Australian Supporters of Democra©cy in Iran
Austrralian Supporrterrs of Democcra©cy in Iran
Australian Supporters of Democra©cy in Iran
rra©cy in Iran
a©cy in Iran
PO Box 73, MORTDALE NSW 2223
PO Box 733, MORRTDALE NSW 2223
PO Box 73, MORTDALE NSW 2223
22223
2223
2233
Contact
Mohammed Sadeghpour
fipmoi2003@yahoo.com
Telephone: 0415 - 536 443
Peter Murphy
pmurphy@search.org.au
Telephone: 02 - 9211 4164
MEDIA RELEASE
December 16, 2009
Australian government to ‘monitor’
potential massacre of Iranians in Iraq
Over 3,400 unarmed Iranian democracy activists living in Iraq today face a repeat of a
murderous armed assault by Iraqi police in July, which left 11 dead and 500 badly
injured. Advocates for democracy in Iran today condemned the Australian government
for refusing to speak out against this potential crime against humanity.
“We have been in continuing contact with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, the
Minister and the Prime Minister, as well as the Iraqi Embassy, on this, so it is very clear that
the Australian government is fully informed of the gravity of the situation at Ashraf City,”
said Peter Murphy, a spokesperson for the democracy advocates.
“We have strong legal advice that it is illegal under both the Fourth Geneva Convention and
broader international humanitarian law, to forcibly transfer these 3,450 people anywhere. The
Australian government knows that the Iraqi government used deadly force in July against
these people, and that the July atrocity is under criminal investigation by the National Court
of Spain,” said Mr Murphy.
“We have been told that the Australian Embassy in Baghdad is ‘closely monitoring’ the
situation along with the US and other embassies, but that public statements are ‘counter-
productive’. We believe that our government will be part of a crime against humanity if it
stands by and watches without public protest a repeat of the killing and bashing of July this
year,” said Mr Murphy.
Under intense pressure from the clerical dictatorship in Iran, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki has sent thousands of police to Ashraf City, in Diyala province, 80 kilometres
north-west of Baghdad. Iraqi officials yesterday demanded that the Iranian residents get on
board buses and depart to the notorious Neqrat al-Salman prison fortress in severe desert
country in al-Muthanna Province, 45 kilometres from the Saudi border.
The Iranian residents, who include 1,000 women, offered no resistance to the arrival of the
huge Iraqi force, and left all doors open. By 3pm yesterday, when not one Iranian had agreed
to depart, the Iraqi forces withdrew from the city area and took the journalists with them.
“The Australian government is repeating the error of blindly following US policy in Iraq,”
said Mr Murphy. “The threat by the Iraqi Prime Minister against the Iranians at Ashraf is an
expression of Tehran’s contempt for Iraqi sovereignty. Australian government references to
‘Iraqi sovereignty’ are a shameful excuse for turning a blind eye to a massive crime.”
For further comment: Peter Murphy 0418 312 301
NEWS 
