[casi-analysis] casi-news digest, Vol 1 #22 - 2 msgs

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Today's Topics:

   1. Kurds worry about US betrayal.. (k hanly)
   2. List of alleged oil bribes (Daniel O'Huiginn)

--__--__--

Message: 1
From: "k hanly" <khanly@DELETETHISmb.sympatico.ca>
To: "newsclippings" <newsclippings@casi.org.uk>
Subject: Kurds worry about US betrayal..
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 11:14:15 -0600

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-iraq-kurds,0,7233660,print.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines

Kurds' Dream Clashes With U.S. Plans




By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
Associated Press Writer

January 28, 2004, 9:36 AM EST

IRBIL, Iraq -- There is growing concern among Iraq's Kurds that the United
States will once again abandon them midway in their age-old aspiration to
set up a federal Kurdish state.

Kurdish leaders and many others in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq are
convinced that Washington promised, just before invading Iraq 10 months ago,
that the Kurds would be granted autonomy under a federal system after the
fall of Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials say no such guarantees were made.

The Kurds, who established a semiautonomous area in Irbil, Sulaimaniyah and
Dohuk provinces in northern Iraq under U.S. and British protection following
the 1991 Gulf War, were among the strongest Iraqi supporters of the war that
toppled Saddam Hussein.

"In the last 12 years, we've had a free and democratic atmosphere. It's
impossible for the Kurds to accept one scintilla less than what they have
enjoyed," Neschirwan Barzani, the prime minister of the Irbil, told The
Associated Press on Tuesday.

Irbil is controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Party, one of the two major
Kurdish factions. The other faction, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,
controls Sulaimaniyah. Those provinces and Dohuk are home to most of Iraq's
Kurds, who represent about 20 percent of Iraq's 25 million people.

The Kurdish goal is to formalize their existing autonomy under a federal
system and even expand it to the oil-rich area around Kirkuk, historically a
mixed Kurdish, Arab and Turkoman city. Saddam expelled Kurds from Kirkuk and
resettled the area with Arabs.

Barzani, nephew of KPD leader Massoud Barzani, said no political party has
the right to accept anything less than federalism "because the Kurdish
public and the Kurdish people will not accept it."

The Kurdish Parliament in Irbil has sent a proposal for a federal solution
to the U.S.-installed Iraqi Governing Council in Baghdad and to L. Paul
Bremer, the U.S. civil administrator of the nation.

Bremer has indicated that he prefers a federal system, but one based on
geographical boundaries rather than ethnic composition.

Barzani said that during meetings between U.S. officials and anti-Saddam
opposition groups and Kurdish leaders before the war, "it was confirmed that
the Kurds will get a lions share in the new Iraq.

"And things gradually changed. After the war, they forgot everything. ...
They came out with a new idea about how to run the situation. This in itself
has become a problem," he said.

Barzani said "historically, geographically" there has been an area called
Kurdistan made up of areas with majority Kurdish population.

"What we say is this: The borders of the federal union should be made up of
areas that are called Kurdistan," he said, reiterating a demand by Kurdish
leaders.

The Kurdish aspirations have alarmed neighboring Turkey, Syria and Iran,
which fear that granting Iraqi Kurds an ethnic enclave could incite
separatist sentiments among Kurdish minorities within their own borders.

Barzani also demanded that Arabs, who were settled in Kirkuk and other
Kurdish areas, should be asked to leave. Then Kurds can vote in a referendum
on whether they want to be part of a Kurdistan federation, he said.

In recent days, Kurds have been collecting petitions from citizens calling
for a referendum on a federal solution.

"The petition is to put pressure on the coalition authority, the Governing
Council and human rights groups to take notice of the wishes of the Kurdish
people that they want to determine their own fate," said Haval Abu Bakr, a
professor at Sulaymaniyah University.

Ferhad Pirbal, a writer and professor at Salaheddin University in Irbil,
said, "We know the Turks, the Arabs and the Americans very well. They might
do the same again and betray us, like they did in the past. Americans
understand the feelings and emotions of Iraqi nationalism and can use that
against us."

His wife, Tarza Jaff, a teacher and a novelist, agreed.

