The situation in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, is becoming increasingly dire. Home to 3,400 Iranian refugees, the camp is set to be forcibly closed and relocated by the end of December, despite pleas from the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, the UK Houses of Commons and Lords select committees, and activist groups. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has also been urged to act, but progress has been glacially slow.
Iraq has welcomed the UN’s top envoy, Martin Kobler, to broker a deal to ensure a peaceful closure of the camp, and Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has given conditional approval for a potential easing of the deadline. But there is no guarantee that the situation will be resolved peacefully.
The camp has been subject to two life-taking raids, systemic denial of medical care, a build-up of forces on the camp’s boundaries, and psychological torture in the form of loudspeakers blaring pro-Iranian regime slogans into the camp 24/7/365. The Iraqi government has declared its intention to close and re-settle the 25-year-old camp, and there is a risk of potential genocide.
The plight of the camp’s residents has been largely ignored by the media, which has instead focused on Hollywood tabloid news. The US State Department has yet to recant the terrorist designation of the camp’s sponsors, the NCRI/PMOI, despite vocal support from prominent political figures.
The Iranian Qod and government propaganda machine has been effective in spreading news about the PMOI/NCRI’s terrorist past, and in lobbying against the camp. The people of Camp Ashraf have no money, power, or ability to contribute to political campaigns, and are therefore not important enough for anyone to act.
54 days remain until the camp’s closure. It is essential that action is taken to protect the lives of the 3,400 men, women and children who are caught in the political crossfire.
