THE worsening humanitarian situation faced by the residents of
Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty has prompted the Archbishop of Armagh,
the Most Revd Alan Harper, and 19 other bishops to express "deepen-
ing concern" to the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon.
In a letter published on Tuesday, Archbishop Harper condemned
comments by representatives of the United States State Department
"in which it appeared that the residents of Ashraf . . . were
threatened with armed intervention risking a potential massacre on
or after July 20 2012".
This is the deadline set by the Iraqi government for the
residents of Ashraf - members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran -
to vacate the camp and move to Camp Liberty, a deserted former US
military base outside Baghdad (
News, 24 February). Nearly 2000 residents have already done so,
but 1300 have refused until the Iraqi government meets demands for
humanitarian supplies, including air-conditioning.
On 6 July, Ambassador Daniel Benjamin of the US State Department
said that the Iraqi government's patience was "running thin" over
the impasse. Another ambassador, Daniel Fried, said that the
residents of Ashraf had made "constantly shifting demands".
Camp Liberty "is recognised by all reasonable people as falling
far short of minimum humanitarian conditions for refugees",
Archbishop Harper said. The Iraqi govern- ment had "reneged on
earlier agreements".