Ashraf is the home of 3,418 members of the Iranian resistance organization, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
President Barack H. Obama, during his successful campaign for the presidency, and subsequent to that victory, made many declarations of his strong sense of obligation to return American policy to a deeper commitment to the maintenance of human rights, something that he implied had been missing in the policies of the prior administration. One of his first acts as President was to sign an order for the closure of the federal detention program at Guantanamo Base. The ultimate wisdom of that decision remains to be seen, but the decision has sent a powerful message to the world of his "good intentions" in the arena of human rights.
Another test awaits the Obama administration: the status of the residents of Camp Ashraf in Diyala Province in Iraq. What is Camp Ashraf, or Ashraf City, as its residents call it? Ashraf is the home of 3,418 members of the Iranian resistance organization, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) or as it is known in its native Farsi — the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK).
The PMOI/MEK is the largest, best-organized, and oldest group opposed to the theocratic rule of the ayatollahs in Iran. It began its history in pre-revolutionary Iran in 1965 as a student group opposed to the autocratic dictatorship of the last shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Although initially aligned with the Iranian clergy in the collective attempt to overthrow the shah, the PMOI soon broke with the Islamist clergy when the latter, under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1981 pushed for the establishment of an Islamic state, governed by sha‘riah (Islamic law). The leaders of the PMOI fled Iran for Paris in mid-1981 when their lives were threatened by the clerical regime.
In 1986, the Islamic Republic of Iran convinced the French government to expel the leaders of the PMOI, and so they returned to the Middle-East. The late Saddam Hussein — at the time engaged in the eight-year long Iran-Iraq War — invited the PMOI to Iraq as it had called for a cease-fire in 1981 and had began armed resistance to the Iranian regime following the regime's murder of Iranian civilians in a peaceful demonstration in Tehran in June 1981. The PMOI accepted Saddam's invitation, but with the clear understanding that their single enemy was the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini (and subsequently, of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei). The PMOI fought the Iranian regime in a series of skirmishes, the most famous being "Operation Eternal Light" in 1988 when units of the Iranian resistance's National Liberation Army (NLA) advanced to Kermanshah. With Khomeini's acceptance of the cease-fire in September 1988, the PMOI retreated to their bases in Iraq. Under the leadership of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, the PMOI and its umbrella political organization, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reorganized, and — in reaction to the increasing fanaticism of the misogynist Islamic regime in Tehran — developed and established an egalitarian form of Islam in which women assumed over 50% of the leadership roles of the organizations.
In 2001, the PMOI and NCRI decided to forego further military operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on the popular support of the Iranian populous to effect a transition to a secular democracy in Iran. In 2003, during "Operation Iraqi Freedom", the PMOI remained non-combatants despite the retention of their considerable military hardware, obtained through purchase and victory over Iranian forces through the years. Although Ashraf and the other PMOI camps came under three days of bombardment by British and American forces starting on April 19, 2003, not a single shot was fired in retaliation as the PMOI regards only the Iranian mullah regime as its enemy. The PMOI sustained some 50 fatalities and about 200 wounded in these aerial attacks. When American ground forces surrounded Camp Ashraf on the fourth day to mount a ground assault, they were greeted with a delegation from the camp inviting them into Ashraf for breakfast! The following month — May 2003 — the PMOI voluntarily signed a disarmament agreement with the American forces, the terms being negotiated by Army Captain Vivian Gembarra, JAG.
Following their disarmament, all 3,800 Camp Ashraf residents underwent an exhaustive sixteen-month investigation by five American federal security agencies to determine whether anyone had any links to terrorism; all passed the tests — which included DNA samplings — with flying colors. Subsequently, the residents of Ashraf received "protected persons" status under the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Major General Geoffrey D. Miller, Deputy Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq, sent a letter to the residents of Ashraf on July 21, 2004, extending his congratulations to them on their new status as "protected persons."1
From July 21, 2004 until the end of 2008, the residents of Ashraf remained under the protection of American units of the MNF-I.2 In the SOFA treaty3 signed in December 2008 between the United States and the government of Iraq, responsibility for Camp Ashraf was transferred to the Iraqi government with the provision that a smaller contingent of American soldiers would remain to monitor conditions.4 In January 2009, responsibility for Ashraf was indeed transferred to the Iraqis.
