IRAQ/UK: BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER MEETS IRAQI OPPOSITION GROUPS IN LONDON/ WEAPONS CRISIS LATEST.

Record ID: 230294

  • Title: IRAQ/UK: BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER MEETS IRAQI OPPOSITION GROUPS IN LONDON/ WEAPONS CRISIS LATEST.
  • Date: 23rd November 1998
  • Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (NOVEMBER 23, 1998) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV: UNITED NATIONS PLANE TAXIING ON TARMAC 0.09 2. MCU: UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL ENVOY PRAKASH SHAH EMERGES, WALKS ALONG TARMAC 0.19 3. GV/MV: WIDE OF PLANE ON TARMAC/ SHAH GETS INTO CAR (2 SHOTS) 0.28 4. MV/PAN: VARIOUS OF BAGGAGE BEING UNLOADED (2 SHOTS) 0.42 5. GV: EXTERIOR UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AT CANAL HOTEL 0.47 6. GV: VARIOUS OF UNSCOM MONITORS LEAVING HOTEL (3 SHOTS) 1.10 7. GV/CU: SHAH ARRIVING, GETTING OUT OF CAR/ UNITED NATIONS FLAG (2 SHOTS) 1.15 8. CU: SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) SHAH SAYING: "As part of my assignment I expect to meet with high authorities at the political level, thank you very much" 1.34 9. GV/CU: STREET SCENE/ VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPERS WITH PICTURES OF IRAQI PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN (4 SHOTS) 1.52 10. GV/MV: MARKET/ VARIOUS OF MARKET STALLS (6 SHOTS) 2.19 11. GV/PAN/MV/CU: IRAQI MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ABDULJABBAR TAWFIQ MOHAMMED (SEATED ON LEFT) AT NATIONAL STUDENT DAY CELEBRATIONS AT BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY (3 SHOTS) 2.36 12. CU/TILT/MCU: VARIOUS OF STUDENT DANCING DISPLAYS (2 SHOTS) 2.55 13. CU/ZOOM/MV: REVOLUTIONARY COMMAND COUNCIL MEMBER FADEL AL-MASHADANI CUTTING CAKE, PEOPLE CLAPPING 3.08 LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (NOVEMBER 23, 1998) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 14. GV/CU: EXTERIOR OF FOREIGN & COMMONWEALTH OFFICE/ PLAQUE (2 SHOTS) 3.18 15. GV/SV: AZIZ AILYAN, PRESIDENT OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF IRAQ, ARRIVING FOR MEETING/ CUTAWAY MEDIA (2 SHOTS) 3.28 16. CU: SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) AILYAN SAYING: "We are going to discuss the developments in Iraq. We hope to coordinate our activities with her Majesty's government towards Saddam Hussein and of course as Iraqi opposition leader I hope we can agree on the removal of Saddam Hussein" 3.50 18. GV: SHARIF ALI, CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY MOVEMENT MEMBER, ARRIVING/ CUTAWAY JOURNALISTS 3.58 19. CU: SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) ALI SAYING "The Iraqi people are the ones who are suffering most from this regime and we are the ones who will be removing this regime because Saddam Hussein is a threat to the entire international community and the region as a whole. There will be no stability in the Gulf as long as he is in power" 4.24 20. SCU: CUTAWAY MEDIA 4.27 21. GV: BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER DEREK FATCHETT SPEAKING AFTER MEETING 4.28 22. CU: SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) FATCHETT SAYING: "On three issues, first of all UNSCOM, we have been dismayed by the lack of cooperation by the Iraqi authorities over this last weekend. It is crucial to us that UNSCOM is allowed to continue its work without hindrance and with the full cooperation of the Iraqi authorities. The Security Council will be meeting this afternoon to discuss this issue further, but it is abundantly clear that yet again Saddam Hussein is breaking his word and the commitments that he's given to the international community and I'd like to stress that it's our key objective to ensure that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction and that UNSCOM can continue with its work" 5.20 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 8th December 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ/ LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA7KCG3Y42BQ2GRNAE9Y89CI8KP
  • Story Text: United Nations (U.N.) special envoy Prakash Shah has
    arrived back in Iraq as a dispute over documents demanded by
    U.N.arms inspectors keeps tension high.

    In London, Iraqi exile opposition groups have met to discuss
    tactics with British Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett in
    an effort to depose Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

    Shah arrived at Habbaniya military airport west of
    Baghdad at about 11:30 a.m.(0830 GMT) on Monday (November 23)
    on a U.N.plane from Bahrain, where he had spent the last few
    days.

    Shah was expected to try to help resolve a row over 12
    categories of documents which chief U.N.arms inspector
    Richard Butler last week asked Iraq to hand over.

    Baghdad, in a formal response, rejected all but two of the
    requests.

    On his arrival at the UNSCOM headquarters at the Canal
    Hotel, Shah said he would be meeting "high authorities at the
    political level" as part of his assignment.He gave no details
    of the meetings.

    Iraqi newspapers on Monday unleashed more invective
    against Butler, chairman of the U.N.Special Commission
    (UNSCOM) charged with scrapping Iraq's weapons of mass
    destruction.

    "Butler began seeing Iraq not only as a personal rival but
    an enemy that should be harmed and given exemplary
    punishment," the Al-Thawra daily, an organ of the ruling Baath
    Party, said.

    It accused UNSCOM of "implementing the policies of the
    U.S.administration which aims at prolonging the sanctions
    through creating crises, circulating lies and hiring spies".

    Baghdad is under stringent sanctions over its 1990
    invasion of Kuwait.UNSCOM must certify that Iraq is free of
    chemical, biological and nuclear weapons before the embargo
    can be lifted.

    At Baghdad university on Monday, Iraq's Minister for
    Higher Education and Scientific Research Abduljabbar Tawfiq
    Mohammed joined national student day celebrations.The
    minister, who was joined by a member of the Revolutionary
    Command Council, Fadel Al-Nashadani, watched dancing and
    musical displays outside the Faculty of Medicine.

    In London, the leaders of sixteen diverse dissident groups
    gathered to discuss tactics at a meeting called by Foreign
    Office Minister Derek Fatchett.

    The meeting, which took place at the Foriegn and
    Commonwealth Office, follows up a decision by Britain and the
    United States last week to work with exiles in order to
    improve the chances of removing Saddam.

    Aziz Ailyan, President of the Democratic Party of Iraq,
    said the leaders would discuss the developments in Iraq."We
    hope to coordinate our activities with her Majesty's
    government towards Saddam Hussein and of course as Iraqi
    opposition leader I hope we can agree on the removal of Saddam
    Hussein," he told Reuters.

    Sharif Ali of the Constitutional Monarchy Movement said it
    is the Iraqi people who "are suffering most from this regime."
    "We are the ones who will be removing this regime because
    Saddam Hussein is a threat to the entire international
    community and the region as a whole," he said.

    After the meeting, Fatchett said they had been "dismayed
    by the lack of cooperation by the Iraqi authorities over this
    last weekend." "It is crucial to us that UNSCOM is allowed to
    continue its work without hindrance and with the full
    cooperation of the Iraqi authorities," he added, saying that
    it was clear that Saddam had broken his word.

    "I'd like to stress that it's our key objective to ensure
    that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction and that
    UNSCOM can continue with its work," Fatchett told reporters.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register