U.S. Senate takes up case of PMOI refugees in Camp Liberty - Digital Journal

Members of the U.S. Senate Armed Services committee last week heard the case of the Mojahedin e Khalq (PMOI, or MEK), Digital Journal reported on Tuesday.

Thousands of PMOI (MEK) members in Iraq are "facing threats from the ongoing instability in the country, and potential attacks from pro-Iranian forces," the report said.

"Senators John McCain, 16 other members of the Armed Services committee heard the case of an oft-forgotten group of refugees, the Mojahedin e Khalq, an Iranian dissident group that is currently being 'housed' in Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad International Airport."

"Housed would be a generous word. The citizens of Camp Liberty are now under the protection of the Iraqi government. However, as former Senator Joseph Lieberman, one of three witnesses called before the committee, said at the hearing,'as the U.S. government withdrew the Iraqis refused repeatedly to protect the residents and repeatedly launched attacks.'"

"To make a long story short, the MEK had previously been based out of Camp Ashraf, a sprawling complex with modern housing, a university, a mosque, and even a pool. In a deal with the United States, however, the residents of Camp Ashraf agreed to move to Camp Liberty in Baghdad."

"The American government provided the residents of Camp Ashraf with a written agreement to provide protection and to ensure their status as 'protected persons' under Geneva Conventions. In exchange, the MEK also agreed to disarm, despite living in a warzone, and to place their safety and well-being completely in the hands of the United States."

"As witnesses Senator Lieberman and General Jim Jones both put it, however, the promise of protection has all too often turned out to be nothing more than empty words. Instead of protecting the refugees, American forces ultimately handed control of Camp Liberty over to the Iraqi army. Quite simply, this was akin to handing the keys to the hen house to the fox, but more on that later."

"The MEK, for its part, claims that this handover was a violation of its agreement with the United States. General Jim Jones put it a bit more softly, stating that the obligation to protect the MEK residents of Camp Liberty was 'transferred to the Iraqi government as part of its sovereign commitments and the terms of the 2009 U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement.'"

"Jones didn't mince words, however, when it came to criticizing the Iraqi government for failing to protect MEK members in Camp Liberty. Jones cited three attacks on the MEK refugees, claiming a total of 100 lives, noting that these were the 'most deadly' attacks."

"The worst attacks came when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was Prime Minister of Iraq. Maliki was known for his close ties with the Iranian regime, and for the refugees in Camp Liberty, this placed them in harm's way."

Digital Journal pointed out that the PMOI (MEK) had resisted the Shah during his rule prior to the 1979 revolution. "The Mujahideen had a different vision for the future of Iran, one based on Islamic teachings, but also one based on modern, democratic principles."

"After the clerics seized power, they moved to repress the MEK. In the years after the revolution, an estimated 120,000 members and supporters of the group were executed. Given the persecution, the MEK was forced to flee Iran, eventually ending up nearby Iraq, where thousands of their members remain to this day, living under the threat of extradition to Iran, or attacks from pro-Iranian forces."

"As Lieberman put it, the security of the MEK is now based on how the Iraqi government feels towards them, and that is 'based on the extent of influence that the Iranian government has in Iraq.'"