) >From: Mark Clement <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Mailing-List: list [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [pttp] IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 108 >IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 108 >Friday August 18, 2000 > >LATEST+++++LATEST+++++LATEST+++++LATEST+++++ >Including Mariam in USA/Baghdad Airport re-opens/new US and British attacks >on Iraq/ > >PLEASE NOTE THE MARIAM APPEAL HAS MOVED. >THE NEW CONTACT NUMBERS ARE: >TEL: +44 (0)20 7403 5200 >FAX: +44 (0)20 7 403 3823 >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >--------------------- > >Mariam Appeal to launch Iraq International >Work Brigades > >The London based Mariam Appeal recently announced their plans to form >monthly international work brigades who will help build a friendship village >in Iraq beginning May 2001. Mr Stuart Halford the Director of the Mariam >Appeal told ISM that the monthly work brigades will under the supervision of >Iraqi tradesmen and engineers engage in "reconciliation through >reconstruction" in an original form of international solidarity. > >Brigadiers will be in Iraq for exactly one month at a time from May until >October 2001 and every year thereafter. They will have a programme of >construction work in the mornings, lectures and discussions in the >afternoons and social and cultural activities in the evenings. Participants >should be able to speak either English or Arabic (there will be a translator >always on hand) and should be aged 18 and over. And of course they will need >to be fit enough for light construction duties and the heat of the Iraqi >summer. Brigadiers will be asked to make a contribution towards travel to >Amman. All other costs will be met by the Mariam Appeal which will fundraise >for that purpose. > >For further information please contact Stuart Halford at the Mariam >Appeal on [EMAIL PROTECTED] or by telephone on (0044) 207 403 5200 >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >--------------------- > >Syria cuts transit tariffs. >Damascus: Syria's joint tariffs committee has reduced tariffs on transit >cargo at the country's sea ports by 25 per cent. Officials said the decision >was taken to lure more transit shipments through Syrian ports. Economic >sources said that Iraq would benefit most from the decision. >Source: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 18/08/2000 > > >Baghdad airport reopens despite UN embargo >Baghdad: Iraq announced yesterday the reopening of Saddam International >Airport after 10 years of enforced closure, but the move remained symbolic >given the poor prospects for a lifting of UN sanctions. >An Iraqi Airways plane carrying passengers from western Iraq landed at the >deserted airport during the climax of an official ceremony. Transport >Minister Ahmad Murtada said the embargo was "a US-British-Zionist decision >that is neither lawful, humane nor fair". > >38 dead after Turkish air raids. >Turkish warplanes on a mission to destroy Kurdish guerrilla bases have >bombed northern Iraq, killing at least 38 civilians and wounding a further >11, a local Iraqi Kurdish party revealed yesterday. >The wounded, described as herdsmen and nomads, were reportedly taken to a >hospital on Tuesday in the regional capital, Irbil. Turkish military >officials have denied knowledge of the incident. Earlier reports had put the >total number of deaths at 33. Reuters, Ankara > >Foreign minister criticizes "disgraceful" Saudi, Kuwaiti role. >Text of report by Iraqi radio on 17th August > >The Arab and International Relations Committee in the National Assembly held >a meeting that was attended by Foreign Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf. > >At the meeting, which was attended by members of the Speaker's office, heads >of committees and a number of the National Assembly members, the foreign >minister explained in detail how the US and British aircraft continue their >tyrannical aggression against Iraq. He spoke about the disgraceful role the >Saudi and Kuwaiti governments are playing by extending support for the >aggressor planes, which take off from bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait with >the aim of causing more harm to the Iraqi people and destroying their public >and private properties. > >The attendees said the mere fact that the Saudi and Kuwaiti regimes are >still continuing their hostile policies against the Iraqi people, they are >effectively taking part in the daily aggressions launched by the US and >British planes is a violation of the Arab League's charter and the UN >resolutions. In this respect, they called on the [Arab] parliaments to act >swiftly and put an end to these aggressive measures in implementation of the >charter of the Arab Parliamentary Union. > > >Iraq protests to UN about 11th August air raids. >Source: Republic of Iraq Radio, Baghdad, in Arabic 1030 gmt 15 Aug 00 >Text of report by Iraqi radio on 15th August >Foreign Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf has sent two letters of protest to >the UN secretary general