September 14, 2002	Saturday	Rajab 6, 1423

LONDON, Sept 13: Amnesty International on Friday criticized US President George Bush for “selective use” of its reports of human rights violations in Iraq over recent years, adding the human rights of the Iraqi people were being ignored in the buildup to military action.

“Once again, the human rights record of a country is used selectively to legitimize military actions,” the London-based organization said.

In a background paper distributed to the press as Bush spoke to the United Nations on Thursday, references were made to Amnesty reports on human rights in Iraq.

Amnesty pointed to inconsistency in the use of its reports by the West.

“The US and other Western governments turned a blind eye to Amnesty International reports of widespread human rights violations in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, and ignored Amnesty International’s campaign on behalf of the thousands of unarmed Kurdish civilians killed in the 1988 attacks on Halabja,” it said.

Turning to pending military conflict, it warned of the effects on the civilian population.

“As the debate on whether to use military force against Iraq escalates, the human rights of the Iraqi people, as a direct consequence of any potential military action, is sorely missing from the equation,” it said.

Civilian security had to be the “the paramount consideration” in any action taken.

Amnesty warned of a looming humanitarian crisis with floods of refugees, internal displacement and disruption of essential supplies.

MOSCOW’S STAND: Russia insisted on Friday on a peaceful solution to the crisis over Iraq despite US President George W. Bush’s warning that he would attack Baghdad unless it disarmed.

“As the Russian leadership has repeatedly stressed, the potential for a political and diplomatic solution is far from exhausted,” the Russian foreign ministry said, in a distinctly unenthusiastic response to the US ultimatum.

“There is real potential to achieve a solution through political means,” foreign ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov said in a statement after Bush threatened to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a speech before the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

In an acknowledgement of the importance of the objections from Russia, which has veto power in the UN Security Council, US Under Secretary of State John Bolton told reporters in Moscow Friday that the United States would not go ahead without making every effort to secure Russian support.

“There are issues and concerns that Russia has and those will be addressed by the United States,” Bolton said, adding that there would be several more rounds of discussions with Russian officials in the weeks to come.

Russia has criticised US threats to unseat Saddam and repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the stand-off with the Baghdad regime, based on a return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq.

In his speech to the United Nations on Thursday, Bush issued an ultimatum to Iraq to dispose of banned chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.—dpa/AFP