ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:97121502.Nlt
DATE:12/15/97
TITLE:15-12-97 U.S. CONDEMNS IRAQ'S EXECUTION OF JORDANIAN STUDENTS
TEXT:
(Martin Indyk says in Amman U.S. is appalled by Iraqi measure (440)
By George S. Hishmeh
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States condemns "in the strongest possible
terms" Iraq's execution last week of four Jordanian students charged
with smuggling automobile parts. The parts were believed to be worth
$850.
The American position was stated by Assistant Secretary of State
Martin Indyk during a visit to Amman during the second leg of his
Mideast tour that will also take him to Syria and Lebanon. His first
stop was Israel.
"We are absolutely appalled at the execution of these Jordanians," he
told reporters in the Jordanian capital December 14 after meeting with
Jordanian Foreign Minister Fayez al- Tarawneh. "We condemn it in the
strongest possible terms, we see it as just another example,
unfortunately, of the brutality of (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein and
his regime; we've seen similar actions before."
The senior American official also expressed his government's
condolences to the families of the four students.
Asked if the United States will support Jordan should the Iraqis cut
oil supplies from the Arab kingdom, Indyk replied, "I would simply say
that the United States, as I've said before, is Jordan's ally and
friend and obviously we will be doing what we can to help Jordan to
face this difficulty."
Iraq reportedly pumps around 80,000 barrels of oil a day to Jordan in
return for industrial goods, an arrangement exempted from U.N. trade
sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Jordan buys the
Iraqi oil at half the world market price.
On Saturday, King Hussein of Jordan issued what has been described as
his strongest rebuke of his onetime ally, accusing Saddam Hussein of
presiding over "pyramids of skulls." Furthermore, Jordan retaliated by
recalling its charge d'affaires from Iraq and reducing Baghdad's
diplomatic presence in Amman from 15 to eight.
The Jordanian monarch said his country could find alternative sources
of cheap oil but an Iraqi statement said December 14 it had no plans
to halt its oil supplies to neighboring Jordan.
Relations between Jordan and Iraq were traditionally warm during the
latter's 1980-88 war with Iran and even when Kuwait was invaded by
Iraqi troops. However, the ties between the two countries began to
chill in 1995 when in-laws of the Iraqi strongman took political
refuge in Amman and King Hussein urged political change in Baghdad.
While there they revealed a great deal about Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction programs. They were subsequently assassinated upon their
return to Iraq several months later.
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