May 5, 2011$400m reparations to US 'should not be paid
Erbil, The Iraqi government's plan to pay US$400 million in reparations to US civilians tortured by Saddam Hussein’s regime is a “mistake”, said a spokesperson for Muqtada Sadr’s movement today.
A bill approving the payments was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament on Tuesday.
Salah Obeidi told AKnews that deputies from the Sadrist movement did not vote to the bill to approve the payments today because with the US invasion of the country it was Iraqi civilians not the US who have sustained the greatest damages.
“If Americans are to be refunded, then who will reimburse the Iraqi civilians? Maybe Americans will pay $100 billion to refund the Iraqis affected by their war.”
The money will be paid to Americans who were tortured by Saddam’s forces after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The payments are intended to stop those affected from suing the country.
Mr Obeidi said: “This is clearly a waste of the Iraqi nation’s funds at a time when the public is suffering from a lack of basic services, insufficient sustenance and electricity.”
The Shia dominated movement fought a bloody war against the US presence in Iraq after the 2003 and toppled down Saddam Hussein, but shunned armed resistance in 2008.
The World Bank has estimated that the cost of rebuilding Iraq after the US invasion in 2003 will be between $50bn and $100bn. On the news of the payments to the US, international peace campaigners called for the US to pay £3,200 for each Iraqi adult killed - about £64bn - plus another £32bn over several years for reconstruction.
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/237248/
A bill approving the payments was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament on Tuesday.
Salah Obeidi told AKnews that deputies from the Sadrist movement did not vote to the bill to approve the payments today because with the US invasion of the country it was Iraqi civilians not the US who have sustained the greatest damages.
“If Americans are to be refunded, then who will reimburse the Iraqi civilians? Maybe Americans will pay $100 billion to refund the Iraqis affected by their war.”
The money will be paid to Americans who were tortured by Saddam’s forces after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The payments are intended to stop those affected from suing the country.
Mr Obeidi said: “This is clearly a waste of the Iraqi nation’s funds at a time when the public is suffering from a lack of basic services, insufficient sustenance and electricity.”
The Shia dominated movement fought a bloody war against the US presence in Iraq after the 2003 and toppled down Saddam Hussein, but shunned armed resistance in 2008.
The World Bank has estimated that the cost of rebuilding Iraq after the US invasion in 2003 will be between $50bn and $100bn. On the news of the payments to the US, international peace campaigners called for the US to pay £3,200 for each Iraqi adult killed - about £64bn - plus another £32bn over several years for reconstruction.
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/237248/
