minister now, he wants these people out. They’re going to be moved to a temporary place, Camp Liberty, which is a former U.S. base. There is no final home. There’s plans for a transfer, or what they call resettlement, without U.S. troops, U.N. monitors. Everyone is concerned that they won’t be safe there. There will be violence. Do the residents of the camp even want to be moved to the interim place? He’s defending the sovereignty of Iran throughout.

This is going to be a mess, and we’re going to find ourselves having to take a side, and it’s going to be a very tough situation as we try to take this kind of hands-off approach now whenever trouble erupts in Iraq, as it did within days of us leaving.

BREAM: And this camp currently it sits 50 miles from the Iranian border inside Iraq. And as Jennifer Griffin did in her excellent reporting earlier tonight, talked about the fact the U.S. had an understanding for protection for these folks, Steve.

STEVE HAYES, SENIOR WRITER, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: This is one of the reasons that I think this is such a problem. There’s a human tragedy element to it and then there’s also the political implications of this. The human tragedy is obvious. If we don’t protect them, they could be very well the victim of collusion between these two governments. That would be tragic.

On the political side of thing, the United States unfortunately has a history doing this in Iraq. I mean, remember back to 1991 when George H.W. Bush went on the radio, and people throughout the country heard him, said rise up against your government, we’ve got your backs. The Shiites did this and the Kurds did this in the north, and then we walked away from them.

We can’t do this. If we want people to act on our own interests and our perceived interests, we need to be able to keep our word when we ask people to do things for us and when we make promises. It looks like in this case we’re not keeping a promise.

BREAM: The prime minister, al-Maliki said we’re not going to hand them over to Iran; we’re not going to kill them. We don’t want to oppress or starve them, but their presence here is illegal and illegitimate.

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: What’s happening, it’s another event that we’re seeing as a result of the full evacuation that Obama decided on against the generals who wanted a residual force in Iraq that would be a counterweight essentially to Iranian influence. This is entirely Iranian influence.

The group that we are talking about are fanatically anti-regime in Tehran. They have actually helped us. They are the ones that revealed the information about the secret enrichment in Natanz. They have agents inside of Iran, and they are now defenseless.

Why we keep them on the terror list, I don’t understand. They have not engaged in terror in over 15 years, 30 year, and not against the United States. They are an asset. And as we heard in the report earlier in the show, we’ve given them written assurances of protection in return for them turning in their weaponry, of which they had a lot.

So I think it’s a matter of honor, a matter of strategic necessity. The least that we can do is to get them into these camps away from the border with Iran where Iran actually is shelling them occasionally, and to help them resettle. But you can’t do that. They’re officially listed as terrorists, so we have to take them of the list and at the least resettle them.

BREAM: And Steve, more broadly overall the environment in Iraq, a lot of violence in the last few days.

HAYES: Yeah look, Iraq is falling people. There’s no way to dress it up. That’s what’s happening. This is the logical consequence of three years of neglect. That’s what happened with the Obama administration. Phone calls from the Iraqi leaders went unreturned, requests went unfulfilled.

You had an administration, you had a president, a candidate, then Barack Obama, Senator Barack Obama, who ran against Iraq, wasn’t interested, had called it the dumb war. And now you have a president in Barack Obama who neglected this war from the beginning. He handed it off to his vice president who believed that Iraq should be partitioned and split into three different countries. This is the logical consequence of those policy choices.

And I think unfortunately we’re looking at a situation that it’s hard to imagine getting better. You’ve seen this kind of violence and it’s hard to imagine it getting better and probably will get significantly worse over the course of the spring.

STODDARD: It is true, now that we’re gone, Iran will continue to mettle. There’s all this Sunni-Shiite tension, that we’ve lost our leverage. However, leaving Iraq remains popular with the American people. So as things deteriorate throughout 2012, as we expect them to, there’s going to be a debate about whether or not that was the right thing to do. At this moment though, President Obama receives high approval for leaving completely. And so we’ll see if it changes at all.

KRAUTHAMMER: I suspect history be a lot less kind. The tragedy here is that he was handed a won war. The surge had succeeded. Even the Shiite government had taken on the Shiite militias and destroyed them. We had a country that had an election that had representation of Sunnis and Kurds and Shiites. In three years, this administration had one task, work out an arrangement where at least America remains in a noncombat role as we were for the last year-and-a-half to exert pressure, and we did not do that. And to have a won war kicked away as a result is truly tragic.

