I am writing on behalf of my Iranian compatriots living in Camp Ashraf, in Iraq.
I am certain you have heard of Camp Ashraf from your advisers and understand the complications it poses for the United Nations, Iraq and Iran. As you know, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki plans to close down the camp at the year’s end, and the United Nations is trying to find other nations willing to accept the camp’s residents. So far the UN has had limited success. I am thus concerned that Prime Minister Maliki’s promise to clear the camp at year’s end could turn into a serious human rights catastrophe. There are many children living in this camp who have been born and raised there over the years.
We are all aware of the MEK’s extreme political beliefs and its history of violence and assassinations. The Iranian revolution was in part aided and inflamed by the MEK though, ironically, the current regime in Iran now sees the group as a threat. Nevertheless, I am separating the group’s politics and history from their basic human rights as my compatriots, and with the certainty that the children residing in Camp Ashraf bear no role in this history.
