Iraq writes to UN, questions "usefulness" of continuing oil exports Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East - Political Publication date: 2000-11-08

Text of report by Iraqi radio on 8th November Tariq Aziz, deputy prime minister and acting foreign minister, has sent an official letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The letter was relayed by Iraq's permanent mission last night. The letter questions the usefulness of continuing oil exports when the Iraqi funds are accumulating in banks, and when the Committee 661 is suspending more contracts. Following is the text of the letter:

Your Excellency Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, New York,

Your Excellency,

The main objective behind signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the UN General Secretariat on 20th May 1996 was to allow Iraq to export a certain quantity of oil and to use the money generated to purchase some of Iraq's needs of medicines, medical supplies, food, and other supplies needed for the basic civilian requirements of the people of Iraq in all parts of the country. Article 19, Part 5 of the Memorandum.

Four years after the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, which was also called the oil-for-food and medicine programme, we wish to present to you, and to the UN Security Council members and the world public opinion, the following basic facts:

1. Up to 2nd November 2000, the suspended, accumulated, semi- frozen, and blocked funds in the BNP Bank totalled 11.372bn dollars. These funds are blocked and frozen and the people of Iraq are not benefiting from them at all.

2. The number of suspended contracts has reached 1,328 valued at around 2.28bn dollars.

3. The number of contracts presented to the UN General Secretariat which were not distributed to the members of the Committee 661 reached 541, valued at around 1.24bn dollars.

It is well known that the Americans and the British allege that the oil-for-food programme lessens the intensity of the unjust sanctions imposed on Iraq. However, this allegation is quickly proved false when we note the figures mentioned above, and when these figures are published to the world public opinion.

The failure to use the funds generated by the export of oil to purchase food and medicine and other humanitarian needs for the Iraqi people raises a very big question by our people. To what extent does the export of oil becomes necessary when these funds are accumulating in foreign banks, when contracts are piling up in the General Secretariat and the Committee 661, and when this is coupled with the US and British practice of suspending new contracts under feeble excuses for political ends and goals that are too far from the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding? Our people rightfully ask: For how long will these funds be set aside in these banks? For how long will the policy of suspending contracts continue? How many more contracts will Committee 661 suspended in addition to the contracts that are already suspended? For how long will the series of suspending and delaying contracts continue? What is the use, and where is the need for continuing oil exports in such a case?

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 08, 2000