President of European Parliament’s Delegation For Relations With Iraq: "All of Liberty residents, should be transferred to U.S. or Europe, or be returned to Camp Ashraf."

BRUSSELS, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, Struan Stevenson, President of  the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Iraq, while raising the issue of the immediate danger facing Iranian dissidents in Iraq, underscored 'there are only two solutions conceivable. Either all of the residents, without any exceptions, should be
temporarily transferred to a location in the United States or Europe, or be returned to Camp Ashraf so they can be resettled from there. There are two main elements involved in considering both solutions. First, as already stated, is that either solution should include everyone, without any exceptions. Secondly, the matter has to be dealt with urgently, as any delays will simply provide an opportunity for another vicious attack to take place.' 

    Mr. Stevenson stated 'the UN must understand that they are being held to account for one of the most serious humanitarian cases of the current century. They have a clear responsibility for the safety of the Ashraf and Liberty residents. They have deceived and failed them already and we now expect them to take clear and decisive action for their protection.' 

 He reiterated that in light of the February 9 rocket attack on Camp Liberty, the
home of 3100 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, which resulted in the death of eight of the Iranian dissidents with over 100 injured, 'Staying at Liberty is not an option. Simply returning to business as usual with renewed UNAMI interview sessions as if nothing had occurred is completely untenable. These people are crowded into a killing zone and under constant threat of attack. There will be no further business as usual until they are rescued and taken to a place of safety.' 

In the letter he criticized the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for
Iraq - Martin Kobler - stating 'on behalf of many of my colleagues in the European
Parliament, allow me to repeat what I wrote to you on 28 February: Please believe me that Mr. Kobler’s actions do not represent you or the values of the United Nations. He has little or no professional integrity. He has repeatedly provided false reports to the residents, their representatives and their friends like me, while he himself has been completely aware of the bogus nature of these reports.' 

In conclusion, the President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
with Iraq articulated the specific steps that the UN has to act upon immediately to
prevent another bloodbath regarding the defenseless Iranian refugees in Iraq: 

    1. The crimes of February 9th and the threats that followed the attack should be
strongly condemned and investigated by the UN. 

    2. The Iraqi Government must move the Camp Liberty residents temporarily to Camp Ashraf which is relatively more secure. Otherwise the Secretary General should immediately raise the issue in the Security Council. 

    3. The UN must assign an impartial Envoy instead of the current one who has
consistently sided with the Iraqi government and sought to deceive the Ashraf/Liberty residents, their representatives and supporters and even elected MPs and MEPs.  

The Office of Mr. Struan Stevenson, President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq

CONTACT:  Ms. Kathryn Stack, telephone:  +3222847710

European Parliament urges Iranian authorities to stop human rights violations

HRANA News Agency – The Iranian blogger Sattar Behesht was arrested and tortured to death by Iran’s cyber-police known also as Fata. Sattar Behesht had been accused that he was acting against the national security. The European Parliament published yesterday a new resolution on human rights situation in Iran.

The European Parliament urges the Iranian authorities to conduct a new investigation into the exact circumstances of Behesht’s death and demands exemplary punishment for perpetrators. Furthermore, the resolution condemns the use of corporate violence and the use of the death penalty in Iran and calls on the authorities to “institute a moratorium on executions pending the abolition of the death penalty, in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolutions 62/149 and 63/138”. The Iranian Government must submit reports with statistics on the death penalty cases and guarantee that it would provide legal support to all detainees. 

The resolution calls on the Iranian authorities to set free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, including Sakharov Prize winners Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi. All the prisoners must have access to legal support and medical care. Iran must accept and facilitate peaceful protests and respect religious freedom. The European Parliament forces the Iranian authorities to collaborate with the international community in order to improve the human rights situation in the country and allow the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed to visit the country.

All the EU political bodies must re-engage the Iranian government in a human rights dialogue. EU must continue its dual track approach to Iran, which combines sanctions with diplomacy. Concretely, the Council must take immediate actions against individuals and entities that are responsible for or involved in human rights violations.

European Parliament delegation’s visit to Tehran is considered as complicity with religious fascism in its crimes and is condemned by Iranian people

EP should avoid this visit and not allow its prestige and credit to be distorted

Iranian Resistance condemns scheduled visit of a number of European Parliament members to Iran under mullahs’ rule, and asks EP president to prevent their visit and not to allow them to distort EP’s prestige and credit by supporting the most ruthless contemporary dictatorship. 
The motivation behind such a visit is neither a delusion about the mullahs’ regime’s capacity to become moderate, nor even due to appeasement policy in general, but before anything else, the incentive is certain personal, party, or business interests aimed at painting a pretty picture of religious fascism that in addition to killing Iranian people, is deeply involved in massacre of people in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, and is doing its outmost to achieve nuclear bomb.
Through such visits, these individuals and their behind-the-scene circles vainly attempt to prevent definite overthrow of this regime on which they have made immense economic and political investments. 
This visit is being made at a time that only few days have passed since the widespread demonstration of Bazaar merchants and people in Tehran chanting “Death to dictator”, and while gallows continue to be prepared in prisons and in every city for collective executions of prisoners aimed to intensify atmosphere of intimidation in the society. 
The leaders of mullahs’ regime should be brought to justice for their crimes against humanity and genocide, particularly in Iran, Syria and Iraq. Shaking hands with them by any party is condemned by the people of Iran and is considered as complicity in these crimes. Such visits will only benefit the regime to intensify repression, to continue its ominous nuclear weapon project, and to export terrorism and fundamentalism.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
October 19, 2012

Category: Politics