BREAM: All right, panel, thank you very much.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1348282835001/political-turmoil-in-iraq/

 

Iranian Dissidents Concerned as U.N., Iraq Sign Agreement Over Refugee Camp

FOX NEWS

Dec. 9, 2011: In this photo provided by the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, Iraqi police stand guard outside the opposition group's camp northeast of Baghdad, Iraq.

The United Nations and the Iraqi government have announced that they have signed an agreement about what to do with 3,400 Iranian exiles who have been left stateless and under siege at a refugee camp in Iraq. The State Department welcomed the announcement.

“We are encouraged by the Iraqi government’s willingness to commit to this plan,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote. “Officials from U.S. Embassy Baghdad will visit regularly and frequently….At this new location, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will be able to conduct refugee status determinations for the residents of Ashraf — a necessary first step toward resettlement to third countries.”

But residents of Camp Ashraf say they fear for their lives, even though the Iraqis reportedly agreed to resettle these 3,400 Iranian exiles at Camp Liberty, the former U.S. military base near Baghdad, before helping them leave Iraq. The group is still waiting to view the signed agreement.

“The Secretary General’s Special Representative has underscored that in any event, this is a voluntary and not a forcible relocation,” said Shahin Gobadi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the group’s representative in Paris. “Ashraf residents had repeatedly emphasized that they would in no way accept forcible relocation.”

So who are these Iranians left stateless in Iraq and why does the U.S. have a responsibility for them?

The group known as the Mujahideen Khalq or MEK, has been based in Iraq since the 1980s.

Saddam Hussein gave them protection because they helped him fight Ayatollah Khomeini and the mullahs in Iran. Since the U.S. military toppled Saddam Hussein after the invasion in 2003, the Iranians have been urging Iraq to hand over the exiles, whom Tehran considers traitors and spies.

Technically, the MEK is still on the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list, placed there by President Bill Clinton because the group allegedly killed six American diplomats during the 1970’s when the U.S. was supporting the Shah in Tehran. The group was reportedly placed on the list at a time when the State Department was attempting to engage Iran diplomatically.

More recently, the MEK and its affiliates have also helped the U.S. and Western intelligence agencies. They provided information about the secret uranium enrichment facility in Natanz – a key intelligence breakthrough for the West.

Iran is so threatened by them that when an agreement was reported in recent days, a militia aligned with Iran’s Quds force reportedly fired Katyusha rockets at Camp Ashraf, which is located in northeastern Iraq.

Further, a bipartisan group of more than a dozen top former U.S. national security advisers have been lobbying the State Department to protect the people of Camp Ashraf. They argue that the U.S. has a moral obligation to protect the Camp Ashraf residents because the U.S. military convinced the MEK to disarm after the U.S. invasion, promising them protection and then washed its hands of the situation.

“The United States General gave a guarantee in 2003, when we invaded Iraq and they surrendered their arms, heavy arms and light arms that they could have used to defend themselves,” says former Attorney General Michael Mukasey. “We gave them a guarantee that they would be treated as protected persons.”

Fox News has obtained the July 21, 2004 letter signed by U.S. Army Major General Geoffrey Miller, Deputy Commanding General of Multi-National Forces Iraq, who wrote, “I am writing to congratulate each individual living in Camp Ashraf on their recognition as protected persons under the 4th Geneva Convention.” 

Click here to read the letter from U.S. Army Major General Geoffrey Miller.

A year later Major General William Brandenburg, another MNF-I commander writes, “Coalition forces remain committed to fulfilling the humanitarian mission of ensuring that the important rights provided by the Geneva Convention …are respected at Camp Ashraf.”

According to former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, “We asked a group of people to disarm themselves, to give away, surrender their capability of defending themselves. And in exchange for that, we promised them, we made a commitment that we would provide for their safety and security.”

The 3,400 Iranian exiles living in Camp Ashraf worry they will be killed if left in Iraq without U.S. protection.

“This agreement has not been negotiated with the MEK,” Ridge wrote in response to a Fox query in the wake of the announced deal. “Since the U.S. has yet to lift its ‘foreign terrorist organization’ designation, many of us are concerned that the Iraqi government under the influence of Iran and even with their direct support may provoke an incident against these defenseless residents to justify another massacre. I just want to reiterate that this is NOT a negotiated arrangement and frankly, it doesn’t appear the U.S. had much influence on the outcome.”

