News, 8-14/12/01 (2)

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

* US holds up biological weapons control, despite anthrax attacks [We had
this news last week but it can¹t be repeated too often. The US have refused
to a system of inspecting biological weapons everyone else, including Iraq,
was willing to adopt on the grounds that they have to protect the commercial
secrets of private companies]
* U.S. Scuttles Germ War Conference
* German suspected of dabbling in Iraq weapons trade
* Iraqi Defector Warns Congress of Saddam's Weapons {Hamza talking to the
^Ìbicameral, bipartisan task force on non-proliferation¹.]

IRAQI/MIDDLE EASTERN-ARAB WORLD RELATIONS

* Jordan seeks bids for oil pipeline from Iraq
* Pentagon switch in Gulf heralds wider war [You learn something every day.
I hadn¹t realised that the HQ of US military operations in the Middle East
and Central Asia was in Georgia. Georgia, readers may remember, was once the
only member of the CIS that didn¹t have a former Soviet apparatchik for a
President - until he was ousted by Edvard Chevardnaze. He who liked, while
still Foreign Secretary of the USSR, to be photographed out fishing with
G.Bush Sr ...]
* Kuwait: U.S. move not linked to Iraq
* Woolsey's admittance insufficient: Daily [It seems that James Woolsey has
been in Iran where he said that the US had been wrong to back Saddam during
the Iran/Iraq war. Meaning, presumably, that they should have let Ayatollah
Khomeini take Iraq? And, as this Iranian article argues, should they not now
accept responsibility for President Hussein¹s use of chemical weapons
against the Iranians (which, unlike the Kurdish incident, is rarely
mentioned because it is a crime in which he US is deeply implicated)?]
* Turkey to drill for oil in Kurdish-held northern Iraq
* $3.68bn of contractual agreements for Egyptian companies in Iraq
* USD 14 billion the volume of Iraqi trade exchange with Arab states

GULF WAR SYNDROME

* Decade after gulf war, GI illnesses tied to Lou Gehrig's disease

SOUTHERN KURDISTAN/NORTHERN IRAQ

* A High Level U.S. Delegation Visits Southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan
[supposedly to bring about reconciliation between the KDP and the PUK. Who
are, we are always being told, reconciled]
* USA delegation to Kurdistan to renew USA commitment to protect Kurds
[Little detail that the US delegation includes a Turkish contingent]
* Kurds wary of Turkish troop movements

REFUGEES

* Smuggler of Iraqis sent home [Saudi trying to help three Iraqi women to
enter New Zealand.]
* Between sky and earth [Depressing tale of the fate of refugees in
Australia]

INSIDE IRAQ

* Cancer disaster in Iraq



WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,615493,00.html

* US HOLDS UP BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONTROL, DESPITE ANTHRAX ATTACKS
by Simon Tisdall
The Guardian, 8th December

The US delivered a stunning blow to international efforts to curb the
proliferation of biological weapons last night, despite its acknowledgment
in the wake of anthrax attacks in America that the threat posed by germ
warfare was greater than previously believed.

The American coup de grace came on the final day of an international
conference in Geneva to review the 1972 biological and toxic weapons
convention. Only minutes before the three week meeting was due to end, John
Bolton, the US under-secretary of state for arms control, proposed that the
negotiations on a protocol enforcing the pact's provisions should be
"terminated".

Although the US had already made clear its strong opposition to the
protocol, Mr Bolton's attempt to prevent other signatories agreeing
regulations for an international inspection and verification regime came out
of the blue. The Indian delegate called it "completely unacceptable" and the
EU issued a statement expressing its "deep regret".

With time running out, and to prevent the conference collapsing, the meeting
agreed to suspend talks on the 210-page protocol for 12 months, leaving open
the possibility that the US may reconsider its stance.

An unrepentant Mr Bolton said the meeting had been given fair warning of US
intentions, especially President Bush's renunciation of the proposed
protocol last July and subsequent US statements that the enforcement
measures would exacerbate the problems of proliferation rather than solve
them.

The US had acted "because this is the last day and that's when you
negotiate. We had foreshadowed for weeks that this was coming".

The US objections rest on the belief that the protocol does not contain
effective means for verifying whether signatory states are staying true to
their word.

In such cases, it argues, the protocol could in effect facilitate the
illegal or surreptitious manufacture and stockpiling of biological weapons
while lulling the international community into a false sense of security.

It also opposes the proposed "spot checks" which it fears could make
American military bases, industrial sites and commercial businesses
vulnerable to spying and sabotage.

It says the checks would prove worthless in any case, since laboratories
would be given advance notice of inspection.

Having rejected the protocol in July, Mr Bush proposed last month that all
144 signatories should focus their efforts on enacting "strict national
criminal legislation".

