The Most Reverend Dr Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales and The Most Revd Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland and 13 other Bishops and clergy condemn the trip to Iran by Martin Kobler, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Iraq and his discussing the fate of the residents of Ashraf and Liberty with Iranian oppressors.
In the statement the church leaders express their dismay that the trip has been organised while the Iranian regime did not allow Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran to travel to that country. They fear that the name of UNAMI will be misused by a regime that has been condemned 58 times for violation of human rights in Iran to exert more pressure on Iraq to annihilate its main opposition symbolised in Ashraf residents. The religious leaders argue that any dialogue with the Iranian regime on the dossier of Ashraf is in violation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the UN and Iraqi government over the fate of 3,400 Iranian dissidents. It is also in violation of various international laws and mandates on the rights of refugees. They express concern that involving Iranian regime in this dossier “means playing a role in further bloodshed of Ashraf residents and innocent families in Iran”.
The public statement signed by Archbishop of Wales (enclosed) was sponsored by:
The Most Revd Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
1) The Very Rev John Wyn Evans, Bishop of St David’s
2) The RT Revd Dr Lee S Rayfield, Bishop of Swindon
3) The RT Revd John Pritchard, Lord Bishop of Oxford
4) The Right Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely
5) The Right Revd Mike Hill, The Lord Bishop of Bristol
6) The Rt Revd Stephen Platten, The Lord Bishop of Wakefield
7) The Rt Revd Michael Langrish, Lord Bishop of Exeter
8) The Rt Revd Alan Gregory Clayton Smith, Bishop of St Albans
9) The Rt Revd Dr Timothy Ellis, Bishop of Grantham
10) The Rt Revd Andrew John, Bishop of Bangor
11) The Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford
12) Reverend Canon Mark Oakley, St Paul’s Cathedral
13) Reverend Ingrid Munro – Diocese of Derby
Representative office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran – UK
