ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:97121502.Nlt

DATE:12/15/97

TITLE:15-12-97  U.S. CONDEMNS IRAQ'S EXECUTION OF JORDANIAN STUDENTS



TEXT:

(Martin Indyk says in Amman U.S. is appalled by Iraqi measure (440)

By George S. Hishmeh

USIA Staff Writer



Washington -- The United States condemns "in the strongest possible

terms" Iraq's execution last week of four Jordanian students charged

with smuggling automobile parts. The parts were believed to be worth

$850.



The American position was stated by Assistant Secretary of State

Martin Indyk during a visit to Amman during the second leg of his

Mideast tour that will also take him to Syria and Lebanon. His first

stop was Israel.



"We are absolutely appalled at the execution of these Jordanians," he

told reporters in the Jordanian capital December 14 after meeting with

Jordanian Foreign Minister Fayez al- Tarawneh. "We condemn it in the

strongest possible terms, we see it as just another example,

unfortunately, of the brutality of (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein and

his regime; we've seen similar actions before."



The senior American official also expressed his government's

condolences to the families of the four students.



Asked if the United States will support Jordan should the Iraqis cut

oil supplies from the Arab kingdom, Indyk replied, "I would simply say

that the United States, as I've said before, is Jordan's ally and

friend and obviously we will be doing what we can to help Jordan to

face this difficulty."



Iraq reportedly pumps around 80,000 barrels of oil a day to Jordan in

return for industrial goods, an arrangement exempted from U.N. trade

sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Jordan buys the

Iraqi oil at half the world market price.



On Saturday, King Hussein of Jordan issued what has been described as

his strongest rebuke of his onetime ally, accusing Saddam Hussein of

presiding over "pyramids of skulls." Furthermore, Jordan retaliated by

recalling its charge d'affaires from Iraq and reducing Baghdad's

diplomatic presence in Amman from 15 to eight.



The Jordanian monarch said his country could find alternative sources

of cheap oil but an Iraqi statement said December 14 it had no plans

to halt its oil supplies to neighboring Jordan.



Relations between Jordan and Iraq were traditionally warm during the

latter's 1980-88 war with Iran and even when Kuwait was invaded by

Iraqi troops. However, the ties between the two countries began to

chill in 1995 when in-laws of the Iraqi strongman took political

refuge in Amman and King Hussein urged political change in Baghdad.

While there they revealed a great deal about Iraq's weapons of mass

destruction programs. They were subsequently assassinated upon their

return to Iraq several months later.

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