JORDAN: KING HUSSEIN OF JORDAN ALLOWS THE OPENING OF AN OFFICE FOR THE IRAQI OPPOSITION GROUP

Record ID: 230436

  • Title: JORDAN: KING HUSSEIN OF JORDAN ALLOWS THE OPENING OF AN OFFICE FOR THE IRAQI OPPOSITION GROUP
  • Date: 18th February 1996
  • Summary: AMMAN, JORDAN (FEBRUARY 16, 1996) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV IRAQI OPPOSITION MEMBERS ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE 0.07 2. SCU IRAQI OPPOSITION NATIONAL ACCORD GROUP INSIGNIA 0.12 CONFERENCE SPOKESMAN SALAH SHEIKHLY (BLUE SUIT) AND GENERAL SECRETARY IYAD ALLAWI (BROWN SUIT) SEATED 3. SCU SHEIKHLY SPEAKING (ENGLISH) 1.03 4. SCU ALLAWI SPEAKING (ENGLISH) 1.30 5. SV JOURNALISTS 1.39 SEQUENCE 3 TRANSCRIPT: SHEIKHLY: "THERE ARE A NUMBER OF INDICATORS THE REGIME IS ON ITS LAST LEGS INCLUDING ECONOMIC INDICATIONS WHICH LED THE LEADERSHIP TO SEEK RESOLUTION 986." SEQUENCE 4 TRANSCRIPT: ALLAWI: "THERE WILL BE A HEADQUARTER HERE TO TELL THE PEOPLE OF THE SUFFERING OF THE PEOPLE. WE WILL DO WHATEVER NECESSARY TO EXPLAIN THE PLIGHT OF THE IRAQI PEOPLE. WE WILL LOBBY THROUGH JORDAN." Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 4th March 1996 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: AMMAN, JORDAN
  • City:
  • Country: Jordan
  • Reuters ID: LVADFM7DKETIAGS6FYZG9QQHOFB1
  • Story Text: King Hussein stepped up his campaign against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Sunday (February 18), allowing an Iraqi opposition group to announce the opening of an office in Amman.

    The Iraqi National Accord, one of numerous groups seeking to overthrow Saddam, began its news conference with a statement thanking King Hussein and his government for allowing it to open a "beacon of light into Iraq".

    The group, which has offices in London, Damascus and the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq, said it would open what would probably be a "regional headquarters" within days.

    The Iraqi National Accord is a secular body which groups a range of people, including ex-army men who once worked with the government. It has been going for at least five years.

    The hosting of an Iraqi opposition group marks an escalation of King Hussein's campaign against his one-time ally Saddam Hussein, which began in earnest last August when he gave sanctuary to top-level defectors.

    Opposition spokesman Salah Sheikhly told a news conference in a hotel just down the road from the Iraqi embassy that "there are a number of indicators which show the (Iraqi) regime is really on its last legs. There are economic indications that the economy is collapsing." General Secretary Iyad Allawi added that the group would seek "to lobby through Jordan (with) our Arab brothers, our Jordanian brothers and the people at large for our just cause to see Iraq free of tyrants and disaster."
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