Arab parliamentarians call for lifting sanctions on Iraq

A delegation of Arab parliamentarians that started Sunday a visit to Baghdad called the U.N secretary general to immediately lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq.

Head of the delegation, Sheikh Zanati, secretary general of the Libyan people's congress (parliament) was quoted by the Iraqi news as saying the embargo against Iraq is unprecedented in the history of international relations and entails disastrous consequences for the Iraqi people.

Since the sanctions was decreed against Baghdad in 1990, more than one million people have died and the population is prey to famine, starvation, malnutrition and diseases, Sheikh Zanati said. He added that the embargo is contrary to the U.N charter and to the Universal declaration of Human Rights.

The delegation-- made up of deputies from Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Palestine--came in Baghdad from Amman where it participated in the 103rd session of interparliamentary union.

"The visit is meant to show Arab peoples' solidarity with the Iraqi people in their struggle for lifting the embargo",

Secretary general of the Arab parliamentary union, Noureddine Bochkouj, who is also member of the delegation, told reporters.

He added that the delegation will confer with Iraqi officials and visit several sites including hospitals to inquire about the impact of the sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990.