Sunday, April 05, 2009

NEWS))))))

Iranian exiles protest at the Iraqi Embassy for safety of Camp Ashraf residents
In a protest outside the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin, Iranian exiles called for protection of several thousand residents of Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, Associated Press reported on Wednesday.A delegation presented list of demands to the Iraqi Embassy, the report said.The participants demanded, inter alia, the 'deployment of U.S. troops to protect the Camp Ashraf residents until a written and legally binding agreement is reached with the Iraqi government on the protection camp residents.”“The government in Baghdad has pledged to the U.S. that none of the inhabitants of the camp would be deported to Iran but recent statements by the Iraqi government in Baghdad have raised fear that they give in to the Iranian pressure,” Associated Press added.In a telephone interview with Associated Press, Shahriar Kiamanesh , a Camp Ashraf spokesman said that if Iraqi government gives in to the demands of the Iranian regime, it creates a precedent regarding the influence of Tehran in neighbouring Iraq and other Arab countries. Besides, deportations, extradition or relocations of camp residents within Iraq is a breach of international humanitarian law, he said.The organizers told Associated Press that about 120 family members of residents of Camp Ashraf participated in the demonstration in Berlin.For more than two decades, the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran has maintained a presence in Iraq. Currently nearly 3,500 members of the PMOI including about 1000 women reside in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.
Last Monday, Iranians gathered in front of the Iraqi embassy in Ottawa to protest the collaboration of the Iraqi government with the Iranian regime. Raymonde Folco a member of the parliament said: we want you to act responsibly and don’t give in to the Iranian regime’s demands. We must continue the struggle for Ashraf. Mr. Warren Crits, lawyer and a member of the Lawyers International Committee for defending Ashraf said I had the preveilage of visiting Ashraf and interview a lot of the residence. Based on the 4th Geneva Convension, these people cannot be moved against their will. We know that this has been said many times but we stand up against these kinds of talks.

Head of Iraqi News Agency: Preventing physicians’ from entering Ashraf is outcome of Iran’s pressure on Iraq
Sarmad Abdulkarim, the manager of Iraqi News Agency, in an interview with Babeliya TV, called the measure of the Iraqi forces in preventing the Iraqi physicians entering Ashraf inhumane and the outcome of the Iranian regime’s pressure on the Iraqi government.He said: 'These aggressions against Ashraf residents are taking place with political motives and with the aim of increasing pressures on Ashraf residents in order to illegally push them to leave the camp. Presently the physicians are prevented from entering Ashraf; even if somebody is sentenced to death, he has the right to be treated by the physicians before execution; even during Gaza war, they opened the path for physicians and medical convoys. 'Sarmand Abdulkarim said: 'Today all syndicates including Iraqi Physicians’ Syndicate, Pharmacies’ Syndicate, and human rights’ organizations and top of them the Ministry of Human Rights, human rights’ organizations and Iraqi clergies, churches and Father Cardinal Emanuel Deli, the third, should embark on aiding Ashraf residents. We urge Muwaffaq al-Rubaie as the Security Advisor, if he is not afraid of legal measures, to open Camp Ashraf gate so the realities are known to all, and the people and reporters observe whether any violations against Iraq’s constitution have taken place by Ashraf residents? And are these measures aimed at supporting Iraq’s national interests or are to fulfill Khamenei’s orders?

US State Department: We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations
In his daily press Briefing on Mrch 30, 2009, Gordon Duguid, Acting US Deputy State Department Spokesman, responding to the question was asked: ' Is the United States working with the Iraqis on the disposition of the MEK people? It seems like they’re kind of - the Iraqis are rushing to judgment on this sentence and - well, what outcome would you like to see for these people?' Mr. Duguid replied: As you may be aware, the disposition of Camp Ashraf was given a full transfer to the responsibility of the Iraqis on February the 20th. We continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the residents of Camp Ashraf are treated in accordance with Iraq’s constitution and international obligations. And those are the two key factors that specifically address your question. Although the United States Government remains engaged on this issue, responsibility for resolving the situation at the camp rests with the Government of Iraq at this time.In answer to the question about his desired outcome from this situation, Duguid said:”The desired outcome is one that fully fits within Iraq’s laws and their international commitments to the residents of this camp”.

Prisoner dies due to lack of medical attention
According to reports from ward 6 of Gohardasht Prison in city of Karaj, 40 kilometers west of Tehran, on Sunday March 29, prisoner named Gholam-Hussein Shahbazi had a heart attack and was left without medical attention for 30 minutes after which he died. Shahbazi was taken to the prison yard at 7:30 am along with all the other prisoners in ward six. Prison guards locked the prison doors leaving prisoners in the yard. At about 8 am, Shahbazi suffered a heart attack. The other prisoners pounded on the prison doors for about 30 minutes to inform the prison guards of Shahbazi’s condition but the guards did not pay any attention and this prisoner died half an hour before he was taken to the prison medical clinic. Gholam-Hussein Shahbazi was in his mid 40’s and had been imprisoned in Evin and Gohardasht Prison for about 14 years.