Brussels, 20/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Three hundred and eighty MEPs of all shades of opinion called, on 16 December, for the 31 December deadline to be removed for the closure of Camp Ashraf. In a joint statement, they denounce the decision to shut the camp down and “the forcible displacement of the people to other places inside Iraq”. They “urgently” ask the EU and its member states, the United States and the United Nations “to prevent a major human catastrophe, by denouncing the aforementioned deadline and forcing the Iraqi government to postpone it until the final transfer of all residents to third countries has been accomplished”. They also call on the United Nations to station a permanent monitoring team at Ashraf to guarantee protection for the residents during the transition period.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton affirmed that “it is now essential that all parties concerned show flexibility and cooperate fully and constructively with the UN” to try to find a solution that will allow the orderly departure of the residents of the camp, a process “which offers the only available prospect for a safe way forward”. “Tangible and visible progress in the coming days in line with the UN plan is of the utmost importance”, added Ashton calling on “all parties, and all those who have any influence upon them” to make the security and safety of the camp residents their “utmost priority”.
Iraq wants to close Camp Ashraf which is home to some 3,400 Iranian dissidents. Those who oppose closure of the camp say that such a move could result in a massacre of the inhabitants of the camp. (CG/transl.rt)