Iraq Slams "Smart Sanctions" as "New Colonialist Formula"A visiting high-ranking Iraqi official on Monday condemned as "a new colonialist formula" the US-British proposed "smart sanctions" against Iraq.Hikmet Ibrahim, Iraqi deputy prime minister and finance minister, slammed the scheme after his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "Iraq has rejected this project because it infringes on Iraq's dignity and sovereignty. It is a new colonialist formula," said Ibrahim, quoted by Egypt's official MENA news agency. Ibrahim said that he came to Egypt as an envoy of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to explain Iraq's stance on the "smart sanctions" and discuss possible impact of the new embargo on relations between Iraq and other Arab countries, especially those with Egypt. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell proposed in February to modify the decade-old U.N. sanctions against Iraq into "smart sanctions," designed to ease civilian goods import and tighten curbs on materials for military purposes. Ibrahim, who arrived here Monday on an official visit to Egypt, also denounced the U.N. Security Council resolution on extending the oil-for-food program for one month instead of six months. He said the U.S. and Britain tried to force Iraq to accept the " smart sanctions" proposal by offering a one-month extension of the oil-for-food program. On June 1, the U.N. Security Council decided to extend the oil- for-food program until July 3. Three days later, Iraq suspended its oil exports to protest against the "smart sanctions." The U.N. Security Council will vote early next month on a draft resolution on the "smart sanctions" now being circulated by Britain. Iraq has been under the international sanctions for its 1990 invasion of neighboring Kuwait. |
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