In a briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle Eastern country, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Martin Kobler, noted how, earlier this year, Iraq demonstrated renewed commitment to improving its bilateral relations with Kuwait, and how he had “stepped-up” engagement with the two countries to see how the UN could best help resolve any outstanding issues in accordance with relevant Council resolutions.

“In this context, I recently held high-level meetings in Iraq and Kuwait where I was encouraged by the strong commitment that both Prime Minister Maliki and the Amir of Kuwait expressed to normalizing relations between their two countries,” Mr. Kobler said. “I very much hope that they will now be able to move quickly and they can count on the UN in this regard.”

Relations between the two countries were affected by Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The following year, the Security Council established the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who suffered losses in the invasion.

So far, the amount of compensation disbursed by the UNCC totals $37.7 billion for more than 1.5 million successful claims of individuals, corporations, Governments and international organizations. Successful claims are paid with funds drawn from the UN Compensation Fund, which is funded by a percentage of the proceeds generated by the export sales of Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products.

In his remarks, Mr. Kobler appealed to the Government of Iraq to “continue to demonstrate the goodwill necessary to fulfil Iraq’s other outstanding obligations, in particular to missing persons and property.” He noted how its commitment to fulfil these obligations will be conducive to the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

“I equally call on the Government of Kuwait to continue to act in a spirit of flexibility and reciprocity as reflected earlier this year by the important reciprocal visits of the Amir in Baghdad and Prime Minister Maliki in Kuwait,” he said, adding that he remains fully committed to working with both Governments to resolve bilateral issues, at their request.

In his briefing, in addition to a range of other issues related to Iraq, the envoy also addressed the situation affecting Iranian exiles located in a camp outside of the capital, Baghdad, urging the international community to come forward with offers for their resettlement.

“I wish to emphasize that Camp Liberty was only meant to be an interim facility to facilitate the Refugee Status Determination and subsequent resettlement in third countries,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Martin Kobler, told a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle Eastern country.

“I should like to take this opportunity to reiterate the Secretary-General’s appeal to Member States to offer resettlement opportunities to former residents of Camp Ashraf – without such an undertaking, there can be no sustainable solution for the residents,” he added.

In line with a memorandum of understanding signed in December by the UN and the Iraqi Government to resolve the situation, more than 3,100 of the 3,280 residents originally in Camp Ashraf – now also known as Camp New Iraq – have been re-located to a temporary transit location near Baghdad, known as Camp Hurriya – and formerly known as Camp Liberty – where a process to determine refugee status is being carried out by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There are 100 residents left in Camp Ashraf.

The issue of Camp Ashraf – located in eastern Iraq and once made up of several thousand Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran – has been one of the main issues dealt with by UNAMI for more than a year.

“The Government of Iraq insists to close Camp Ashraf in the next days,” Mr. Kobler said. “It requested the last 100 residents be relocated to Camp Hurriya.”

He noted that UNAMI has spared no effort over the last weeks to help facilitate meetings between involved parties – however, these efforts have been unsuccessful so far, leading to a stalemate.

“The Government of Iraq considers this stalemate as an attempt by the residents to delay the relocation of the remaining 100 persons,” Mr. Kobler said. “The Government of Iraq’s patience is, therefore, wearing thin. I call on the residents of Ashraf to cooperate with the Government of Iraq to solve all outstanding questions related to property.”

The envoy also called on the Government of Iraq to maintain the peaceful relocation of the residents as stipulated in the memorandum of understanding, to demonstrate restraint, and be as flexible as possible when it comes to resolving property-related issues.

In addition, he noted that UN staff who monitor the human rights and humanitarian situation of the residents of Camp Hurriya on a daily basis are often denied access to certain areas of the site which “hinders the performance of their duties.”

“I urge the residents to engage constructively with the Government of Iraq and the United Nations so that Camp Ashraf can be closed peacefully and efforts can focus on the residents’ resettlement to third countries,” he added.

