>France notifies UN of Iraq-bound flight. >(AFP)-21Sep2000/925 pm France notified the UN Sanctions Committee Thursday >that a plane carrying doctors and sports personalities would be flying to >Iraq Friday for the first time since an international embargo was slapped on >Baghdad, according to a French diplomat here. The plane, chartered by a >French association called the "office for the development of industry and >culture," will leave Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport at 8:00 a.m. (0600 >GMT), airport officials said. The sanctions were imposed in the wake of >Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, but France, Russia and China insist that >none of UN resolutions on the subject bans passenger flights to Iraq as long >as they are not part of business transactions. A Russian plane carrying a >group of oil executives flew to Baghdad last Sunday. > >Ivanov to ask Iraq to show more flexibility on inspections. >Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0524 gmt 21 Sep 00 >New York, 21st September: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will have an >important meeting today in New York with Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad >Said al-Sahhaf. > >The Russian side is extremely concerned about the deadlock on the Iraq >situation and Ivanov has raised this issue during meetings with colleagues >from many countries directly or indirectly involved in the Iraq problem. He >told them that it was important to find effective ways as soon as possible >to unblock the deadlock on Iraq while acting in accordance with UN Security >Council decisions and in particular Resolution 1284; and also to remove the >sanctions implemented against that country which are seriously complicating >the humanitarian situation in Iraq. > >At the same time, Moscow is expecting Baghdad to demonstrate more >flexibility on the issue of cooperation with the UN, and in particular on >such an aspect of the problem as allowing UN representatives access to >monitor the implementation by Iraq of Security Council resolutions. >Evidently, this is one of the issues of interest to Moscow and Baghdad that >Ivanov and Sahhaf will discuss at today's meeting... > >Ivanov dismisses Western criticism of humanitarian flights to Iraq. >Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS >Washington, 21st September: >The direct flight made by a Russian plane to Baghdad on 17th September does >not mean the beginning of regular air traffic between the two countries, >Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov [has] told reporters. > >Ivanov described the episode as an "ordinary event". >The plane, which brought a humanitarian cargo to Iraq, was chartered by the >Russian company Stroytransgaz. It informed the UN committee on sanctions in >advance about its plans. >He noted that there was nothing special about bringing humanitarian cargo to >Iraq and that the media fanned it up to a high-profile event on purpose. > >When asked if regular flights will be launched on the route >Moscow-Baghdad-Moscow, the minister said the issue will be resolved "through >a different way". Earlier he stated that Moscow does not regard civil >aviation flights to Iraq as a violation of international sanctions which the >UN imposed against that country. > >Oil peaks US$37.80 a barrel on new supply data. >Oil prices jumped to new decade highs on Wednesday as new supply figures >confirmed fears that the pre-winter stock cushion in the US is running >dangerously thin. > >October crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) peaked at US$37.80 >a barrel. > >Profit taking pushed prices back late to settle at US$37.20, 69 cents up on >the day. > >Crude has gained nearly US$4 this month alone, as renewed tensions between >Iraq and the United States fuelled fears that Iraq could shut off its oil >exports in the run-up to November's US presidential election. > >Iraq has said it is opposed to any bilateral agreement between Iran and >Kuwait >Iraq has said it is opposed to any bilateral agreement between Iran and >Kuwait for the demarcation of the continental shelf between the two >countries. The foreign ministry said in a statement that all littoral states >in the area should be involved in the planned negotiations. It was >responding to an announcement by Kuwaiti and Iranian cabinet ministers that >their two governments planned to begin talks early in September for >delineating their borders in the Gulf territorial waters in the run-up to >the exploitation of oil reserves there. >Source: PETROLEUM ECONOMIST 09/2000 P49 > > >Iraq has said continuing UN blocking of contracts... >Iraq has said continuing UN blocking of contracts concluded under the >oil-for-aid plan for upgrading Iraq's oil industry infrastructure will >inevitably affect Iraqi crude supplies. Faleh Khayyat, director-general of >planning at Iraq's oil ministry, accused the UN panel in charge of enforcing >the Iraq embargo of the continued blocking of $790m of oil industry deals. >Source: PETROLEUM ECONOMIST > > >Jordanian team in Baghdad for oil supply talks - report. >New York (Platt's)-21Sep2000/421 >An oil delegation arrived in Iraq Wednesday for talks on the annual oil >protocol between the two countries, the Iraqi News Agency reported Thursday. >The delegation was headed by the Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry >of Energy and Mineral Wealth, Ahmad Muhammad al-Bashir, who was quoted as >saying concerned implementation of the annual oil protocol. Bashir also said >he would hold talks with Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Rasheed pertaining to the >marketing of oil. Further details on the visit were not provided. > >UN faults US on delays of goods to Iraq. >UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The U.N. head of the humanitarian >programme faulted the United States for delaying contracts to Iraq, saying >the country desperately needed oil industry spare parts, electricity and >telecommunications. > >Benon Sevan, the coordinator for the programme spokes to reporters after >briefing the Security Council in closed session, which also involved >discussions on Russia's plea to lower the amount Iraq has to pay to >compensate victims of the Gulf War following Baghdad's 1990 invasion of >Kuwait. > >In addition the United States and Britain made clear that France, which has >a flight by an advocacy group going to Iraq on Friday, needed to get >permission from council members as Russia had done and not merely notify >them. French envoys said notification would be sought but not permission. > >Russia, France and China are sympathetic to Iraq's desire to have sweeping >U.N. sanctions lifted, imposed when Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in >August 1990. The U.S. and Britain take a tougher line. > >Sevan did not attack the United States by name but he said "holds" on >contracts to Iraq, estimated at $2 billion, were causing disruptions in the >"oil-for-food" programme under which Baghdad can sell unlimited quantities >of oil to purchase food, medicine and other goods. > >But U.N. officials confirmed that most of the $2 billion worth of contracts >held in abeyance are by the United States. >"Unless special efforts are made by the committee members to release all the >holds from spare parts for the oil industry, they may have a major >accident," Sevan warned. > >"They cannot sustain current production levels and they are producing now at >the expense of the futures because they are harming their oil wells and, >matter of fact, they are destroying some of them irreparably," he told >reporters. > >The Iraq sanctions committee, which includes all 15 members of the Security >Council, has to approve numerous contracts from Iraq while others can be >dealt with by U.N. officials. The complicated programme often means goods >arrive piecemeal or are defective, without Iraq being able to return them. > >"What is the use, for example, if approval is given for the purchase of a >very expensive truck and the application for the purchase of its ignition >key is place on hold," Sevan told the council, according to his briefing >notes. > >On electricity, he said the lights frequently went out and too many >industries could not function. And telephones, he said, work only >sporadically in Baghdad. > >He pleaded with Iraq and council members to stop playing politics with the >programme and "think of the human factor and think about the poor Iraqi >people." > >In response, the U.S. representative, James Cunningham, said holds were put >on various items because they could have "dual use" capability for military >purposes. > >"Things that go into telecommunications are obviously problematic because >telecommunications often feed military capabilities. We have a high >standards there." > >"In many sectors where we put holds, it is often times to ask for better >information for what the equipment is for," he said, adding that Washington >had released $1.5 bill in holds on contracts although other items were then >put on hold. > >He said 90 percent of contacts have gone through. "What is in dispute is 10 >percent and that is not very high in a programme of this complexity," he >added. > >Iraq is expected, at the current rate, to sell between $18 billion and $20 >billion this year, before deductions. "We know there are problems in the oil >industry in Iraq and we have created the wherewithal to address these >problems," Cunningham said. > >On the compensation fund, Russia, France and Tunisia raised the need to >lower the amount of funds Iraq contributes for Gulf war victims from 30 >percent to 20 percent of oil sales during the council discussion, diplomats >said. > >Under the oil-for-food programme, 30 percent of the proceeds from the sale >of Iraqi oil is automatically siphoned off into the U.N.-administered >reparations fund and other funds go to U.N. administration of the programme. > >Cunningham said Washington would look at the proposal but at the moment >there was no particular reason as Iraq was producing ample oil revenues. > >The discussion coincides with a Russian-French challenges to a $21.5 billion >claim by Kuwait for lost oil production during Iraq's seven-month occupation >of the emirate in 1990. A panel of arbitrators recommended awarding $15.9 >billion. > >Kuwait's claim will be considered again when the commission's governing >council, which has the same 15-nation membership as the Security Council, >meets in Geneva next week. > >Cunningham said the United States was not in favour of a delay on the >decision in Geneva and at the same time would prefer consensus - that all >members agree. With Russia and France opposing the Kuwaiti claim, it >appeared consensus could not be reached and the award would be postponed >again. > > >U.N. Concerned at Growing Number of Holds in Iraq Program. >UNITED NATIONS, September 21 (Xinhua) - The growing number of holds in >Iraq's "oil for food" program has become a major concern for U.N. >Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a senior U.N. official said Thursday. > >Annan has been following the progress in the efforts to reduce the number >and value of holds, said Benon V. Sevan, executive director of the Iraq >program. > >The total value of contracts