While accepting that there could be a role for the UN in overseeing
inspections, he suggested that countries which the US suspected of violating
the accord should be put under public pressure.

Mr Bolton has named Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya and North Korea as the main
countries suspected of having biological weapons.

Having failed to get its way, the US may now begin to act alone against
individual countries as part of its "war against terrorism".


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11115-2001Dec7.html

* U.S. SCUTTLES GERM WAR CONFERENCE
by Mike Allen and Steven Mufson
Washington Post, 8th December

[.....]

Last month, as the Geneva conference opened, Bolton presented a U.S. plan
that would not make the protocol legally binding under international law,
but include it in a politically binding final document.

The U.S. package also left out provisions that would have established an
international implementing body with the power to investigate suspicious
facilities and perform routine visits to declared facilities.

However, the U.S. package retained some of the protocol's measures, such as
a requirement for any country that signs the treaty to pass laws
criminalizing activities prohibited by the treaty. About half of the
signatories do not have such laws currently, experts say.

The U.S. package would also expand the mandate of the secretary general of
the United Nations to investigate suspicious disease outbreaks, clarify
vague provisions for resolving compliance concerns and make it easier to
extradite criminals who use biological weapons.

The State Department official said the administration was "encouraged by the
widespread support for U.S. and allied initiatives intended to strengthen
the convention through practical national implementation measures." But, he
said, "Not everyone welcomed our focus on compliance."

"We believe compliance is essential for any arms control regime to be
meaningful," he said, and added that the administration was "disappointed"
that agreement couldn't be reached. He said that was better than "trying to
paper over substantive disagreements with artful drafting."

Many arms control advocates said the administration had failed to do all it
could to resolve those problems because of its own opposition to a clause
that would allow foreign inspections of suspected biological weapons sites
on the basis of a challenge by another country. The Bush administration has
said that could lead to inspections at private companies and endanger trade
secrets.

"What John Bolton and the U.S. delegation did was to scuttle realistic
practical opportunities to develop an international strategy on germ weapons
mainly because the Bush administration fears further negotiations on an
international instrument to curb bioweapons that includes possible on-site
challenge investigations," said Darryl Kimball, executive director of the
Arms Control Association.

The Federation of American Scientists, which promotes disarmament, issued a
statement calling the U.S. action "sabotage," and said that European
diplomats "privately accused the U.S. of deceiving them."

Staff writer Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.


http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Artic
le_Type1&c=Article&cid=1007809318847&call_page=TS_World&call_pageid=96833218
8854&call_pagepath=News/World&col=968350060724

* GERMAN SUSPECTED OF DABBLING IN IRAQ WEAPONS TRADE
Toronto Star, 9th December

BERLIN (AP): German authorities have detained a man they suspect was
involved in an attempt to sell Iraq material that could be used to
manufacture weapons, an official said Saturday.

The man, a mechanical engineer who wasn't identified, has been in detention
since October and is suspected of acting as a go-between in the procurement
of a weapon, said Hubert Jobski, the state attorney in the western city of
Mannheim.

He said a number of other people were also being investigated, but would not
give details.

The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday that investigators
suspect Iraq attempted to buy machines that could be used to make
large-calibre guns from German firms.

UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, were imposed on Iraq after the 1990
Persian Gulf War.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,40710,00.html

* IRAQI DEFECTOR WARNS CONGRESS OF SADDAM'S WEAPONS
by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
Fox, 12th December

WASHINGTON ^Ë A former director of Iraq's nuclear weapons program warned
lawmakers Wednesday that if the United States does not topple Saddam Hussein
immediately, the Iraqi dictator will possess three nuclear missiles by 2005.

American-educated Dr. Khidir Hamza, who defected from Iraq in 1995 after
serving as the Iraqi dictator's top official for nuclear weapons
development, told a bipartisan task force that his estimation was a
conservative one.

"When I left, we designed one missile," and were acquiring the materials
from foreign stockpiles to build it, Hamza said, adding that the U.N.
weapons inspections that ended in 1998 were the only measures that ever put
a dent in Saddam's plans.

While Saddam's nuclear program was still in the development stages at the
time weapons inspectors arrived on the scene, Saddam had already used
biological and chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers in the 1980s and
Iraq's own Kurdish civilians, Hamza told the bicameral Bipartisan Task Force
on Nonproliferation.

[.....]

Hamza said the longer the United States plays softball with Saddam, the more
time he has to work on his nuclear weapons program.

Hamza suggested that a small U.S. force similar to that in Afghanistan today
could encourage anti-regime factions, as well as disloyal Iraqi soldiers, to
defect and bring down the dictator. He said dropping bombs strategically on
Baghdad would help smoke Saddam out.

Asked if Hamza's story compelled him to push for the topple of the regime,
task force co chair Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said he wanted to be sure that
if the United States were to move into Iraq, its mission would be
strategically sound.

