Thursday
Sep032009
Iranian-Americans Urge U.S. Government To Intervene In Security Of Troubled Refugee Camp
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 3:15PM
Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
The United States Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents called Thursday for the U.S. government to respond to the alleged mistreatment of Iranian political exiles in an Ashraf, Iraq based refugee camp by transferring control of the camp from Iraqi security forces.
"We have a contractual signed agreements with each of these refugees, we need to honor that," U.S. Army Col. Gary Morsch M.D. during a press conference in Washington, D.C. with the Committee. "We have a responsibility and an opportunity to do something."
The refugees of Camp Ashraf were recognized by the United States as "protected persons" during the Fourth Geneva Convention and were under U.S. military protection until January 2009 when the Iraqi government assumed responsibility for their safety. In July, 2009, a raid by Iraqi security forces wounded over 500 refugees with an additional 36 taken hostage. The hostages remain in critical condition and Iraqi forces are limiting medical resources, food and water supplies.
In response, many Iranian-Americans have begun a hunger strike to urge U.S. government officials to push for the immediate release of the 36 refugee hostages and have U.S. forces temporarily take over Camp Ashraf security until a United Nations monitoring post can be established. Hunger stiker Hamid Godarzi said they have been on strike for 37 days and will not quit until their demands are met.
"This is not simple for us to do. I am a senior research scientist in San Antonio, Texas and I left my ordinary life to be here," Godarzi said. "It is our responsibility to give a voice to the residents of Ashraf."
According to Godarzi, the White House has not issued a response to the hunger strikers.
The United States Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents called Thursday for the U.S. government to respond to the alleged mistreatment of Iranian political exiles in an Ashraf, Iraq based refugee camp by transferring control of the camp from Iraqi security forces.
"We have a contractual signed agreements with each of these refugees, we need to honor that," U.S. Army Col. Gary Morsch M.D. during a press conference in Washington, D.C. with the Committee. "We have a responsibility and an opportunity to do something."
The refugees of Camp Ashraf were recognized by the United States as "protected persons" during the Fourth Geneva Convention and were under U.S. military protection until January 2009 when the Iraqi government assumed responsibility for their safety. In July, 2009, a raid by Iraqi security forces wounded over 500 refugees with an additional 36 taken hostage. The hostages remain in critical condition and Iraqi forces are limiting medical resources, food and water supplies.
In response, many Iranian-Americans have begun a hunger strike to urge U.S. government officials to push for the immediate release of the 36 refugee hostages and have U.S. forces temporarily take over Camp Ashraf security until a United Nations monitoring post can be established. Hunger stiker Hamid Godarzi said they have been on strike for 37 days and will not quit until their demands are met.
"This is not simple for us to do. I am a senior research scientist in San Antonio, Texas and I left my ordinary life to be here," Godarzi said. "It is our responsibility to give a voice to the residents of Ashraf."
According to Godarzi, the White House has not issued a response to the hunger strikers.
Reader Comments (11)
President Obama is allowing Iran to destroy any progress made in Iraq. Thousands of our troops sacrificed their lives in an effort to establish a secular government for the Iraqis. We're handing Iraq to the world's greatest terror sponsoring nation, Iran. The attack on Ashraf was carried out by al-Maliki to show his loyalty to Khamenei. Khomeini's regime has had an obsession [and openly stated] with wanting to stretch their fundamentalist ideology from Qom to Karbala. Americans should be disgusted in the State Department and their spokesperson Ian Kelly. He is appeasing the same regime that is responsible for terrorizing Americans since 1979. Has he forgotten about the Marine Barracks bombings in Beirut? How about the Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia? American troops are tired of being blown up by Iranian made roadside bombs and surface to air missiles. The citizens of Ashraf are our friends. They disarmed, helped us with intelligence that ultimately saved many lives. In return for their heroic help, we turned our backs on these freedom seeking people and broke a contractual promise. Shame on our government for pretending to be advocates of freedom and democracy but in reality are cahoots with terrorists due to special interests.
On the 38th day of a hunger
strike outside the White House in protest against the continuing siege of Camp
Ashraf in Iraq, speakers at a news conference called on President Obama to
intervene and end the humanitarian crisis in Ashraf, home to 3,400 members of
the People's Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and their families.
Steven Schneebaum, U.S. Counsel for the families of Camp Ashraf residents,
said, "The position of the United States that it no longer has any obligation
towards the residents of Ashraf is plainly wrong. The US is still responsible
based on the agreement it signed with each and every member in 2004, according
to Article 45 of the 4th Geneva Convention and International Customary Law."
Colonel Gary Morsch, Reservist, Commander, Combat Support Hospital in the US
army, who severed in Ashraf in 2004, remarked that, "I am speaking as a
soldier and cannot comprehend why our military did nothing to stop the carnage
at Ashraf."