on hold in all sectors had grown to 1.982 >billion U.S. dollars as of September 18 from May 31 when it stood at 1.6 >billion dollars, Sevan told the U.N. Security Council. > >The level of holds remains unacceptably high in the transport and >telecommunications sector and the electricity and education sectors, he >said. > > >Iraq's oil output unsustainable without spare parts - UN. >United Nations (AFP)-21Sep2000 >Iraq cannot sustain its current level of oil production and exports without >industrial supplies that are blocked by the UN's sanctions committee, the >Security Council was told Thursday. "Everyone is calling on OPEC to increase >the export of oil," the director of the Iraq oil-for-food program, Benon >Sevan, said in a council briefing. "On the other hand, the spare parts and >equipment which are the minimum requirements of Iraq's oil industry have >been facing serious obstacles in the Security Council committee," he said. >Sevan was presenting a 90-day report on the implementation of the program, >which enables Iraq to export crude oil under UN supervision to pay for >imports of humanitarian supplies and oil spare parts and equipment. Iraq >exported 2.4-mil b/d of oil for the week ended Sep 15. > > >Prime minister reportedly to pay imminent visit to Iraq. >Excerpts from report in English by 'Jordan Times' web site on 21st September >Prime Minister Ali Abu al-Raghib is expected to visit Baghdad "any time >now", Information Minister Talib al-Rifa'i said on Wednesday [20th >September]. > >"Abu al-Raghib could visit Iraq any time, and there is nothing that may >hinder this move," Al-Rifa'i told a press conference. > >He said that the timing of the premier's visit to Baghdad hinged on the two >countries' agendas and priorities... > >"We submitted a request to the United Nations to re-establish flights with >Iraq, and we are awaiting an answer," Al-Rifa'i has said. > >Russia is a model for Iraq, Iraqi ambassador says. >Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS > >Moscow, 21st September: "Russia is a model for Iraq. The stout spirit of the >Russian people, who have withstood every test, is most inspiring for us," >Iraqi ambassador to Russia Dr. Mushir al-Duri told ITAR-TASS here on >Thursday. > >"Our peoples are united by ancient and lasting ties," he stressed. "There is >hardly a single week when Iraq is not visited by a Russian delegation. >Russia and Iraq have very long-lasting ties of cooperation and have reached >complete mutual understanding, he added. > >Iraq accuses Iran of using its planes. >BAGHDAD, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi official has accused Iran of >using dozens of its planes sent to Tehran for safekeeping during the 1991 >Gulf War. > >"Iran is using our airliners held since the 1991 aggression in domestic >flights," the al-Zawra weekly newspaper quoted Undersecretary of Transport >Jamil Ibrahim as saying. >He said Iraq had repeatedly asked Iran for information about the planes but >Iran had ignored the requests. > >Iraq ordered its aircraft to foreign airports during the Gulf War that drove >Iraqi troops from Kuwait. > >Of the 37 planes that were sent abroad, five Boeings and 22 Russian-built >Ilyushins are thought to have ended up in Tehran. Six Boeings are said to be >in Amman and four in Tunis. > > >Iraqi sanctions must end, says Campbell >(The Independent) > >SANCTIONS THAT have caused the deaths of thousands of children in Iraq >should be scrapped, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Menzies >Campbell, told the conference yesterday. > >Mr Campbell's statement came just two weeks after he published a joint paper >on the United Nations with the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook. Campaigners >say the non-military sanctions cause 4,000 infant deaths every month through >shortages of medicine and clean water. > >Yesterday Mr Campbell gave the protesters Liberal Democrat backing for the >first time. His party's decision to support the war against Saddam Hussein >in 1990 now amounted to little more than "containment", he said. > >Despite the sanctions, Saddam continued to impose "unspeakable terror and >evil" on his own people. >"Their daily lives, save for those whose welfare and loyalty are essential >for the survival of the regime, are blighted by poverty, malnutrition and >ignominy. Their suffering is not caused by sanctions - it is caused by the >evil exploitation of sanctions by Saddam Hussein. But remove the sanctions >and you remove the opportunity for >that exploitation," he said. > >The British Government should fight for the lifting of all sanctions against >Iraq apart from those relating to military equipment, he added. > >ISM adds: Labour MP George Galloway, founder of the Mariam Appeal, said: "It >is intensely gratifying that Menzies Campbell and the Liberal Democrats have >changed their policy on sanctions. We have been lobbying them intensely and >I am sure the arguments we have been advancing have carried immense weight. >We also produced a special edition of our newspaper, Justice, for the >conference and that, too, must have been an important factor." > > >tel: +44 (0)20 7403 5200 >fax: +44 (0)20 7403 3823 >email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >web: www.mariamappeal.com > > > > > > >Knowledge is Power! >Elimination of the exploitation of man by man >http://www.egroups.com/group/pttp/ >POWER TO THE PEOPLE! > >Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Change Delivery Options: >http://www.egroups.com/mygroups > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. 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