Iraq on its way out of the UN sanctions
Iraq, Politics, 6/15/1998

UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler said yesterday after meeting Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, "We have agreed on a schedule of work program on outstanding issues" referring to the supposed obstacles that Iraq is placing in front of UN inspection team efforts.

Butler arrived in Baghdad on Thursday to hold talks with Iraqi officials on Iraqi disarmament and was accompanied by a 18-expert team.

On Thursday, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz condemned the continuing UN inspection operations in his country and described them as "deliberate repression."

Aziz, who was talking to a Christian conference which concluded deliberations on Wednesday in Baghdad, added that Iraq has destroyed all its banned weapons and said the UN inspectors have no chance of finding any evidence to the contrary.

Aziz stated that seven years and two months have so far elapsed since the UN inspectors started the inspection process, which is enough time to finish inspections and lift the sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq.

Aziz accused both the US and Britain of deliberately obstructing the inspection process so as to continue sanctions which have been imposed on Iraq since 1990.

Yesterday, Aziz described the meeting with Butler as professional and "business like" where they agreed that in two months, Butler will make a determination on compliance by Iraq to the UN resolutions concerning Iraqi disarmament.

Iraqi sources confirmed to ArabicNews.com that Aziz signed an agreement with Butler at the end of their talks that were held last night.

The sources said, "The agreement stipulates a serious and comprehensive cooperation between the international committee (UNSCOM) and Iraq for a two-month period after which Butler should start calling for lifting the sanctions, on the condition that a serious cooperation with the Iraqi leadership should exist."

The Iraqi decision was approved by the Arab League and praised by the head of the league's board director ambassador Ahmed Bin Holi as "a great step toward the lifting of the sanctions against Iraq," who added that this will prevent further suffering and deaths by "children, women and elderly due to the daily siege."

On Friday, Omid Medhat Mubarak, Iraq's health minister, warned of the deterioration in the state of health due to the lack of medicine and malnutrition saying that there are new diseases that are making a come back after being illiminated, such as Malaria.

Previous Stories:
  Great changes for Iraqi ambassadors   (6/11/1998)
  Iraq comlains against Turkish incursion   (6/11/1998)
  Iraqi Vice-President in Morocco   (6/3/1998)

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