Iraqi Parliament rejects UN draft

A key Iraqi Parliamentary official recommended on Monday that Parliament should reject the UN resolution on disarmament and the leader of th...

A key Iraqi Parliamentary official recommended on Monday that Parliament should reject the UN resolution on disarmament and the leader of the Assembly blasted the text as a ‘‘a preamble for war’’. The two were speaking at the start of an emergency session of the Iraqi Parliament convened by President Saddam Hussein to debate the resolution calling on Baghdad to disarm or face possible military action.

But the final decision on the resolution passed unanimously last week by the UN Security Council will lie with the Revolutionary Command Council, Iraq’s highest authority which is led by Saddam. In Baghdad, Salim al-Kubaisi, head of Parliament’s Arab and International Relations Committee, told the Assembly: The committee recommends the following: The rejection of the Security Council resolution 1441 and not to approve it in accordance with the opinion of our people who put confidence in their representatives,’’ Kubaisi said.

He delivered his comments after Parliamentary speaker Saadoun Hammadi blasted the resolution as a violation of international law and Iraq’s sovereignty.

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‘‘This UN resolution looks for a pretext (for war) and not for a comprehensive solution. It seeks to create crises rather than cooperation and paves the way for aggression rather than for peace,’’ he said. ‘‘This resolution violates international law and the sovereignty of this country. It shows blatantly the ill intentions of the US administration,’’ he added.

‘‘This resolution with all its texts has many provocative procedures against this country. This resolution has many impossible requirements that cannot be implemented and it has many lies,’’ he added. The emergency session will vote on a motion to reject the UN resolution on disarmament and leave the final decision to President Saddam Hussein, Hamadi said. ‘‘What is proposed is the rejection of the resolution as an expression of feeling of the Iraqi people and stance regarding the ill intentions of the resolution,’’ Hammadi said.

‘‘At the same time, the Parliament will authorise the leadership to take any measure which it sees appropriate to defend the country. The Parliament will back the leadership in any decision it takes,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, at a White House ceremony, marking US Veterans’ Day US President George Bush said: ‘‘I have no greater responsibility than protecting the American people. Should military action become necessary for our own security, I will commit the full force and might of the US military, and we will prevail.’’ (Reuters)