"We are all afraid that America will betray us again," she said.

Kurds felt let down in 1991 after the U.S. government urged them to rise
against Saddam but did nothing to help them when they were brutally crushed
by the Iraqi army.

The Americans, however, say they planned to keep Iraq intact.

"When we came we said it's going to be one nation" and "we will keep the
status quo for now until we can establish a government with a constitution,"
said Lt. Col. James Bullion with the 404th Cvivil Affairs Battalion in
Irbil.

He said the issue of Kirkuk was yet to be resolved and the Coalition
Provisional Authority will set up a property claims commission in Irbil,
Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah in the coming weeks for people evicted from their
towns.

Bullion had advice for the Kurds who were among the people who suffered most
under Saddam: "This is the best opportunity for them to achieve their goals.
But they have to be realistic. If they push too hard, they may lose that
opportunity




--__--__--

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 10:23:10 +0000 (GMT)
From: Daniel O'Huiginn <do227@DELETETHIShermes.cam.ac.uk>
To: casi-news@lists.casi.org.uk
Subject: List of alleged oil bribes


Dear list,

Muhamad Ali submitted to the news list Al-Mada's increasingly famous list
of OFF kickbacks, in arabic with a request for translation. Since MEMRI
has already produced an english version
(http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA16004#_edn1), I've sent this
instead. The arabic original can be found from
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA16004#_edn1

Best,
Dan O'Huiginn
[news moderator]

Muhamad's introduction:
***********************

Below is the source of a news report in Arabic published by Al-Mada =
newspaper on Baghdad on 25th January 2004.  elaph.com quotes it as =
=93Al-Mada scoops documents on the biggest Iraqi scam to buy others=92 =
favours-Leaders, politicians, journalists and parties received millions =
of barrels of oil from Saddam=94. They are listed under their respective =
countries. Under Britain are listed; George Galloway/Fawwaz Zureiqat, 19 =
millions of barrels of oil and Mujahideen Khalq (Iranian opposition) =
36.5 millions of barrels of oil. I suggest that our colleagues in =
Baghdad verify the authenticity of the documents or otherwise. Together =
we try to provide an English version.

Regards,  Muhamad=20
http://www.elaph.com.:9090/elaph/arabic/index.html


Al-Mada's Article [MEMRI translation]
*****************

The following are excerpts from the article:

"Under this professional and electrifying title, there are names that have
nothing to do with oil companies, or the distribution, storage, and
marketing of oil. They are not known for having any interest in oil or any
links to oil companies, such as the Russian Orthodox Church and the
Russian Communist Party.

"As far as the individuals, the situation is even more puzzling. We can
understand that the journalist Hameeda Na'Na',who defended the former
regime, was trying to perpetuate her independent journalistic endeavor
through an oil deal, but it is strange to find the names of Khaled,son of
the late Gamal Abd Al-Nasser,in those lists, or Toujan Al-Faisal, former
member of the Jordanian parliament, or the present Indonesian president,
or the son of the Syrian defense minister, or the son of the Lebanese
president."

Saddam's Exploitation of U.N. Sanctions

"Since the deposed regime endorsed the 'Memorandum of Understanding,' also
known as 'oil for food [program],' it turned it into a despicable
political and commercial game, and used it to finance its clandestine
acquisitions of arms, expensive construction materials for the
presidential palaces and mosques, and frivolous luxury items. It turned
the oil sales agreements into the greatest bribery operation in history,
buying souls and pens, and squandering the nation's resources.

"Since then, rumors were abound about vouchers that Saddam gave to certain
Arab and foreign dignitaries, providing them with crude oil in exchange
for their support to the regime in a period of international isolation,
and as a way to finance the campaign to lift the economic sanctions
against it and to whitewash its image.

"However, the regime itself tarnished the moral and humane ethics of the
international campaign to lift the unjust sanctions, because by the end of
the day the sanctions did not harm it [the regime], but harmed our poor
people and the middle class. We saw that whenever the international
campaign to lift the sanctions got closer to its goals, the regime . by
its behavior and insolence . shoved it again into a dark tunnel, and at
the same time turned our country into a free-for-all richly loaded dining
table, awaiting a stream of hearty eaters and obedient servants.