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I was taken as a war prisoner by Iraqi Baath forces in 1988 (during Iran-Iraq war), I was then sent to Camp Ashraf following the deals made between MKO leaders and Iraqi forces. Since then we were severely kept under the group’s deceitful mind control system. Regarding their long-term programming they could cut us off the outside world, so they succeeded to change our minds about our country. These criminals could even cut us from our family who was once so precious to us. We were so extremely under pressure that we would use offensive words against our parents who were our dearest ones in life. We considered the criminal leaders of the cult, Massoud Rajavi and the evil Maryam “our everything” and we were made-up to serve them.

If you wanted to think about your family for a few seconds, they would humiliate you so severely that you would never think about them again. They would hold numerous meetings such as Current Operation where a large number of zealous members would attack you, verbally abusing you. Therefore nobody dared to talk about or even think about his family.

Four years ago, they gave me the letter my brother had sent to me via Red Cross, following my insistence on contacting my family. There was a phone number on the foot of the letter. I could call my mother under a heavy mental pressure because my contact was highly controlled by the cult leaders. I should talk with my mother after 23 years, and this was the start of thinking about an opportunity to run away from the cult. Thank God, I could find the opportunity.

Leaders of the cult tried to call families as Intelligence Ministry’s mercenaries and traitors because they had nothing else to say regarding families’ presence in front of Camp Ashraf. When the loud speakers were off, they said that they (families) ran away and then they would say that Iraqi soldiers were speaking in the loudspeakers. When they were encountered with voices of defectors via loudspeakers they had to claim, "You wont be executed or imprisoned if you return to Iran but you will have such a hard life ,you will earn so little that you will wish you would have stayed here with us to be safe.”

We were transferred to temporary Transit Location (Camp Liberty) based on who the leaders chose to move. If one had declared to be volunteer to move to TTL, he should have been called to attend meeting immediately. They feared that he wanted to go there in order to be interviewed and get back to Iran, to denounce them. Thus, leaders of the cult decided who was supposed to move. Members had no choice.

Translated by Nejat Society

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Martin Kobler told RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq that there are 100 people staying in Camp Ashraf in northern Iraq “until the technical handover is arranged.”

Kobler said all the residents will have interviews at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad, before getting the status of internationally protected persons from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Camp Ashraf has been the base of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), an Iranian opposition group that has been designated as a terrorist organization by Tehran.

The United States removed the MKO from its list of foreign terrorist organizations in September.

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Since our task is not political and we are by no means experts, we leave the analysis to the professionals. But as far as the suffering families of the members of the MKO are concerned, who have no request except to visit their loved ones and be sure about their physical and mental wellbeing, this development gives them fresh hope. Perhaps now the MKO will accept its obligations which will lead it to meeting the just demands of the families.

Although it is claimed that the MKO has not officially performed any terrorist act for political purposes for more than a decade, the US State Department’s report states its strong concerns about MKO maltreatment against the members and their families and violation of human rights inside the organization.

Rajavi is still insisting on keeping the members in isolation from the outside world, in particular from their families. The cultic relationship and internal mind manipulation and the so called “current operation” daily sessions for brainwashing of the followers are practiced more severely than ever. The same apartheid policy to limit contact of the members between themselves, as well as the outside world, has been imposed in Camp Liberty after moving from Camp Ashraf.

News emerging from the temporary transit camp Liberty indicates that the physical separation inside the camp between units, which is essential for keeping control over the members, is practiced in different ways. The cult, away from the eyes of the UN and Iraqi officials, has begun to dig wells and has used the excavated soil to create embankments between the units to separate them from each other and prevent the residents from having access to one another. The cult has also used artificial trees to form boundaries between units.

Although the MKO has publicly accepted that they will soon leave Camp Liberty and Iraq, inside the cult the members are constantly told by even Massoud Rajavi himself that Liberty is another Ashraf and they will not leave Iraq under any circumstances.

Up to now 12 individuals have managed to escape from Camp Liberty and by doing so they have left the organization. All of them have emphasized that severe physical and psychological pressure and control is imposed over the members and all routes of escape, both physical and mental, have been blocked.

