[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 83 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PROTECT CAMP ASHRAF

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 28, 2010

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I am very concerned about the safety and 
security of the 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition who are 
residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq. The United States Government signed an 
agreement with each and every individual in that Camp to protect them 
against potential attacks and mistreatment from Iran or its proxies in 
Iraq. In return for that promise to protect them, residents of Camp 
Ashraf voluntarily turned over all their weapons in 2003 to the our 
military. U.S. Military Forces took on full protection of the camp in 
2003, and continued to closely monitor it from their base in FOB 
Grizzly in Ashraf, beginning in 2009. I am concerned for their 
continued safety as the United States prepares to rapidly leave Iraq.
  America has a moral and legal obligation towards the residents of 
Camp Ashraf. They are vulnerable to persecution by Tehran's proxies. In 
addition, many family members of Camp Ashraf residents have been 
sentenced to death in recent weeks in Iran. I have met with many family 
members of Camp Ashraf who live in the United States, including in New 
York State, and they are very committed and dedicated individuals who 
seek not aid but only the safety and security of their loved ones. Many 
of the Camp Ashraf residents spent years in Iranian prisons and 
underwent torture and mistreatment by Tehran's henchmen before they 
managed to leave Iran and take up residence in Camp Ashraf. Many 
student leaders, academics, teachers, and intellectuals who were 
threatened with arrest and execution by the Iranian Revolutionary 
Guards and Ministry of Intelligence made their way to Camp Ashraf. They 
are a major source of encouragement for the democracy movement in Iran.
  Given the current instability in Iraq, and given the fact that the 
Maliki Government has stated that it intends to forcibly displace and/
or expel the Camp residents, which would certainly lead to further 
bloodshed, I believe we should be doubly alert about the safety and 
security of Camp Ashraf's residents. I want to urge President Obama, 
and Secretary Clinton to make sure that we live up to our moral 
obligations. I do not want to see a situation a few months from now, in 
which we would find ourselves investigating the U.S. role in failing to 
protect these people.

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