IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 166 Tuesday, December 5, 2000 LATEST NEWS++++++ FRESH FROM ITS INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE....... VHS copies of the film 'Big Ben to Baghdad', the epic account of last year's journey in a 37-year-old Routemaster bus from London to the capital of sanctions-engulfed Iraq. The 65-minute-film costs £9.99 from the Mariam Appeal, 13a Borough High Street, London+++++++++++++++++LATEST ______________________________________________________ Iraqi spokesman reports US-UK air sorties on 5th December. Text of report by Iraqi TV on 5th December The US and British ravens continued their treacherous aggression against Iraq, violating our airspace and targeting our defenceless cities, aiming to undermine our people's steadfastness as they heroically confront all conspiratorial schemes. A spokesman for the Air Defence Command said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency that at 1040 [0740 gmt] this morning, the evil US and British ravens violated our airspace through the Turkish airspace with Turkey's direct support. Backed by an AWACS plane from Turkish airspace, they carried out 18 air sorties, flying over areas in the governorates of Dahuk, Arbil and Ninawa, before leaving our airspace to the bases of evil and aggression in Turkey. The spokesman said that the number of the combat air sorties since the Conquest Day on 17th December 1998 has reached 5,662 from Turkish airspace. Meanwhile the total number of the combat air sorties carried out from Saudi, Kuwaiti and Turkish airspace has reached 27,479. ______________________________________________________ Jerusalem bishop-in-exile in talks with Deputy Prime Minister Aziz. Text of report by Iraqi radio on 5th December Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has received Bishop [Hilarion] Capucci and the Italian delegation accompanying him. Capucci arrived in Iraq [on 5th December] aboard the [Syrian] solidarity plane that landed at Saddam International Airport. Bishop Capucci expressed his sincerest greetings to the Iraqi people and leadership. He stressed the need to confront the unjust embargo with all means and to continue constructive action to urge the Italian government to take an effective part in lifting the embargo imposed on Iraq, especially after the Italian parliament made important decisions in this regard. Tariq Aziz expressed his appreciation of the valuable efforts made by Bishop Capucci and the friends in Italy. He appreciated the stands of the Italian church calling for lifting the blockade imposed on Iraq. He also voiced appreciation of the humanitarian efforts exerted to ease the suffering of the people of Iraq. ________________________________________________ U.N. deadlocked on new Iraq oil-for-food plan. UNITED NATIONS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members were deadlocked on Tuesday on a resolution that would extend for six months the Iraqi oil-for-food program, considered key before Baghdad lifts any ban on oil exports. Negotiations on the draft were expected to continue until the last minute before the program expires at midnight. The plan allows Iraq to sell oil under U.N. supervision to buy food, medicine, oil spare parts and a host of other goods in an effort to ease the impact of U.N. sanctions imposed in August 1990 after it invaded Kuwait. While the resolution is not directly tied to Iraq's suspension of oil flows since last Friday, diplomats believe Baghdad will wait until the measure is adopted before taking any steps to rescind its cut off on crude oil exports. Iraq has proposed that buyers of its oil pay a surcharge of 50 cents a barrel into a fund outside U.N. control, a move the buyers have refused because it would violate the sanctions. It also proposed lower oil prices for December apparently to meet this aim, which prompted the United Nations to reject its pricing formula. Iraq then last week suspended shipments of 2.3 million barrels a day of crude. In an effort to meet Iraq's complaints in part, the draft resolution contains a "cash component" of up to 600 million euros, the equivalent of about $525 million, over the next six months. Baghdad wants the funds for the cost of producing and transporting oil, on top of $600 million it gets every six months. But the United States and Britain insist the "cash component" come under U.N. supervision and be used for humanitarian supplies, not just oil-related costs. France, Russia and China, the other permanent Security Council members with veto power, agree with Iraq. Noting Iraq has ordered little medicine in the past few months, British ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock said several council members did not want funds "for the industrial sector without agreeing to it for the humanitarian sector." This feeling, he said, was "shared beyond the U.S. and the U.K. so that it is an area of controversy." U.N. officials working for Benon Sevan, executive director of the U.N. oil-for-food program, said they were in touch with Iraq to work out a December oil pricing formula. But they said Iraqi oil officials had not yet responded to compromise U.N. proposals. "We are trying to resolve the issue step by step," Sevan said. "Both sides should be as flexible as possible." Another issue of contention is whether Iraq can use some of its oil revenues, now deposited in a U.N. escrow account, to pay the $15 million arrears it owes the United Nations. The United States and Britain oppose this. France would like transport and telecommunications as well as water and sanitation equipment included on a list of items that can be automatically approved by the United Nations. These goods are among more than $2 billion worth of supplies ordered by Iraq that Washington has blocked. The draft also asks Secretary-General Kofi Annan to report to the council by March 31 "all forms of smuggling" of oil by Iraq and the "potential for manipulation of oil contracts." This was a U.S.