This news also reveals that the cult has briefed the members about Nejat Society in Iran, Iran Interlink in Europe, and the Sahar Family Foundation in Iraq and has told them that these bodies are the agents of Iran’s ministry of intelligence and their task is to capture the defectors and hand them over to the Iranian authorities to be taken back to Iran and face torture and execution. By doing so they try to create phobia inside the minds of the members and prevent them from accepting the assistance offered to them to contact their families and to start a new life after leaving the organization.

Nevertheless, the families are generally more hopeful than ever and they see a bright future when they can embrace their loved ones after so many years of separation and no news.

Sahar Family Foundation once again draws the attention of all Iraqi and international bodies and officials to the severe violation of human rights inside Camp Liberty and all the control measures practiced there. We urge the international community to be concerned about the situation and use every possible means to stop the MKO from violating the members’ most basic human rights.

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During his visit to Brussels, Fried will meet with officials in the European Commission and European Parliament. Speaking at a news conference at the US embassy in Brussels Wednesdy, Fried said the US has sought to support the peaceful relocation of the residents of Camp Ashraf, first from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriyet (Liberty) and subsequently out of Iraq. "Our purpose are humanitarian and not connected with any political motives of the MeK organisation," he stressed.

Last week, the US government decided to remove MeK from its list of foreign terrorist organisations.

"We made that decision because our review of MeK’s history, and in particular absence of any confirmed acts of terrorism by the MeK for more than a decade. We did not develop amnesia for MeK’s past actions inside Iraq. MeK has a bad history inside Iraq. It has a bad history with the US dating back to the 1970’s. We have not forgotten that," said the US diplomat. "But now the attention of the US and its partners will turn to resettlement. That is why I have come to Europe this week," he said.

Fried attended a meeting of the UNHCR in Geneva on Tuesday which was devoted to the issue. A number of European countries attended the meeting. The UNHCR asked to step up and help in an extraordinary basis the resettlement of the MeK members, he said. A number of countries indicated they were willing to do so, he noted but declined to name those countries. "The Iraqi government was represented at a senior level and we applause the fact that the Iraqi government approached the matter in such a constructive spirit. They too made clear that they want to see resettlement of the people in a peaceful manner outside Iraq," Fried said. "Both the US and European countries have started a process of reviewing individuals at Camp Hurriye. There has been some progress. We have been in touch with countries outside Europe. But it is true that a great many residents at Camp Hurriye were formally residing in Europe. They have long standing ties to Europe," he said.

The US official noted that Camp Ashraf has been effectively closed and that over 3000 people have moved peacefully to Camp Hurriye near the Baghdad international airport. He explained that 200 people remain in Camp Ashraf with agreement of the Iraqi government. One hundred people were supposed to leave by end of September and the other 100 will leave pending settlement of issues such as properties. The UNHCR is interviewing them one by one and making refugee status determination, he said. "Our purpose is humanitarian and not a political act," he stressed as well as the US State Department continues to have "serious concern about the MeK as an organisation."

Asked if the MEK can play some kind of a political role in the future to resolve the Iranian crisis, he replied "they think they have a role but the United States does not think so."

Meanwhile, the Paris-based leader of MeK, Maryam Rajavi, is expected to speak at the European Parliament in Brussels today afternoon.

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Today, the seventh convoy of approximately 680 Camp Ashraf residents arrived safely at Camp Hurriya. This convoy represents the last major relocation of residents from former Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya and marks a significant milestone in efforts to achieve a sustainable humanitarian solution to this issue. Over the coming weeks, the small group temporarily remaining at former Camp Ashraf will address residual issues and then also move to Camp Hurriya.

The United States appreciates the efforts of the Government of Iraq to accommodate both security and humanitarian concerns throughout this process, including the peaceful and orderly closure of former Camp Ashraf and relocation of its residents to Camp Hurriya. We count on Iraq’s continued adherence to the December 25, 2011 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Nations that provides a path for the safe relocation of former Ashraf residents out of Iraq.

