Activist Mailing List - http://users.westnet.gr/~cgian/ The Age [Sydney, Australia] Saturday 19 December 1998 <http://www.theage.com.au/daily/981219/news/news8.html>http://www.theage.c om.au/daily/981219/news/news8.html US FACES GROWINGWAVE OF PROTEST By JONATHAN STEELE and TOM WHITEHOUSE LONDON, FRIDAY A growing chorus of world opinion moved against the United States missile attacks on Iraq yesterday, with countries such as Italy, India, Sweden and South Africa joining the criticism voiced by three permanent members of the UN Security Council, France, Russia, and China. The Vatican said the air strikes marked ``a sad day for the United Nations and for the world''. The Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, called on the US and Britain to end air strikes and allow negotiations to end the crisis, state television said. France blamed President Saddam Hussein for provoking the crisis but failed to support the attacks. The French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, defended France's position that a diplomatic solution should be sought to stand-offs with Iraq, saying: "France deplores the spiral of events that led to the American military strikes and the grave human consequences they could have on the Iraqi population. But Saddam Hussein is the person who bears the main responsibility for the conflict.'' The French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, began diplomatic efforts to try to end the conflict, and said that ``the crucial thing will be to solve problems which will not be solved by air strikes''. Mr Chirac said he had talked with the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, the Egyptian President, Mr Hosni Mubarak, and other leaders to try to build a coalition to end the military strikes. The French position in this crisis once again balanced the alliance with America, the itch for independence and self-interested aims in the Middle East. France was Iraq's biggest Western arms supplier in the 1970s and 1980s and, while it fought alongside the United States in the Gulf War, it has opposed military action against Iraq since then. Among bigger nations, Germany, Japan, Canada and Australia strongly supported the bombing. India said the strikes undermined the authority of the Security Council and called for an immediate halt to raids. "This attack raises serious questions regarding the functioning of the collective and consultative procedures of the UN Security Council,'' the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, told Parliament. Italy said it would ask the US and Britain to halt attacks and let the United Nations deal with the crisis. South Africa said military force would not solve the conflict between UN weapons inspectors and Baghdad. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz, called the strikes ``a deplorable act''. GUARDIAN, CHICAGO TRIBUNE ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