"One of the traits of our country's fascist regime is that it lacked
decency and was always in need to use others in order to feel superior.
Therefore, it corrupted even those who had good intentions and noble goals
when defending the Iraqi people and trying to lift the siege imposed on
it. The regime was versed only in the politics of the 'open wallet,' and
therefore surrounded itself with people that it could co-opt and people
who would panhandle for it, so that it could feel moral superiority over
them.

"And if one happened to know some of the official Ba'athists, who did not
hesitate - because of their rural values - to boast and to [assume] moral
superiority, one would have heard a lot from them about the
ever-increasing number of visitors to Iraq in recent years, and would have
understood from them that those visitors who came to defend us also came
to cash in the price for that. We can confirm this information because the
Ba'athists themselves, in a moment of 'rural pompousness,' propagated the
rumors about the Arab and foreign visitors. They mentioned some of the
names listed here, among them George Galloway, member of the [British]
Labor party.

"The case of Mr. Galloway is truly distressing. This man, who defended
just Arab causes, became a loser as he got closer to the Iraqi regime.
Galloway, who was banished from the party for this reason and who defended
himself vehemently, and even attacked Tony Blair's and Bush's policies,
will not be able - in my opinion - to refute Iraqi documents that
incriminate him conclusively.

"In addition to the lists mentioned above, Al-Mada also obtained six
requests from the executive director and the associate executive director
of the Oil Marketing Company to the Oil Minister 'to approve the crude oil
agreements.' All of them mentioned the name of Mr. Galloway, not as a
party in the agreement, but as a recipient, since Mr. Galloway hides
behind a company that does not carry his name nor his nationality.

"The manner by which these agreements were struck sheds light on the
process of awarding the vouchers and the goodwill of the President of the
Republic [Saddam]. That is why we wish to decipher it, especially since
the lists include some individual names such as 'Samir,' and no one knows
whether it belongs to an individual or to a company."

The List

The following is a partial list and description of individuals and
organizations that MEMRI has been able to identify: [2]

Canada: Arthur Millholland, president and CEO of the Calgary-based Oilexco
company, received 1 million barrels of oil.

United States: Samir Vincent received 10.5 million barrels. In 2000,
Vincent, an Iraqi-born American citizen who has lived in the U.S. since
1958, organized a delegation of Iraqi religious leaders to visit the U.S.
and meet with former president Jimmy Carter. Shaker Al-Khafaji,the
pro-Saddam chairman of the 17th conference of Iraqi expatriates, received
1 million barrels.

Great Britain: George Galloway received 1 million barrels. Fawwaz Zreiqat
received 1 million barrels. Zreiqat also appears in the Jordanian section
as having received 6 million barrels. The Mujahideen Khalq [3] in Britain
received 1 million barrels.

France: The French-Arab Friendship Association received 15.1 million
barrels. Former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua received 12
million barrels. [4] Patrick Maugein of the Trafigura company received 25
million barrels. Michel Grimard, founder of the French-Iraqi Export Club,
received 17.1 million barrels.

Switzerland: Glenco Re, the largest commodity trader in Switzerland,
received 12 million barrels. Taurus, which has been associated with Iraq
for 20 years and was the first company to renew its business with Iraq
after the fall of Saddam, received 1 million barrels. Petrogas, which is
listed under three sub-companies . Petrogas Services, Petrogas
Distribution, and Petrogas Resources - and is associated withthe Russian
company Rosneftegazetroy, received 1 million barrels. Alcon, listed in
Lichtenstein and associated with larger oil companies, received 1 million
barrels. Finar Holdings, which is listed in Lugano, Switzerland, and is
under liquidation, received 1 million barrels.

Italy: The Italian Petrol Union received 1 million barrels.West Petrol, an
Italian company that trades crude oil and oil products, received 1 million
barrels. Roberto Formigoni, possibly the president of Lombardia, received
1 million barrels. Salvatore Nicotra, a former NATO pilot who became an
oil merchant, received 1 million barrels.

Spain: Basem Qaqish, a member of the Spanish Committee for the Defense of
the Arab Cause, received 1 million barrels. Ali Ballout, a pro-Saddam
Lebanese journalist, received 1 million barrels. Javier Robert received 1
million barrels.

