A chara, - While I share the British Ambassador's condemnation of the Iraqi regime and Hussein himself (August 2nd), I find it a little hypocritical that the ambassador can refer to Saddam's violations of human rights when, throughout the 1980s, it was British arms that allowed him to do so.
Even after the British government officially banned sales of weapons to Iraq in 1985, the flow of weapons was undiminished. In 1981 Douglas Hurd, then Foreign Minister, flew to Baghdad to celebrate the coming to power of Saddam's party in 1968.
British ministers Clark and Mellor were guests of the regime and within a month of his gassing the Kurdish people Britain offered Saddam £340 million in export credits. Thus I hope the ambassador will forgive me if I view his condemnation of the Iraqi government with a somewhat cynical eye.
The truth is the sanctions have nothing to do with Iraqi violations of human rights but are there to prevent Iraq selling its oil, thus lowering the price and weakening the power and finances of the Saudi princes, who are no great friends to human rights either.
But they are good friends of the British government. - Is mise,
Justin Moran, Leinster Park, Maynooth, Co Kildare.