N.Z. force for Sinai opposed

Press, 1 June 1981, Page 4

N.Z. force for Sinai opposed

Complete opposition to New Zealand participation in a Sinai peace-keeping force was expressed by the Iraqi Ambassador to New Zealand (Mr Faris Abdul Karim alAni) in Christchurch at the week-end. Mr al-Ani said that the proposal for a force arose from the Camp David Accords which had been totally rejected by the Arab world except Egypt. He said the establishment of a force would be regarded as hostile to Arabs. It was not a United Nations proposal and “in our opinion it would be better for the interests of New Zealand not to participate in this force.” He acknowledged that there were no reasons for the rejection other than the fact that the proposal for the force had come from the Camp David Accords, but argued that the failure of the accords could be seen in the

continuing possibility of war at any time. Camp David had not removed that possibility and settlement of the Palestinian issue remained the key to the political settlement of the whole’ issue.

Mr al-Ani was pleased that the New Zealand Government had recently shown more understanding of Arab issues.

He said that trade between the Gulf States and New Zealand had increased sharply. For its part Iraq was very happy with the contracts it had with New Zealand and with the quality of the meat and dairy products which formed most of the trade.

On the subject of the IranIraq war, Mr al-Ani said that during the tirtie Iraqhad - given refuge to Ayatollah Khomeiny, now’ the leader of Iran, it had urged him to make a statement against the Shah but that the Ayatol-

lah had, at that time, declined on the ground that he would not take part in politics.

Mr al-Ani said that after Ayatollah Khomeiny had taken power and before the outbreak of war in September. 1980, Iraq had lodged more than 200 official protests about Iranian actions. The war, according to the Iraqi view, had begun on September 4 with Iranian attacks, not the more widely accepted date of September 22, when Iraq bombed part of Iran and. invaded a province.

Iran had continued to interfere in Iraqi affairs including attempting to influence .Iraqi Shi’ite Muslims and he said that this had failed because the Shi’ites in Iraq were Arabs and that their Afab ■loyalty had' remained greater than their loyalty to the sect. He also said that Ayatollah Khomeiny had sought to have resident in Iran one of the most important Shi’ite leaders, then resident in Iraq, but that an outcry against. the possibility among Iraqi Shi’ites had. prevented his shifting.

The official Iraqi position was that Iraq would be prepared to hold peace talks immediately with. Iran. Mr al-Ani left to one side the question of Iraqi withdrawal from the province of Khuzestan, called Arabistan by the Iraqis, but said that Iraq was not claiming Iranian territory and wanted the Arabspeaking province to decide its own future. The main issues between Iran and Iraq lay over the Shatt-al-Arab waterway and. the board, he said. ‘ Mr al-Ani is resident in Canberra and accredited to New Zealand. Previously the Iraqi Ambassador to New Zealand was resident in Djakarta.