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Iraqi
parliament members voted against the U.N. resolution on arms
inspections
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BAGHDAD,
November 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A fresh signal that Iraq
may be moving toward accepting U.N. disarmament demands came Wednesday,
November 13, from the official media, which mostly ignored MPs’
rejection of Resolution 1441 Tuesday, November 12, while trumpeting the
blank check they gave President Saddam Hussein.
Following
the line adopted by state television and radio in the hours that
followed Tuesday’s unanimous vote, Arabic dailies in Baghdad splashed
news only that parliament had mandated Saddam “to do what he deems
fit” on the Security Council resolution, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
reported.
They
passed over the other clause of a two-part recommendation endorsed by
parliament rejecting the resolution.
“National
Assembly Mandates Combatant Leader Saddam Hussein to Do What He Deems
Appropriate on Resolution 1441,” headlined the ruling Baath Party’s Ath-Thawra,
which was echoed by the Al-Jumhuriya, Al-Qadissiya and Al-Iraq
newspapers.
Baghdad
has until Friday, November 15, to accept the resolution or face
“serious consequences.”
With
the Revolution Command Council (RCC) yet to meet under Saddam’s
chairmanship to take a final decision, the official media’s coverage
of the parliamentary vote appeared consistent with other hints that the
Iraqi leader might agree to “deal with” the U.S.-drafted resolution
in order to deny Washington a chance to attack.
Only
the English-language Iraq Daily reported the parliament’s
thumbs down to Resolution 1441, which was fiercely criticized by members
of the 250-seat assembly for giving U.N. arms inspectors sweeping powers
that they said violated Iraq’s sovereignty and flouted international
law.
“Iraqi
Lawmakers Reject 1441, Authorize President of Verdict,” headlined Iraq
Daily, which at the same time prominently reported that Saddam’s
influential elder son Uday, a member of parliament, had urged fellow MPs
to accept the resolution “under Arab League supervision.”
Uday’s
tabloid Babel reported both the parliament’s rejection and its
mandate to Saddam on an inside page, quoting foreign news agencies, a
usual practice in the newspaper which carries reports about Iraq
“according to foreign news agencies” that do not find their way into
other Arabic dailies.
Babel
also published on its front page Uday’s working document to parliament
urging it to accept Resolution 1441 “according to well-defined
limits,” which was seen as an indicator of Baghdad’s likely response
to the resolution.
Uday’s
Youth TV had on Tuesday night briefly mentioned parliament’s “no”
to Resolution 1441 before airing a report on the assembly's
deliberations by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera satellite channel.
State
domestic and satellite television and Baghdad radio, as well as the
official INA news agency, confined their reports to the assembly’s vow
to rally behind Saddam whatever he does.
Baghdad-based
diplomats put their odds on the Iraqi leader accepting the harsh
resolution in a bid to avert a U.S. strike.
“Iraq’s
friends in the Security Council who opposed an earlier U.S. draft that
would have provided for automatic recourse to force against Baghdad if
it was considered in breach of its disarmament obligations have advised
the Iraqi government to cooperate with the new resolution,” said one
Western diplomat, requesting anonymity.
Another
diplomat said it was possible Saddam would chair a cabinet meeting to
hear a report from Foreign Minister Naji Sabri on a weekend session of
Arab League chief diplomats in Cairo and also take stock of other
international reactions to the resolution, all of which would militate
in favor of Baghdad accepting 1441.
The
weekly newspaper Al-Iktissadiya was less than happy about the
outcome of the Arab ministers’ meeting, saying the chief diplomats had
tried to paper over Arab officialdom's failure to block U.S. plans by
convening to discuss the Iraq crisis.
Arab
leaders should hold a summit to “confront the (U.S.) aggressors,”
the paper said.
Al-Jumhuriya said that U.S. President George W. Bush’s
latest threats to unleash Washington’s firepower on Baghdad showed
that the United States covets Iraq’s oil and is targeting the entire
Arab nation by targeting Iraq.
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