"I don't think there's a debate about whether or not to take out Saddam
Hussein ^Ë I think if any member of Congress had a magic wand they would
eliminate him immediately," he said. "The question is whether we have the
military capacity to undertake that and to manage it if a civil war were to
break out. We're trying to determine that by listening to the experts."


IRAQI/MIDDLE EASTERN-ARAB WORLD RELATIONS

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=34976

* JORDAN SEEKS BIDS FOR OIL PIPELINE FROM IRAQ
Reuters, 10th December

Jordan announced yesterday it was seeking bids from foreign firms to build a
pipeline to transport Iraqi crude to its sole refinery that would replace
the current cumbersome export of crude by trucks, officials said.

Energy ministry officials said they were seeking foreign firms as potential
project developers with proven track record to help build the 750 kilometre
pipeline on a Boot (build, own, operate, transfer) basis.

It is planned the $350 million pipeline will extend from the Iraqi pumping
station in Haditha, 260 kilometres northwest of Baghdad to Jordan's refinery
of Zarqa, north east of Amman.

The Boot proposal concerns the first stage of the project from the
Iraqi-Jordanian border to Zarqa, a 300 kilometre stretch, an energy official
said.


http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/12/11/war211.xm
l&sSheet=/news/2001/12/11/ixhome.html

* PENTAGON SWITCH IN GULF HERALDS WIDER WAR
by Ben Fenton in Washington
Daily Telegraph, 11th December

THE Pentagon has moved the headquarters of its 3rd Army from America to
Kuwait, apparently in preparation for expanding the war on terrorism to
Somalia and elsewhere.

Military analysts said the transfer of several hundred headquarters staff
from Fort MacPherson, Georgia, to an undisclosed location in Kuwait was
"significant".

They said it would give Gen Tommy Franks, commander-in-chief of the
coalition forces, a base from which to expand his campaign.

Gen Franks said last week that he was considering sending more troops to
Afghanistan. When asked which other areas his planners had been looking
into, he mentioned Somalia, Sudan and Iraq.

The 3rd Army provides the ground forces for US Central Command under Gen
Franks and already maintains permanent units in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and
Qatar.

The move was confirmed by a spokesman for Central Command yesterday, who
said: "They will have command and control of the ground forces in
Afghanistan. They will also support the ground forces for the ongoing war
against terrorism."

There is an armoured brigade's worth of equipment already in Kuwait,
principally ready to repel another invasion attempt by Saddam Hussein.

Another brigade's worth of tanks and artillery is ready in Qatar and two
brigades' materiel is on Diego Garcia, a British Indian Ocean base about
five days sailing time from the head of the Gulf.

Col Dan Smith, of the Centre for Defence Information, a Washington
think-tank, said: "This is very significant, particularly in respect to the
enlargement of the war against terrorism.

"It is a clear sign that the [Bush] administration is thinking ahead to what
it will do when it has finished in Afghanistan."

The 3rd Army has experience of quick deployments to the region, having
provided the command structure for troops in Saudi Arabia for Operation
Desert Storm in 1991.

The CIA and military intelligence agents have been scrutinising terrorist
recruitment and training facilities in the Aceh region of northern
Indonesia, in bin Laden's father's community of Hadhramaut in Yemen, and an
alleged training and storage facility in Ras Komboni in southern Somalia, it
was reported at the weekend.

The Los Angeles Times quoted a senior government official as saying: "The
main front after Afghanistan will be going after al-Qa'eda cells hither and
yon."


http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=35161

* KUWAIT: U.S. MOVE NOT LINKED TO IRAQ
Gulf News (Reuters), 12th December

The U.S. decision to temporarily transfer the headquarters of its armed
forces' central command to Kuwait is in line with a defence pact with the
Gulf country and is not linked to Iraq, Kuwait's defence minister was quoted
yesterday as saying.

Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah said the move was only intended to allow the
Americans to command and control their forces in Afghanistan.

"This command is here only for follow-up and control and no additional U.S.
forces have been sent to Kuwait," he told the Saudi-owned Arab language
daily Al Hayat.

"It is in line with the defence accord signed between Kuwait and the U.S. in
1992...as you know, the U.S. operations in Afghanistan are conducted mostly
from air," he said. "U.S. troops had been sent earlier to Kuwait to
participate in joint wargames".


http://www.irna.com/newshtm/eng/20114235.htm

* WOOLSEY'S ADMITTANCE INSUFFICIENT: DAILY
IRNA (Iranian press agency), 11th December

Tehran: `Kayhan International' on Tuesday rejected the recent remarks of
former CIA spy master James Woolsey as insufficient.

