RFE/RL IRAQ REPORT
Vol. 3, No. 40, 1 December 2000
A Review of Developments in Iraq Prepared by the Regional
Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
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HEADLINES
* IRAQ TO SUE U.S., BRITAIN, AND KUWAIT IN WORLD COURT
* SADDAM DEFINES THE ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
* BAGHDAD EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIANS' INTIFADAH
* IRAQ SEEKS TO EXPAND AID TO PALESTINIANS
* AZIZ SEEKS RUSSIAN, CHINESE SUPPORT
* MOSCOW SAYS SANCTIONS SLOW DEMINING IN IRAQ, LIBYA
* JORDAN, IRAQ DISCUSS INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION...
* ...AS IRAQI-SYRIAN MEDICAL WEEK OPENS IN BAGHDAD
* IRAQ VP GETS RED CARPET TREATMENT IN INDIA
* JAPAN SEEKS MORE TRADE WITH IRAQ, TO REOPEN EMBASSY
* AZIZ ASKS SYRIAN SUPPORT FOR DEALINGS WITH KURDS
* KDP STILL WAITING FOR BAGHDAD'S NEXT MOVE
* TURKMEN FRONT CONGRESS CONCLUDES
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IRAQ TO SUE U.S., BRITAIN AND KUWAIT IN WORLD COURT.
Baghdad's daily "Al-Rafidayn" has reported that Baghdad
plans to sue the United States, Britain, and Kuwait in the
World Court for human and material losses caused by the 10-
year embargo on Iraq. The story was repeated in Beirut's
"Monday Morning" of 27 November. According to "Al-Rafidayn,"
Jamil Nayla, a senior Iraqi transport official, said that
"the air embargo had resulted in the death of 6,286 people,"
of whom not all were Iraqis. He add that "Iraq will also
claim damages for losses caused by blocked contracts" for the
purchase of essential goods and equipment "especially in the
communications sector." And he said that Kuwait had been
named in the suit because it has "long advocated the blocking
of contracts for buying necessary equipment for the repair of
Iraq's telecommunications network." (David Nissman)
SADDAM DEFINES THE ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES.
In an article published in Baghdad's "Al-Jumhuriyah" on
25 November, Saddam Husseyn outlined his thinking on the
nature of political parties. He says: "A party is nothing
more than an organized and disciplined ability that seeks to
achieve specific aims in accordance with a known course on
the basis of its historic life span or its phase and what is
available to it." He distinguished between a majority party
which he said is "the people's party," and all other parties
which have their own names. He further distinguished between
what he called constructive and destructive parties. While
the majority party achieves its objectives for the people,
the minority party "weakens the historical role and message
of the majority" and destroys "its walls and spirit." Such
general pronouncements are an increasing staple of Saddam's
political discourse. (David Nissman)
BAGHDAD EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIANS' INTIFADAH.
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan told visiting
Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) Secretary-General Abu-Al-
Abbas that Baghdad fully supports the Palestinian people's
intifadah and believes that the PLF's struggle will
ultimately be crowned by victory, Baghdad television reported
on 26 November. Abu-Al-Abbas in turn hailed Saddam's
principled and pan-Arab position. Meanwhile, Yasir 'Arafat
cabled Saddam Husseyn on the occasion of the advent of
Ramadan, expressing his heartfelt gratitude for Saddam's
support and expressing the hopes that "Iraq will restore its
strong role in support of the just causes and rights of our
nation and will contribute to enhancing its status and
progress." (David Nissman)
IRAQ SEEKS TO EXPAND AID TO PALESTINIANS.
Baghdad has asked the United Nations to modify its MOU
to allow Iraq to provide additional funds to the Palestinians
in accord with the UN Charter, Baghdad Television reported on
27 November. This request was contained in a letter sent by
Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Sa'id Al-Sahhaf to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Al-Sahhaf explained that "the
Iraqi government is ready for this procedure, which it views
as necessary and urgent to extend support to the brotherly
Palestinian peoples."
At the same time, Baghdad Radio on 27 November reported
that the third consignment within the framework of the Iraqi
"steadfastness convoy" had left for Amman with 50 trucks
loaded with flour, rice, vegetable oil, formula milk, and
medical supplies. (David Nissman)
AZIZ SEEKS RUSSIAN, CHINESE SUPPORT
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz visited Beijing
and Moscow to seek additional political support for Baghdad
in its campaign to have sanctions lifted. During his visit to
the latter, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan criticized
"some Western countries for setting up no-fly zones in a
sovereign country against the United Nations Charter and the
norms of international relations, " Reuters reported on 27
November. Moreover, Tang vowed China would continue efforts
within the UN Security Council to remove the sanctions. In
Moscow, Aziz met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on
the problems related to the lifting of the embargo against
Iraq. (David Nissman)
MOSCOW SAYS SANCTIONS SLOW DEMINING IN IRAQ, LIBYA.
An unnamed senior official in the Russian Emergencies
Ministry told ITAR-TASS on 26 November that Moscow would like
to do more to help with demining operations in Iraq and Libya
but is constrained by the sanctions regime. He said that the
Russian government currently is seeking to find a legal way
around these limitations.
