Iraqis Want U.N. to Control Oil Cash, Not U.S.

Iraqis Want U.N. to Control Oil Cash, Not U.S.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -

"...Iraqis on Friday welcomed U.S. and British moves to lift U.N. economic sanctions but called for the United Nations or an Iraqi interim government to take charge of the nation's oil wealth, not Washington.

The United States and Britain are pushing a proposal to lift nearly 13 years of sanctions and give them control of the Iraq's oil revenues for at least a year.

'It is a good initiative that should have taken place a long time ago,' said Ragheb Naaman, 43. 'But we don't accept that the revenues be controlled by the United States and Britain.'

Naaman, an employee at Iraq's Military Industrialisation Commission in charge of developing weapons, said: 'The regime (of President Saddam Hussein) is gone, why are they staying? This shows that they are occupiers not liberators.'

The son of another grand ayatollah, Hakim had been in exile in Iran and under protection of its Shiite religious leaders since fleeing there in 1980.

CNN

"...About 2,000 supporters, including some clerics, gathered through the morning with the green flags of Islam and portraits of Hakim.."

Guardian

"...He condemned religious extremism during a speech in Basra, and rejected any foreign-installed government for Iraq..."

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies.

printed from Iraqis Want U.N. to Control Oil Cash, Not U.S. on 2004-05-31 00:34:05