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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 June 1999 Issue No. 435 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 June 1999 Issue No. 435
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Interview Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Colonising Iraq?
The draft resolution proposed by Britain and the Netherlands and currently circulating among the Security Council last week is destined to disappoint Iraq. The proposal suggests a temporary suspension of United Nations sanctions on Iraq. But the draft falls far short of Iraq's wish to end its political isolation and its expectations after a nine-year wait to have the crippling embargo lifted.
Under the Anglo-Dutch draft resolution, the UN Security Council would suspend sanctions against Iraq for 120 days after it had answered outstanding questions related to its banned weapons programme. The resolution would include strict financial controls to prevent Iraq from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
In announcing the draft, British ambassador to the UN Jeremy Greenstock said the new proposal would suspend only prohibitions on the export of commodities from Iraq, including oil. It would have no impact on sanctions that prevent Iraq from importing goods not specifically approved by the United Nations.
The United States signaled its immediate approval of suspending the oil embargo against Iraq and its UN Deputy Ambassador Peter Burleigh said the proposal "meets key considerations for the United States". "We have problems with some parts of the proposal but by and large it's something the United States can support," he said.
In explaining Washington's views Burleigh said the proposal requires real disarmament. It links suspension of the oil embargo to compliance with specific disarmament demands, and imposes serious financial control on Iraq's purchases.
American support for the draft represents a significant shift in its position. Neither Britain nor the United States have previously agreed to even consider suspending the oil embargo which was imposed in August 1990 to punish Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait. Washington has always maintained that it would never lift the sanctions as long as President Saddam Hussein was in power, thus indicating that its main objective was to bring him down.
The change of heart is not out of compassion however it may appear. For months now Russia has been promoting a resolution that it could co-sponsor with China and France. This calls for the suspension of all economic sanctions against Iraq once a new arms monitoring system is in place. The negotiations between the three major powers were meant to draft a new UN policy on Baghdad.
The most important difference between the Anglo-Dutch draft resolution and the rival proposal by France, Russia and China is the condition for suspending sanctions. The former would require Iraq to comply with all UN demands for dismantling its weapons programmes before Baghdad would be permitted to freely export oil, its most valued commodity. It also requires Baghdad to adhere to strict financial controls to ensure that revenues from oil sales are not spent on new weapons.
The proposal made by Russia and backed by France and China would suspend all sanctions including restrictions on Iraqi imports if Baghdad cooperates with a new commission that would monitor its banned weapons programmes. It proposes an alternative plan to control oil revenues which Washington and London contend is too soft. Russia's UN ambassador, Sergey Lavrov, said Secretary-General Kofi Annan should establish the parameters of the monitoring programme, report to the Council when it is up and running and only then should the Council suspend sanctions.
The US shift, however, has done little to bridge differences within the Security Council over how to deal with Baghdad. President Clinton met with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on his way to the G-8 Summit in Germany in an effort to convince him to support the British-Dutch proposal. Chirac refused to budge and what is more did not hesitate to express their differences publicly. "The plan was pointless because it would not be acceptable to Iraq" Chirac said at a joint press conference with Clinton. Russia has said the plan is unrealistic and would lead to a deterioration of relations with Iraq. China is expected to take a similar stance when the resolution is officially tabled for discussion by the Council.
Iraq's strategy has been to exploit any cracks in the Security Council's resolve. It has rejected the Anglo-Dutch proposal saying it was an attempt to give the United Nations a mandate to colonise Iraq. "This resolution is unacceptable because it does not tackle the issue of lifting the sanctions. Indeed it transforms Iraq into a protectorate or a new colony," Iraq's foreign minister Mohamed Said Al-Sahaf said during a stop-over in Cairo on Sunday.
Now the world must try to find a way to deal with the impasse. Neither Iraq nor the United States seem ready to compromise. Iraq must now look to its friends in the Council to either tinker with the British proposal or find some other way to counter it. Its argument is that the continuation of the sanctions is only increasing the distress of 22 million Iraqis. But the United States appears unmoved. "That is as far as we're prepared to go," Burleigh said.
