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We're killing the innocent



We're killing the innocent
                               Just back from Iraq, Svend Robinson says
                               UN sanctions are destroying a society

                               SVEND ROBINSON
                               Globe and Mail
                               Wednesday, January 19, 2000

                               The eyes of the Iraqi mother cradling her

                               emaciated baby communicated hopelessness
and
                               anger: "Why are you killing my innocent
child?"
                               The baby's doctor had just told us that
the child
                               would die within days for want of
medicine --
                               another victim of UN sanctions.

                               I was in the oncology ward of a Baghdad
                               pediatric hospital earlier this month
with a
                               delegation from [Montreal based] Voices
of Conscience, including
                               doctors, non-governmental organizations
                               (NGOs), artists and journalists. We had
come to
                               see and hear for ourselves the impact of
more
                               than nine years of economic sanctions on
the
                               people and society of Iraq.

                               Certainly Iraq's president, Saddam
Hussein, is
                               guilty of brutal repression of his
people,
                               including the gassing of Kurdish
communities,
                               and terrible violations of civil and
political rights.
                               But Mr. Hussein and his circle are not
being hurt
                               in any way by these sanctions. As one
Iraqi
                               woman asked me, "If you want to punish an
evil
                               father in a big family, do you do so by
killing his
                               children?"

                               This latest trip was a return visit for
me. I'd led a
                               parliamentary delegation to Iraq in
November of
                               1990, just before the allied bombing
started the
                               following January. On that occasion the
                               delegation included Lloyd Axworthy, who
was
                               then Liberal foreign-affairs critic. Now
the
                               minister, he must remember that earlier
visit --
                               and know as well as anyone the results of
the
                               draconian sanctions regime, as well as
the
                               massive bombing campaign in 1991. He must

                               know that the sanctions and the U.S. and
British
                               bombing, which continues even today, have
been
                               devastating to both Iraq's infrastructure
and its
                               people.

                               Back in 1990, despite years of the
Iran-Iraq war,
                               Iraq was one of the most advanced
countries in
                               the Middle East in economic, social and
cultural
                               terms. Holding the world's second largest
oil
                               reserves (after Saudi Arabia) Iraq had an

                               extensive health-care system, clean and
abundant
                               drinking water, sewage-treatment plants,
electric
                               power generation plants, free education
at all
                               levels, and a comprehensive network of
social
                               services.

                               What our delegation witnessed almost a
decade
                               later was the total collapse of a nation.
Iraq has
                               experienced what the United Nations
                               Development Program (UNDP) describes as a

                               shift from relative affluence to massive
poverty.

                               Unemployment is epidemic. Inflation is
                               skyrocketing -- the average salary is $5
(U.S.) a
                               month. There has been a dramatic increase
in
                               begging, prostitution and crime. The
agriculture
                               sector is in disarray -- a million sheep
have
                               succumbed to foot-and-mouth disease and
the
                               country has suffered a major drought. The

                               once-thriving cultural sector is another
victim of
                               sanctions, as our delegation heard from
the artists
                               we met.

                               Amid the litany of grim statistics, what
struck me
                               most was the gut-wrenching effect of
these
                               sanctions and the continued bombing on
the most
                               vulnerable people in Iraqi society,
particularly
                               children, women, the disabled and the
elderly. A
                               recent and comprehensive United Nations
                               Children's Fund (Unicef) report confirmed
that
                               the mortality rate for children under 5
in the south
                               and centre of Iraq increased from 56
deaths per
                               1,000 live births from 1984 to 1989 to
131
                               deaths from 1994 to 1999.

                               Describing the situation as a
humanitarian
                               emergency, Unicef confirmed that more
than
                               500,000 children have died as a result of
the
                               imposition of UN sanctions. Another 4,500

                               children continue to die every month.
Doctors we
                               met in Baghdad and Basra spoke of their
feelings
                               of helplessness at being unable to save
the lives
                               of more than 2 per cent of the children
in their
                               care in the oncology wards, and knowing
that
                               many of those who survived would return
to
                               hellish conditions of malnutrition and
open
                               sewage.

                               There was only one nurse on a ward of 100

                               children that we visited. Iraq has
experienced an
                               explosive rise in the incidence of
endemic
                               infections such as cholera, typhoid and
malaria,
                               and major increases in measles, polio and

                               tetanus. In the pediatric clinic we
visited in
                               Basra, in the south, we told that the
death toll
                               over the last year is almost certainly
linked to
                               radiation and the Allies' use of
depleted-uranium
                               anti-tank shells in 1991. In that one
clinic alone
                               were 165 cases of massive congenital
deformities
                               leading to death in 1999. We saw shocking

                               photos of these children, victims of
weapons that
                               continue to kill long after they were
used.

