Blame the West, too, for Iraq's catastrophe

[The Age]2000-08-02 01:01:34

By NABIL SULAIMAN and LAURENCE ABOU-KHATER
 

Iraq in the 1980s enjoyed a close relationship with the West. Armed by
the
international community, it was commonly regarded as the buffer between
Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic revolution and the Gulf's oilfields.

Iraq was militarily strong and the only Arab country with oil and
water,
enjoying a standard of living on par with that of southern Europe. Its
primary health-care system was the best in the developing world and
education was free.

Iraq employed about two million foreign workers, mainly in skilled
areas.
With the second-largest oil deposits in the world, there was no problem
balancing the budget.

In one decade, Iraq has experienced a catastrophic descent into poverty
that has decimated its society. When we ask why, we are told: "The
blame
lies squarely on Saddam." Western media have made Saddam Hussein the
ultimate anti-hero. The West claims that Iraqis have been denied
political
and civil rights by Saddam's regime, without noting that Iraqis have
been
denied basic human rights by countries such as Britain, the United
States
and Australia under the auspices of the United Nations.

According to UNICEF, more than 500,000 infants under the age of five
have
died as a direct result of the UN embargo, although they were yet to be
born when the sanctions began. Former UN oil-for-food coordinator Denis
Halliday talks of a genocide. His successor, Dr Hans von Sponeck, talks
of
a "refrigerator generation" and UNSCOM chief weapons inspector Scott
Ritter
claims, in The Boston Globe (9/3), that "from a qualitative standpoint,
Iraq has in fact been disarmed".

It is quite clear that the objective of the sanctions has failed: the
Iraqi
regime has a stronger grip on power than ever before. The sanctions
have
failed dismally and no one has the courage to change the situation. In
a
similar situation to Rwanda and Cambodia, the international community
has
turned away and the silence is deafening.

In March 2000, the oil-for-food program totalled only $252 per person,
per
year - less than 70 cents a day. This explains the persistent, 20 per
cent
chronic malnutrition rate among children under five.

Isolation from the international community is rearing a new generation
of
Iraqis. Deprived of adequate sustenance, education and aspirations,
they
are being played as pawns in a larger game. The UN is sustaining the
economic and social conditions for massive loss of life in Iraq. It is
undermining its charter and making a mockery of its Universal
Declaration
of Human Rights.

There are no easy solutions. But, first and foremost, Britain and the
US
must stop the bombing raids that began in December 1998 and continue
three
times a week, every week.

Economic sanctions must be delinked from military sanctions, enabling
weapons inspectors to finish their work. The UN 661 sanctions committee
must be overhauled in order to reassess the status of $US1.5 billion
($A2.58 billion) of "on hold" items.

Australia needs to be aware of its trade interests in the region,
initiating new dialogue with Iraq while reopening its diplomatic
mission.
Before the Gulf War there were no Iraqi refugees arriving in Australia.
Ten
years on, an unprecedented level of Iraqis are seeking asylum.

The sooner the sanctions are lifted, the sooner the Iraqi refugee
problem
will subside. In the words of Denis Halliday, "the sanctions on Iraq
will
eventually be lifted and history will slaughter those responsible".

Laurence Abou Khater is a member of the Australian Arabic Council and
an
executive member of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria. Dr
Nabil
Sulaiman is vice-chairman of the Australian Arabic Council.

This story was found at:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000802/A43778-2000Aug1.html