Stop Fundamentalism, 27 June 2011 – The Diyala province governor said that a security force, comprised of army and police personnel, is preparing for a new operation against Camp Ashraf under the supervision of the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, reported the Iranian state-run news agency Fars, Monday.
According to Fars, Javad Al-Tamimi, Diyala’s provincial governor told Al-Motour daily that the operation is in preliminary stages but is imminent.
By: Nima Sharif
Protection of Camp Ashraf and its 3400 residents from atrocities of the Iranian regime and Iraqi government was the main message a cheering crowd of tens of thousands of Iranian dissidents gathered at Villepinte, Paris tried to get across.
In the biggest demonstration in Europe since the start of the Middle East uprising for freedom and the Arab Spring, and in a clear show of power and popular support, the Iranian main opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI/MEK) of Iran, brought in thousands of supporters on Saturday June 18 to France to rally for freedom.
The keynote speaker at the rally was Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran which also includes PMOI. Other speakers included the once presidential candidate, US Mayor Giuliani, former American Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge the first US Secretary for Homeland Security and the Whitehouse Chief of Staff during the Bush Administration, Andrew Card.
Alireza Jafarzadeh
From weblogs of HUFFENGTON POSTTwo years after the June 2009 sham presidential elections in Iran and consequent mass anti-regime uprisings, the honeymoon seems to be over for the regime’s beleaguered president. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is now at loggerheads with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who actually secured his “victory” two years ago. Their floundering alliance may also signal a crack in the levee of repression, which for two years has stayed the nationwide anger from washing the mullahs from power.
Stop Fundamentalism, 11 June, 2011 – The members of the Iranian opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in Camp Ashraf, Iraq which was the scene of a massacre last April leaving 34 residents killed and over 300 wounded are the subject of a row between an American Congress Subcommittee delegation and the Nouri al-Maliki government.
The delegation headed by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, traveled to Baghdad Friday requesting a visit to Camp Ashraf to find out what transpired there on April 8 when Iraqi troops using armored vehicles and live ammunition staged an assault on the unarmed residents of the camp.
Ali Safavi
From Weblogs of Huffington Post
In his speech last month about the seismic shifts unfolding in the Middle East, President Obama referred to the “shouts of human dignity… being heard across the region” and said, “The question before us is what role America will play as this story unfolds.”
The ousting of several dictators in recent months, the latest being Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, and calls for democracy echoing across the region, are clear signals that change is inevitable. That is partly why the president stressed, “There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity.”
Sharam Taromsary
Following the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the European Union in Brussels, 23 May, speaking at a press briefing, Baroness Ashton, Vice-President of the European Commission told reporters that along with Syria and Libya, Camp Ashraf was one of the subjects of discussion. She had pledged earlier at a plenary session of European Parliament to bring up Camp Ashraf, at the meeting. The European Parliament Delegation to Iraq has proposed a plan to resolve the situation by removing the residents from the camp and relocating them in other countries in Europe and North America.
Any long-term solution however, first requires immediate and effective protection of Ashraf’s residents in place to prevent more killing. Europe needs to take the initiative to involve the United Nations and the United States in offering real safety to these unarmed people. If that is not possible, then Europe should take the lead and consider providing its own forces to prevent another massacre. The international mandate exists: parliaments in 35 countries, as well as all human rights authorities, have asserted the rights of Ashraf residents to be protected.
Stop Fundamentalism, 2 June 2011 – Iraqi forces present at the Iranian refugee campground Ashraf, in Iraq show new suspicious activities, opening 10 passageways in fences surrounding the camp preparing for a possible new assault, said the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in a statement today.
A number of Iraqi military Commanders are present at the camp since Wednesday, 1 June, to make these preparations, reports NCRI.
The passageways could facilitate Iraqi armored vehicles access to inside the camp into streets and residential areas where unarmed civilians, residents of Camp Ashraf live.
In the aftermath of the 8 April massacre at Camp Ashraf by the Iraqi forces, and swarms of international condemnations, the residents of the camp continue to complain about the repressive measures by the Iraqi forces surrounding the camp.
On 19 May 2011, at a meeting with European Union ambassadors, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari said, “Iraqi officials have initiated a series of measures to guarantee and provide humanitarian services, medical treatment and food supplies in Ashraf.”
Despite these promises, the siege on the camp has not stopped and for that reason, the health condition at the camp is rapidly declining, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
In a statement released on 1 June, the NCRI said that Iraqi forces are preventing sewage dumps, causing increased hygiene problems and endangering health of the residents. The sewage dump area of the camp is located in sections that were occupied by Iraqi forces on the 8 April attack which caused 35 deaths among the civilian residents. Iraqi forces are baring the residents from enter the section.
On April 8 2011, early in the morning, the military forces of Iraqi government, about 2500 of them, stormed the campground of the main Iranian opposition movement, the Mujahedin Organization of Iran. They killed 34 people including 8 women and wounded many others.
The assualt later was named a “massacre”. The attack was on unarmed civilians and they were shot directly by the Iraqi forces. The following is a listing of the articles published in our website Stop Fundamentalism.
Iraqi Armored Vehicles Occupy Camp Ashraf North of Baghdad
… So far 30 BMP armored personnel carriers and Humvees have moved in and stationed inside the camp, ….
Iraqi Forces Mobilize to Clampdown on Camp Ashraf Home of PMOI (MEK)
The secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the Iranian Opposition released a statement today, warning about an imminent attack on Camp Ashraf by Nuri al-Maliki forces.
We are making this History Log. Please bear with us while we complete it. Thank you.
Stop Fundamentalism, 26 May 2011 – Speaking at a conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday, Spanish conservative MEP Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice President of the European Parliament rejected any suggestion for forced displacement of Camp Ashraf residents to another location in Iraq as a call for another massacre, reported AFP.
He was referring to a raid by Iraqi forces on 8 April this year on the Iranian dissident Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad. The raid cost the lives of 8 women and 26 men. They were mostly shot directly by the Iraqi soldiers.