Yugoslavia: Four Yugoslav political parties received vouchers: the
Yugoslav Left party received 9.5 million barrels. The Socialist Party
received 1 million barrels. The Italian Party received 1 million barrels.
A nother party, whose name in exact transliteration is "kokstuntsha" .
possibly Kostunica's party . received 1 million barrels.

Other political parties: The Romanian Labor Party received 5.5 million
barrels. The Party of the Hungarian Interest received 4.7 million barrels.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party received 1 2 million barrels. The Slovakian
Communist Party received 1 million barrels.

Austria: The Arab-Austrian Society received 1 million barrels.

Brazil: The 8th of October Movement, a Brazilian Communist group, received
4.5 million barrels. Fuwad Sirhan received 10 million barrels.

Egypt: Khaled Gamal Abd Al-Nasser, son of the late Egyptian president,
received 16.6 million barrels. 'Imad Al-Galda, a businessman and a member
of the Egyptian parliament from President Mubarak's National Democratic
Party, received 14 million barrels. Abd Al-Azim Mannaf, [5] editor of the
Sout Al-Arab newspaper, received 6 million barrels. Muhammad Hilmi, editor
of the Egyptian paper Sahwat Misr, [6] received an undisclosed number of
barrels. The United Arab Company received 6 million barrels. The Nile and
Euphrates Company received 3 million barrels. The Al-Multaqa Foundation
for Press and Publication received 1 million barrels. [7]

Libya: Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem received 1 million barrels.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Chad's foreign minister received 1 million barrels.
[8] Four South Africans are listed: Tokyo Saxville received 4 million
barrels. Montega received 4 million barrels. Both are associated with the
African National Party.

Palestinians: The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) received 4
million barrels. The PLO Political Bureau received 5 million barrels. Abu
Al-Abbas received 11.5 million barrels. Abdallah Al-Horani received 8
million barrels. The PFLP received 5 million barrels. Wafa Tawfiq
Al-Sayegh received 4 million barrels.

Oman: The Al-Shanfari group received 5 million barrels.

Syria: Farras Mustafa Tlass, the son of Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa
Tlass, received 6 million barrels. 'Audh Amourah received18 million
barrels. Ghassan Zakariya received 6 million barrels. Anwar Al-Aqqad
received 2 million barrels. Hamida Na'Na', the owner of the Al-Wafaq
Al-Arabi periodical, received 1 million barrels.

Lebanon: The son of Lebanese President Emil Lahoud received 4.5 million
barrels. Former MP Najjah Wakim received 3 million barrels. Nasserist
Party head Osama M'arouf received 3 million barrels. National Arabic Club
Chairman Faisal Darnika received 3 million barrels.

Jordan: Former Islamist MP and head of the Engineers Union Leith Shbeilat
[9] received 15.5 million barrels. Former MP and Jordanian Writers Union
head Fakhri Qi'war received 6 million barrels. [10] Former Jordanian chief
of staff Mashhour Haditha received 1 million barrels. Former MP Toujan
Al-Faisal received 3 million barrels. [11] The Jordanian Ministry of
Energy received 5 million barrels. Muhammad Saleh Al-Horani, the Amman
Stock Exchange head and former Minister of Supplies, received 4 million
barrels. Lawyer Wamidth Hussein Al-Majali received 6 million barrels. [12]

Qatar: Qatari Horseracing Association Chairman Hamad bin Ali Aal Thani
received 14 million barrels. Gulf Petroleum received 2 million barrels.

The Indian Congress Party received 1 million barrels.

Indonesia: Indonesian President Megawati received 1 million barrels as
"the daughter of President Sukarno," and 1 million barrels as Megawati.

Myanmar: Myanmar's Forestry Minister received 1 million barrels.

Ukraine: The Social Democratic Party received 1 million barrels. The
Communist Party received 6 million barrels. The Socialist Party received 1
million barrels. The FTD oil company received 1 million barrels, as did
other Ukrainian companies.

Belarus: The Liberal Party received 1 million barrels. The Communist Party
received 1 ton [sic] of oil. The director of the Belarussian president's
office received 1 million barrels.