and the UN Security Council president on the >atrocious crime the US and British aircraft committed on 11th August. They >attacked many civilian facilities and residential quarters in Al-Muthanna >Governorate, martyring two citizens, wounding 19 others, and severely >damaging many civilian facilities. >The two letters referred to the Saudi and Kuwaiti regimes' support for these >aircraft. The letters stressed that these two regimes directly participate >in the aggression against Iraq through their support of the US and British >aircraft raids and the facilities they offer these aircraft, which take off >from Saudi and Kuwaiti air bases. > >U.N. asks Iraq to cooperate over missing Kuwaitis. >UNITED NATIONS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Security Council members called on >Baghdad on Thursday to cooperate with a U.N. official who has been trying to >trace more than 600 Kuwaitis and others missing since Iraq's 1990 invasion >of Kuwait. >This followed a closed-door briefing by retired Russian diplomat Yuli >Vorontsov, a former ambassador to the United Nations and to Washington, who >was appointed earlier this year as the U.N. coordinator for the missing >persons and for Kuwaiti property seized by Iraq. > >US and British jets attack north Iraq "no-fly" zone. >WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - American and British jets attacked >air-defence targets in a northern Iraq "no-fly" zone on Thursday in response >to fire from Iraqi anti-aircraft missiles and guns, the U.S. military said. >It was the fourth such raid against targets in no-fly zones in northern and >southern Iraq in a week. >An Iraqi military statement in Baghdad said air-defence units fired missiles >and guns at U.S. and British planes patrolling no-fly zones in northern and >southern Iraq but made no mention of the strike. >"Iraqi forces launched surface-to-air missiles and fired anti-aircraft >artillery from sites north of Mosul" against aircraft that were routinely >enforcing one of two such no-fly zones in Iraq, the U.S. European Command >reported from Germany. >"Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by dropping ordnance on >elements of the Iraqi integrated air defence system. All coalition aircraft >departed the area safely." > >US hits at UN expert calling Iraq sanctions illegal. >GENEVA, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The United States lashed out angrily on Thursday >at a U.N.-commissioned report by a Belgian international law professor that >called the U.N. trade sanctions against Iraq illegal. >In a report to the U.N. Human Rights Subcommission that is currently meeting >in Geneva, Marc Bossuyt said the sanctions, which were imposed on Iraq for >its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, were "unequivocally illegal". >Bossuyt also said in his report that the sanctions were to blame for a >humanitarian disaster in Iraq "comparable to the worst catastrophes of the >past decades". >George Moose, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told the U.N. >forum that Bossuyt's claim that the sanctions were illegal was "incorrect, >biased and inflammatory". >"The United States has worked hard to ensure that the welfare of the Iraqi >people is protected, in stark contrast to the appalling behaviour of an >Iraqi regime which has shown itself to be completely insensitive to the >suffering of its own people," Moose said. >The United States strongly opposes any lifting of sanctions which have now >entered their 11th year, and maintains that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein >is responsible for the suffering of his people. >Iraqi officials say that a U.N. oil-for-food deal that allows Baghdad to pay >for essential food and medicine supplies through crude oil exports, but has >been dogged by delays, has done little to alleviate the people's suffering. >Iraq has rejected a U.N. resolution which could ease the sanctions if >Baghdad allowed the return of international arms inspectors checking on >weapons of mass destruction. The inspectors have been barred since they left >Iraq on the eve of a U.S.-British bombing campaign in December 1998. > > >British women make solidarity trip to Iraq. >Walking slowly with the help of a cane, Peggie Preston, 76, is an >inspiration to the three other British women who have travelled to Baghdad >with her to show solidarity with Iraqis who have suffered war and sanctions. >When the others see Mrs Preston's commitment and energy "we try to move >faster and stronger to keep up with her", said Joanne Baker, of Bristol. >Mrs Preston said her family was concerned about her health but she was >determined to make the week-long trip. "It is the least I can do to ease the >plight of the people of Iraq." >It is her second visit. A decade ago she went with a group of Britons to >join activists from around the world who camped in tents on the Iraqi >border, hoping their presence would prevent an attack by the United >States-led allies that reversed the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. >A retired office clerk