LONDON, April 15: Human rights group Amnesty International accused US-led forces on Tuesday of being better prepared for the defence of Iraq’s oil wells than of its people and infrastructure.
“There seems to have been more preparation to protect the oil wells than to protect hospitals, water systems or civilians,” Irene Khan, secretary-general of the British-based group, told a news conference in London.
“And the first taste of the coalition’s approach to law and order will not have inspired confidence in the Iraqi people.”
Washington and London deny suggestions that the invasion of Iraq was linked to its large oil reserves, and have vowed to make sure any oil profits are collected by Iraqis.
But since the fall of Saddam Hussein last week, water shortages and looting in parts of Iraq have proved awkward counterpoints to the widely televised popular celebrations.
Khan acknowledged that guarding oil wells and protecting people were two very different tasks, but she said the focus among US and British commanders on their liberating role in Iraq made the people’s welfare an even larger issue for them.
“Protecting people should be a primary responsibility of any power that expects to enter a country and justifies its intervention on the basis of liberating the people or protecting their rights,” she said.
On Iraq’s future, Amnesty objected to leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) taking part in a new government because of alleged rights violations during a civil war in the mid-1990s.—Reuters
