Iraqis demand control of oil wealth

REUTERS , BAGHDAD
Wednesday, May 19, 2004,Page 1

Iraq's leaders, flexing muscles as the US prepares to cede sovereignty, are sending a delegation to the UN to demand control of their oil wealth and an end to reparations it pays for former president Saddam Hussein's wars.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Bayati said yesterday that the embryonic government in Baghdad would demand a say this week in a new UN resolution on the country's affairs.


Following Monday's car bomb assassination outside the US headquarters of the head of their Governing Council, Iraqis who will be running the country after the handover of power on June 30 are increasingly dismayed not only at the US failure to provide security but also at limits on their new sovereignty.

"Iraq must have a say in the next UN resolution," Bayati said. "We will negotiate on the basis that Iraq must be fully in charge of its resource wealth, and the 5 percent of oil revenues we pay must be reduced further."

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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/05/19/2003156079

They hate us for our freedoms!!

Freedom is NEVER free.