In a symposium held in New York on the situation of MKO’s members in the Temporary Transit
| The conditions in TTL are justifiable and acceptable enough for a few days stay |
Location TTL, Alan Dershowitz, an American lawyer, stated that: “… if it (TTL) truly is designed to keep people for a couple of days until they are moved to a safer place, one could understand perhaps, even justify that. But if this is to be a place where people are expected to live, my God, what kind of humanity would compel people who are protected individuals under the United Nations to whom the United States made a sacred promise to make this their home. This is not a home”.
The last part of Mr. Dershowitz is approved; TTL is not going to be a permanent home for the relocated members. As the name of the location itself indicates, it is a temporary center to hose the transferred residents for a short span of time to process their refugee status and to transfer them to a third country. The group’s relocation to TTL was agreed between the United Nations, Iraqi authorities, the United States, the European Union and the leaders of the group itself. All the parts were well aware what was to happen and on 31 January, the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) and the human rights office of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said they had confirmed that the infrastructure and facilities at the new relocation camp met international standards.
In January, Daniel Fried, U.S. special adviser on Camp New Iraq, said that TTL, a former U.S. military base near Baghdad International Airport, is the Iraqi government’s property and the MKO members are not authorized to reside there for a long-term period. Not only the members themselves but also MKO’s American and European advocates should understand that a temporary location does not need to be as convenient as the Ashraf within which MKO built itself an autonomous, authoritarian territory. The conditions in TTL are justifiable and acceptable enough “to keep people for a couple of days until they are moved” to a third country. Unless MKO intends to violate all agreements and plan for another prolonged stay; the object of the Iraqi Government does not seem to be letting terrorist bastions multiply, it is decisive to uproot them.