By WAIEL FALEH
The Associated Press
8/18/00 10:44 AM

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A group of American political activists from
Washington state is spending nearly $10,000 to rebuild a water purification
plant for a town in the impoverished south of Iraq.

Spokesmen for Veterans for Peace Inc. said they were giving money and
material toward for the plant because dirty water was killing thousands of
children in Iraq, which has been under U.N. sanctions since it invaded
Kuwait 10 years ago.

"Lack of clean water has resulted in unnecessary deaths of numerous children
due to dehydration, cholera, typhoid and diarrheal diseases," said Larry
Kerschner, a member of the group's eight-person delegation.

Kerschner and other members of the group, which is based in Washington
state, spoke to reporters Thursday in Baghdad at the end of weeklong tour of
Iraq.

They had visited the site of the purification plant, which is outside the
small town of Abu Alkhasib in Basra province, 345 miles south of Baghdad.
When finished, it will provide clean water to more than 45,000 people.

Iraqi Water Department officials say the original plant was destroyed during
the 1991 Gulf War that ended Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. It was never
rebuilt for lack of parts, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

The Iraqi government blames the sanctions for preventing it from acquiring
spare parts from abroad. However, the embargo does allow the import of
essential equipment that does not have a dual military use.

"Veterans For Peace recognizes that bad water is killing thousands of
children," said group member Alan Pogue, who served in the U.S. Army in
1966-68. "We have made a contribution to the innocent people harmed by the
continuing sanctions against Iraq."

On their next trip to Iraq, the group intends to bring parts for the plant
and money to pay for its construction and to buy locally made equipment. No
date has been set for the next visit.

During their trip, the group handed over to the Iraqi National Symphony
Orchestra a set of violin and cello strings donated by residents of Seattle.

"It is not the gift's value that counts," said Mohammed Amin Izzat, the
orchestra's conductor. "It is the thought. The strings are of good quality
and will surely help in repairing many of our instruments."
-----------