Jean-François Bège
French Parlement Publication – LE COURRIER DU PARLEMENT -  December 2011 (Partial Translation)

Living in Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad, the Mujahedin-e Khalq, MEK, fear an Iraqi military assault. 

The situation of Iranian exiles in Iraq, especially in Camp Ashraf, 80 Kilometers north of Baghdad is still unknown in Europe and France. The 3400 Iranian opposition members of Mujahedin-e Khalq, MEK are constantly threatened by the Iraqi Army.  An attack on the camp back in April 2011 cost the lives of 36 residents and tens of injuries. 

Stop Fundamentalism – A lion cub weighing 50 Kilograms was found in Iran’s capital city, Tehran today, reported Mehr news agency.  The cub was captured by Tehran’s fire patrols and will be given to a public park facility later on.

The cub was spotted playing in the trees near Lavizan by a truck driver who later informed the authorities.   Finally fire trucks were called in to deal with the situation.

Stop Fundamentalism – A majority of the members of the European Parliament have signed a written declaration in support of designating an international day for young women and girls.  The initiative attempts to confront discrimination, violence and exclusion against girls and young women around the world.

“An International Day for the Girl will create a foundation for awareness in the EU and beyond to ensure that girls get the investment and recognition they deserve as citizens and as powerful agents of change within their own families, communities and nations,” said Edite Estrela, vice-Chair of the committee on Women’s rights and Gender Equality in the European Union. Estrela was one of the original sponsoring MEPs of the written declaration along side with 4 others, Véronique Mathieu, Jean Lambert, Katerína Neved’alová and Roberta Angelilli.

Stop Fundamentalism – The Iranian government has executed 600 offenders this year, the international human rights organization, Amnesty International said Thursday.  The organization says it has recorded 600 executions from both official and unofficial sources this year. 

About 81 percent of those killed were drug offenders.  This number is at least three times the official announced number for 2009.  Amnesty expresses concern that the victims would be from the most impoverished portion of the country’s populations.

Stop Fundamentalism - In a conference held in Paris on Camp Ashraf December 10, Alan Dershowitz, renowned civil liberties lawyer and a distinguished defender of individual rights, warned President Obama about the consequences of inaction and silence against the looming humanitarian tragedy in Ashraf before meeting with Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

“What the United States can do is so simple and so obvious.  We have the power to prevent this from happening.  We have the power to prevent the camp from closing.  We have the power to make the Iraqi government act responsibly,” said Dershowitz.

Stop Fundamentalism - The Special Representative of the Secretary General of United Nations told the Security Council briefing Tuesday that there is concern regarding the lives of 3400 Iranian exiles in Camp Ashraf and urged government of Iraq to extend deadline to close the camp in order to find a peaceful solution.

“Lives are at stake and must be protected,” said Martin Kobler to a Security Council briefing, “The Government has a responsibility to ensure the safety, security and welfare of the residents.”

Iraqi forces attacked Camp Ashraf back in April killing 36 residents and wounding hundreds.  Videos of the attack, put on Youtube by residents, show Iraqi soldiers directly shooting at unarmed civilians in the camp or running over them by military vehicles.