"There are hundreds of people across the world on hunger strike. If we can get
our government to act quickly, and get the 36 hostages released, we can bring
the hunger strike to an end," Colonel Morsch added.
Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely (Ret.), said, "President Bush made a mistake by
transferring the protection of Ashraf to Iraqi forces. President Obama is
making a bigger mistake by standing by and simply watching." He added, "We
need to call on the Iraqi government to release the 36 who have been taken
hostage."
Bruce McColm, former Executive Director of Freedom House, alarmed that, "We
can see that the people around the world are on a hunger strike. There has to
be a resolution to the situation in Camp Ashraf so that this humanitarian
crisis comes to an end."
Dr. Firouz Daneshgari, head of the Urology Department at Case Western
University, said that the hunger strikers are in a critical stage. "By the
time the President discusses his healthcare plan next Wednesday, we will have
a medical disaster outside the White House."
Hamid Gourdarzi, a senior research scientist from San Antonio, Texas, speaking
on behalf of the hunger strikers, said, "President Obama needs to send a
representative to hear our demands. We are asking for the release of 36
hostages and the setting up of a UN monitoring post in Ashraf."
Behzad Saffari, the legal advisor for Camp Ashraf and Javad Ahmadi, a senior
Surgeon at Ashraf spoke via an audio link. Dr. Ahmadi said there were 200
injured residents in serious condition and the 36 abductees were also in
critical condition, some losing their vision and suffering from serious
infection.
Saffari said the situation in Ashraf was very tense with 1,500 Iraqi police
and army forces in the Camp, hindering the entry of food and medicine as well
doctors. He said it was essential that the U.S. intervenes to help avert
another humanitarian crisis.
Be aware that the terrorist group, MEK (Mojahedin-e-Khalq) designated terrorists by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administration, are behind this camp Ashraf.
Read an opinion about them here --http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/157881
They were behind the U.S.Embassy takeover and the assassinations of Americans. They assassinated U.S. military officers in Iran http://kentimmerman.com/2006_01_19fp-mek.htm
As a member of Congress, after finding out the truth about this group, I helped to ban these terrorists from the Capitol and to this day am proud that I did. I want freedom in Iran, I want freedom from the Iranian Regime for the Iranian people, I also want these terrorist exposed for the monsters that they are too
Bob Ney
The Bob Ney Radio and News Show
Monday Through Friday 1-3 p.m.
http://www.wvly.net
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If this group whom as been recognized as political asylum in Iraq can not receive the support and protection that they were promised to receive than what political asylum is going to be safe in this world when words are so quickly broken without regards to human rights.
It is an honor for the MEK to be on the receiving end of the Iranian regime's stale and dicredited propaganda through its mouthpiece, the convicted criminal who served time in prison for misuing his office and betraying the trust the people of Ohio placed in him.
Mr. Ney, you are not a member of Congress anymore, but a disgraced criminal. We all know you received at least one payment of $38,000 from a Syrian arms dealer with ties to Tehran to pay your debts when we were gambling in a casino in London.
So, you are the last person on the face of the Earth to talk about such noble values as freedom. The Iranian people's struggle for freedom will be tainted by crooks like you.
I'm surprised that criminal Bob Ney would comment on an article after the embarrassment he brought forth to our country. Bob Ney and his ties to the Iranian regime are recognized by Iranians living inside the country and abroad. His propaganda campaign against the biggest Iranian resistance movement is pathetic. While US troops are getting killed because of Iranian-backed terrorism, he sides with the Mullahs. Ney is not an American, nor does he want freedom for the Iranian people. Then again, what can you expect from an ex-con that brought shame to our country? To read more about his ties, read the following article:
http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/04/25/trita-parsi-bob-ney-and-iran%E2%80%99s-oil-mafia-penetrating-the-us-political-system/
I wasn't aware your 30 month prison sentence is over. Perhaps they'll put you back for being a clear advocate of terrorism.
Bob Ney really has no shame! Bob Ney was once a supporter of the MEK, up until an operative for the Iranian regime, Trita Parsi (known lobbiest for the ayatollahs), was planted into his office.
Bob Ney wasn't thinking about democracy for the people of Iran while he was lining his pockets with money from the ayatollahs and special interests trying to have sanctions dropped against the same regime that is torturing, raping, and murdering the Iranian youth. So stop shedding your crocodile tears for the people of Iran. The Iranian American community is well aware of your ties to the mullahs and for that your are despised.
The world now recognizes that the MEK/PMOI was placed on the terror list purely as a "good will gesture" to the ayatollahs in Iran. Maybe you were not aware of that because you were away for a while. The British high court and EU courts handed down back to back rulings ordering the removal of the MEK from their terror lists, calling the terror label "unjust" and "perverse". Someone like you would be proud of unjustly placing a democratic movement on the terror list as long as it pays well right?