The English-language paper was commenting on the Woolsey's recent remarks in
an interview with Al-Jazeera television channel that "US had made plenty of
mistakes in its approach toward the Islamic Republic and that the worst of
such mistakes was providing backing for Saddam."

It noted that, Woolsey, in the same breath, also called for establishment of
friendly ties between the two countries after over two decades of hostility
by Washington.

One of the questions that arises when reflecting on Woolsey's remarks is
whether the US is ready to offer compensation for its mistakes, it asked.

And if it is ready, then it should for the hundreds of thousands of lives
that have been lost only on the Iranian side during the eight-year imposed
war, pointed out the daily.

But the paper reminded that the Iranian mothers, who carry the photos of
their martyred sons in various demonstrations in Tehran are "not
materialistic" and are "not eager" to ask for money.

"What they hope to see is the international trial of Washington politicians
who were courting Saddam at the same time that the Butcher of Baghdad was
dropping his chemical bombs over the heads of the Iranian soldiers,"
highlighted the article.

It lamented that a large number of surviving valiant fighters who repelled
Saddam's aggression are still suffering from the consequences of Iraq's use
of "unconventional" weapons.

Every now and then, "we read in our papers that one more survivor of the
chemical warfare has joined the rank of martyrs," it noted. In view of this
situation, just admitting that they have committed "wrong" will not be
enough, it pointed out.

What Washington must actually resolute today is "to rectify its past
mistakes based on the wishes of the wronged party, the Iranians," emphasized
the article.

What the US officials must also say, but seem to be too arrogant to do that,
is: "We have made mistakes. Please let us know how we can rectify these
mistakes," wrote the paper.

But judging from the past arrogant conduct of American statesmen, there is
only, what it called, a "snowball's chance in hell" that the haughty lot
will make such humbling declarations, concluded the daily.


http://www.worldoil.com/news/newsstory.asp?ref=http://62.172.78.184/feeds/wo
rldoil/new/article_e.asp?energy24=245224

* TURKEY TO DRILL FOR OIL IN KURDISH-HELD NORTHERN IRAQ
World Oil (AFP), 12th December

ANKARA: Turkey will drill for oil in northern Iraq, a mainly Kurdish region
outside Baghdad's control since the Gulf War, the head of the Turkish state
petroleum company TPAO has said, newspapers reported Wednesday.

Speaking at a ceremony in the southeastern Turkish city of Batman Tuesday,
Kenan Veziroglu said the company was planning to initially open 10 wells,
according to the liberal newspaper Milliyet.

The exploration work was expected to start in January in areas held by the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massoud Barzani, one of the two main
factions that administer northern Iraq, protected by a no-fly zone since the
Gulf War, the Cumhuriyet daily said.

The KDP, which enjoys close ties with Ankara, controls the region along the
Turkish border, while its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of
Jalal Talabani, administers areas close to Iran.

Turkey, which sided with the United States during the Gulf War, has in
recent months stepped up efforts to boost economic ties with its embargo-hit
southern neighbor, an arch foe of the United States.

Turkey, which hosts US and British jets enforcing the no-fly zone over
northern Iraq, complains that it has suffered losses of between 35 billion
and 40 billion dollars due to the UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad.


http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011212/2001121234.html

* $3.68BN OF CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS FOR EGYPTIAN COMPANIES IN IRAQ
Arabic News, 12th December

Exporters have been urged to take advantage of the privileges provided by
the free trade agreement signed between Egypt and Iraq and was put into
effect in August this year.

According to the Egyptian charge d'affairs in Iraq, Hassan el-Zughbi, the
volume of contractual agreements of the Egyptian companies in Iraq had
reached $3.68 billion within the framework of the tenth stage of the
oil-for-food deal with the UN and the figure is expected to rise in the near
future.

El-Zughbi had a meeting this week with the Iraqi Minister of Industry and
Minerals Maysar Raja Shlah to discuss means of enhancing bilateral
industrial and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Iraqi Minister stressed the role played by the Egyptian companies which
are taking part in the reconstruction process in Iraq together with the
joint projects between the private sectors in the two countries.

Zughbi said that Egyptian businessmen and companies representatives would
take part in a big reconstruction fair to be held in Baghdad in February. He
added that the fair would aim in the first place at meeting Iraq's
requirements of building and construction materials together with other
related sectors such as electricity, agricultural supplies and medical and
communication equipment.

He expected the coming period to witness more growth in bilateral trade and
economic ties between the two countries urging in that respect the Egyptian
companies to enhance their trade with Baghdad.

He stressed the strong desire of both sides to give an impetus to all forms
of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.


http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011212/2001121202.html

* USD 14 BILLION THE VOLUME OF IRAQI TRADE EXCHANGE WITH ARAB STATES
Arabic News, 12th December

The Iraqi trade minister Muhammad Mahdi Saleh on Monday announced that Iraqi
trade exchange with the Arab states in the framework of the oil for food
program occupies 50% of the total Iraq's foreign trade.

