[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Pages 31917-31918]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE PLIGHT OF IRANIAN DISSIDENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues as a 
member of the Subcommittee on the Mideast and South Asia on the House 
Foreign Affairs Committee. Today our committee debated a very important 
initiative dealing with Iran sanctions. But it is interesting that we 
find ourselves in one domino effect after another: Iran, Iraq, and 
then, by extension, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  Today I rise with a plea to this government and to the State 
Department to save those who are now huddled at Camp Ashraf in Iraq; 
this government that we have propped up, that we have seen thousands of 
our treasure lost in Iraq so that we could have a democratic 
government, so that it would have its own boundaries and its own 
sovereignty, so it would not be governed and be a puppet of some other 
country. But yet Iranian dissidents are now huddled, fearful for their 
lives. In fact, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feldman said, 
We're actually more concerned about an Iraqi desire to move Camp Ashraf 
to someplace else inside Iraq. The expectation is that they would try 
to forcibly move them to a different location in Iraq and that, too, 
would lead to bloodshed.
  Iraqi authorities under Amnesty International says it must not 
forcibly relocate 3,400 Iranian opponents and that forced removals of 
the residents of Camp Ashraf would put them at risk of arbitrary 
arrest, torture or other forms of ill treatment and unlawful killing.
  I've met with Iranians, their families, many of whom are in this 
camp, a niece, a mother, a brother, and they have no relief. They have 
no refuge but us. And so it is crucial that we intervene with the 
present Iraqi Government, seemingly sometimes a puppet of Iran, to not 
in any way cause the bloodshed and the loss of these dear souls.
  All they wanted to do is to be in freedom. Yes, they have 
disagreement with the present government, but they are refugees in the 
world order; in the world sense they are refugees, fleeing oppression. 
And let me tell you where Iraq wants to send these huddled few thousand 
who simply want to be left alone, who have already been under the eye 
of the storm, who have seen loved ones lost, bloodshed inside the camp.
  And where do they want to send them? To the east of this area is Al 
Busayyah and to the west is Al Shabaka, the resting place for tribes 
and migrants who live in the Iraqi desert. Moving sand hills, which in 
the summer reach temperatures of 158 Fahrenheit under the heat of the 
sun, prevent growth of plants and creation

[[Page 31918]]

of waterways and toilets for the migrant tribes. Some of the small and 
large wild trees which cover a small part of the area are desperate to 
survive during sandstorms and the relocation of moving sand hills. Many 
of them have been trapped under the moving sand hills while many 
others, despite having deep roots, are taken in the sandstorm to 
locations dozens of kilometers away. This is where the members of Camp 
Ashraf will be sent--a vast desert of death.
  And so it is imperative that this government that we have propped up, 
that we have sent our soldiers to die for, don't have the authority to 
kill 4,000 Iranian dissidents who simply want to live in peace and 
alone. I hope that we can reach our government to provide safe solace 
for them, which is one of the reasons that I supported H.R. 2194, the 
Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions, which deals with the question of who 
might attempt to supply refined gasoline to Iran or prevent them with 
the materials to enhance their oil refineries. This is to make a firm 
stance against Iran's nuclear proliferation, but it is also a stance 
against its human rights abuses and its penetration in countries around 
its area, including Iraq, where they cannot seem to be independent 
enough, that is, the Iraqi Government, that they would do the bidding 
of the Iranian despotic government and try to move these innocent 
persons--women, men and children--to a place where they will surely 
die.
  I am grateful in the language that was submitted in this bill, H.R. 
2194, that my language was kept that had to do with concerns of human 
rights in Iran and that this was put in the findings. It is important 
that we acknowledge that throughout 2009, the Government of Iran has 
persistently violated the rights of its citizens. Again I believe it is 
important for the United States to support the dissidents inside Iran 
who continuously charge the government with an irregular and illegal 
election. I hope that we can move forward in saving these lives.
  Madam Speaker, as I close on Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pakistan is an 
ally to the United States in trying to bring peace to Afghanistan.

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