Iraq calls for breaking the sanctions

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has called for breaking the sanctions imposed on Iraq and not to wait for a decision to be taken to this end by the UN Security Council.

In an interview with the Iraqi paper al-Joumhoureyah, Ramadan said, "What is required today is to break the oppressive siege and not to wait for the UN Security Council resolutions."

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council's five permanent members on Wednesday decided to intensify their discussions in the coming weeks with the objective of reaching an agreement to suspend sanctions on Iraq.

The discussions are concentrated on a British project that proposes the suspension of sanctions for a renewable period, while Iraq is asked to cooperate in dismantling any banned weapons.

Meanwhile, a demonstration was carried out in Baghdad on Wednesday in protest of the embargo imposed on Iraq. The demonstrators burned Israeli, American and British flags.

The demonstrators, mostly representatives of Arab trade unionists, gathered in front of the headquarters of the UNDP, burned the flags and chanted slogans "down the US." The handed over a message to the UNDP representative addressed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan condemning the continued US and British imposition of "no-fly zones" in Iraq and continued air strikes on the Iraqi civilian areas.

The demonstrators called on Annan to intervene to put an end to the embargo.

The demonstration was organized in line with the beginning of deliberations of the 12th conference of the general federation of the Iraqi workers, currently being held in Baghdad with the participation of Arab and foreign trade union delegations.