French jet defies U.N. on Iraq

LONDON, SEPT. 23. French doctors, artists and sports enthusiasts chartered a ``humanitarian'' flight to Baghdad on Friday, exposing the most serious rift between Western countries over the future of the embargo against Iraq.

The 75-member delegation of anti-sanctions activists set off with the blessing of the French Government and was given a hero's welcome by officials at the newly re-opened Saddam International Airport. Paris ``notified'' the United Nations committee overseeing sanctions on Thursday but pointedly did not request permission. It ignored the U.N.'s request for a delay until Friday so that the committee could decide if the flight should go ahead.

France, with Russia and China, says that U.N. resolutions do not specifically ban commercial flights to Iraq. But Britain and America claim they count as an economic activity banned under the trade embargo inposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Britain's Ambassador to the U.N., Mr. Jeremy Greenstock, was adamant: ``It is absolutely standard procedure that flights need to be cleared by the committee.''

In London, the Foreign Office played down the row. A spokesman said Britain encouraged humanitarian flights to Iraq. Privately, though, British diplomats are furious that France has challenged the consensus over sanctions. ``It is very frustrating. This is only going to intensify the aggro over Iraq,'' said one British diplomat. The divisions would only harden Iraq's stand against U.N. resolution 1284, which offers Baghdad the prospect of a permanent end to the embargo if it permits U.N. arms inspections to resume. ``It is difficult to understand what the French are doing, except to annoy the United States,'' the diplomat said.

Mr. Saddam Hussein's regime sees the charter as an important step towards the dismantling of sanctions. ``We praise any measure taken by our friends to resume flights and we expect to receive more planes in the coming days,'' said Iraq's Transport Minister, Mr. Ahmad Murtada, as he welcomed the French group, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Health and Iraq's Olympic committee. Mr. Jihad Figali, the spokesman for the French group, said the trip was not a breach of the embargo as passengers only carried personal belongings and had been thoroughly searched by French customs officers.

Earlier this week a Russian flight carrying humanitarian supplies - as well as oil executives seeking business deals - was given permission by the UN to land in Baghdad. Russia today kept up the flow of flights into Baghdad, a day after a French plane landed there.

- @ Telegraph Group Limited, London, 2000.

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Section  : International
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