Student Protests across Iraq against new UN resolution

South News, 21 December 1999

BAGHDAD: Dec 20 (South News) - Student and worker street protests spread across Iraq over the weekend against a new UN resolution covering sanctions and arms inspections.

From schools in the northern town of Tikrit to the southern city of Basra, thousands of young demonstrators have poured out to denounce resolution 1284 as an attempt to perpetuate the embargo in force since 1990. They also voiced their support for the government of President Saddam Hussein, which has been in power for two decades, newspapers reported.

Iraqi television on Sunday night broadcast images from around the country showing marches during which young students, veteran workers, women,farmers and tribal members held up giant portraits of Saddam and vowed to defend Iraq's sovereignty.

The wave of demonstrations against the resolutions began in Baghdad with some 10,000 Iraqis school children displaying photos of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and screaming their defiance in a march through the capital on Saturday.

The demonstrators brandished banners bearing slogans against the return of arms inspectors to Iraq after an absence of one year and calling for an end to sanctions in force since 1990.

No to the British-US-Zionist resolution, No to unfair Resolutions, No to the Security Council and the Special Commission (the former UN arms body) and Yes to a lifting of the sanctions were some of the slogans.

The demonstration was part of a nationwide popular mobilisation which has been taking place in Iraq over the last few days. The demonstrations were originally organised to mark the first anniversary of Operation Desert Fox, the US-British air war on Iraq, but they quickly transformed into protests against the latest move by the United Nations.