The safety of Ashraf's residents now is in a state of grave peril. The current Iraqi government, headed by Prime Minister Dr. Nouri Kamal al-Maliki from the Islamist Da‘wa Party,5 the largest faction in the ruling United Iraqi Alliance — the Shiite fundamentalist parliamentary block — which has long been aligned with the Islamic government of Iran, continues to take orders from Tehran concerning the status and welfare of Ashraf. As the Iranian regime regards the PMOI residents of Ashraf as its mortal enemies, it has repeatedly demanded of Baghdad that it close down the camp and repatriate the residents to Iran. Already last year, Dr. Muwaffak al-Rubaie, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister al-Maliki, declared that the Iraqi government wished to expel the PMOI from Iraq. Following the January transfer of Ashraf to Iraqi authority, the Iraqi government has incrementally increased pressure upon Ashraf's residents.
On Saturday, March 14th, units of the Iraqi army breached the perimeter of Ashraf and entered into hostile conflict with the residents of Ashraf, invading a women's dormitory and striking several of the Ashraf men with electric batons. The Iraqi army also prohibited any workers or supplies from entering Ashraf, including water, oil, food, and medical supplies — all of these actions being clear violations of international law. In addition, Dr. al-Rubaie falsely accused the Ashraf leadership of refusing to cooperate with an Iraqi official who wished to interview the residents concerning repatriation — a lie refuted by officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.S. Army who were present at these interviews last month. Further violence against the Ashraf residents was only prevented by the timely appearance of U.S. service personnel.
The recent visit of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to Tehran to consult with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the subsequent visit of former Iranian President Ali Aqbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to Baghdad only days before the Iraqi incursion into Ashraf are indicative of the pressure that the Iranian regime is exerting upon its Shiite allies in the Iraqi government. The Supreme Leader wants Ashraf obliterated,6 and al-Rubaie attempted to give Khamenei a gift for Nowruz.7 Fortunately, that did not happen as al-Rubaie had intended, but only because of the presence of American personnel.
Now, however, a fortnight after ordering the incursion into Ashraf, Dr. al-Rubaie has imposed the following restrictions upon the residents of Ashraf City:
1. Camp Ashraf remains closed to the outside world except for workers. They also face restrictions and many of them are turned away.
2. Entry of Iraqi lawyers of Ashraf residents to the Camp is banned. Entry of foreign lawyers and delegations was banned a long time ago.
3. Entry for women of any nationality is banned.
4. Entry of all vehicles except with an Iraqi license plate is banned.
5. New construction and renovation of standing buildings in Ashraf is banned.
6. Entry of construction materials is banned.
7. Wearing a uniform is banned.
8. Carrying any kind of video recorder and cameras by Ashraf residents is forbidden.8
The above mentioned restrictions have been imposed while the entrance building to Camp Ashraf, with hundreds of residents, has been cordoned off since 14 March 2009.
Today, supporters of the PMOI — the principal Iranian resistance movement opposed to the tyranny of the mullah regime of Tehran, and an organization that has won two seven-year legal battles, first in the United Kingdom and then in the European Union to clear its name from blacklisting — supporters of the PMOI are maintaining a vigil in front of the White House. They are there to remind President Obama of his promise to the American people and to the world to promote human rights and to oppose abuse of human rights wherever and whenever that occurs.
Mr. President, Iranian-Americans are knocking on your door. Muslim Americans, Christian Americans, and Jewish Americans are knocking on your door, and we are asking you to fulfill your promise to the maintenance of the human rights of the 3,418 Iranian exiles who continue a three-decade struggle to return democracy and freedom to their homeland, Iran, the cradle of religious toleration as developed by Cyrus the Great of Persia over 2,500 years ago. Ashraf is like a candle flickering in the darkness — the darkness of intolerance and fanaticism that engulfs present-day Iran; its light inspires hope in the hearts of millions of Iranians and non-fundamentalist Iraqis alike.
