Tuesday, 3rd May 2011
Scots MEP calls for openness in Iraq on World Press Freedom Day
Following his return from a five day trip to Iraq to highlight the plight of Iranian refugees massacred at Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq last month, Scottish Euro MP Struan Stevenson has warned that the Iraqi Government must not impede attempts by journalists and international observers to document the violence of the Iraqi army there and broker a peaceful future settlement for the camp’s remaining occupants.
The United Nations confirmed that 35 people were killed due to the attack on 8 April when Iraqi security forces moved into the camp, which is home to 3,400 Iranian dissidents who fled their homeland in the 1980s. Mr Stevenson condemned the attack a “breach of fundamental human rights” and an expression of “contempt for the European Parliament”, which has adopted two resolutions on Camp Ashraf.
Mr Stevenson, who is President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, led a group of 3 fellow MEPs to Baghdad and Erbil from 25-30 April, where they met President Talabani of Iraq and President Barzani of Kurdistan as well as Ministers, Ambassadors, religious leaders and MPs of all parties. However, the MEPs were denied all requests to visit Camp Ashraf and talk to survivors by the Iraqi government.
The attempted visit to Camp Ashraf came ahead of World Press Freedom Day today (3 May). This year’s World Press Freedom Day highlights the case of Iranian journalist, Ahmad Zeidabadi, who has been awarded the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Mr Zeidabadi has been imprisoned in Iran since 2009, having spoken out about human rights abuses by the Iranian government in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections.
Following his return from Iraq, Struan Stevenson MEP commented:
“The naming of Ahmad Zeidabadi as World Press Freedom laureate highlights the dangers that those who speak out for freedom against the regime in Tehran face on a daily basis. The unarmed, innocent occupants of Camp Ashraf also drew the ire of Iran and it was Iran’s rulers who pressured the Iraqi government to try to clear the camp by force last month with such devastating consequences.
“Our efforts to hear first-hand accounts of the massacre of 35 innocents at the camp and attempt to broker a peaceful solution to the on-going standoff between refugees and heavily armed Iraqi troops were rebuffed by the Iraqi government. Such negotiation requires openness and transparency from the Iraqi government as well as freedom from the strangling influence of Tehran.
“Our delegation is prepared to go back to Brussels and broker a long-term resolution to the Ashraf crisis, by seeking the agreement of the European Council of Ministers and the European Commission to the repatriation of the Ashraf residents to Europe, the US and possibly Canada. But we cannot do so until the Iraqi government allows access to the camp and removes the armed troops standing guard over terrified, defenceless residents.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
1. Struan Stevenson is a Conservative Euro MP from Scotland. He is President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq and has just returned to Brussels after leading a team of 3 MEPs to Baghdad and Erbil on a 5 day visit (25-30 April), where they met President Talabani of Iraq, President Barzani of Kurdistan and many Ministers, Ambassadors, religious leaders and MPs of all parties. Mr Stevenson is also President of the Friends of Free Iran Intergroup of the European Parliament.
2. The United Nations General Assembly declared 3 May to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3. For more information, contact:
Peter Smyth
E: peter@indigopr.com
Tel: 0131 554 1146
Mob: 07766 166 637
Fax: 0131 554 1549
