mr president i believe that alejo vidal-quadras a good friend of mine and others who have spoken are profoundly mistaken and that we should support the amendments because the iraqi government has announced on more than one occasion recently that it has no intention whatsoever of forcing the inhabitants of camp ashraf to leave for iran or to go to any other country
the iraqi government has repeatedly requested different countries including many eu member states to receive them and we have not agreed
of the three four hundred people living in the camp one fifteen hold residence permits from and enjoy resident status in different countries many of which are eu member states and we are not accepting these people
why
most of the camp's inhabitants received professional military training during the previous saddam hussein regime and they participated with his presidential guards and with other security forces in the violent crushing of the iraqi people's popular uprising after the liberation of kuwait in nineteen ninety-one
there is ample evidence that these people harmed the iraqi people when the iraqi army refused to carry out the killings that saddam hussein required
the families of the victims in iraq cannot forget this fact and the iraqi constitution does not permit the presence of groups such as the nko or the pkk on iraqi soil
two thousand of these people have registered themselves with the high commissioner for refugees hoping to be transferred to other countries ready to accept them and for several years now the iraqi government has been working closely with unhcr asking other countries to accept them
dear colleagues this is the business of iraq
the sovereignty of iraq is at stake and we should place our trust in this democratically elected government of iraq
this is their right their duty and i can assure you they are fulfilling it correctly