In other words, if the State Department leaves the MEK and residents of Camp Ashraf on its terror list, even if the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees wants to help them emigrate, no Western countries or the United States will take them.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/26/iranian-dissidents-concerned-as-un-iraq-sign-agreement-over-refugee-camp/

Fox News “Special Report”: Panel Discusses America’s Promise of Protection to Camp Ashraf Residents

Fox News: America ‘s Promise and Humanitarian Crisis in Camp Ashraf

Statement by the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on Camp Ashraf

The following statement was issued on 26 December by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the signing on 25 December of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and the Government of Iraq for the voluntary relocation of the residents of Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf). He believes that the agreement lays the foundation for a peaceful and durable solution to the situation, respecting both the sovereignty of Iraq and its international humanitarian and human rights obligations. The Memorandum of Understanding is the result of intense negotiations between his Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler, and representatives of the Iraqi Government. The residents of the camp have also been consulted.

The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of the Government of Iraq to extend the deadline for the closure of the camp to provide more time and space for the peaceful voluntary relocation of the residents. As reflected in the Memorandum of Understanding, the Government of Iraq has a clear and exclusive responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the residents. At the same time, the residents of Camp New Iraq have to abide by the laws of Iraq. He appeals to all concerned to continue to demonstrate flexibility and good faith, and move towards the swift implementation of the relocation plan. The Secretary-General reminds all concerned that any violence or attempt at a forcible solution would be unacceptable. The Secretary-General also reiterates his call to Member States to accept the residents who are eligible for voluntary return or resettlement as soon as possible.

The United Nations has been involved in this issue from a purely humanitarian perspective and has played the role of an impartial facilitator. Under the leadership of Special Representative Martin Kobler, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees remain committed to continue supporting a peaceful and durable solution to the situation of the residents of the camp.

http://www.newdesignworld.com/press/story/465225

Rockets strike Iran dissident camp in Iraq

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

At least two rockets struck a camp in central Iraq housing Iranian dissidents Sunday evening, a senior army officer said, as Baghdad and the UN signed a pact aimed at resolving the residents’ status.

Sunday’s deal had been welcomed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said his government would extend a year-end deadline for the removal of the camp residents from Iraq.

“Two rockets landed on Camp Ashraf last night,” an Iraqi army colonel said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The casualties are unknown because we are forbidden from entering the camp.”

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets.

The group which occupies Camp Ashraf, the People’s Mujahedeen, said in a statement that four rockets struck their base at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Sunday evening, and accused groups loyal to Iran of being behind the attack.

Also on Sunday, Iraq and the UN signed a pact under which Baghdad will resettle members of the People’s Mujehedeen and provide security while the UN determines their refugee status.

The United Nations said in a statement that it and the government of Iraq had “signed today a memorandum of understanding for a humanitarian and peaceful resolution of the situation of the residents” of the camp.

It said Iraq will relocate them to a “transit location for a process of refugee status determination by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a necessary first step for their resettlement outside Iraq”.

Iraq had committed to “ensure the safety and security of the residents at the new location”, said the statement.

The agreement was signed by UN envoy Martin Kobler and Iraqi National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh.

It did not give the location to which the residents would be moved or provide a timeline, but Maliki has said the camp will now close in April, rather than at the end of this year.

Clinton in a statement said the deal marks an “important step toward a humane resolution to the ongoing situation at (Camp) Ashraf.”

She added that US embassy officials would visit the new site “regularly and frequently” in support of the UN plan.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein allowed the rebel People’s Mujahedeen to set up the camp during the war with Iran in the 1980s.

When Saddam was overthrown in the US-led invasion of 2003, the camp came under US military protection, but American forces handed over security responsibilities for the site to the Baghdad authorities in January 2009.

The camp, home to around 3,400 residents, has been back in the spotlight since a controversial April raid by Iraqi security forces left at least 34 people dead and scores injured.

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-un-sign-deal-over-iran-dissident-camp-220858357.html

Secretary Clinton: Situation at Ashraf

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 25, 2011
 
Today, the United Nations and the Government of Iraq signed an important agreement on the temporary relocation and eventual resettlement of the more than 3,000 residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. We commend the Government of Iraq for its work with United Nations Special Representative Ambassador Martin Kobler, and welcome this important step toward a humane resolution to the ongoing situation at Ashraf. The UN effort has our full support.

