Bremer wants Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to stop asking Iraqis for money
Iraq-USA, Politics, 9/29/2003

US Administrator of Iraq asked Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and others to forgive or delay request for payments from financially strapped Iraqis.

The United Nations panel set up to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-1991 on September 18 approved awards of more than $315 million, bringing the total awarded so far to $46.6 billion.

Of this total some $17.8 billion has been made available to governments and international organizations for distribution to successful claimants of all categories.

More than 2.6 millions claims with a total asserted value of $350 billion have been filed with the panel, the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC). Ninety-six governments have filed claims on behalf of their nationals, corporations and themselves as well as 13 offices of three international organizations.

The UNCC Governing Council, which met under the presidency of Ambassador Michael Steiner of Germany, decided to hold its next session from 16 to18 December.

Money for the awards comes from the UN Compensation Fund, which received up to 30 per cent of the revenue generated by Iraqi oil exports under the UN's Oil-for-Food programme, which allowed the former sanctions-bound regime to sell oil for humanitarian supplies. That Oil-for-Food programme will be phased out by 21 November.

Bremeer asked whether, given Iraq's weakened economic condition, there was consideration of asking Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to accept a delay in reparations payments from Iraq stemming from the 1990-91 Gulf war, Bremer said "I think there needs to be a very serious look at this whole reparations issue."

"I have to say that it is curious to me," he said, "to have a country whose per capita income, GDP, is about $800 ... that a county that poor should be required to pay reparations to countries whose per capita GDP is a factor of 10 times that for a war which all of the Iraqis who are now in government opposed," he said. He added that the Iraqi Governing Council "feels very strongly about that."

Previous Stories:
  Scores of Iraqis killed; call for return of Kurds to Karkouk   (9/27/2003)
  Iraq interim council claims no disagreement with US on authority transfer   (9/26/2003)
  Some 8 Iraqis died in a bloody day; Aqila Hashemi dies, Washington asks for help   (9/26/2003)

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