Some 3300 dissidents forced to leave Iran because of the brutal crack down of the opposition and the execution of over 120000 persons by the Iranian regime are now facing a new threat. The Iranians in the camps, who are all intellectuals opposing Tehran in support of freedom and democracy, are being forced to be relocated to another camp about 40 times smaller. The relocation is coming about after the camp residents were twice attacked by the Iraqi army, under the order and demand from Tehran. As a result of the attacks, 46 were shot dead and more than 1000 were wounded.

The situation of the Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf has reached a critical point and the residents are being forced to make a choice between going to a concentration camp or staying where they are and be fired upon by missiles. The goal, as Ashraf residents wrote to the UN ambassador, Mr. Kobler on January 25th and 29th: "Is quite clear: either you accept these conditions completely "voluntarily" and concur with them or the blame for the subsequent firing of missiles and then a massacre on the next deadline lies upon yourselves and your leadership!"

The situation has become a blow for thousands of family members and friends of the residents who believed that they had finally succeeded in saving the lives of the residents in the camp, when the UN Secretary General appointed a representative to deal with the question of the Camp Ashraf. The decision by the UN Secretary General was of course taken only after the Iraqi army attacked and massacred dozens of the camp residents in April 2011. During the attack, many were run over by military vehicles and hundreds were injured.

Ironically, the Iranian dissidents accepted to leave the homes where they had lived in for 20 years to go to another camp near the airport and build a living place for themselves, until they are finally relocated to third countries. The dissidents were, however, to find that the "Camp Liberty", a former U.S. Army base near Baghdad airport, which is to host some of the 3,000 Iranian refugees in Camp Ashraf, was being transformed into a prison, they say in a declaration adopted in Strasbourg.

As it emerged later, the  3,300 exiles would only be permitted to occupy a tiny corner of Camp Liberty, barely quarter of a mile square, which had been completely looted, was without running water and around which the Iraqis were erecting a 15ft concrete wall. They would not be allowed to bring vehicles or personal belongings, or leave the camp. Far from being offered a safe haven, it seemed, they were to await their fate crammed into what the European Council last week denounced as "a prison", watched inside and out by armed Iraqi and Iranian guards.

As scandalous as anything in the past month has been the part played by the UN's Mr Kolber who, far from protesting at this betrayal, met in Baghdad with the Iranian ambassador, himself a senior Revolutionary Guards commander. After the meeting he announced first that 750, then 1,250, of the exiles were willing to return to Iran. There is nothing they could dread more, since they know that they would either be imprisoned or killed. But Kobler's claim has been trumpeted by Tehran as a victory, and the deadly impasse remains.

Meanwhile, the Iranian state press had a field day with the remarks attributed to the UN's top diplomat in Iraq. The international community, and above all, the UN Secretary General, are expected to call on the Iraqi government to abandon the obstructions and to implement the international laws and standards with all details in the relocation of the residents to Camp Liberty, and urges the UNHCR to defend the resident's rights within the laws. The case is undoubtedly one that can lead to an act of genocide or a humanitarian success. The UN has the main role to play and the Iranian community around the world is watching to see the outcome.