Mr. President: you have the power to keep the flame — the light — of freedom alive. Or you can turn your back on Ashraf, on your promise to the American people and to the world — you can turn your back on the American people and all who cherish freedom — and you can allow that light to go out. But if you do turn your back on those who cherish freedom, you will cease to be the spiritual child of Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, and indeed, we will have descended into the darkest regions of Hell.
Mr. President: Please tell the world that you believe in human dignity and freedom, freedom of choice, freedom of conscience. Mr. President, tell Ashraf and the world: Nur azadi mi-áyad — the light of freedom is coming! Nur azadi mi-áyad — the light of freedom is coming! Tell the world that the light from Ashraf will continue to shine until it brings freedom to the people of Iran.
Endnotes
1. Letter of General Geoffrey D. Miller to the People of Ashraf, cited as Appendix A in DLA Piper, "Iran: Foreign Policy Challenges and Choices," November 2006, p. 102.
2. Specifically this meant 400 American soldiers secured the perimeters of Ashraf.
3. SOFA=Separation of Forces Agreement.
4. This contingent is supposed to be staffed with 125 personnel.
5. The Da‘wa is an Iraqi Islamist political party formed in 1968 by the late Baqr al-Sadr out of the Islamist movement that he helped to found in 1957. According to Rodger Shanahan: "The Islamic Da'wa Party: Past Development And Future Prospects," quoted in Wikipedia: "Islamic Dawa Party" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Dawa_Party), the Islamic political ideology of al-Da‘wa is heavily influenced by the work done by Baqr al-Sadr who laid out four mandatory principles of governance in his 1975 text, Islamic Political System.
6. See "Iraqi forces attack Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf, cut food, water", Iran Human Rights, March 15, 2009, http://iran-human-rights.blogspot.com/2009/03/iraqi-forces-attack-iranian-dissidents.html. See also point #5 of the letter of the "International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf" to Prime Minister Dr. Nouri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq, dated 26 March 2009, http://www.mojahedin.org/pagesen/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=4517, and "Iran's Khamenei urges Iraqis to reject US permanent presence plan", World Bulletin, March 1, 2009, http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=37442.
7. Nowruz is the Iranian national New Year, which fell this year on March 20, 2009.
8. NCRI, "New suppressive restrictions imposed on Ashraf residents", Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI, March 29, 2009, http://ncr-iran.org/content/view/6188/1/.
Azzaman (International) – March 29, 2009 – In recent days, after Iraqi officials described as undesirable the presence of members of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Iraqi territory, we have witnessed the surrounding of the PMOI’s Camp Ashraf by Iraqi forces. Despite the fact that a European court removed the PMOI from the EU list of terrorist organizations, some observers have linked the Iraqi government’s measures with pressures coming from Iran on them as well as Rafsanjani’s trip to Iraq. To shed some light on these issues, Azzaman sat down for an interview with Mohammad Mohaddessin, C
Question: What is the magnitude of the siege on Ashraf? Why is such a siege being carried out in the current circumstances?
Mohaddessin: The Iranian regime considers the Iranian Resistance and in particular the PMOI as the only threat to its existence and survival. This is something that it has alluded to many times since the beginning of its establishment. In 1980, Khomeini in effect declared that ‘our enemy is neither the US nor the Soviet Union; It lies under our noses right here in Tehran,’ referring to the PMOI. That explains why the Iranian regime’s key demand from its international interlocutors is to crack down on the PMOI. On May 7, 2008, the Wall Street Journal quoted some diplomats as saying that “Iranian officials have urged suppression of the MEK [PMOI] in negotiations with Western governments over Tehran’s nuclear program and other issues.”
The Iranian regime has invested billions of dollars to keep the PMOI on the list of terrorist organizations in a bid to contain the organization. The situation in Iraq is also open to such an explanatory framework, because it demonstrates the regime’s fear of an organization which is unarmed and under siege. The regime knows that the PMOI is the ultimate source of inspiration and motivation for the expansion of organized resistance by the Iranian people against it.
The PMOI is not a mere political opponent of the Iranian regime. Owing to its conviction in a democratic and tolerant Islam, it is also in fact the antithesis of fundamentalism. The PMOI believes that government’s legitimacy must be based on popular vote. It also believes in religious and ethnic equality, and defends equal rights for women. Moreover, the PMOI is faithful to brotherly and neighborly relations with other countries. For these reasons, the Iranian regime seeks to destroy the PMOI in Iraq in order to shoot two birds with one stone: To destroy its opponents and simultaneously to remove the cultural and political obstacle standing in the way of the growth of fundamentalism in Iraq.
