Iranian opposition: Maliki’s agents prevent sale of Camp Ashraf property

                             

Iraq governments prevents entry of legal representative of the residents to that country and plots for stealing the residents property

NCRI - Upon the orders of the Iranian regime, the Iraqi government is continuing to steal or block the sale of the property ofCamp Liberty residents left behind in Ashraf, in breach of the quadripartite agreement between Iraq, United States, United Nations and the residents.

Iraqi agents affiliated to the Iraqi Prime Minister's office prevented the entry of five Iraqi merchants to Camp Liberty (Camp Hurriya) on Monday, May 5, and another three on Thursday, May 8.

These merchants had gone to Camp Liberty to sign a contract to purchase the residents' property in Camp Ashraf.

The names and arrival times of the merchants had been given to Iraqi and UN officials in advance.

The total number of merchants that the Iraq Government has sent them away from the Camp Liberty’s entrance has now reached 70.

On September 5, 2013, a joint agreement between UNAMI, the US Embassy in Iraq, the government of Iraq and former Ashraf residents, entitled 'Relocation of the Remaining Residents in Camp Ashraf”, stated: “The GOI shall allow the residents to sell their property at any time”, “the GOI will review the inventory of the property with the residents in the presence of the UN”, “the GOI shall safeguard and guarantee all Ashraf property” and “Immediately after the inventory is submitted to the GOI representatives in the presence of the UN monitors, the remaining residents shall relocate to camp Hurriya under UN monitoring.”

On September 6, 2013, Ms. Beth Jones, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, wrote in a letter to Mrs. Maryam Rajavi: “If residents accept this plan, the United Nations will help facilitate the safeguarding of the property at Ashraf through your retention of a trusted local security firm. The US Embassy will do its utmost to support these efforts.”

However, in the past eight months, Government of Iraq has stampeded all articles of this plan, much like all previous accords. In addition to obstructing the entry of merchants, it has strongly opposed the hiring of private companies to protect Ashraf property and prevent it from being stolen, and despite persistent requests by the residents and their representatives, has prevented a visit to Iraq by the residents' legal representative Senator Robert Torricelli, and his legal team, to discuss the resolution of the property issue with Iraq, the UN and the US.

Meanwhile on May 6, the government of Iraq posted a misleading proclamation without any serial number, date, signature, and no mention of the addressee or author’s name, on Camp Liberty’s perimeter wall declaring it intends to go to Camp Ashraf's warehouses to take an inventory - which clearly means breaking the locks to the warehouses and stealing and plundering the residents’ property.

The Iranian Resistance reminds the United Nations and the US government of their commitment to protect Camp Liberty residents and their property, and calls for urgent measures to prevent a large-scale theft, and a visit by residents’ legal representative Senator Torricelli to resolve the property issue.