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

["ppg" <ppg@DELETETHISnyc.rr.com>]

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Please pay attention to the provenance of this "list of oil bribes".

MEMRI is hardly an unbiased source of mid-east "news". It has been installed
recently in Baghdad by Bremer. I cannot believe it was proposed as a news
source by the members of the IGC.  I   subscribe to MEMRI in order to read
their extreme  articles, and received by email  yesterday the information
you have sent here. I note the names of those mentioned, with prominent
references to MP Galloway and Jimmy Carter
(sort of)-  and apparently no other US or British names were 'found.'
Curious.     pg




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


> [ This message has been sent to you via the CASI-analysis mailing list ]
>
>
>
> This is an automated compilation of submissions to
newsclippings@casi.org.uk
>
> Articles for inclusion in this daily news mailing should be sent to
newsclippings@casi.org.uk. Please include a full reference to the source of
the article.
>
> 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,pr
int.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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> End of casi-news Digest
>
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