But why is all this occurring now:
First, due to the domestic crises which the Iranian regime is facing in the form of the social upheavals, especially on the part of university students; Second, due to the strategic defeat experienced by the regime’s proxies during Iraq’s recent provincial council elections; And, third, because of the removal of the PMOI from the EU list of terrorist organizations, a listing which from the very beginning was done through the Iranian people’s oil money, and one which the regime had very much counted on.
These factors have sounded alarm bells for the regime. Therefore, it has made futile attempts to resolve the PMOI issue by pressuring the Iraqi government.
Question: Is what is happening against Ashraf residents somehow related to Rafsanjani’s visit to Iraq?
Mohaddessin: Yes, definitely. You may remember that on February 28, 2009, the regime’s leader, Khamenei, blatantly told the Iraqi President with an arrogant tone, that, “The bilateral agreement for expelling the PMOI from Iraq must be implemented. … And we are awaiting its implementation.” With these remarks, Khamenei triggered a criminal war against a democratic and sovereign Iraq and also against Ashraf residents. This was not only a decision taken against the PMOI and Ashraf residents. It was equally in opposition to the Iraqi people and a democratic and sovereign Iraq.
After that, Khamenei sent Rafsanjani to Iraq for a visit that lasted a full week, in order to follow up on the issue of the PMOI’s expulsion and the shutting down of Camp Ashraf. Before that, Khamenei had sent Ali Akbar Velayati, his advisor, and Manouchehr Mottaki, the regime’s foreign minister, to pursue the same goal. Both their visits also lasted about a week.
Question: In view of the letter Maryam Rajavi sent to the US president, what is your analysis of the American position? Do you anticipate American intervention aimed at protecting Camp Ashraf?
Mohaddessin: We do not ask much from the US, except for it to accept its responsibilities in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, international conventions, and the official principle of Responsibility to Protect (RtoP), since Ashraf residents are vulnerable to many threats as a result of the Iraq’s circumstances. The responsibility to protect Ashraf residents as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention lies with the US. The US is, moreover, responsible for these people’s protection due to its extensive military presence in Iraq. In addition to this, there is the bilateral agreement between the US and Ashraf residents, which obligates the US to accept their protection in return for the hand over of their weapons in 2003. On that basis, the responsibility for anything that would threaten the safety and security of Ashraf residents would fall directly on the US. We expect for the US to act in accordance with this responsibility. We must also not forget that the US has said repeatedly that the Iraqi government has given it written assurances stipulating respect for the rights of Ashraf residents. These assurances, however, have now been clearly violated, and the US must react. This is what the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect underscored in her letter to the US president. We hope that the US would rise up to its responsibilities.
Allow me to also refer here to the March 15 statement of the international committee In Search of Justice which is made up of 2,000 European parliamentarians. The statement refers to the US role in view of its obligations in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law, international law, the principle of non-refoulement, and the Responsibility to Protect. It demanded immediate measures to ensure the protection of Ashraf residents.
Question: Considering protests by non-government organizations and protests in opposition to what has happened in Ashraf, what is the effect of these protests on the actions of big governments and international organization when it comes to the protection of Ashraf residents?
Mohaddessin: Fortunately, today an international solidarity front in defense of Ashraf, and against the suppressive and constraining measures against Ashraf residents, has formed. Parliamentary committees in various countries monitor the Ashraf issue, as does the International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf, which is made up of 8,500 jurists from Europe and the US. Here I must stress two factors that greatly help Ashraf. The first is the solidarity of the honorable and patriotic Iraqi people and politicians, and the second is international solidarity. If these two factors did not exist, the Iranian regime’s agents would have had a free hand in their suppressive actions. Allow me to send a message to our Arab brothers in Arabic societies and governments, and that is, rise up protest against the suppression of your PMOI Muslim brothers and sisters in Ashraf City. The inhumane and anti-Islamic Iranian regime, which has devastated Iran and its people, intends to commit any and all crimes it can against Muslims and Arabs. It is trying to establish its ominous Islamic empire all over the region by removing this obstacle on the way of its religious dictatorship domination in Iraq. Therefore, your defense of the PMOI in Ashraf is not only about Ashraf. It is also about confronting an aggressive regime in the Arab and Islamic world.
