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Comments on the UK proposal from a US-Based Discussion List.. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 17:59:26 -0400 From: "Gockel, Matthias" <matthias.gockel@ptsem.edu> Subject: RE: [ADC-ITF] UK Backs Lifting Iraqi Sanctions I think, caution should come before hope in regard to this proposal. My first impression is that the UK proposal looks like a continuation of the current US/UK policy. 1) It makes even the first suspension of sanctions dependent on "key remaining tasks" regarding WMD. 2) It makes the repetition of further temporary suspension dependent on "satisfactory" Iraqi "performance". There is no indication that sanctions will ever be lifted. I am sure the Iraqi response will point this out. 3) The authority to approve of the Iraqi "performance" lies in the same hands as before, minus Richard Butler. 4) In 1996 the IAEA was reportedly ready to confirm that the 'nuclear file' was no longer a reason to continue the sanctions. I have read only the BBC statement, so I may miss some details. But the above 4 points seem to be enough reason to remain more cautious than hopeful. I also wonder if it is at all possible to contact the people who are in charge of the WMD control tyranny over Iraq and present them with some material about the effects of sanctions. I am sure (from various articles about this issue) that most of them are not quite aware of the fact that they themselves are complicit in crimes against humanity and in a form of biological warfare. Don't forget that we deal with real crimes here. Our basic position should be that there is no room for further ploys; any proposal must include the complete lifting of the sanctions. -----Original Message----- From: epicenter@igc.org To: adc-itf@leb.net Sent: 6/16/99 8:29 AM Subject: [ADC-ITF] UK Backs Lifting Iraqi Sanctions A hopeful sign... proceed with caution and hope... BBC World Service Wednesday, June 16, 1999 Published at 00:14 GMT 01:14 UK World: Middle East UK backs end to Iraq sanctions The British plan envisages a strict inspection regime The United Kingdom is putting forward new proposals to end the United Nations sanctions on Iraq, imposed following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The BBC's Mark Devenport in New York: An attempt to show how sanctions might eventually be suspendedIn a significant turnaround aimed at breaking the impasse over Iraq, a draft British resolution at the UN Security Council sets out a timetable for withdrawing the sanctions, subject to Baghdad answering some questions about its weapons programme. It also calls for strict controls to prevent Iraq acquiring new weapons of mass destruction. The British change of position means that only the US is now completely opposed to lifting sanctions. France and Russia have long supported an early suspension of sanctions. However, a US official said the British proposal, which is co-sponsored by the Netherlands, is "the appropriate draft around which the Security Council can begin discussion". The Security Council's five permanent members - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, and the full Security Council would be presented with the proposal before the end of the week. Clear-cut conditions Many at the UN see progress on the sanctions issue as a way of getting UN weapons insepctors back into Baghdad. Unscom personnel left six months ago, shortly before US and British airstrikes were launched to punish Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government for failing to cooperate with inspectors. The British draft says sanctions would only be suspended for 120 days after Iraq completes a set of "key remaining tasks" regarding the destruction of its weapons of mass destruction. After another four months, the chairman of the new Commission on Inspection and Monitoring and the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency would report to the council on whether Iraq had answered the disarmament tasks set out by inspectors. The suspension would then be subject to renewal every 120 days, if Iraq performed satisfactorily. Oil-for-food discussion Iraq is allowed to sell oil for humanitarian needsA top UN humanitarian aide will arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss the oil-for-food deal. Benon Sevan, who runs the UN programme, will meet senior Iraqi government officials. Under the deal, which was extended in May for another six months, Iraq can sell $5.26 bn worth of oil over six months to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian needs for its people. George E. Irani Laurie King-Irani 850 N. Randolph Street # 907 Arlington, VA 22203 Phone and Fax: (703) 465-1143 ======================================================== For analyses of politics, culture and society in the Middle East, see the web site of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP): http://www.merip.org -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html