Saddam rejects proposal to ease UN sanctions
President Saddam Hussein has said Iraq rejected a British proposal to ease United Nations sanctions, saying it meant the existing trade sanctions had failed to achieve their goal.
‘‘We have nothing new to tell our friends and brothers, except that we are going to refuse what is called the smart sanctions,’’ Saddam said during a Cabinet session in comments broadcast on Iraqi TV in Baghdad.
He said the proposal represented a ‘‘declaration that the embargo imposed on Iraq has failed to achieve its basic goals.
‘‘In spite of the fact that the embargo has inflicted harm on Iraq, it made America lose significant part of its reputation in the international arena,’’ Saddam said.
‘‘America has suffered a strategic loss while our loss took only the form of wounds and bruises that could be considered a sacrifice representing people’s honour.’’
The British plan allows Iraq to import all kinds of goods except those on a UN list of military-related items. It also permits commercial and cargo flights in and out of Iraq as long as they are inspected at their departure points.
However, it seeks to tighten border controls around Iraq and to stop Baghdad’s efforts to gain control of its oil revenues through smuggling and illegal surcharges.
The goal of the proposed measures is to ensure that the sanctions do not hurt Iraqi citizens while preventing Baghdad from reviving its weapons-building programs.
The proposal is the first significant easing of the sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.