Question: You have certainly heard about remarks by Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, the Iraqi National Security Advisor. He has denied imposing restrictions against Ashraf residents and says that the PMOI has an incredible propaganda machine across the globe and that people there [in Ashraf] have been brainwashed by their leaders.
Mohaddessin: Al-Rubaie is well known for his lies. His remarks come at a time when the propaganda resources of the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government are unreservedly at his disposal to disseminate his desired lies against the PMOI. However, the reason for these remarks is that today not only the Iranian people’s sentiments but also those of the Iraqi population and the Arab and Islamic world against the unjust restrictions against Ashraf have been provoked.
To al-Rubaie we say that it is not the PMOI’s “propaganda machine” that has exposed the ominous desires of the mullahs’ regime for the massacre of the PMOI in Ashraf as well as the services of individuals such as al-Rubaie to the Iranian regime. It was the PMOI’s perseverance in Ashraf City, their legal status, legitimate demands, the praiseworthy support of Iraqi women and men, and the international solidarity with Ashraf, which have defeated one after another the deplorable plans of the mullahs’ regime against Ashraf residents.
It is also unclear why, if Muwaffaq al-Rubaie is really worried about a small group of 15 people running the affairs of 3,500 Ashraf residents, he has cut off the 3,500 individuals from the outside world and is not permitting political figures, parliamentary delegations, and journalists to visit Ashraf. If he is truthful in what he is saying, then he must lift the ban on journalists and foreign delegations to enter Ashraf so that everyone in the world could be made aware about the “brainwashing” and “the menacing characteristics of these leaders.”
However, since these lies are being told in recent weeks in order to justify the violation of the rights of Ashraf residents, and are a prelude to commit a war crime, we invite all responsible international organizations, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNAMI, as well as Iraqi political parties, personalities, and Shiite, Sunni and Christian religious leaders to send delegations to Camp Ashraf to conduct investigations, verify the lies of Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, and draft reports on this issue. There is nothing concealed or hidden in Ashraf. Every delegation can go inside Ashraf and visit anywhere and speak to anyone it wishes. We also ask al-Rubaie to avoid preventing the entry of these delegations to Ashraf.
On April 3, the Iraqi forces prevented three Iraqi physician entering Camp Ashraf, home to members of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), in Iraq, to carry out an operation on Ms. Fatemeh Alizadeh suffering from an internal tumor and four other patients. Arrangements for the Iraqi physicians including a female anesthetist and two specialized surgeons to pay a visit to Ashraf had been made since a long time ago. The Iraqi government representative as well as the commander of Iraqi forces had previously agreed with the physicians’ visit to Ashraf in the presence of the U.S. military commander and the details of the three medical doctors were provided to the Iraqi forces. In addition, another Ashraf resident, Ms. Qodsieh Ganje’i, suffering from sudden ailment suspected of being acute appendicitis urgently need medical attention.
While Ashraf residents cannot leave the camp and have no access to Iraqi hospitals, they meet their medical needs either self-sufficiently or by inviting Iraqi doctors to Ashraf. Under these circumstances, preventing doctors to enter the camp is an anti-human criminal act.
This act that was carried out upon the orders of Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie, the Iraqi National Security Advisor, to please the religious dictatorship ruling Iran, violates the most rudimentary rights that are even observed in war zones. It is a blatant violation of human rights, an affront to human values and infringement of the International Humanitarian Law. In an interview with Al-Forat TV on April 1, al-Rubaie explicitly said, "We will gradually make their presence in Iraq intolerable for them."
Today's act, once again demonstrate the ominous objectives of the religious fascism ruling Iran to create a human catastrophe in Ashraf.
The Iranian Resistance calls on the U.S. President, the U.S. government, UN Secretary General and the Security Council, relevant international organizations and in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross for their immediate intervention to prevent a human catastrophe in Ashraf.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
April 3, 2009