Baghdad accuses Washington of interfering with inspectors; Saddam's cousin calls on him to quit

Iraq has accused the US in interfering in the work of the UN inspectors even before those inspectors have set foot in Iraq, in remarks to the meeting the US President George Bush held yesterday with the chief of the UN inspection team Hans Blix and the director of the International agency for atomic energy Muhammad al-Baradi' at the White House.

The US presidential spokesman said that the meeting falls in the course of periodical meetings to get acquainted with developments. In a press conference he held at the inauguration of the Baghdad's International fair, the Iraqi commerce minister said that the Americans do not permit others to work freely, and they want to impose their policies on Iraq, and not to abide by principles of the UN or the Security Council.

Saleh said that Blix stressed "his complete satisfaction" over the agreement reached between Iraq and the UN in Vienna by the beginning of this month October, calling on Washington to retract the draft bill it proposed to the UN Security Council to preserve its "honor," after it had failed "despite terrifying and threatening to impose its draft bill on the UN Security Council."

In London, one of the cousins of the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Ezz Eddine Hassan al-Majid who has lived in exile since 1995, called on his cousin to quit power in order "to salvage Iraq of might be inflected damage and destruction." Abdul Majid added in an open message to the Iraqi President "the Iraqi people deserve from us an initiative of honor and a manly position."

Al-Majid had the post of the commander of the special Republican Guard forces in Iraq. He accuses the Iraqi President of assassinating 6 members of his family in 1996. Al-Majid said addressing President Hussein" You have taught us love for Iraq, but it was found out that Iraq's ship is led not by wisdom, rather the iron fist."