In an interview with Ashraf News, the UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs in Iraq, Georgi Boston said that the delay in re-settling the MEK individuals in
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| Representative of the President of UNAMI: MEK terrorist organization previously hampered resettled outside Iraq |
European countries is because of their former association with terrorist activities. He added that the MEK is illegal in Iraq under the Iraqi constitution.
In an interview in his office in Baghdad, Georgi Boston said that "the United Nations is working earnestly to end the presence of the MEK organization there in coordination with the Iraqi government."
Georgi Boston said that the United Nations Mission discussed with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ways to resettle MEK members in other countries, pointing out that interviews will be conducted with residents of Camp Liberty in the coming days.
The UN official revealed that dozens of members of the organization who defected and surrendered to the Iraqi authorities will be given priority in the interview process and that the legal action to resettle them outside Iraq after they obtain refugee status in European countries has been discussed with them.
Georgi Boston strenuously refuted as unfounded accusations that UNAMI and in particular Martin Kobler acted as ‘tools of the Iraqi government to put pressure on the MEK’. He said Martin Kobler had sought from the outset to move individuals of the MEK to Camp Liberty on a voluntary basis, and that this process was overseen throughout by a delegation from the UN. He said the UN worked alongside the Iraqi authorities to fulfill their mutual agreement last year to close Camp Ashraf.
He went on to say that 47 individuals had split off from the MEK after arriving in Camp Liberty and surrendered to the Iraqi authorities. UNAMI had met with them and provided records to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In addition, there are others who had left the MEK while in Camp Ashraf.
Mr Boston rejected as false the MEK’s claims that after removal from the US terrorism list, the group would be able to stay in Iraq and be granted political asylum status there. He said the Government of Iraq has said this is impossible and asked us to accelerate the removal of the MEK. The MEK was involved in terrorist acts against Iraqis and was used by the former regime as a repressive tool against the Iraqi people.
Asked about the reluctance of some European countries to accept MEK members for resettlement, Mr Boston said that the MEK’s history of terrorist activities was hindering the process, but that the UN mission was working hard to find a solution to this problem. He stressed that in the meantime the UN had information on a daily basis on the status of the situation in Camp Liberty and its residents.
Translated by Iran Interlink