The Iraqi minister said that the volume of trade exchange between Iraq and
the Arab states reached USD 14.5 billion representing 50% of its total
foreign trade since the implementation of the oil for food agreement.

The Iraqi minister added that Egypt occupied the first position among the
Arab states as the volume of trade exchange with it reached USD 3.5 billion,
then Jordan USD 2.8 billion; USD 2.6 billion for the UAE, USD 1.5 billion
for Syria, USD 839 million for Lebanon, USD 556 million with Algeria; USD
465 million with Morocco; USD 357 million with Oman and a sum of USD 105
million with Yemen.

The Iraqi minister indicated that Russia occupies the first position among
all states Iraq has trade relations with, noting that volume of Russian
trade exchange with Iraq is USD 5.5 billion.

Mahdi also announced that the special distribution plan of the 11th of the
oil for food agreement is currently under preparation in order to be
submitted to the UN.


GULF WAR SYNDROME

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/chi
0112110203dec11.story?coll=chi%2Dprintnews%2Dhed

* DECADE AFTER GULF WAR, GI ILLNESSES TIED TO LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE
by Sheryl Gay Stolberg
New York Times, 11th December

WASHINGTON -- After years of denying any link between illness and service in
the Persian Gulf war, military officials said Monday that veterans of the
conflict are nearly twice as likely as other soldiers to suffer from Lou
Gehrig's disease.

The announcement, made jointly by the Departments of Defense and Veterans
Affairs, was based on the preliminary findings of a study of more than 2.5
million veterans.

Officials said they immediately will offer disability and survivor benefits
to affected patients and families.

Veterans groups, who have long argued their members are afflicted by
unexplained illnesses collectively dubbed gulf war syndrome, were pleased by
the announcement. So were patient advocates, who believe the study may yield
important clues about the cause of Lou Gehrig's disease, a fatal
neurological illness also known as ALS, for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Monday's announcement was a startling turnabout for the military, and it is
likely to renew attention on the health problems of those who served in the
Persian Gulf a decade ago.

"It's just a shame it has taken so long," said Rep. Christopher Shays
(R-Conn.), who has conducted hearings on veterans' health problems. "There
has been an incredible reluctance on the part of the Defense Department to
acknowledge any gulf war illness. So I consider this a huge announcement."

The study was begun in March 2000.

After years of pressing the military to investigate ailments of those who
served in the gulf, veterans organizations greeted the announcement warmly.

"The science is sound, and the evidence is clear: U.S. troops were exposed
to something in the Persian Gulf that accounts for an increased rate of
ALS," said Richard Santos, the American Legion commander.

"We applaud the administration for deciding to award just compensation and
benefits immediately rather than waiting for the scientific community's
exhaustive review of the study," Santos said.

Veterans groups said they are awaiting future research.

"I'm excited that the VA has done a scientific study that actually has a
conclusion and says something other than, `We are not certain,"' said Steve
Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center in
Silver Spring, Md.

"It makes me think that this is the beginning of understanding the many
diseases that gulf war veterans face."


SOUTHERN KURDISTAN/NORTHERN IRAQ

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/kurdistanobserve/11-12-01-afp-us-delegation-vi
sit kurdistan.html

* A HIGH LEVEL U.S. DELEGATION VISITS SOUTHERN (IRAQI) KURDISTAN  

WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (AFP) Amid intense speculation the United States will
next target Iraq in its war on terrorism, the State Department said Monday
it had begun mediating a long-running dispute between rival Kurdish groups
in northern Iraq.

Deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said a high-level US team led by Ryan
Crocker, the deputy assistant state for Near East affairs, was now in
northern Iraq to further Washington's efforts to oust Saddam Hussein by
bringing the factions together.

Crocker is meeting members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and
the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the first direct US attempt to
mediate between the two at their request, Reeker said.

"This delegation is the first step in that mediation process," he said,
adding that PUK leader Jalal Talabani and KDP leader Masood Barzani had
asked for State Department help in overcoming their differences.

Reeker noted, however, that US consultations with both groups was
longstanding. The last consultative mission was in February, he said.
Crocker and his team will also meet with Turkish officials as part of their
trip.

Crocker's mission is aimed at demonstrating "continued US engagement with
the Iraqi opposition, consult with key players on issues in northern Iraq
provide for direct discussions on the status of reconciliation among the
Iraqi Kurds and to evaluate implementation of the oil-for-food program in
northern Iraq," he said.

Baghdad has reacted angrily to US officials meeting with Kurds and late last
month, Saddam repeated an offer to engage the factions in dialogue but was
rebuffed.

