HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
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Iraqi dates are available for sale in England, and guess what? The Foreign
Office spokesman is seriously concerned: "We hope that these imports are
not depriving the Iraqi people of food supplies." - Sandeep
"This is the biggest overt breach of sanctions yet."
Ewen MacAskill
Thursday December 20, 2001
The Guardian
Making their appearance in shops throughout Britain from today: thousands
of packets of dates from al-Masoori, a
village in Iraq, just in time for the Christmas market.
Dates have become part of the festive tradition in Britain, something to be
passed round, though not necessarily
consumed.
But the dates from Masoori are special. Buying or eating them will be an
act of civil disobedience. Half a tonne of them
were brought into Britain this week in breach of international sanctions.
They were imported by a group opposed to the United Nations sanctions in
force against Iraq since its leader tried to
annex Kuwait 10 years ago.
Richard Byrne, a spokesman for the group, Voices in the Wilderness, said
yesterday: "This is the biggest overt breach
of sanctions yet."
Theoretically, selling or consuming the illegal dates could carry a jail
sentence. But the government, still smarting from
its unsuccessful attempts last year to stop the resumption of commercial
flights to Iraq from a range of countries, is
unlikely to risk ridicule by prosecuting. Told that a consignment of dates
had arrived and was being distributed, customs
said it would investigate.
Under the sanctions regime in place since the Gulf war of 1990-91, only oil
can be imported from Iraq, and that is under
the strict supervision of the UN.
The oil revenue is supposed to be used to buy food and other goods for
Iraq, whose people have suffered under a
combination of the sanctions and their government's machinations involving
key commodities.
The Masoori dates, grown in the date belt near Basra in the south of Iraq
and packed in Baghdad, were shipped first to
Naples. The port of origin was given as the United Arab Emirates.
Once within the European Union they were easily brought to Britain.
Voices in the Wilderness said its members had spent yesterday distributing
the dates to stores in more than 30 cities
and towns. They are retailing at �4 a packet.
The group put on stickers labelling the packets as "sanctions-breaking
Iraqi dates" and attached a leaflet stressing that
it was against the law to be involved in the sale of any goods from Iraq.
Mr Byrne said: "Everyone who buys this will be engaged in an act of civil
disobediance."
A spokesman for the law enforcement section at customs said of the dates
yesterday: "If they have entered the
European Union illegally, it would be up to the country they entered to
take action."
Customs, he said, would contact Italy and ask what the authorities intended
to do.
A Foreign Office spokesman struck a note of sarcasm: "We hope that these
imports are not depriving the Iraqi people of
food supplies."
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited
2001
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