Religious Personalities and Academics Condemn Iran's Meddling in Iraq, Support Rights of Camp Ashraf Residents

Religious Personalities and Academics Condemn Iran's Meddling in Iraq, Support Rights of Camp Ashraf Residents
10/25/2006
To: National Desk
Contact: Southern California Society for Democracy in Iran, 949-777-5667

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- More than sixty religious leaders and academics in the greater Los Angeles area have signed on a declaration to condemn rights violations in Iran and Tehran's meddling in Iraq. They also supported rights of Iranians dissidents residing in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.

Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, brutal suppression of social and political dissidents has intensified. Iran's regime continues to persecute religious and ethnic minorities, women and student activists, workers and journalists.

Now Tehran's reign of terror is advancing beyond its borders. Iraqi government's efforts to make Iraq secure and democratic have been consistently thwarted by Iran which seeks creation of an Islamic Republic there modeled after its own. Many prominent independent Iraqi politicians and members of the Multi-National Force have been killed by Iran's proxies.

To counter Tehran's nefarious campaign in Iraq, thousands of Iranian dissidents residing in Camp Ashraf in Iraq have helped the Iraqi people and Americans in their efforts to provide a secure environment in Iraq.

According to the July 26 Congressional Record, 5.2 million Iraqis have described the main Iranian opposition in Camp Ashraf, the People's Mojahedin Organization, as "the most important cultural and political impediment to the regime's infiltration into Iraq."

Faced with such growing anti-fundamentalist campaign, the Iranian regime has stepped up its pressure on the Iraqi government to expel Camp Ashraf residents. The inhumane and sinister nature of this scheme has been recognized by the international community.

In the greater Los Angeles area, more than sixty Ministers, Pastors, Rabbis and academics have supported the human rights of Camp Ashraf residents. In their statement, they called for:

1) Immediate investigation of the situation of human rights in Iran particularly the rights of religious minorities and women;

2) Decisiveness on the part of the world community against the Iranian terrorist regime's nuclear projects and meddling in Iraq and;

3) Iraqi government's full commitment and respect of international conventions including the reaffirmation of the rights of Ashraf residents to political asylum in Iraq; Protection and respect for the rights of these political refugees under the Fourth Geneva Convention by the Multi-National Force -- Iraq (MNF-I), International Committee of the Red Cross, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Human Rights Council and UN Secretary General.