Washington has long sought to build up the Iraqi opposition -- including the
PUK and KDP -- in order to topple Saddam but has had little success thus far
in finding a military force with the ability to move against him.

Advocates of targeting Iraq next in the anti-terror war have noted the key
military role played by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.

They have urged President George W. Bush and his administration to back
various Iraqi opposition groups so they might play a similar role.

Iraqi Kurdistan rose up against the regime in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf
War over Kuwait, leaving the three provinces of Arbil, Suleimaniyeh and
Dahuk outside Baghdad's reach.

The KDP today controls an area along the Turkish border, while the rival PUK
administers areas close to the Iranian border.


NO URL (communicated to list)

* USA DELEGATION TO KURDISTAN TO RENEW USA COMMITMENT TO PROTECT KURDS
by R. M. Ahmad
KurdishMedia.com, 11th December

[.....]

The sources disclosed to A-Sharq Al-Aussat yesterday that the delegation
headed by Rayan Woker, deputy assistant of USA foreign Minister for the Far
East Affair, and includes the Officer on charge of Iraqi File in the
ministry and diplomats from USA Embassy in Ankara. They are accompanied by
representatives of Turkish Foreign Ministry.

[.....]


http://mywebpage.netscape.com/kurdistanobserve/12-12-01-ip-kurds-wary-turkis
h troop-movement.html

* KURDS WARY OF TURKISH TROOP MOVEMENTS

Duhok, Iraq Press, Dec. 11 - Iraqi Kurds who have carved out a semi
independent enclave in northern Iraq view latest Turkish troop movements
with alarm. They fear that Ankara will use its military weight and close
relations with the United States to give itself a role in the drawing up of
a map for future Iraq. Kurdish and Turkish sources confirm that Turkish
armed forces are massing close to the border and their numbers and hardware
have aroused concern in Iraqi Kurdish ranks.

[.....]


REFUGEES

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=233499&thesection=news&th
esubsection=general

* SMUGGLER OF IRAQIS SENT HOME
New Zealand, 12th December

A Saudi Arabian man has been convicted of people smuggling and ordered out
of the country within days.

In the Manukau District Court yesterday, Judge Jeremy Doogue said he had to
weigh up whether to jail Fahad Hubaitir Alshamari so New Zealand was not
seen as an "easy target" for smuggling people, or send him home so he would
not be a drain on the taxpayer.

Judge Doogue fined Alshamari $1730 and ordered him to leave on a flight that
the Saudi man had already booked.

Alshamari was caught at Auckland International Airport on Monday with a
falsified passport, originally issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In court, he admitted possessing the falsified passport and also pleaded
guilty to three charges of helping three Iraqi women enter New Zealand
without visas. The women have since sought political asylum.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Paul Watkins told the court that 31-year-old
Alshamari left Dubai on a Singapore Airlines flight on Saturday with three
Iraqis travelling on his Saudi Arabian passport.

Saudi nationals can visit New Zealand without a visa, but Iraqis need one,
which none of the Iraqi women had.

On Monday they arrived in Auckland and parted company at the airport, where
Alshamari tried to pass through immigration. But staff became concerned
about his reasons for travel, and while talking to him the three Iraqis were
located.

"It was established that a photograph of the three Iraqis posing as the
defendant's family had been inserted into the defendant's Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia passport, thus enabling them to travel to New Zealand without visas."

Alshamari was paid $US5000 for his crime. He said he had helped the Iraqis
so they could "escape their suffering".

Mr Maddox said his client, who was not a sophisticated man, had been
approached by a family that wanted to get the three women out of Iraq, but
the plan was bound to fail because they separated at the airport.

"If he had walked through with the three people, he would probably have got
into the country, no problem."

Judge Doogue fined Alshamari $1000 and $130 for the falsified passport
charge and $200 each for the other three charges.

"I agree with counsel that the scheme you had created was far from
sophisticated," he told him.


http://www.theage.com.au/news/state/2001/12/13/FFXYR0BZ3VC.html

* BETWEEN SKY AND EARTH
by Arnold Zable
The Age (Australia) 13th December

A frayed visa document, a learner's driving licence, and an interim Medicare
card are all that remain of Iraqi refugee Zainalabaden Aluomer's former
presence in Australia. The visa was his longed for passport to a new life.
Instead, it may have contributed to his death.

Aluomer's father was executed by Saddam Hussein's regime in 1982. Aluomer
escaped to Iran in 1991, and languished for eight years in refugee camps in
Iran and Saudi Arabia. In 1999, as the situation of Iraqi refugees in Iran
deteriorated, Aluomer left behind his wife and mother, promising to reunite
with them in Australia, a country in which he believed they would feel safe.

Aluomer arrived in Australia by boat from Indonesia in September, 1999, and
was transferred to the Curtin Detention Centre, in Western Australia. He was
released in September, 2000, granted a three-year temporary protection visa
and put on a bus to Melbourne.

