Agents of the Iranian regime incite hatred in Iraq

January 26, 2007

NCRI – The Euro-MPs Paulo Casaca and André Brie held a press conference in Strasbourg on January 18 on their trip to Ashraf City. “We had discussions with almost 4000 Iraqis and 150 intellectuals and exchange of views with religious leaders, Shiite and Sunni groups and other officials”, they said.

German Euro-MP André Brie noted, “following this trip, my eighth in Iraq and the third for Mr Casaca, we handed over a twenty-page report on our assessment of the situation in this country to the chairman of the European Commission, José Manuel Barraso”.

André Brie added: “Concerning violence and conflict in Iraq, the Western media blamed it on sectarian clashes. But sectarian violence has no place in the history of this country. The agents of the Iranian regime incite hatred and provoke conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis. In fact, presently, it is not a government which rules this country, it is Shiite militias and political leaders who are answerable to them”.

Paulo Casaca, Portuguese European MP and co-chairman of the interparliamentary group Friends of a Free Iran, was the next speaker: “The situation of the Iraqi people is currently at the heart of our concerns. That is the reason why we are introducing a platform entitled ‘The future of Iraq’. This is an Iraqi-European initiative meant to find a solution for Iraq”.

“The current problems in Iraq are not the result of differences between ethnic groups or between Shiites and Sunnis. This is a project planned to destroy Iraq. It is mainly led by the paramilitary militias. They carry out kidnappings and torture their victims. Their aim is to seize power in Iraq.”

Paulo Casaca recalled: “They concentrate their efforts on devastating Iraq. According to information at our disposal, 90 minutes after the Americans handed over Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi Prime Minister, the militias killed him”.

Mr. Casaca added: “The People’s Mojahedin of Iran based in Ashraf played an important role in the planning of our meetings with the Iraqis. Indeed, Ashraf City is the safest place in Iraq where Iraqi people can express themselves freely without threats. Thousands of Iraqis come to Ashraf, taking many risks. The Mojahedin play a very constructive role in the present situation”.

“One example is the mosque in Ashraf, where, Sunnis and Shiites pray side by side in peace and harmony. This shows that the current conflict has been imposed on the Iraqi people.”