Iranian-Americans Hold Rally in front of ICRC in DC

WPFW Radio
August 15, 2008

Host: We are going to talk to Majid Roshani. He is going to talk to us about the demonstration to be held today by members of the Iranian American community of Northern Virginia. Why do they hold the rally in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross? Good morning.

Majid Roshani: Good morning and thank you for your time. We are really concerned about the fate of about 3,500 Iranians who are refugees in Iraq. They are under the protection of the Multi-National Forces because they’re in opposition to the Iranian regime. They are currently in Iraq, in a camp called Ashraf. They are protected by our soldiers.

There has been recently an effort on the part of the Iranian regime to have them expelled or repatriated essentially into Iran. And we are extremely concerned about this because the Iraqi security forces have been obviously infiltrated at many levels by the Iranian security agents and we are certainly afraid that if in fact the authority to protect them is transferred to Iraqi authorities there will be a humanitarian catastrophe coming up.

They are currently considered refugees under the auspicious of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, protected by the Multi-National Forces under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned everyone including the Iraqi government and everyone else to certainly protect them and not allow them to be deported or expelled or even displaced within Iraq.

Essentially, they have been the target of bombings by the Iranian regime and their agents, their Iraqi employees have been murdered, and two of their members within were kidnapped and murdered. Their water supply was disrupted, their power supply was bombed. And so certainly, they are Iranian, they’re our loved ones, they’re our families and we want certainly to be sure that their rights are protected as the have been so far.

Host: You have singled out the International Committee of the Red Cross to hold your rally. Why the Red Cross and not have a rally at all the agencies or most of the agencies that can do something about this impending crisis as you see it?

Majid Roshani: Of course, well certainly, the body that has overseen, has been the umbrella group that has been making sure to date has been the ICRC.

Host: Majid Roshani. Thank you for sharing your information.