The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
> I understand that there are flights to Iraq via Jordan. Can > anyone tell me where I can find out more about the > availability of these and other flights to Iraq? Dear Eric, Thanks for your question. As I understand it - and I have slightly lost track of this story - there are still no regularly scheduled flights from Jordan. There had been discussion of such late in 2000, but Jordan was apparently told to back off on this. Walking a fine line between Iraqi pressure on one hand and US pressure on the other, Jordan did so. So, as I understand it, there are fairly regular flights from Jordan, but these are not scheduled commercial flights. Approval is still sought from the 661 Committee. More information would be available from Royal Jordanian, whose flights these are. As to "other flights" - again, I do not believe that any of them are scheduled. My recent general knowledge comes from a conversation with a diplomatic contact last week. The explanation given then was that almost all flights in still request and receive 661 Committee approval. The Committee has still to resolve the problem that arose last year when the flights restarted (remember that there were flights to Iraq throughout the 1990s, until the Iraqi government decided that it wanted more political flights), namely that of what the requirements for flights are. Therefore, while SCR 670, which emphasises that the trade restrictions with Iraq also apply to airborne trade, never restricts personal movements, some 661 members require passenger lists before approving a flight. As I understand it, the technical people have finished with the flight requirement debate and it's now gone to the political people to decide upon. In any case, France and Russia do not request approval. They merely notify. Syria and Libya do not even do this, apparently. As to availability, many of the flights that I've heard about seem to be organised as "one offs": word circulates among the concerned community that there's to be a flight; people sign up, etc. Does this help? Thanks, Colin Rowat Iraq Sanctions Project Coordinator Center for Economic and Social Rights 162 Montague Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 Tel: (718) 237-9145 x 19 Fax: (718) 237-9147 Mob: (917) 517-5840 E-mail: crowat@cesr.org Mob. mail: 9175175840@voicestream.net URL: http://www.cesr.org/isp -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: http://www.casi.org.uk