With help from caseworkers at the Ecumenical Migration Centre and the
Darebin City Council, Aluomer found transitional accommodation in a flat in
West Heidelberg. Earlier this year, Aluomer learnt that his wife and mother
had arrived in Jakarta and were looking for a boat that would enable them to
make the final run to Australia. He pleaded with them by phone not to risk
the voyage.

To understand what happened next, we need to look at the provisions of
Aluomer's visa. Between 1994 and 1999, asylum seekers who were found to be
genuine refugees, including those arriving by boat, were granted permanent
protection visas, subject to health and character checks. This entitled them
to eventually sponsor family members they had left behind.

In October, 1999, the Howard Government introduced a new visa regime. Asylum
seekers arriving by boat, and judged to be genuine refugees, were to get
three-year temporary protection visas. They then had to wait 30 months
before being eligible to apply for permanent protection. Until then they
could not hope to be reunited with their families. If they left the country
to merely visit their loved ones, they could not return. In effect, this
meant they could not hope to see their loved ones for up to five years or
more. They could also be required to return to their countries of origin at
the end of this three-year period, if it was deemed safe to do so.

Aluomer's wife and mother could not wait any longer. They decided to risk
their lives in flimsy fishing boats rather than remain separated from him
indefinitely. Aluomer told Haider Al Juboory, then a temporary protection
visa (TPV) caseworker for the City of Darebin and the Ecumenical Migration
Centre, that he was considering joining his wife and mother in Jakarta, even
though it meant losing his visa.

He was advised not to leave Australia, but Aluomer could not bear the
thought of his loved ones making the boat journey unprotected and alone. On
July 13 he flew to Indonesia.

On Friday, October 19, Aluomer, his wife and mother boarded a leaking
fishing boat in Sumatra. All three were among the more than 350 asylum
seekers who drowned when the boat sank later that day in the Java Sea, en
route to Christmas Island. The victims included other women, as well as
children, desperate to join fathers and husbands living in Australia on
temporary protection visas.

Aluomer's tale was recounted in early November at a memorial service in
Preston for the victims of the boat tragedy. Among those present were asylum
seekers who had lost family on the boat. I have never seen a group of more
devastated people. Their distress has been compounded because, as holders of
temporary protection visas, they could not even visit survivors of the
tragedy.

Many at the memorial service had another reason for feeling bereft. On
September 27, the Howard Government's latest visa regime became effective.
Under the new provisions, asylum seekers who, en route to Australia, have
spent a continuous period of seven days or more in a country in which they
could have sought and obtained protection, can now never gain permanent
residency here. Instead, they must apply, every three years, to renew their
temporary visas. In effect this means they can remain in Australia
indefinitely, but can never see their families again.

The predicament of the TPV holders was highlighted by the case of
Sydney-based refugee Ahmed Alzalimi, who lost three daughters in the boat
tragedy. Alzalimi is still waiting as the Howard Government considers his
plea to visit his grieving wife, Sondos Ismail, in Indonesia. He needs
special permission from Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock unless he is
prepared to forfeit his right to return to Australia.

TEN days after the service I met a group of eight asylum seekers, now
released from detention, who are caught in the new regime. Their countries
of origin include Syria, Iran, Iraq and Yemen. All have wives, children or
other family members who remain in the country they fled, or in refugee
camps in third countries. They live in Melbourne's northern suburbs, where
an estimated 600 TPV holders are concentrated.

All eight have been found to be genuine refugees. Some had been tortured or
threatened with death in their countries of origin. They had all lived, for
varying periods, in third countries en route, and had arrived in Australia
by boat. Several had lived in a series of refugee camps for up to a decade.

The men do not wish to reveal their names; they fear they could be in
jeopardy for speaking out. One says: "We chose Australia because it was a
democratic country. It was our dream to live in freedom. This is why we
risked our lives."

Some of the men cry as they speak. Some have nightmares in which they see
their families beyond reach, beyond touch. Others wake up screaming their
children's names. Those who are able to speak to their children by phone
sometimes break down during the conversations. One talks of having walked
the streets all night rather than return to his terrifying dreams.

The men all tell of a sense of vulnerability and anguish.

"September 27 was a black day," says one. "Since then we have not felt safe
or protected. We feel that the government has set a trap. They want to break
us. We are knocking on closed doors. We do not know when this will end. I
feel like an animal, caught in a steel trap." Several of the men describe
the most difficult aspect of their ordeal in Australia as not being able to
use their hard-won skills and qualifications. The group includes a
journalist, a metallurgical engineer, an artist, a surgical technician, and
an economist. Although TPV holders are permitted to work in Australia, their
temporary status means many are unable to get jobs in their professions.