The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding represents significant progress on this issue and outlines steps necessary to achieve a peaceful and viable solution for the residents of Ashraf, including their temporary relocation to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near the Baghdad International Airport. At this new location, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will be able to conduct refugee status determinations for the residents of Ashraf — a necessary first step toward resettlement to third countries.

We are encouraged by the Iraqi government’s willingness to commit to this plan, and expect it to fulfill all its responsibilities, especially the elements of the MOU that provide for the safety and security of Ashraf’s residents. We welcome the agreement by the Government of Iraq to allow the United Nations to station monitors at this new location around the clock and to observe the move from Ashraf to this new location. In addition, officials from U.S. Embassy Baghdad will visit regularly and frequently. We also welcome the Iraqi government’s willingness to delay the final closure of Camp Ashraf to give this plan time for implementation.

To be successful, this resettlement must also have the full support of the Camp’s residents, and we urge them to work with the UN to implement this relocation. All those who want to see the people at Camp Ashraf safe and secure should work together to see that the agreed upon plan is carried out.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/12/179695.htm

http://iraq.usembassy.gov/ashraf.html

Martin Kobler Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Iraqi Government for Voluntary Relocation of Residents of Camp New Iraq

UNAMI Press Releases

Baghdad, 25 December 2011- The United Nations and the Government of Iraq signed today a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a humanitarian and peaceful resolution of the situation of the residents of camp New Iraq (former Ashraf).

The MoU was signed on behalf of the United Nations by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Mr. Martin Kobler, and on behalf of the Government of Iraq by the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Mr. Faleh Fayad.

“The United Nations involvement in this issue has been from a purely humanitarian perspective. It has done its utmost as an impartial facilitator to find a peaceful and durable solution to the situation of the residents of the camp. The MoU respects the sovereignty of Iraq and its international humanitarian and human rights obligations and protects the security and rights of the camp’s residents”, SRSG Kobler said. “At the same time, the residents of camp New Iraq have to abide by the laws of Iraq”, he added

The MoU was developed through a series of joint meetings between the United Nations and Iraqi government representatives. UNAMI also consulted extensively with the residents of the camp.

In broad outline, the MoU establishes a process whereby the Government of Iraq will relocate the residents to a temporary transit location for a process of refugee status determination by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a necessary first step for their resettlement outside Iraq. The United Nations will provide around the clock monitoring until the completion of the process. The UNHCR will immediately deploy a team at the new location to proceed with the verification and adjudication of the claims for refugee status it had received. The MoU includes a clear commitment from the Government of Iraq that it will ensure the safety and security of the residents at the new location. The Government also commits to the substantial involvement of its Ministry of Human Rights throughout the process, including the provision of a liaison officer.

“I want to make it very clear that this MoU is about voluntary relocation and its implementation is based firmly on all sides acting peacefully and in good faith. This will permit the UN to remain engaged in the process.” SRSG Kobler said.

“I would like to highlight that the Government is exclusively responsible for the safety and security of the residents both during their transfer and in the new location until they leave the country”, SRSG Kobler added.

“I also reiterate my call to Members States of the UN to accept the residents of the camp in their countries”, SRSG Kobler said.

SRSG Kobler expressed his gratitude to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for its valuable and active support to the UN facilitation process as well as to the UNHCR for its full engagement and tireless efforts to help ensure a humanitarian, peaceful and durable solution for the camp’s residents.

http://www.uniraq.org/newsroom/getarticle.asp?ArticleID=1617

Terrorist Quds Force affiliated teams fire Katusha rockets at Camp Ashraf

NCRI – On Sunday evening, around 20:00 hours (Baghdad local time) terror teams affiliated with the Iranian regime’s terrorist Quds Force targeted Camp Ashraf with Katusha rockets that landed inside the southern section of the camp near where the housing units of the residents.

On Thursday, General Hossein Hamedani,  a commander of Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) acknowledged, in an interview with IRGC’s Fars news agency , that he had been personally to Camp Ashraf for reconnaissance activities and setting the stage for an attack against the camp.  

Since one week ago, some 400 agents of Iranian regime’s Ministry of Information and Security (MOIS) had been stationed in a building complex in northern part of Ashraf. The building had been occupied by the Iraqi forces during their attack on camp on April 8, 2011.

Therefore, the Iranian regime and its terrorist Quds Force are the ones that are in practice exercising their “sovereignty” over the camp area.
 
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 25, 2011

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/ashraf/11568-terrorist-quds-force-affiliated-teams-fire-katusha-rockets-at-camp-ashraf