from London, she said she had seen many wars during >her life. >"What I have seen in Iraq is the worst. The Americans and British are using >a new type of destruction method called sanctions," she said. >Trade sanctions are to remain in place until President Saddam Hussein >convinces the United Nations he has renounced weapons of mass destruction >and the missiles to deliver them. The sanctions, which ban international >trade, have crippled Iraq's economy and international opposition to them is >growing. >It is fuelled in part by the arguments on moral grounds of grassroots >activists like Mrs Preston. >She and the three other women plan to visit schools, hospitals and >orphanages and meet with senior government officials in Baghdad, then return >to describe their experiences to other ordinary Britons. >A UN-sponsored report released in Switzerland on Tuesday condemned >sanctions, saying they were based on the "bankrupt" assumption that economic >pressure on civilians would force their governments to change policy. >The worst case is Iraq, where 10 years of UN sanctions driven by the United >States and Great Britain has led to "a humanitarian disaster comparable to >the worst catastrophes of the past decades", the report, by Belgian law >professor Marc Bossuyt, says. >Source: YORKSHIRE POST 17/08/2000 P10 > > >Iraq Reopens International Airport Despite U.N. Embargo. >BAGHDAD, August 17 (Xinhua) - The Saddam International Airport in the >western suburb of capital Baghdad reopened Thursday, 10 years after it was >closed under sweeping U.N. sanctions over Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. >A ceremony was held Thursday morning to mark the reopening of airport, >regarded by many as a fresh and bold move by Iraq to counter the U.N. ban on >commercial flights to and from Iraq. >Iraqi Minister of Transport and Communications Ahmad Murtadha Ahmad Khalil >attended the ceremony at the airport, which used to be one of the best in >the Middle East region before sanctions started. >"We are now ready to receive any aircraft day and night," Khalil said, >adding that the airport is capable of providing all the necessary facilities >and services just like other foreign airports. >An Iraqi passenger plane, the only one of the Iraqi Airways fleet left in >the country, flew around Baghdad for about one hour and half without >receiving any threat from the U.S. and Britain, he told reporters. >All the other some 30 planes of the Iraqi Airways are now stranded in >Jordan, Iran, Libya and Tunisia, and will not be allowed back until the >sanctions are lifted. > > Russian Plane to Arrive in Iraq on Saturday. >BAGHDAD, August 17 (Xinhua) - A Russian plane will arrive in the Iraqi >capital Baghdad on Saturday on a humanitarian mission, a reliable diplomatic >source told Xinhua on Thursday. >The aim of the flight is to offer humanitarian help to the Iraqi people, who >have been under stringent United Nations sanctions since the Iraqi invasion >of Kuwait in 1990. >A Russian government minister will arrive aboard the plane, whose flight has >been permitted by the U.N. Sanctions Committee, the source said. >Under the U.N. embargo, any flight to and from Iraq must get prior >permission from the Sanctions Committee. >The Russian plane will most probably land at the Saddam International >Airport, which reopened on Thursday, 10 years after it was closed. >Iraq has been calling on its supporters to take more practical measures to >protest the U.N. embargo. >Jean-Marie Benjamin, the French priest who broke the embargo in April by >taking a direct flight from Amman, capital of Jordan, to Baghdad, has >announced that he will organize another flight from Paris to Baghdad. >Benjamin said that he will take a Boeing passenger plane with some 300 >people on board, including politicians, parliamentarians and humanitarian >organization members, as well as journalists, to protest the embargo. >Benjamin and other three people from Italy arrived in Baghdad on April 3, >becoming the first group flying to Iraq without U.N. authorization. >(c) Copyright 2000 Xinhua News Agency. > > > >Iran informs UN on 75 instances of cease-fire violation by Iraq. >Text of report by Iranian radio on 18th August > >The Islamic Republic of Iran has informed the UN secretary-general on new >instances of cease-fire violation by Iraq. > >The letter of our country's representative office at the UN, which was >published as a document of the Security Council, says that Iraq violated the >cease-fire on 75 occasions. According to this letter, these instances >include: Iraqi troops crossed the border into Iran and began firing shots, >the hypocrites [members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization - MKO] fired >mortar launchers from Iraq into Iran's territory, the Iraqi patrol boats >carried out operations in Arvand Rud [Shatt al-Arab], Iraqi troops carried >out patrol operations and troop movements along the border areas close to >Iran, illuminating flares were fired by the Iraqis along the border and they > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
