Iraq’s human rights ministry confirmed the government’s commitment to human rights and an end to Camp Ashraf and the Mojahedin Khalq organisation in the country, while announcing Iraq’s intention to accede to the Convention on Migrant Workers.
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| Iraqi representative in Geneva: Western backers of Mojahedin Khalq terrorists have to accept that Camp New Iraq (formerly Ashraf) is part of Iraqi territory |
An official in the ministry said in a statement to Al Sabah: The 17th session of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights held in Geneva recently dealt with the condition of Camp Ashraf, adding that Under Secretary Hussein Zuhairi, who headed the Iraqi delegation, responded to the statement of a foreign organization [MEK lobbyists] in the Council Human Rights in which she referred to allegations launched by MKO, which live in Camp Ashraf (Camp New Iraq) in order to discredit the Iraqi government in international forums.
In relation to the recent incident which occurred in the camp, he said it happened when the MEK attacked the Iraqi army forces which are responsible for ensuring the protection of the camp. This happened during the process of troop replacement and when they were carrying out their duty to reclaim the extra land of the camp which is owned by the farmers of the Diyala province. This was to redress the injustice of the previous dictatorial regime [Saddam Hussein] which had gifted the confiscated land to expand the borders of the camp. He indicated that this action resulted in the injury of a number of camp residents and military officers who had been designated to the task of implementing this duty, pointing out that the Iraqi forces are highly trained in the rules of engagement and protection of human rights during the execution of their duties.
Zuhairi described the allegations launched by the camp residents from time to time taking advantage of this incident as an attempt to win the sympathy of world public opinion, stressing that the government had decided to end the Organization’s presence in the territory of the country. He also stressed that, “whoever backs the false allegations of the organization should know that Camp New Iraq is part of the territory of Iraq and is subject to Iraqi sovereignty…”
Wafaa Amer, Al Sabbah, Baghdad, Translated by Iran Interlink