The Hindu : No 'clear mandate' to send troops, feels Russia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 21, 2003

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No 'clear mandate' to send troops, feels Russia

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI June 20. Russia does not believe that there is a ``clear mandate'' for countries to send troops to Iraq under the existing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483. During talks with the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, on June 16, the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, said that Moscow favoured the convening of an international conference to provide legitimacy for sending troops. No details about the nature of the conference were provided by Mr. Ivanov.

According to informed sources, India told the Russians that it had been asked by the U.S. to send troops and that it had sought clarifications. ``Mr. Ivanov just listened to what the Indian side had to say,'' the sources maintained. The Russian view was that the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483 did not ``mandate'' the dispatch of troops. In a related development, Amnesty International said today that the ``post-conflict'' situation in Iraq was turbulent though ``large-scale fighting'' appeared to have ended. In a report, ``Iraq: on whose behalf'', Amnesty said: ``There has been a general breakdown of security, widespread looting of public and private buildings, high crime rates and sporadic clashes between armed individuals and U.S./U.K. forces.''

``Security remains the main issue of concern for the Iraqi population because of the lack of appropriate policing and the wide availability of weapons,'' the report stressed. In Basra, Amnesty said it had collected testimonies from former Iraqi detainees alleging they had been tortured or ill-treated by British soldiers. In some cases, the use of excessive force has led to the killing of unarmed individuals, including young boys.

``One issue of major concern is the targeting of former Ba'ath Party members of anyone associated from the previous Government. These `revenge killings' have been reported throughout Iraq and hundreds are said to have taken place in the Shia-dominated district of al-Sadr City (formerly Saddam City) of Baghdad.'' The transition to peace will not be simple or swift, as the international community has learned through experiences in the former Yugoslavia, East Timor and Afghanistan. ``Political, ethnic and religious disputes are already apparent, and it will take time to establish the institutions and laws in which these can be peacefully mediated,'' Amnesty said.

In northern Iraq, particularly in the cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, clashes have been reported between the Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen ethnic groups. ``Arab families in some surrounding villages were said to have been forcibly removed from their homes in retaliation for the policy of forcible expulsion of Kurds and other non-Arabs by the previous Government.

``Women have been targeted for serious violations, including kidnapping, murder and rape. The perpetrators are believed to be members of criminal gangs. However, threats and intimidation against women by radical Islamist gangs have also been reported,'' it added.

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