Russia: The Russian state itself received 1,366,000,000 barrels. The list
also included the following:

Companies belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party received 79.8 million
barrels - t he list notes the name of party president Vladimir
Zhirinovsky. The Russian Communist Party received 1 million barrels. The
Lukoil company received 63 million barrels. The Russneft company received
35.5 million barrels. Vladimir Putin's Peace and Unity Party received 34
million barrels - the list notes the name of party chairwoman Saji
Umalatova. The Gazprom company received 26 million barrels. The
Soyuzneftgaz company received 25.5 million barrels - t he list notes the
name Shafrannik. The Moscow Oil Company received 25.1 million barrels. The
Onako company received 22.2 million barrels. The Sidanco company received
21.2 million barrels. The Russian Association for Solidarity with Iraq
received 12.5 million barrels. The Ural Invest company received 8.5
million barrels. Russneft Gazexport received 12.5 million barrels. The
Transneft company received 9 million barrels. The Sibneft company received
8.1 million barrels. The Stroyneftgaz company received 6 million barrels.
The Russian Committee for Solidarity with the People of Iraq received 6.5
million barrels - the list notes the name of committee chairman Rudasev.
The Russian Orthodox Church received 5 million barrels. The Moscow Science
Academy received 3.5 million barrels. The Chechnya Administration received
2 million barrels. T he National Democratic Party received 2 million
barrels. The Nordwest group received 2 million barrels. The Yukos company
received 2 million barrels. One Russian company which phonetically reads
as Zarabsneft received 174.5 million barrels. Vouchers were also granted
to the Russian foreign ministry, one under the name of Al-Fayko for 1
million barrels, and one to Yetumin for 30.1 million barrels. T he
Mashinoimport Company received 1 million barrels. The Slavneft Company
received 1 million barrels. The Caspian Invest Company (Kalika) received 1
million barrels. The Tatneft Tatarstan company received 1 million barrels.
The Surgutneft company received 1 million barrels. Siberia's oil and gas
company received 1 million barrels.

In addition, the son of the former Russian Ambassador to Iraq received
19.7 million barrels. Nikolay Ryjkov, a former prime minister of the USSR,
received 13 million barrels. The Russian President's office director
received 5 million barrels.

Oil vouchers were also distributed to companies and individuals from the
Sudan, Yemen, Cyprus, Turkey, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
UAE, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Panama, Thailand, Chad, China, Nigeria,
Kenya, Ireland, Bahrain, and the Philippines. Two Saudi companies were
also listed.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Al-Mada (Baghdad), January 25, 2004. Al-Mada is an independent daily,
published in Baghdad. Fakhri Karim is the Editor-in-Chief.

[2] More details about sources of organizations and individuals listed
will appear in a forthcoming report.

[3] The Mujahideen Khalq is an organization which opposes the Iranian
regime. The U.S. government has classified it as a terrorist group.

[4] Mr. Pasqua denied receiving anything from Saddam. Radio France
Internationale (RFI), January 27, 2004.

[5] Mr. Manaf states that he has documents which show that he was made an
offer but that he declined. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 26, 2004.

[6] Muhammad Hilmi also has a son named "Saddam."

[7] An anonymous official of the Al-Multaqa Foundation stated that the
foundation's relations with Iraq were limited to the distribution of its
newspaper in Iraq. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 26, 2004.

[8] Chad was mentioned at one time as a possible source of uranium for
Iraq.

[9] Shbeilat issued a statement denouncing the publication of the names as
an attempt to harm the reputations of nationalists who opposed the
invasion of Iraq. Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), January 28, 2004.

[10] Qi'war said: "This has no base in truth. They are merely accusations
whose reasons I do not know." Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 26,
2004.

[11] Ms. Faisal maintains that the vouchers were meant for her political
friend, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Qatarna, on whose behalf she intervened with the
Iraqi authorities. Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), January 28, 2004.

[12] Mr. Majali said the publication about him is false. He said he was a
member of a popular committee for the support of Iraq, which provided
medicines to Iraq paid for by the members of the committee "from their own
pockets." Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 26, 2004.






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