Tariq Aziz: Who will apologize to who?
Iraq, Politics, 1/11/1999

In an article published on Sunday by the Iraqi daily al-Thawra (revolution), Iraqi Deputy Premier Tareq Aziz said that Kuwait was set up as an entity by Britain in order to besiege Iraq and deprive it from its coast which had been historically an integrated part of it since Sumerian times.

He added that the situation remained the same under the Ottoman state, which was the last country to have control over Iraq and the region before the entity of Iraq was established in 1921.

Since their very foundation, Aziz added, the rulers of Kuwait were the creations of Britain and then the US as elements to besiege Iraq and weaken it. Aziz said that President Saddam Hussein is not the only leader in Iraq who indicated these facts, and the current Iraqi leadership is not the only one that said that Kuwait was created to harass Iraq and to make of it a country closed to the sea to weaken it militarily and economically. He indicated that all those who ruled Iraq since 1921 have said that.

Aziz said that the question of borders between Iraq and Kuwait is very old. He stated that the memorandum Iraq had addressed to the Secretary General of the Arab League in July 1990 said, "It is well-known that since the era of colonialist divisions imposed on the Arab nation there has been an open dispute between Iraq and Kuwait on border demarcation." Aziz added that the memorandum then indicated that Kuwaiti had exploited Iraq's involvement in the war with Iran and started the establishment of military firms, oil institutions and plantations in Iraqi territory.

Aziz's article, however, which was under the title "Who apologizes to who" was in reply to calls addressed to Iraq to apologize for its occupation of Kuwait in 1990. He asserted that what Iraq did was a result of a "Kuwaiti economic conspiracy against Iraq."

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council set Iraq's apology for Kuwait as a precondition before opening the door to reconciliation.

Previous Stories:
  Saudi daily strongly criticizes Saddam   (1/9/1999)
  A critical decision for the Iraqi national council, tomorrow   (1/8/1999)
  Iraqi - Kuwaiti talks on missing Kuwaitis postponed   (1/5/1999)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search