DATE=01/18/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-271532

TITLE=IRAQ / ARAB REACT (L ONLY)

BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Kuwait has criticized remarks by Iraqi officials on the 10th anniversary of the Gulf War and has lodged protests with the United Nations and the Arab League. V-O-A Middle East Correspondent Scott Bobb reports the Iraqi remarks are also causing concern among other Arab governments.

TEXT: The Kuwaiti foreign minister Thursday telephoned Gulf Arab foreign ministers. And the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the U-N Security Council were summoned to the ministry in Kuwait City.

The foreign ministry issued a statement saying the Iraqi remarks clearly show a continuation of Iraq's aggressive intent toward Kuwait.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein Wednesday delivered a defiant speech to mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the Gulf War, saying Iraq had triumphed over its enemies. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Kuwait got what it deserved. And the president's son, parliament member Uday Hussein, said Kuwait should be shown as part of Iraq on Iraqi maps.

Iraq's vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, said Wednesday that although the inclusion of Kuwait as part of Iraq is not official policy, 99 percent of all Iraqi's believe it should be. The vice president was on a three-day visit to Cairo during which he signed a free-trade agreement with Egypt. It was the highest-ranking visit by an Iraqi official to Egypt since the Gulf War.

In Syria, a spokesman said Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa called his Kuwaiti counterpart to reiterate Syrian support for Kuwait's territorial integrity and what was termed the need to preserve solidarity among Arab states.

/// OPT /// Iraq for the first time since the Gulf War attended an Arab summit last October. The summit unanimously condemned Israel for the violence against Palestinians and called for an end to international sanctions against Iraq. /// END OPT ///

In Bahrain, the official news agency quoted an official as saying the government was surprised and concerned by the Iraqi remarks, which it said come amid Arab and international efforts to lift the sanctions and end the suffering of the Iraqi people.

The United Arab Emirates warned that the Iraqi remarks could heighten tensions and threaten stability in the region. And Saudi Arabia's Al-Riyadh newspaper called for U-N weapons inspectors to return to Iraq, saying a disarmament mission is necessary because the Iraqi government no longer inspires confidence. (Signed)

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