                               While in Basra, we witnessed the
aftermath of
                               allied bombing that "accidentally" hit a
civilian
                               neighbourhood within the past year -- an
attack
                               that killed and injured many. And I will
never
                               forget visiting the underground shelter
in
                               Baghdad hit by a so-called "smart bomb"
in
                               1991, where it killed hundreds of
civilians.

                               Lack of hope and an economy wracked by
                               hyperinflation has caused a huge brain
drain out
                               of Iraq. The middle class has been
destroyed and
                               youth have no faith in the future. We
were told of
                               proud Iraqi families forced to sell off
their family
                               heirlooms and furniture to survive.

                               In the long run, one of the most
destructive
                               impacts of the sanctions is what a
Baghdad
                               professor called the "intellectual
genocide" of
                               Iraq. Under the sanctions regime, only
3.4 per
                               cent of oil proceeds have gone to
education, so
                               the system has collapsed. There is no
access to
                               basic scientific and medical journals, no

                               opportunity to attend professional
conferences
                               outside Iraq, and no access to computers.
Parents
                               give their children chalk to take to
school,
                               because the UN bans the imports of
pencils (the
                               explanation we got was that graphite has
                               "potential dual use" and could be used by
the
                               military). Our delegation carried
thousands of
                               pencils into the country as an act of
silent
                               defiance.

                               The ridiculous nature of some of these
sanctions
                               is astonishing: The Iraqis also sought to
import
                               cloth, which they wanted their thousands
of
                               unemployed seamstresses to convert into
                               badly-needed hospital bedsheets. They
were told
                               they could import only finished sheets,
lest the
                               cloth, too, find some military use.

                               In 1996, the UN launched an "Oil for
Food"
                               program -- a scheme that allows Baghdad
to sell
                               $5.2-billion worth of oil every six
months for
                               food and medicine. It has not made any
                               meaningful difference to the lives of the
Iraqi
                               people. The 661 Committee (the UN
security
                               Council committee that implements the
sanctions
                               regime) has imposed absurd restrictions
and
                               delays on the import of basic medical
equipment
                               and supplies. Resolution 1284 (which
basically
                               approves a new sanctions and
                               weapons-inspection process) was recently
                               adopted by the Security Council despite
the
                               abstentions of France, China, Russia and
                               Malaysia. It will do little to alter this
grim reality.
                               Indeed, some believe that the West's real
aim is
                               to gain access to Iraq's huge oil
resources and
                               fear that Resolution 1284 advances this
objective.

                               Following our 1990 visit to Iraq, Mr.
Axworthy
                               spoke out powerfully against the allied
                               aggression. Today, nine years almost to
the day
                               since the bombing began, I am appealing
to him
                               to apply the principle of "human
security" that is
                               the cornerstone of his foreign policy in
the
                               Security Council; I'm asking for him to
call for
                               an end to all non-military sanctions on
Iraq.

                               Mr. Axworthy's senior policy advisor, Dr.
Eric
                               Hoskins, has personally witnessed the
                               destructive impact of these sanctions and
has in
                               the past called for Canada to speak out
in
                               opposition. While Mr. Axworthy may
disagree
                               with former UN Humanitarian Chief Denis
                               Halliday and others (including myself)
who
                               describe the impact of these sanctions as

                               genocidal, surely he cannot remain
indifferent to
                               the suffering and death of so many
innocent
                               humans beings.

                               Of course, we must work to get rid of all

                               weapons of mass destruction in the Middle
East.
                               But the deaths of Iraqi citizens -- in
breach of
                               many international instruments and
treaties -- is
                               not the way to achieve that objective. As
Mr.
                               Halliday said recently, "We are
destroying an
                               entire society. It is as simple and
terrifying as
                               that."

                               If I needed any more evidence during my
recent
                               visit, I needed look no further than the
eyes of
                               that anguished mother in the pediatric
hospital in
                               Baghdad.
                               Svend Robinson, who represents the B.C.
                               riding of Burnaby-Douglas, is
foreign-affairs
                               critic for the New Democratic Party of
Canada.

[Voices of Conscience can be reached at:  8166 Henri-Julien, Montreal
Quebec, H2P 2J2, phone: (514) 858-7584,
email:voices@colba.net

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