-British proposal that Russia and China opposed, diplomats said. It also asks Annan to report on the feasibility of Iraq's opening a pipeline to Syria, which the two countries have already tested. The United States and Britain want to make sure any revenues go into the oil-for-food program. Iraq's U.N. ambassador Saeed Hasan said it was nearly impossible to run a functioning economy under the oil-for-food program, with bureaucratic or political delays pushing orders for supplies back months. "It should have been a temporary measure and it cannot respond to humanitarian needs," he said. "We hope that this program stops sooner or later." Sevan said on Monday that the program "has made a difference for the benefit of the Iraq people," with more funds available for basic goods that ever before. "But at the same time it has not been able to resolve the issue which it was really meant to address - the poor become poorer. Normal economic activity cannot be substituted by emergency relief," he told reporters. _____________________________________________ U.S. oil tanks as U.N. and Iraq work to resolve loadings halt. NEW YORK, Dec 05 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices fell for the fourth day running on Tuesday, as traders put faith in Iraqi claims that it was working to end a five-day stoppage to its crude liftings. January crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) were down $1.04 to $30.18 a barrel by 2.20 pm EST (1920 GMT), deepening a slump that will ease concerns over the economic risks of high oil prices. Crude has slid more than five dollars, or 14 percent since late November's Thanksgiving holiday as supplies released by leading OPEC producers and from U.S. strategic stockpile slowly rebuild thin U.S. winter petroleum stocks. "The great bull market is over," said Bill O'Grady of A.G. Edwards in St Louis, Missouri. Tuesday's losses came after Iraq, who contributes five percent of the world's oil exports, signaled it wanted to resolve its halt in oil supplies. Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rasheed told the OPEC it was in urgent talks with the U.N. to stop the halt in crude exports, according to OPECNA, the producer group's news agency. Iraq halted oil loadings monitored under its "oil-for-food" program last Thursday after the U.N. rejected Iraq's December oil price proposals as too low. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member lowered its December prices after it demanded a 50-cents-per-barrel surcharge from customers to be paid into an escrow account. A U.N. source told Reuters the U.N. had proposed a compromise on December oil prices to Iraq. It was the first talks of substance between U.N. overseers and Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) since last Friday, the source said. The eighth phase of the oil for food program expires on Tuesday and negotiations at the U.N. continued on Tuesday for a six-month extension of the program despite the halt in crude loadings. Domestically, oil watchers were awaiting relief from weekly petroleum stocks figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) to be released later on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a crude build of three million barrels. The API numbers will be followed by Department of Energy figures early on Wednesday. ______________________________________________________ U.N. makes pitch on Dec oil prices, awaits Iraq response. UNITED NATIONS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The United Nations oil overseers on Tuesday made a proposal for December oil prices to Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) in an attempt to resolve the row that has led to a halt in oil exports, a U.N. source said. "SOMO called (the overseers) at noon (EST)," the source said. "They talked for a half hour. The overseers have a proposal for them. Now they are waiting for SOMO to respond as to whatever was proposed." The source had no details of the proposal by the overseers. The overseers' advice to the U.N. Security Council's Iraqi sanctions committee led to the committee's rejection of Iraq's initial December oil price proposals as below fair market value. There are no specific plans for SOMO's response, the source said. It was the first substantive talks between SOMO and the U.N. overseers since last Friday. Iraq halted oil exports last Friday after buyers refused to pay a surcharge of 50 cents a barrel that would have gone into an account outside U.N. control. The surcharge is related to