The Biggest Robbery Of The Century
by Rafiq A Tschannen ['The writer is a Swiss Muslim.']
Daily Star (Bangladesh), 9th December

DURING the gulf war 1991 the USA has destroyed the water distribution
system
of Iraq and thereby violated the Geneva war convention. Only recently
an
American High School teacher submitted a study which proved that the
wilful
destruction of a whole country was carried out with a strategic
calculation.
Nearly ten years later the whole population of Iraq continues to pay
the
price of the stubbornness of the USA and Iraq's leader Saddam Hussain.
There
is no end in sight in this situation. On the contrary during the US
election
campaign both candidates were eager to outdo each other in their
anti-Iraq
feelings. And quietly the robbing of Iraq continues as the work of the
UNCC
United Nations Compensation Commission shows, an obscure entity, which
sucks
off one third of all Iraqi export earnings.

The UNCC has existed for the last ten years and remains nearly unknown
to
the public. But actually this discretely operating institution is one
the
most important instruments in the destruction strategy against Iraq.
The
economic sanctions against Iraq are being covered by the media. We see
on TV
malnourished children and hospitals where the most basic items are
missing.
We see a whole country and a whole culture being permitted to
deteriorate
further and further. But hardly any journalist seems to be interested
in the
work of the UN Compensation Commission and in their doubtful legality
and
their dubious practices. And this in spite of the fact that since
December
1996, 11 billion dollars, approximately one third of the export
earnings of
Iraq, have flown into the coffers of this commission.

In April 1991, shortly after the defeat of Iraq, the UN security
council
decided that according to international law Iraq will be liable for all
losses, damages.... which other states, individuals, or foreign
corporations
have had as an immediate result of the Iraqi invasion and occupation of
Kuwait. For the determination of such damages the UN compensation
commission
was created. The board of this commission is made up of representatives
of
the 15 members of the UN security council. The executive council, which
has
been dominated by its US members right from the start, is supposed to
inform
the commission, although disinform would be the more appropriate term.

The method chosen by the Security Council is without parallel in
history at
least not since the Versailles Agreement at the end of World War I,
which
laid the foundation for the Second World War. In article 231 of the
Versailles agreement Germany was made to pay. Hitler took advantage of
this
agreement that went too far. It was easy for him to point out that
"enough
is enough". The United States had not ratified the Versailles
agreement, but
today is carrying on in the same way "Iraq will pay!" How will this
time?

Iraq is not even recognized as a defendant party". Every petty criminal
has
the right of defence but the country of Iraq has no say in how and how
much
the country is bled. Every year 50 million dollars are being deducted
from
the Iraqi export earnings to finance the activities of the commission.
Excellent salaries of the commission members and their travelling
arrangements in business class are financed. For the first time in the
history of countries since the Second World War a state has absolutely
nothing to say about a juristic case that directly relates to it.

Iraq has no right to vote at the UN because it did not pay its dues. At
the
same time the USA is in arrears for over one billion dollars. Just
another
small example of the double standards prevailing today. One law for the
super power and another law for the rest of the world.

No doubt Iraq does have a duty to provide compensation. But how can a
law
case be fought and presented without giving the other side a right to
present their own case? For instance: The state of Kuwait had presented
a
claim for 21.6 billion dollars in 1994. Baghdad was given a summary of
the
claim five years later in 1999. The Iraqi Government was given a
dateline of
19th September 2000. Iraq requested permission to use some fund out of
the
commission's funds actually Iraq's own export earnings! to pay for a
legal
office to scrutinize all the documents. The commission refused. After a
long
discussion finally Iraq was given one hour on 14th December 1999 to
present
its point of view. One hour to treat a 20 billion dollar claim! In
spite of
Russian and French reservations the compensation was fixed at 15.9
billion
dollars.

