Ball in US court to free Camp Ashraf refugees

Iranian dissidents moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty in Iraq are being asked to live in almost inhuman conditions – and it is up to the US and UN to give them back their freedom, writes British MP

Arbeit Macht Frei, Work Will Set You Free, said the sign at the entrance to death camps – including Auschwitz in Poland – at which millions of innocents, primarily Jews, were murdered as part of the Nazis' final solution. Now, the macabre masking of evil intent is being repeated in another part of the world.

After the United States rid Iraq and the world of Saddam Hussein in 2003, it set up bases around the country, including Camp Liberty, near Baghdad airport. The name was symbolic to the Iraqi people. But now that name is being corrupted by the Iraqi government that the US helped put into power. Acting at the behest of Iran, the Iraqis have begun transferring dissident Iranians from a self-governed, and peaceful community called Camp Ashraf, 60 miles north of Baghdad, to the cramped confines of Camp Liberty, renamed Hurriyah, Freedom.

By any name, these dissidents – members of the People's Mujahadin of Iran, the PMOI/MEK – are far from having liberty or being free. They are being asked to live in a virtual prison with almost inhuman conditions. The situation goes back to the end of last year when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki extended until April his deadline for the 3,400 residents of Ashraf to leave. Prodded by the United Nations and US, Maliki agreed to let the dissidents be moved to Camp Liberty, where they could be interviewed by the UN refugee agency to confirm that they qualify for refugee status and the right to be evacuated to third countries.

Even though there were great misgivings, Maryam Rajavi, the charismatic president-elect of the National Committee of Resistance of Iran, which includes the MEK, persuaded 400 Ashraf residents to go to the new facility, but only with assurance of their security by the UN and US. It was also implicit that no more would be transferred until the first 400 were processed by the UN refugee agency. Even though it was not a good deal, the MEK was willing to accept it as proof of its good faith. However, the Iraqis reneged on many of the terms, reducing the size of the camp and adding every obstacle possible to the Ashraf residents.

Finally, over the weekend, 400 men and women were moved to Camp Liberty, but not until overly-intrusive searches and inspections by the Iraqis. The spread of the police force inside the camp is to such an extent that private life of people is constantly under their surveillance and control, and practically no privacy has been recognised for the residents. There is a police station in the northern gate, one in the southern gate, and another in the northeast. On the way to the dining facility there is a control point with armed policemen.

In a nutshell, there are armed forces all over the camp and all indications point out that at the behest of the Iranian regime, the Iraqi government has turned it into a prison. Regretfully, the UN Assistance Missions for Iraq and Martin Kobler, the special representative of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, assisted the government of Iraq in this prison-making by confirming it as a refugee camp.

Now, the ball is in UN and US court. The dissidents have made it clear, as they should, that the transfer of the next groups will take place only after the special representative of the Secretary General and the Iraqi government declare their approval of minimum assurances – particularly the departure of Iraqi police from inside Camp Liberty – in order to avoid tension, violence and another massacre of the residents, as occurred last April at Ashraf. This is particularly important for the security and peace of female residents.

Other MEK demands include free and direct access to public medical services in Iraq, freedom of movement of residents to outside of the camp, and transfer of vehicles and movable belongings to Liberty with no restrictions, and with arrangements being made for the sale of surplus movable and unmovable property to raise money for the costs at Liberty and of the resettlement. In addition, Iraqi forces must prevent any presence of representatives, agents, and elements of the Iranian regime inside or in the surroundings of the camp, including places where UN interviews of residents would take place.

Most important is guaranteed security for all the residents until their resettlement in third countries. One other issue must be addressed so that resettlement can be achieved, and quickly. The US state department still has the MEK listed as a foreign terrorist organisation, though the US and the world knows full well that this is not so. Indeed, the MEK has supplied vast intelligence about Iran's nuclear activities and subversive actions within Iraq.

But until the MEK is delisted, some countries will be reluctant to allow the refugees to enter. Thus, unlocking this last piece of the puzzle is essential if the final result of this long-time standoff is to be a happy one. The US accepted responsibility for these people when they disarmed in 2003 and accepted US protection under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Thus, for both political and humanitarian reasons, we urge Hillary Clinton to finally set the Camp Ashraf refugees free to go where they desire.

Conservative MP David Amess is a member of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom