-Caveat Lector- >From ArabicNews.CoM Arab Foreign Ministers conclude their Cairo meeting Regional, Politics, 1/25/99 Arab foreign ministers on Sunday concluded their one-day meetings at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo. The Arab ministers released a final statement in which they condemned the US-British aggression on Iraq and the Iraqi people, calling for not resorting to the use of military force against Iraq. They stressed the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq and the need to lift the sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq and the embargoes imposed on the people of Libya and Sudan. The Arab FM s condemned the double-standard policy pursued by Israel. The statement reads as follows: At the invitation of the Secretary General of the Arab League, the Arab foreign ministers held a meeting to hold consultations in light of current developments at a call advocated by the Yemeni President to convene an urgent Arab summit to discuss current Arab issues, current developments on Iraq and to achieve Arab solidarity concerning challenges facing the Arab nation; in protection of Arab interests and rights and in order to avoid dangers besieging Iraq following the recent military operations, which the Arab FM s council demands not to be repeated" The Arab foreign ministers: 1- expressed their deep concern and regret over resorting to the military option against Iraq and its consequences in claiming the lives of innocent Iraqi people. The Arab FM s demand resorting to the diplomatic solution in implementing all UN Security Council resolutions concerned and called upon the Iraqi government to cooperate with the UN Security council in implementing these resolutions. The Arab FM s also call upon the UN Security Council to rebuild the relation between the UN and the Iraqi government, in assertion to the UN's credibility in implementing UN Security Council resolutions, correctly and objectively. 2- They expressed full solidarity with the people of Iraq in their sufferings as a result of the embargo imposed on them and stressed the need for collective international efforts for lifting this siege very soon. 3- As an expression of the legitimate security fears of Arab countries neighboring Iraq, according to the resolution adopted by the extraordinary Arab summit conference of June 1996, which demanded that the Iraqi government abide by not pursuing any policies aiming at provoking its neighbors, the Arab FMs opposed the stances recently expressed by certain Iraqi officials which are in contradiction with the resolution of the said summit and to good neighborly relations and called on the Iraqi government to immediately stop these stances. They also called upon the Iraqi government to take necessary steps which prove its peaceful intentions toward the state of Kuwait and other neighboring countries. 4- The foreign ministers also decided the following: -The Arab governments are collectively to exert necessary efforts and in the course of cooperation with the UN to lift the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq, according to a set program which coincides with the full comprehensive operation and according to UN Security Council resolutions concerned with Iraq. -Forming a follow up committee to actually move toward this end including Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, one or two Arab Maghreb states and the state of Bahrain, in its capacity as a member of the UN Security Council. -Asserting the Arab countries' stand against any violation of Iraq's sovereignty over its own territories, its national unity and non-interference in its internal affairs and demanding the international community to honor this stand. -Asking Iraq to cooperate with and respond to item 30 of the UN Security Council resolution 687 which calls for cooperation with the International Red Cross according to its mechanisms. 5- After the Foreign ministers reviewed the Iraqi question and its consequences, they stressed the need of not pursuing a double-standard policy, especially when the matter is relevance to Israel which still occupies the Arab lands and refuses to implement its obligations and violates UN Security Council resolutions. They stressed that eliminating all weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, foremost the Israeli nuclear weapons, is a necessary step toward ensuring security in the region. 6- The ministers reviewed what the people of Libya and Sudan have been exposed to and stressed their rejection of the policy of embargo imposed on the two countries and the need to lift these sanctions 7- The Arab foreign ministers voiced appreciation for the call advocated by his excellency Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for convening an Arab summit and stressed the importance of holding such a summit and recommend continued consultations to convene it as soon as possible. The ministers also stressed the need and importance of strengthening joint Arab work in the framework of the Arab League. Iraqi delegation withdraws from meeting of Arab foreign ministers after heated consultations Iraq, Politics, 1/25/99 After three closed sessions that took more than 10 hours of hot arguments and discussions the Iraqi delegation withdrew the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahaf from the meeting of the Arab foreign ministers at Arab League headquarters in Cairo at the beginning of the third and final session. Al-Sahaf described the concluding statement of the meeting as "unbalanced" and said the phrases supporting Iraq are of no value at all, saying that it did not condemn the US - British attack on Iraq and that it failed to achieve the "lowest minimum of reasonability." MAP reported that the final statement that was adopted expressed "concern and worry" over the military option against Iraq and its consequences on the life of innocent people and called for the enforcement of the security council decisions. Al-Sahaf asserted the existence of obvious US pressure on some countries so that the meeting would be of no use. On the contrary, he said, it has become a negative to Iraq. In a press conference held yesterday evening at the headquarters of the Nile Hilton Hotel, al-Sahaf said, "Iraq cannot accept this and this is not the aim of the meeting." He said it is a kind of conspiracy and gives the United States a cover for its repeated attacks on Iraq. He said the statement claims that Iraq provokes its neighbors. Al-Sahaf also stated that the discussion inside the meeting lasted for many hours because there were pledges from some countries that they will work on conveying the Iraqi viewpoint. These pledges did not last before the "concrete wall" created by some countries, especially Saudi Arabia, he said. Embargo Entailed $ 140 Billion Losses For Iraq, Minister says Iraq, Economics, 1/25/99 Iraqi Minister of Trade Mohamed Mahdi Saleh, said Sunday that the losses incurred by Iraq because of the embargo amount to nearly $140 billion. The Iraqi official who was receiving a visiting Spanish delegation said Iraq has lost since the embargo was imposed on the country in 1991 nearly $140 billion, which represents the value of its oil exports. He said the 1996 oil-for-food accord that enables Iraq to export some oil and to purchase basic products has not been implemented as initially agreed upon with the U.N secretary general. During the fourth stage of the implementation of this program, which expired at the end of November, Iraq received only 20% of the foodstuffs and 2% of the medicine it had ordered, the trade minister said. He criticized the U.S. initiative aimed at enabling Iraq to increase its oil sales saying this initiative has a political goal and does not aim at implementing the UN resolutions. The oil-for-food program enables Iraq to sell $5.2 billion worth of crude oil every six months to purchase basic products. Iraq has not reached this ceiling because of the collapse of oil prices and delays in receiving the spare parts required to rehabilitate the oil infrastructure. The 139-member Spanish delegation is visiting Baghdad in the frame of a campaign for the lifting of sanctions against Iraq, staged by the pro-communist coalition Izquierda Unida, the third political force in the country, and the committee of solidarity with the Arab cause. Iraqi initiates a dialogue with the Kurds Iraq, Politics, 1/25/99 Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz announced on Saturday that Baghdad is currently holding a dialogue with the Kurds in order to reach a peaceful solution for the situation in northern Iraq. Aziz added: "We are ready to maintain a dialogue with the Kurdish leadership in order to reach peaceful and democratic solutions to the Kurdish issue. He ridiculed the "US claims" of protecting the Kurds, noting that the United States provides the Turkish Army with weapons to kill the Turkish Kurds. Report: Southern Iraqi air defense commander killed in ambush Iraq, Local, 1/25/99 Well-informed diplomatic sources in Kuwait told the Kuwaiti daily al-Anbaa on Sunday that commander of the air force in southern Iraq was killed with his driver and two of his guards were seriously injured late Friday night after they were ambushed by an armed group while he was on his way from Nassereyah to Basra. The sources did not mention the name of the officer, only saying that he is a lieutenant general in the Iraqi army. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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