Dubai, Jan 18: Iraq and Kuwait appear to be at loggerheads once again. The fresh row between the two hostile neighbours has erupted following recent reported remarks of Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussain's son Uday, asking the country's parliament to change the Iraqi map on the legislature's emblem to show Kuwait as forming part of a `greater Iraq'.A leading Iraqi daily, owned by Uday, quoted him as saying `Iraq's map that reprsents the symbol of the assembly does not include the full borders of Iraq as known to the various segments of the Iraqi people, that is Kuwait city'.This is obviously being considered by Kuwait as a renewed claim by Iraq over its territory.Iraq had invaded and annexed Kuwait in August 1990. A US-led multinational force evicted Iraqi occupation forces in February 1991 at the end of a six-week conflict. Three years later, Iraq officially recognised Kuwait and its UN-demarcated borders.Kuwaiti yesterday strongly condemned the latest statement from Iraq, saying it amounted to `blatant breach of the UN security council resolutions.`The state of Kuwait deeply regrets the recent Iraqi officials' claims and false accusations.As well as calls by Uday Saddam Hussein, member of the Iraqi National Council, that the state of Kuwait is part of Iraq', Kuna quoted a Kuwaiti foreign ministry statement as saying.Kuwait also got in touch with the five permanent members of the UN security coucnil and discussed with them the situation arising from the `Iraqi threats'. Kuwaiti Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Suleyman Majid al-Shahin met the ambassadors of the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China and told them that the statement of Uday Saddam Hussein `represents a clear violation of the security council resolution, reflects the aggressive intentions of the Iraqi regime against the state of Kuwait' and was a `direct and flagrant threat to security and stability in the region'.Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmedal-Sabah spoke to his counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and briefed them on `the seriousness of the Iraqi statements'.Meanwhile, in a bid to cool down the tempers, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz was quoted as saying at a press conference in Baghdad that Uday was voicing a personal opinion while while asking for inclusion of Kuwait in the Iraqi map.Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan stated that 99 per cent of the Iraqis believed Kuwait belonged to their country. But, he said, this was not the state policy.The flare-up between the two countries coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Gulf war.Reports said it was business as usual in Kuwait on the tenth anniversary of the war while the Iraqi president delivered a 20-minute speech over the state television to mark the occasion.In his speech, the Iraqi leader said his country would unleash a six-month artillery barrage against Israel to liberate the Palestinian territories.A report by the Emirates News Agency wam said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) condemned the call of Uday Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi National Council to draw a full map of Iraq, including Kuwait in it as part of greater Iraq.
