Exode (des Kurdes d'Irak) - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RlVISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
THE DAILYTELEGRAPH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1991
Iraq says itwill use aIl means
to resist plan for Kurd haven
By Gerald Butt inNicosia
. reaching .àgréeme'nt ori thé
ain's haven proposal. '
Iraqi opposition sources said
practical application of thé :the Kurds could point to many
scheme will kill it off. broken promises made to them:
This would at lea~t give by Britain and other powers.
Baghdad time to drive out this century. .
Kurds and Shi'ites and other. But Kurdish guerrilla lead~:
groups hostile to Saddam. ers have publicly welcomed.
International efforts to the British suggestion as a way
tackle the refugee crisis were of at least preventing Iraqi
still gathering pace last night.: Kurds being forced:to live the
But there were few signs the: rest of their lives in exHe. Thé'
desperately needed supplies leaders have called for the
were reaching the refugees in zone to be established rapidly., ~
Iraq or in makeshift camps in Opposition sources in
Turkey and Iran. . Damascus said the inevitablé'
Saudi Arabia joined the list delay in putting the schemé
of countries sending aid to the: into effect would mean thou-'
million and more homeless .sands of Kurds dying or being
Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims. : killed bySaddam's army.
A Cabinet statement. Iraq, meanwhile, has
announcmg the move con, objected to the relief efforts. I~
demned the killings in Iraq and' . a letter to Senor Javier Perei
Saddam's violence against his :de Cuellar, UN Secretary-Gen-;
own people. ' eral, Mr Ahmed Hussein, For-
In the meantime', interna- eign Minister, said the operational
support for Britain's pro':. tions proved the "evif
posed Kurdish a haven in Iraq :intentions harboured bythe
has been growing. USA and Britain towards
Three weeks after Saddam's. Iraq". ,
forces' started the offensive to ; In recent statements, Sadrecapture
northern areas ofthe' ,dam has not referred to the
country controlled by Kurdish: ,causes of the refugee crisis.
rebels, the refugee crisis con- {Instead he called for. an
tinues to qeepen, despite the' immediate lifting of the eCOi
international attention'nomiçembargo on Iraq., ,.'
The total number of Kurds' :. His',Foreign Minister sai~
taking refuge in Iran is the airlifts amounted to"drop.;
approaching one million, while, ping of bits of food and cover'
those straddling the Turkish.' ings in a pretentious operation
Iraqi border number almost which has no' humanitarian
half a million. Communicai aspect whatsoever". '
tions difficulties in remote'. The mercy flights by US;
areas of Turkey and Iran have. British and other planes were a
meant that emergency aid has: "blatant violation of interna~
been slow in coming. .:tionallaw and a direct interfer;
There has been no indication. ence in Iraq's internal affairs";,
the supplies dropped by air are . On the heels of Saddam'S:
reaching anything but a frac- :protest to the UN came an offi~
tion of the Kurds hiding on' cial rejection of the proposal
windswept mountains in Iraq. for a safe haven for the Kurds. ;
At present, there seems to be International attention on;
nothing which might persuade' the.Kurdish refugees has;
the refugees to change their nudged the problems of the
'.minds and return home;.least. Shi'ite community in. south
.of all Iraq's amnesty offer'. Iraq intothe shadows.
Nor are the Kurds about to Reports speak of serious
have a sudden change of heart: healthproblems in Shi 'ite
on,the basis of the, aid ..!>rBrit.' ~reasdev.astated..bytbe twO:
ÏRAQ rejected Britain's proposal
of a safe haven for Kurdish
refugees yesterday and ~
said it will resist the idea with
all the means at its disposal.
In a statement to the Iraqi'
.News Agency, Mr Saadoun,
Hammadi, Prime Minister,
referred to a "so-called refugee ..
problem" and described the'
plan for a Kurd zone as a "suspicious
proposal which Iraq'
,Çategorically rejects and will
,'resist with all its means".
,: Mr Hammadi said: "Creat:
,jng and inflating this problem
is deliberate and is part of the
'chain 'of plots against Iraq."
; Iraq insists the crushéd:
,revolt against. the regime of
iPresident Saddam Hussein
'was instigated from abroad.
\ "Peace, law and orderhave'
been secured throughout
Iraq," Mr Hammadi said,~
'''including in the area men-;
tioned [in the haven plan]." ,
. In a reference to the amnesty
'offer for Kurds who took part
in the rebellion, Mr Hammadi:
;said steps had been taken to;
:resolve the refugee problem. :.
The Iraqi Prime Minister
also said a "large number" of
$urds, taking advantage of thl'}'
'amnesty, had returned home. '
, He blamed the "actions of
:Western countries and their
.tendentious propaganda ma;
"chine, in addition to the 'ten-
.dentious actions of Turkeyand
Iran" for blocking Baghdad'~
efforts to help the Kurds. :
WhHe Iraq is Certain to resist
'by whatever political means it.
.can a United Nations.super:
"vised zone in its own territory;'
;there seems little it could do if
'the international corn munit y
backedtheidea.
'
. Iraq is in no condition toget
',involved in another 'bruising
;'encounter with the allies, and
'is keen to avoid any confronta;
:tion ~hich might delay the lift: .
:jng of economic sanctions. .;
:, Baghdad hopes squabbles at'
ithe ..UN and. diffjc;uHi.es,' gri:
Gulf wars and the revolt.
While hundreds of thousands
of Kurds have made the
problems faced by Iran in coping
with the refugee exodus
immeasurably greater, Iraqi
Shi'ites had been streaming
into Iran in their thousands
since the Gulf War.
Iranian officials say reports
that 4,600 Iraqi Shi'ites had
been put to death in Najaf have
spurred the flight.
Reports of sporadic rebel
attacks on Saddam's army
have appeared,
tie more than an irritant.
Boris Johnson - Pl8
b.ut they are lit.
Turkey expects
. bigger influx
President Turgut Ozal accuse(i'
Baghdad yesterday of trying to:
deport the population of north-
.ernIraq and said 300,000 more
:Kurds were fleeing to Turkey.
Speaking in Amsterdam, Mr
.ozal said: "What is going on is
an outright deportation with
the intent of cleansing northern
Iraq of population. In addi.
.tion to the 200,000 Kurdish
refugees in Turkey and 150,000
:.atthe border, 1 have heard that
;another. 300,000 are heading
for Turkey." - Reuter
Rebels to run in
Welsh election
,The Kurdish Democratic Alliance
said yesterday it is to contest
the Monmouth by-election
:in June.
, The candidate is to be Miss
:'Ghada Suleymaria, an Iraqi
Kurd journalist and interna.
tional secretary of the London.
based group, which said it
would use the poll as a plat.
form to publicise its cause.
174