According to the Russian news agency, there are over
450,000 unexploded U.S. missiles and bombs on Iraqi
territory. The UN demining operation found a total of 5,000
mines in a field in the Zakho area (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report,"
17 November 2000). Most mines in Iraq are left over from the
Iran-Iraq War and are so numerous that their removal is
likely to take several years. (David Nissman)
JORDAN, IRAQ DISCUSS INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION...
Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi Salih received a
Jordanian delegation led by 'Uthman Budayr, head of the Amman
Chamber of Industry, and Abd-Al-Halim Abidin, head of the
Jordanian Investments Society, according to INA of 26
November. The two sides discussed expanding industrial
cooperation in order to break the embargo. (David Nissman)
... AS IRAQI-SYRIAN MEDICAL WEEK OPENS IN BAGHDAD.
A Syrian plane carrying a 90-person strong Syrian
medical delegation led by Syrian Minister of Health Muhammad
Iyyad Al-Shatti landed in Baghdad to participate in Iraq-
Syria Health Week. Al-Shatti told INA that "our participation
in the Iraqi-Syrian health week is a show of solidarity with
the Iraqi people and an enhancement of the bilateral
relations between the two sisterly countries in all fields,
including the medical and pharmaceutical sectors." (David
Nissman)
IRAQ VP GETS RED CARPET TREATMENT IN INDIA.
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan on 26 November
became the most senior Iraqi official to visit India since
1990. He said he hoped to boost bilateral ties and said he
would brief New Delhi officials about violations of Iraqi air
space by U.S. and British warplanes and on the "unjust"
impact of UN sanctions against Iraq. The "Times of India"
said on 28 November that India had "rolled out the red
carpet" for Ramadan's visit. An External Affairs Ministry
spokesperson pointed out that "this is the highest-level
visit ever from Iraq to India in the last 25 years...We have
close relations with Iraq and are deeply concerned about the
humanitarian angle there, especially the high mortality rate
of children." (David Nissman)
JAPAN SEEKS MORE TRADE WITH IRAQ, TO REOPEN EMBASSY.
Yasukunu Enoki, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's
Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, met with Iraqi
Minister of Trade Muhammad Mahdi Salih in Baghdad to explore
expanding trade relations between the two countries, Tokyo's
"Kyodo" newspaper reported on 26 November. Enoki's visit is
also intended to prepare the groundwork for reopening a
Japanese embassy in Baghdad. (David Nissman)
AZIZ ASKS SYRIAN SUPPORT FOR DEALINGS WITH KURDS.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz arrived in
Damascus on 25 November on board the first Iraqi flight to
leave Iraqi air space in 10 years. According to London's "Al-
Hayat," he used the visit to seek Syrian mediation in
Baghdad's struggle with Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. He
also sought the support of Damascus in rallying Arab support
for lifting the UN embargo on Baghdad. (David Nissman)
KDP STILL WAITING FOR BAGHDAD'S NEXT MOVE.
Sami Abdurrahman, head of foreign relations for the
Kurdistan Democratic Party, told Turkish journalists that the
KDP was still waiting for Baghdad to make peaceful overtures
to the KDP but that none have occurred since 1991, according
to the "Turkish Daily News" of 25 November. He also said that
forming an independent state would not be practical.
In other comments, Abdurrahman said that KDP ties with
Turkey were "very good" and certain to get better. According
to him, over 80 percent of the goods sold in markets and
shops in the region were from Turkey. He also said that the
Turkmen in the region have no problems with education or the
media.
He said that the primary problem with the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was a lack of trust, adding that
"this distrust can be overcome with time. The agreements made
so far, if stuck to, will result in elections. Whoever wins
will have the authority." But PUK calls for a 50-50 split in
the administration have not and will not work.
Abdurrahman also mentioned the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), stating "we have never had relations with them in the
past and we are not going to form any now. They have attacked
us in the past and razed our villages to the ground." He
noted that the majority of the PKK is being sheltered in PIK-
held territory and that their presence in KDP territory had
been mostly wiped out. (David Nissman)
TURKMEN FRONT CONGRESS CONCLUDES.
The Second Turkmen Front Congress, held in Irbil between
20-22 November, reaffirmed the need for Turkmen in Iraq to
struggle against Baghdad's forcible attacks on their
community and its identity, according to the Congress' Final
Statement, which appeared in the Irbil newspaper "Turkoman
Ale" of 22 November. It also elected a new chairman of the
Front, San'an Ahmad Agha. Several Turkmen parties boycotted
the congress. According to a report from Kurdistan Satellite
TV of 21 November, each of them issued its own statement
denouncing the congress for failing to express the hopes and
aspirations of the Turkmen. (These included the Turkmen
Brotherhood Forum, the Iraqi Turkmen United Party, the
Turkmen National Salvation Party, the Iraqi Turkmen
Brotherhood Party, the Turkmen Cultural Association in Iraqi
Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Turkmen Party.) With only minor
variations, they said that its policy was "harmful to
coexistence among the ethnic groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan
region and the gains achieved by the Turkmen in the region
under the existing democratic experience and the parliament
and government of Iraqi Kurdistan region." (David Nissman)
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