The UN Secretary General had recommended in 1991 that Iraq "be informed
about all claims and to be given the right to present to the commission
their point of view." The commission did not follow the Secretary
General's
directive (or probably thought they could claim to follow him by giving
that
one hour to Iraq to discuss a multi billion dollar claim...).

The UNCC justifies these practices through the necessity to process
hundreds
of thousands of claims. In fact 2.6 million claims relate to
individuals.
These amount to 20 billion dollars, a small part of the total claims of
approximately 320 billion dollars. The amount of 15 billion dollars
approved
for the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation amounts to about the total
compensation
approved for the 2.6 million individual persons. And it is double of
what
the Iraq central government was given from December 1996 to July 2000
for
food and medicines of 15 million Iraqis.

In the C-category, individual compensation, the US citizen Michael F.
Raboin
is the key figure. He brought along another American Norbert Wuhler.
This
team is of course highly biased. Staff members were shocked to
continuously
hear such instructions as the criteria should be interpreted in such a
way
that maximum approvals can be given, and doctoring the samples. It was
made
easy by the fact that most persons could not provide proof of their
claims
and as such mere statements of claimants were considered sufficient.

Even more scandalous was the direct intervention of the US government
to the
executives of the commission to reinterpret the parameters in which the
commission works. The practices of Washington remind one of the work of
the
UN special commission for the destruction of arms which were
infiltrated by
the CIA and totally manipulated by them (UNSCOM).

The largest claims are still under consideration. As at 16th June 2000
a
total amount of 267 billion dollars in claims was still outstanding. A
large
number of them are totally absurd and might well be rejected. Friends
of the
USA, such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Israel, are receiving
preferential
treatment. A good example how the commission works may be given in
these
instances: Many Israeli shops and businesses were compensated for lack
of
business during the war as for instance th were able to sell less
flowers or
less cinema tickets due to the political tensions of the Gulf war. Who
would
have got the idea that Great Britain could have claimed from Germany
compensation for cinema tickets not sold during the Battle of Britain
from
1939 to 1945?

The total value of claims amounts to 320 billion dollars. Out of this
amount
180 billion are claimed by Kuwait, that is 9-fold of the gross national
product of Kuwait for 1989. Considering that for these claims one third
of
the export earnings of Iraq is being confiscated it would mean that
Iraq
might have paid off these claims by the year 2060. What will be left of
the
hospitals and schools by then?

Is it justified to make a country pay without regard to its ability? In
article 14 of the peace agreement between Japan and the United States
dated
1951 it is stated: Japan must pay reparations to the allied powers for
all
damages occurred during the war. We however note that the resources of
Japan
and the economy will not be sufficient to pay for all such claims...
and at
the same time meet all their other obligations. It may be reminded that
at
that time the Japanese Emperor was also considered a war criminal just
like
now Saddam Hussain. UN resolution 687 does specially state that the
requirements of the Iraqi people and the possibility to pay should be
considered.

Many jurists deny that the UN Security Council has the right to fix the
amount of a compensation. In several cases the Israeli attack on the
airport-of-Beirut in 1968, the Portuguese attack on Guinea in 1970, the
South African excursion into Angola in 1976 did the Security Council
state
that compensation should be made. However for instance in the case of
Angola
the British Ambassador stated that. The Security Council is not a
court, and
therefore not the right place to decide about compensation claims.

Shortly after the UNCC meeting of 28th September 2000 the Security
Council
decided to slightly amend the more scandalous points of the rules. As
from
December of this year the quota of the export earnings that will be
confiscated by the commission will reduce from 30 to 25 pre cent.
Furthermore, the commission should consider the interest of Iraq a bit
more.
As a compensation to this improvement France and Russia agreed to the
claim
of 15.9 billion dollars, which is mostly going into the coffers of the
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. A deal which proves once more that it is
the
United States that plays the tune in the commission.

The above mentioned actions of a UN commission bear ill for all other
UN
activities. How can we believe that other UN agencies have the welfare
of
the people as a whole at heart when the same UN permits itself to be
manipulated in this way?