Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 6, 1991 TAG: 9104060242
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In a rare if not unprecedented criticism of a U.N. member state's internal affairs, the Security Council voted 10-3, with China and India abstaining, to demand that Iraq immediately end its repression and open a political dialogue with opposition forces.
The resolution contained no threat of action against Iraq if it failed to comply. It drew support from the Soviet Union, which had previously indicated its opposition.
Earlier Friday, President Bush announced an airlift of food, blankets, clothing, tents and other relief into northern Iraq to combat the "human tragedy" unfolding from its civil war, and warned Baghdad not to interfere.
The president's move put the United States belatedly in the forefront of relief efforts following Iraq's fierce suppression of uprisings by Kurds in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south.
Secretary of State James Baker will leave Washington today to assess the refugee situation on the Turkish-Iraqi border and also to meet with Turkish President Turgut Ozal.
"The human tragedy unfolding in and around Iraq demands immediate action on a massive scale," Bush said in a statement released while he was in Newport Beach, Calif.
But an administration official acknowledged that Bush also needed to recoup some of the moral high ground he had lost by refusing even rhetorically to support the rebels after calling for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's downfall.
"I want to emphasize that this effort is prompted only by humanitarian concerns. We expect the government of Iraq to permit this effort to be carried out without any interference," Bush said. U.S. warplanes still control Iraqi airspace as a result of the Persian Gulf War. The United States has threatened to shoot down fixed-wing aircraft but has allowed Iraq to use combat helicopters against rebels.
Besides the airlift, Bush promised $10 million to aid refugees in the region, over and above the $35 million the United States has donated since the gulf crisis began; $869,000 to UNICEF; and $131,000 and 1,000 tons of food to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
A military medical unit is being readied for the border area of Turkey, which is getting "considerable economic and food assistance" to help it cope with refugees, Bush said.
U.S. officials said privately that Iraq's Shiite and Kurdish rebellions, though brutally quelled for now, could be expected to break out again.
At the same time, some government officials and outside analysts expressed the belief that the United States now had to prepare for the possibility that Saddam has solidified, if not enhanced, his political position at home and thus poses an enduring threat.
France on Friday announced that three airplanes had taken off with 80 tons of tents, blankets and medicines to be delivered through Turkey and Iran.
by CNB