Says one: "Australia is a beautiful place, but we cannot enjoy it. I am
floating between sky and earth. We are in Australia, but we are not a part
of Australia. I want to show Australians what I can do.

"But in this situation I cannot focus. I feel shattered. My mind goes blank
when I think about my family. This legislation is a rope around my neck."

According to Al Jaboory, now a spokesman for the Australian-Iraqi
Association, and other caseworkers, TPV holders exhibit physical and
psychological symptoms of trauma. Some are suicidal, others severely
depressed. All suffer a sense of guilt at being unable to help their
families, especially those whose relatives are still being persecuted at
home.

The men I speak to feel like outcasts. They believe many Australians, and
the Howard Government, are against them.

The new legislation is retrospective. It not only applies to people who have
arrived after September 27, but to anyone who had been previously granted a
TPV but had failed to apply for permanent protection by that date. The
government gave no warning or amnesty period.

Asylum seekers under the previous visa regime say that, on release from
detention, they received a statement from the Department of Immigration,
indicating they had up to 30 months to apply for permanent protection.

Lawyers and community workers, acting upon this provision, also advised them
to take their time and lodge a strong, professional application. These
refugees, and those who advised them, feel they have been misled.

What is more, some asylum seekers who decide they have had enough cannot
return to their families because they do not have the papers that would
enable them to do so. Others cannot return because it could mean further
persecution or even death.

On January 11, The Age published a story I wrote about a TPV holder,
Mohammed Arif Fayazi. An Afghan refugee, and member of the much persecuted
Hazara minority, who now lives in a high-rise flat in Fitzroy, he had fled
because his life was in immediate danger. He left behind a wife, teenage
daughter and baby twins.

Several days after the article was published, I received an irate message on
my answering machine. "That Mohammed character is having you on. How could
anyone leave behind his wife and children?" the anonymous caller complained.

He was ignorant of the history of migration. In all countries from which
there has been significant emigration, for reasons that range from political
persecution to extreme poverty, it has been a common pattern for fathers to
leave first, to pave the way for their families.

Often the family has pooled resources to allow one person to make the
journey. This has been the case for emigrants of all backgrounds, including
some of the Scottish, Irish and English migrants who arrived here in the
19th century.

There is a sad sequel to the story of Mohammed Arif Fayazi. Just months ago
he received news that his wife had escaped to Pakistan, but he had lost two
of his children. His older daughter, and one of the twins, have died as a
result of disease brought on by famine and lack of appropriate medicine.

The news was devastating. In the ensuing days, according to a friend of his,
he spent many hours in his Fitzroy flat "curled up like a shadow". He had
often dreamt of the moment he would be reunited with his family. His
depression has been intensified because, under the conditions of his
temporary protection visa, he will not be allowed to see his wife and
remaining child for at least two years. Possibly much longer.

Yet Mohammed may be one of the "fortunate" ones. He received his temporary
protection visa under the old regime, and had applied for permanent
protection before the September 27 cut-off. But he, and fellow Hazara
refugees, now fear they will be forced to return to Afghanistan because of
changed political circumstances.

In many spiritual traditions the cruellest fate that can befall a human
being is to live in limbo. It is described as a predicament worse than
death. Many refugees now belong to a new underclass, and are condemned to
live in an eternal twilight zone in which they cannot even begin to rebuild
their lives, or hope to be reunited with their families. As one puts it: "We
feel there is no end in sight to our agony."

Melbourne author Arnold Zable has worked with and written about refugees and
newly arrived migrants for more than 20 years.


INSIDE IRAQ

http://www.news24.co.za/News24/Health/Health_News/0,1113,2-14
660_1121005,00.html

* CANCER DISASTER IN IRAQ
News 24 (South Africa), 13th December

Iraq (AFP): An Iraqi physician on Thursday warned that the people of
southern Iraq faced a "humanitarian disaster" due to increasing cases of
cancer which Baghdad has linked to depleted uranium (DU) dropped by US-led
forces during the 1991 Gulf War.

"Cases of cancer, especially leukaemia, have been increasing in the years
since the aggression against Iraq in early 1991," Jenan Ghaleb said from
Basra, 560km south of Baghdad.

"Southern Iraq is threatened by a real disaster", given its proximity to the
battlefield, she said.

Daily cases of babies born with dreadful deformities "show that the
humanitarian disaster [is real]", said Ghaleb, who heads the cancer
department at the Ibn Ghazwan Children Hospital in Basra.

Ghaleb said 192 children that she had treated for cancer died within four
months, and women in the area were now "terrified" to give birth to babies
with congenital malformations.

Iraq says the number of cancer cases has quadrupled in the south of the
country where the bombing was heaviest during the Gulf War.

It says the United States and Britain fired more than 940 000
armour-piercing DU projectiles during the conflict.