|
Norway's Embassy To Reopen In Baghdad As Ankara Supports Lifting Sanctions
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - On Friday, Norway, current head of a U.N. Security Council committee on Iraq, announced its plans to reopen its embassy in Baghdad as a center for assessing the impact of U.N. sanctions on the country.
Thorbjoern Jagland, Norway's foreign minister, said he wanted to ease the suffering of ordinary Iraqis and, instead, target U.N. sanctions more directly against Iraqi leader President Saddam Hussein.
"We want to reopen a diplomatic representation in Baghdad to be able to carry out the most independent possible assessment of conditions in Iraq linked to our work in the Security Council," said Jagland.
He also said they planned to reopen the embassy to "strengthen the possibilities for independent assessments of the efficiency of humanitarian work in the country."
The government said the embassy would be headed by a charge d'affaires with two other Norwegian staff, saying that extra funds were needed from the Norwegian parliament in order to reopen the embassy.
Norway closed the embassy in 1991, along with many other countries after strict international sanctions were imposed on Iraq because of its invasion to Kuwait in 1990, which ultimately led to the Gulf War in 1991.
This month, NATO-member Norway took over from the Netherlands as head of the 15-member U.N. Security Council's committee monitoring sanctions in Iraq.
Jagland also met in Oslo with Amr Moussa, Egypt's foreign minister.
Ten years after a U.S.-led coalition ousted Saddam's forces from Kuwait, Egypt has been in the lead pushing for Iraq to be re-integrated into the Arab world, saying that sanctions punish Iraq's people more than its leaders.
In addition to Norway's move, Turkey, a key NATO ally that provides military bases for Western aircraft enforcing a "no-fly" zone over northern Iraq, also favors lifting sanctions against Iraq if effective checks on its military can be enforced.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said in an interview this week that, "Iraq was one of our main trade partners before the Gulf War," adding that his country has lost about $35 billion in trade since the U.N. sanctions were enacted.
Recognizing eroding international support for the embargo and Turkey's sending of humanitarian aid flights to Iraq, Ecevit said: "it would be unfair to put the blame on Turkey."
"Turkey has been the major sufferer of the embargo on Iraq," he added.
"It's not our concern who continues the leadership of this or that, or any other country," said Ecevit.
"Saddam is there in the position of leadership, and that's a fact we cannot change. The United States has tried to change it for several years, but to no avail. But whoever is in power, I hope the country will take steps for its development in a democratic and peaceful way."
Ecevit's comments come as the new U.S. administration, headed by George W. Bush, made clear it will take a hard line on Iraq and as nuclear inspectors end their visit to Iraq.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts' visit came as Iraq prepared to sit down with the United Nations in order to determine whether broader monitoring of its nuclear program and weapons programs could resume.
On Wednesday, Ahmed Abu Zahra, head of the four-man IAEA team, refused to comment whether the group had found evidence Iraq was rehabilitating its nuclear weapons facilities.
"Everything went well, we found good cooperation from our counterparts in Iraq and from [the] Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization," said Abu Zahra.
Iraq has demanded that sanctions be lifted immediately, saying it has rid itself of weapons of mass destruction.
|
