Iraq Urges Arab States To Follow African Example Panafrican News Agency d_location=Dakar (Dakar) March 27, 2001 Posted to the web March 27, 2001 Ali Dellali Amman, Jordan Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Said Alsahhaf has asked his Arab counterparts to follow the example of African countries, which have "adopted and executed a bold decision to lift the embargo imposed on the Libyan Jamahiriya over the so-called "Lockerbie affair." Alsahhaf made the call during the closing session of the League of Arab States Council of Ministers meeting in Amman, Jordan Monday. African leaders decided at the OAU 36th Summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in July 1998, to ignore the UN air embargo imposed on Libya over the 1988 downing of American Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people off the Scottish city of Lockerbie. Following the OAU decision, planes from African capitals have been landing in Libya. It was also gathered that the Arab League Council of Ministers has adopted a draft final declaration without any reference to Iraq, which is also facing UN sanctions over the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. According to diplomatic sources, this issue has torn the Arab world apart over the last 10 years, despite efforts to reach a compromise. The "exclusion zones" imposed by the United States in northern and southern Iraq are said be a stumbling block to an Arab consensus on the matter. Meanwhile, there has been growing anger on Arab streets, reflected in demonstrations staged by students at the Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian Universities, pressing for the lifting of the sanctions on the Iraqi people. Similarly, there has been substantial Arab solidarity with the Palestine people's quest for self-determination. Copyright © 2001 Panafrican News Agency. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com <http://allafrica.com/> ). _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