We welcome the cooperation by the former Ashraf residents in this relocation and look forward to their continued participation in the process set forth in the MOU. Additionally, we are grateful for the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, whose personnel have achieved much under challenging circumstances.

The United States will continue to support those efforts and, working with the United Nations and our partners in the international community, turn our attention to supporting the permanent relocation of the residents from Iraq.

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“This is an important step as we near the end of the relocation process. I would like to thank the residents for their cooperation,” said Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

“I would also like to thank the Government of Iraq for ensuring this last major relocation and paving the way for the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf under the terms of the memorandum of understanding,” he added in a news release.

The issue of Camp Ashraf – located in eastern Iraq and made up of several thousand Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran – has been one of the main issues dealt with by UNAMI for more than 18 months.

The last major relocation convoy, carrying 680 residents, has arrived in Camp Hurriya, where a process to determine refugee status is being carried out by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Of the 3,280 residents originally in Camp Ashraf, only a small group now remains on a temporary basis to arrange the details pursuant to the closure of the camp, according to UNAMI.

UN monitors will continue to oversee the process, including the relocation of remaining residents to Camp Hurriya.

Now that the majority of the residents have been transferred, Mr. Kobler called for a renewed focus on resettlement. “I urge the international community to speed up its efforts to accept residents in third countries,” he said.

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"The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq, Mr Martin Kobler, today welcomed the news that the last major relocation convoy of residents from Camp Ashraf… has arrived in Camp Hurriyah (Liberty)," a statement from the UN mission in Iraq said.

"In total, 680 residents moved in the convoy today. Of the 3,280 residents originally in Camp Ashraf, only a small group now remains on a temporary basis to arrange the details pursuant to the closure of the camp," it said.

Camp Ashraf is the base Saddam Hussein permitted the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), a group opposed to the regime in Tehran, to establish in Diyala province in the 1980s, during the eight-year war with Iran.

PMOI spokesman Shahriar Kia previously told AFP that around 200 PMOI members would remain in Camp Ashraf in an attempt to sell the group’s property there.

The exiles are moving from Ashraf to Liberty, a former US military base, as part of a December 25 deal between the United Nations and the Iraqi government that aims to see them relocated outside the country.

Kobler called in the statement for "the international community to speed up its efforts to accept residents in third countries."

The leftwing PMOI was founded in the 1960s to oppose the shah of Iran, but took up arms against the country’s new clerical rulers after the 1979 Islamic revolution. It said in 2001 that it had renounced violence, and Ashraf was disarmed following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The US State Department has blacklisted it as a terrorist organisation since 1997, and says PMOI members carried out a large number of attacks over several decades against Iranian targets, and also against Americans.

The United States has said that moving residents from Ashraf could facilitate the removal of the terrorist designation, as it has been in Europe.

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Diyala provincial officials said the seventh group of the MKO terrorists was transferred from Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf and situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, to Camp Liberty on Saturday.

The sixth convoy of about 400 residents of Camp Ashraf was moved to Camp Liberty on August 29.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

The group is also known to have cooperated with Saddam Hussein in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

The MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

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The source told Aswat al-Iraq that 2400 members of the camp were moved to Freedom Camp near Baghdad airport in six groups.

There are 800 members remaining who will be moved in two batches; the first will comprise of 600 members and the second 200.

The Camp shall be fully closed by the end of this month, the sources confirmed.

It was intended for the camp to be the headquarters of Dijla Operations Command, which includes Diala and Kirkuk military operations, due to the site’s location.

Iraq agreed with the United Nations to evacuate Ashraf Camp, Diala, 57 km northeast of the capital, Baghdad, and move its anti-Iranian members to an alternate camp near Baghdad before moving to another haven.

Ashraf Camp is the military camp of anti-Iranian Mujahidi Khalq (The People), which was regarded by the United States, Iraq and Iran as a terrorist organization, unlike the European Union which lifted it is name from terrorist organizations in 2009.

The members of the organization lack any legal position in Iraq, but the Iraqi government pledged to close it by the end of 2011.

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