NCRI – A member of the US House of Representatives has called on the American government to protect more than 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, in the face of potential attacks by the Iranian regime and its Iraqi proxies.
In statements published in the official Congressional Record, Ed Towns of New York notes, “The United States Government signed an agreement with each and every individual in that Camp to protect them against potential attacks and mistreatment from Iran or its proxies in Iraq.”
Mr. Towns goes on to say, “I want to urge President Obama, and Secretary Clinton to make sure that we live up to our moral obligations. I do not want to see a situation a few months from now, in which we would find ourselves investigating the U.S. role in failing to protect these people.”
The full text of Mr. Towns’s statements published in the Congressional Record on May 28, 2010, is as follows:
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
PAGE E996
May 28, 2010
________________________________________
PROTECT CAMP ASHRAF
HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, May 28, 2010
Mr. TOWNS . Madam Speaker, I am very concerned about the safety and security of the 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition who are residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. The United States Government signed an agreement with each and every individual in that Camp to protect them against potential attacks and mistreatment from Iran or its proxies in Iraq. In return for that promise to protect them, residents of Camp Ashraf voluntarily turned over all their weapons in 2003 to the our military. U.S. Military Forces took on full protection of the camp in 2003, and continued to closely monitor it from their base in FOB Grizzly in Ashraf, beginning in 2009. I am concerned for their continued safety as the United States prepares to rapidly leave Iraq.
America has a moral and legal obligation towards the residents of Camp Ashraf. They are vulnerable to persecution by Tehran’s proxies. In addition, many family members of Camp Ashraf residents have been sentenced to death in recent weeks in Iran. I have met with many family members of Camp Ashraf who live in the United States, including in New York State, and they are very committed and dedicated individuals who seek not aid but only the safety and security of their loved ones. Many of the Camp Ashraf residents spent years in Iranian prisons and underwent torture and mistreatment by Tehran’s henchmen before they managed to leave Iran and take up residence in Camp Ashraf. Many student leaders, academics, teachers, and intellectuals who were threatened with arrest and execution by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Ministry of Intelligence made their way to Camp Ashraf. They are a major source of encouragement for the democracy movement in Iran.
Given the current instability in Iraq, and given the fact that the Maliki Government has stated that it intends to forcibly displace and/or expel the Camp residents, which would certainly lead to further bloodshed, I believe we should be doubly alert about the safety and security of Camp Ashraf’s residents.