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Jordan Reacts To U.S.-British Air Strikes On Iraq
by Tareq Ayyoub
AMMAN, Feb 17, (IslamOnline) - Jordan on Saturday condemned the joint U.S.-U.K. air strikes against Iraq and described the move as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, Jordan News Agency Petra said.
The agency quoted Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Ilah Khatib as saying that Jordan refuses to recognize the use of force by the British and U.S. air forces against the Jordan's eastern neighbor.
"Jordan has repeatedly rejected the use of force and to abuse the sovereignty of Iraq's territories," Khatib told the agency.
"Jordan believes that all acts that occur beyond the U.N. resolutions in the Arabian Gulf should be halted," the minister added.
"Things prove categorically that the use of force will not come up with any solution but will complicate the situation in the whole region," Khatib said.
He reiterated Jordan's stand to lift the 11-year-old economic sanctions imposed on Iraq since the 1990-91 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, and opt for dialogue as a "sole method" to solve matters between Iraq and the United Nations.
"Anything related to Iraq's military capability should be handled within the context of the [U.N.] Security Council resolutions and [Jordan has constantly] called for a constructive dialogue between Iraq and the United Nations to sort out all issues pertaining to the Iraqi situation," Agence France Presse quoted Khatib as saying following his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland.
Jagland also criticized the U.S.-U.K. move, describing it as "unfortunate".
On Friday evening, joint air strikes by the U.S. and U.K. patrolling the self-proclaimed no-fly-zone in southern and northern Iraq hit Baghdad for the first time since December 1998.
At least two civilians were killed, including one Iraqi woman, and seven others injured in the attack, which was also criticized by Russia and other Middle Eastern nations.
Despite protests from Russia, France and China, the three other members in the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. and U.K. have repeatedly refused to abandon patrolling the no-fly-zone and have shelled civilian targets in northern and southern Iraq causing dozens of deaths and injuries in the past eight years.
Within Jordan, over one hundred political and professional unions activists staged a sit-in near the Iraqi embassy condemning the air strikes against Iraq.
Holding Iraqi and Jordanian flags and pictures of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the protesters urged Arab leaders to lift the sanctions against Baghdad.
The chairman of the Jordanian Bar Association, Saleh Armouti, told the gathering that the air strike "is nothing but a flagrant aggression against our brothers in Iraq."
"This move is a clear evidence of the U.S. ugly policy against Iraqi people. The answer to this act is the immediate lifting of the sanctions," Armouti told the gathering before handing a letter of solidarity to Iraqi embassy officials.
The protesters, who assembled near the Iraqi embassy despite rain that hit some parts of the capital, dispersed peacefully following the hour-long sit-in.
In a related development, a pro-Iraqi popular committee urged Jordan to join the campaign against the U.S. and protest its policy in the region.
"Our duty is to raise our voice and say no to the U.S., Britain and their alliance [with] the Zionist entity," a statement by the Popular Committee to Support Iraq and Resist the Aggression, said in a statement.
The group urged citizens to send protests to the U.S. and British embassies, as well as the U.N. office in Amman, to protest the "aggression against Iraq."
They also urged Jordanians to press parliament and the government to undertake "firm stands" in denouncing the aggression, and to "immediately lift the sanctions."
Women organizations in Jordan also criticized the joint U.S.-U.K. move and urged the Arab masses to take necessary steps to escalate the campaign against the two countries.
"The aggression is a clear message to the [upcoming] Arab summit to continue the sanctions against Iraq and to stop and rapprochement between Arab states and Iraq," the one-page statement said.
In an editorial Saturday, the Arabic daily Ad Dustour lashed out at the U.S. and Great Britain and said military acts will fail to weaken Iraq, which has succeeded in breaking the sanctions.
"The Arab Nation has been hurt to hear that the U.S. is repeating its unjustified aggression against Iraq['s] people while it turns deaf ear on the barbaric Israeli massacre against [the] Palestinian people," the daily said in its editorial on Saturday.
"We denounce the U.S. act which is haunted by the feeling of megalomania [sic] against a brotherly Arab people," Ad Dustour said.
"We affirm to the new [U.S.] administration that such a blind policy will not weaken Iraq... and it will reflect negatively on the U.S. interests in the region," the daily added.
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