the initial Iraq proposal for December oil prices. However, Iraqi officials dispute that the two are linked. _______________________________________________________ Iraq promises more oil to Ukraine at international exhibition in Baghdad. According to the first deputy head of the parliamentary Committee for National Security and Defence, Volodymyr Mukhin, official Iraqi authorities said during talks with a Ukrainian delegation at the 33rd international exhibition in Baghdad that Ukraine can count on importing 7 per cent of Iraqi oil after UN sanctions against Baghdad have been lifted, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported on 5th December. In particular, Mukhin said that the Ukrainian state oil and gas company Naftohaz Ukrayiny, as a result of the company's participation in the exhibition, has already contracted for an increase in purchases of Iraqi oil to 3m barrels, the news agency reported. In Mukhin's words, in its turn, Iraq is interested in importing Ukrainian oil and gas extracting equipment, trucks and aircraft, the news agency said. Source: UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1450 gmt 05 Dec 00. _____________________________________________________ Iraq oil exports in range at 2.34 mln bpd before halt. NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Iraqi oil exports were within the normal range at 2.34 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week to Dec. 1, before Iraq halted exports, a United Nations spokesman said on Tuesday. Iraq halted oil exports last Friday in a row over December oil prices and a surcharge of 50 cents a barrel that buyers refused to pay, industry sources say. In the previous week, exports were a shade lower at 2.3 million bpd. Iraq averaged exports of 2.15 million bpd in the four weeks to last Friday, U.N. figures show. The average price of Iraqi crude last week fell $1.26 to $27.56 per barrel, the figures show. Iraq has now raised about $9.7 billion in the current eighth phase of the oil-for-food program which expires Tuesday night. ______________________________________________________ China pushes for end to sanctions on Iraq. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had appealed to world powers to help end the "deadlock" on Iraq, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. The call was made in a letter from Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan to his counterparts in the US, Russia, France and Britain in which he "expressed concerns about the current humanitarian situation in Iraq", ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in Beijing. "China has appealed to relevant world parties to break the deadlock and work out a solution for the Iraqi issue," she said. Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 5 Dec 00. _____________________________________________________ Israel launches observation satellite from Siberia. TEL AVIV, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Israel launched the first of a series of observation satellites on Tuesday designed to take high-resolution photographs of any spot on earth. The launch, in Siberia, came almost two years after Israel's Ofek-4 satellite, which was widely reported to have been meant to spy on Iran, Iraq and Syria, malfunctioned and burned up after liftoff. Israel's Ofek-3 reconnaissance satellite has been in space for more than four years and is reaching the end of its life. The 250 kg (550 lb), $100 million EROS-1 satellite from ImageSat International NV was launched in Siberia using a Russian Topol or SS-25 ballistic missile. It has enough fuel to stay in orbit for six years. ______________________________________________________ Iraq insists Moscow break international sanctions. A high-ranking official of the Iraqi leadership of the Arab Social Renaissance Party (Baath) said on Tuesday that Baghdad insisted on Russia's quitting international sanctions imposed on Iraq. In compliance with Article 50 of the U.N. Charter, any country that has suffered great losses from sanctions against another country can begin consultations on leaving the embargo, Adbelbaki al-Saadoun told Itar-Tass. Al-Saadoun added that Russia had lost 30 billion dollars due to the sanctions. "We have repeatedly spoken about it with Russian officials at various levels, including visits to Baghdad by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and to Moscow by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, and we have met understanding of our position," he said. "In any case, the embargo cannot last for ever, it will be lifted sooner or later," he added. Many foreign companies, and not only Russian ones, are willing to invest in the Iraqi economy, and the number of participants in the Baghdad international fair has been increasing in recent years, according to him. In terms of relations between Moscow and Baghdad, he dubbed them as fine. "We can say today that the further development of trade and economic relations with Russia is a priority for Iraq," ITAR/TASS ______________________________________________________ Iraqi delegation in talks with Russian nationalist Zhirinovskiy in Moscow. Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 5th December: A Russian nationalist leader met a visiting Iraqi delegation today over ways to lift sanctions imposed on Baghdad and expand bilateral cooperation. Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) head Vladimir Zhirinovskiy and a member of the regional leadership of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, Abd-al-Baqi Abd-al-Karim al-Sa'dun, talked about resumption of cooperation while the sanctions are in force, an LDPR source told ITAR-TASS. "It is possible to resume cooperation with Iraq in compliance with Article 50 of the UN Charter," head of the LDPR exterior relations department Vadim Dengin said. "Al-Sa'dun expressed satisfaction over the LDPR's attitude towards the Iraqi problem," Dengin said. _______________________________________________________ Iraq resumes oil flow to Turkey. Ankara (AFP)-5Dec2000/449 am EST/949 GMT Iraqi officials are demanding that buyers for their crude pay a surcharge of US 50 cents per barrel from December, and that the extra money be paid to banks not controlled by the UN. The UN maintains the demand would amount to a violation of the sanctions regime, imposed following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, as the premium would be paid directly to Baghdad and not to UN-controlled accounts. Iraq has been exporting an estimated 2.4 mil b/d, almost all of it through the Turkish terminal. The UN official responsible for Iraq's oil-for-food program, Benon Savan, said Monday that the conflict could be resolved if both parties remained flexible. ____________________________________________________ U.N. gets ready to renew Iraq oil-for-food plan. UNITED NATIONS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Despite Baghdad's suspension of oil exports, the U.N. Security Council prepared on Tuesday to extend for six months the oil-for-food program, lifeline for 23 million Iraqis living under 10-year-old sanctions. The resolution is expected to be negotiated until the last minute before the program expires at midnight. The plan allows Iraq to sell oil, under U.N. supervision, to buy food, medicine, oil spare parts and a host of other goods in an effort to ease the impact of the U.N. sanctions imposed in August 1990 after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait. Tuesday's vote coincides with Iraq's halt in oil exports after buyers declined to take delivery of crude after Iraq's December prices were rejected as too low last week by the Security Council's sanctions committee. Iraq had proposed the lower prices to compensate buyers of its oil for a surcharge of 50 cents a barrel to keep its industry running. Baghdad wants the funds paid into an account it controls rather than into the U.N. oil-for-food program. Oil firms have refused to do this, saying it would violate the sanctions. The United States, meanwhile has assured traders that the gap of 2.3 million barrels a day would be compensated for, thereby averting a rise in oil prices. Benon Sevan, executive director of the U.N. oil-for-food program, said his office had been in touch with Iraqi oil industry officials each day in an effort to seek a compromise. "We are trying to resolve the issue step by step," he told reporters on Monday. "Both sides should be as flexible as possible." In an apparent effort to meet part of Iraq's complaints, Tuesday's draft resolution contains a "cash component" of up to 600 million euros, the equivalent of about $525 million, Baghdad wants to pay its oil workers. But the United States and Britain want the funds used for humanitarian goods as well as oil production funds. ___________________________________________________ Iraq reportedly closes Iranian opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq TV, radio. Text of report entitled: "Mojahedin-e Khalq information offices closed down by Baghdad regime;" published by independent Kurdish newspaper `Hawlati' on 26th November Last week, in an unexpected step, the Baghdad regime closed down the Mojahedin-e Khalq [Organization, MKO] TV and radio [Vision of Resistance and Voice of the Mojahed], which broadcast from Iraq. It is worth mentioning that this step came after the visit of Kamal Kharrazi, the Iranian minister of foreign affairs, to Baghdad and his meeting with Saddam Husayn. Observers regard the closure as a step towards normalizing the relations between both countries and other steps may follow it. ______________________________________________________ Child Killed, 8 Injured in Landmine Explosion in Iraq. BAGHDAD, December 4 (Xinhua) - An Iraqi child was killed and eight other children were injured on Monday when a landmine believed to be left over in the 1991 Gulf War exploded, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. The mine went off as the nine children were playing in a backyard in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the report said. During the Gulf War, triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the United States-led multinational forces defeated Iraq and drove the Iraqi occupation army out of Kuwait. After the war, the U.S. and its Western allies set up two so-called no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq with the claimed aim to protect the Kurds and the Shiite Muslims from the persecution of President Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi authorities estimate that the Gulf War and constant bombardments by U.S. and British warplanes patrolling the no-fly zones have left some 370,000 unexploded bombs, landmines and artillery shells on Iraqi soil. _______________________________________________________ Jordan, Tunisia Agree to Return Planes to Iraq - Report. BAGHDAD, December 4 (Xinhua) - Jordan and Tunisia have agreed to return to Iraq 10 Iraqi planes, which have been stranded in the two countries since January 1991, the official weekly Nabdh Al-Shabab reported on Monday. The report quoted Foreign Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahaf as saying that Iraqi teams have been dispatched to these two countries to receive these planes, which are expected to be put into civil service again after their return to Iraq. The minister made the statement at an Iraqi National Assembly (parliament) meeting on Saturday, but he did not give the exact time for the return of the planes. _____________________________________________________ EXCHANGES WITH IRAQ HIT RECORD HIGH. According to Al-Mada magazine (November 2000), official sources expected the value of commercial exchanges between Jordan and Iraq to hit a record high of nearly $2 billion next year. This is the highest exchange level between the two neighboring states since 1990. The trade protocol between Jordan and Iraq was determined at $400 million next year. In addition, the memorandum of understanding between the two states will enable the Jordanian industrial products to expand their market share in Iraq. Furthermore, the private sector's enterprises from both states will conduct direct exchanges. ______________________________________________________ Iraq can use Syrian export line without UN nod - envoy. United Nations (Platt's)-4Dec2000/1206 pm EST/1706 GMT Iraq believes it can begin exports on the crude pipeline linking it to the Syrian port of Banias without the approval of the UN Security Council, an Iraqi diplomat said Monday. The pipeline has not been in use since 1981 when a split between Syrian and Iraqi Baathist parties soured relations between the two countries. But the Iraqi diplomat said the UN resolution which ended hostilities over Kuwait in 1991 gives Baghdad the right to use the pipeline as an export route. That resolution, 986, approved the Turkish port of Ceyhan and the Iraqi Persian Gulf port of Mina al-Bakr as the only two terminals for the export of Iraqi oil. But the envoy insisted "Iraq can do what it wants to do so as to act in its own interests." United Nations (Platt's)-4Dec2000/1206 pm EST/1706 GMT The Iraqi diplomat, however, denied that Baghdad has proposed taking any oil revenues from exports through Banias in direct payments from lifters rather than going to the UN escrow account. _______________________________________________________ Japan plans partial lifting of economic sanctions on Iraq. Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0831 gmt 2 Dec 00 Excerpts from report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo Tokyo, 2nd December: Japan plans to partially lift its economic sanctions against Iraq to help Japanese companies do business in the country, government sources said Saturday [2nd December]. The government does not plan to totally lift its ban on exports, loans or investment in Iraq but will apply the measures more flexibly, the sources said. The sanctions have been employed so strictly that Japanese companies are "significantly disadvantaged" when they do business with Iraq compared with some US and European companies who have been able to expand their businesses there, a diplomatic source said. _______________________________________________________ MISCELLANY+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This is an urgent request from Vicki Robb, Medical Director of LIFE for Relief and Development, an NGO headquartered in Southfield, MI. Thus far, LIFE is the only NGO in the US which has permission of the US government, the UN and the government of Iraq to bring medical equipment and supplies into Iraq. They take such material into Iraq on a regular basis. If you have access to any of the materials below, I urge you to contact Ms. Robb at <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Hello Everyone, The following is the list of items critically needed in Iraq: 1.) Blood bags (all types) 2.) Blood cell separator COBE SPECTRA latest model with: Periperal stem cell collection kits 50-+platelet collection kit 300 3.) Computerized controlled freezing of stem cells (sylab) from 0 to -100 drop 1 degree/minute 4.) floweytometry (partee) particle analysis system pas version 111 with monoclonal antibody kits (CD34-CD3-13-9-10-19-2-4-1-8-38) 5.) FAMVIR (famcyclovir) antiviral injectable drug 500 vials 6.) ATRA (al transretinoic acid) for leukemia VESANOID capsules (ROCHE) 10,000 capsules 7.) Impenum (teinam) MSD 1 gram vials 1000 8.) Teicolanin vials 500 9.) Neopogen 300 microgram vials (G-CSF) 500 10.)Amphotericin vials 50mg 500 11.) American Society of Gatrointesinalendoscopy 47 tapes If any of you can help me find these items it would be very much appreciated. tel: +44 (0)20 7403 5200 fax: +44 (0)20 7403 3823 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: www.mariamappeal.com