The MEK/PMOI are the antithesis to Islamic extremism in the region. This truth was echoed by 5.2 million Iraqis in 2006 and 3 million Iraqi Shi'ites in 2008 when they signed declarations condemning the Iranian regime's meddling in their affairs and support for the presence of the MEK/PMOI in Ashraf on Iraqi soil.
Your desperate attempts to portray the Iranian resistance as monsters is just as pathetic as your financers attempts in Iran to blame the death of Neda on the MEK/PMOI.
(http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/neda-agha-soltan-murder-witness-risk-torture-tehran-prison-20090904)
You pathetic communist sympathizers. Thank goodness for our brave American soldiers that fight for freedom so that commie lovers like you guys, and terrorists like the MEK can speak out. I can understand why you are surprised that I speak out Shawn, because in your communist mek world, that is forbidden.(confessions of a former Rajavi cult member http://www.nejatngo.org/en/postv.aspx?id=2511 ) Shervin, you are actually saying that Obama and Bush placed the Mek on the terror list as a favor to the Ayatollahs-you have got to be joking. I do not support the regime, that is so insane. You support terrorists and so be it. The people in Iran do not want mullahs, a monarchy, or terrorist supporters like you or your MEK. The MEK killed members of the American military. Hadi, I paid my debt, I am a former Member for life. I wake up a free man today, you wake up with the yoke of Communism. See the light. Be against the regime and the Mek, the Iranians want freedom.
Best Wishes,
Bob Ney
Bob Ney
Poor Bob...it hurts to hear the truth. Communist sympathizers? You even talk like a member of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. PMOI/MEK believe in a secular government with a free market economy based on the vote of the people.
And yes the PMOI/MEK are on the terror list for purely political reasons. In an interview with Newsweek in September 2002, Martin Indyk (who was US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs at the time that the PMOI entered the terror list) made US motives very clear. He admitted, “[there] was White House interest in opening up a dialogue with the Iranian government. At the time, President Khatami had recently been elected and was seen as a moderate. Top administration officials saw cracking down on the [PMOI], which the Iranians had made clear they saw as a menace, as one way to do so.”
Former British Home Secretary Jack Straw admitted on numerous occassions including on the BBC Today Program of Feb. 2, 2006 that the PMOI was listed only at the behest of the ayatollahs in Iran.
British Court of Appeals stated that "PMOI are not concerned in terrorism. http://www.siac.tribunals.gov.uk/poac/Documents/outcomes/PC022006%20PMOI%20FINAL%20JUDGMENT.pdf
The PMOI never killed US military personnel. This has been documented by the Iran Policy Committee , headed by terrorism expert Professor Raymond Tanter, or the report directed by former House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey and issued by DLA Piper in conjunction with an independent report issued by Global Options—headed by the preeminent terrorism expert Neil C. Livingstone, not to mention Clare Lopez who served in the CIA for 20 years, from 1980 to 2000, as a senior Directorate of Operations case officer. http://www.globalpolitician.com/25731-mek-pmoi-ncri
Today, the PMOI/MEK in Ashraf, Iraq have saved numerous American lives with their intelligence on the Iranian regime's activities.http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/041122/22iran_7.htm They were insturmental in creating the Awakening Councils that rose up against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Professor Raymond Tanter (served as a senior member on the White House National Security Council under President Reagan www.iranpolicy.org) writes in his book titled, "President Obama and Iraq" that the IPC examined logs of 81 trilateral meetings in Ashraf among the US, Iraqis, and the MEK. The book detail accounts by ranking militray personnel praising the MEK's positive role in the volatile Diyala Province.
So crawl back into the hole you came out of. You are transparent and a fraud. I find it disrespectful that you even speak of the Iranian people and their struggle for freedom.
Bob nay is a shame to this country.He is a disgrace criminal who got kicked out of congress. He is an Iranian's agent ( whore ) who got lots of bribe money to be a spokesperson for an Iranian government>
Bob nay , you should be in prison for treason for life.
Bob Ney just hanged himself with his own shoe laces. The reference to Nejat Society makes it abundantly clear that he has kept his ties with the Iranian regime's lobby in the U.S.
The vulgarity of his tone and hostility towards MEK are a carbon copy of the tone and language of Tehran's paid and unpaid agents in this country. This is a new low for Mr. Ney. Of course, to me as an American this is no surprise. Some one who betrays his constituency lack any ethical or moral values.
The murderous mullahs of Tehran are delighted to have such a mouthpiece, although Mr. Ney should be reminded of Abe Lincoln once said that You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Mr. Ney, why don't you just mind your own business. The people of Iran do not need crooks like you. Perhaps once the secret files of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry are made public in the aftermath of the mullahs' overthrow, your name may pop out.
So be careful. You have been disgraced once. Don't you think that is enough?