|
"Smart Sanctions" Plan For Iraq Criticized
CAIRO, May 30 (News Agencies) - Arab League chief Amr Mussa on Wednesday criticized a U.S.-British proposal to amend decade-old sanctions on Iraq, saying the United Nations should not go forward with a plan that would in any case not be applied.
"The Arab League will continue contacts with the Security Council concerning Iraq as it is in nobody's interest for the Security Council to adopt a resolution that wouldn't be applied," Mussa told reporters.
Iraq has rejected the so-called "smart sanctions," proposed at the U.N. by London and backed by Washington, and threatened to cut off oil exports if the plan is adopted.
The U.N. resolution calls for an end to a ban on civilian trade imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, but would tighten a ban on sales of arms and military technology.
The Babel newspaper, headed by President Saddam Hussein's elder son Uday, on Wednesday branded the British proposal "a new maneuver" by Washington to bring back "the commission of spies," Iraq's term for international weapons inspectors.
Mussa said the British proposal "raises numerous questions and is incomprehensible for the Arab world."
"A new resolution [on sanctions] must be a step forward and not just a simple change or simply a new classification that distinguishes between so-called smart and not-smart sanctions," Mussa said.
He said the starting point of any discussion on sanctions should be "the dialogue launched between the Iraqi government and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan which was to continue in May."
Baghdad and the United Nations held talks in February in New York, nearly two years after they were broken off over disagreements on disarmament.
Annan proposed for talks to resume in mid-April or mid-May, but the United Nations announced on April 14th that the discussions had been delayed.
Meanwhile, a senior British diplomat on Wednesday said he did not expect the amended sanctions would be approved by June 3rd, amid opposition from other U.N. Security Council members.
"This is not the final form. Resolutions in New York are negotiated and changed and there are compromises made in terms of the precise terms of the resolution," Michael Aron, deputy head of mission at the British embassy said.
"We believe that it makes sense that if you are going to do something, which will in our view be better for sure for the Iraqi people, to do it quickly and as soon as possible," Aron told reporters
"But we are only one member of the Security Council and if other members have concerns then we have to listen to those concerns," he said in reference to tough Russian opposition.
"I think realistically that we're now [at] the 30th [of May], and the previous resolution needs to be rolled over before the 4th of June, there will be an extension to those provisions," Aron said.
"Either a simple roll-over without any changes or some sort of political indication that an attempt will be made to make changes as soon as possible" was more likely, he added.
Britain and its U.S. allies will nevertheless "continue extensive negotiations" to win approval for their bid to impose the so-called "smart" sanctions on Iraq, he added.
According to Aron, U.N. draft resolution 1284 will "effectively provide for an end" to the current sanctions regime on Iraq, "allow international flights in and out of Baghdad without difficulties" as well as enable Iraq to pay its U.N. contributions.
Aron also dismissed as "unjustified" Iraqi threats to cut off oil supplies to neighboring Jordan and Turkey and said he expected the international community to find a solution to alleviate the eventual economic repercussions of such a measure if Baghdad were to carry it out.
Aron conceded that Jordanian officials and the press were wary of recent Iraqi threats but he stressed that Jordan was in a strong position in light of its trade and oil agreement with Baghdad.
"The arrangement Jordan has with Iraq is excellent. We would like to see that sort of arrangement replicated in other neighboring countries," Aron said about the deal Jordan has with Baghdad outside the oil-for-food program.
Jordan signed a 2001 trade protocol with Iraq in November under which Amman exports $450 million worth of goods to Iraq per year and in return receives five million tons of Iraqi oil, half for free and the rest at a preferential price.
Amman has consistently called for a lifting of U.N. sanctions on Baghdad imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.
|
