15 August 2002
U.S. Evaluates Proposals for Humanitarian Relief in Iraq
(Reeker says U.S. seeks "to alleviate suffering of Iraqi people") (2630) The U.S. Department of State is evaluating proposals submitted by private and non-government entities for humanitarian assistance projects for the Iraqi people, Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker said during the August 15 regular briefing. "It's part of our ongoing humanitarian relief effort to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people," said Reeker. "It's intended to provide relief and access to basic life-sustaining resources for Iraqis and Iraqi refugees." Reeker said the relief projects were for Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq as well as Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries of Iraq. These projects include medical care, health services, health education, relief to internally displaced persons or refugees, relief supplies, shelter and housing, water supplies and sanitation, primary education, and land-mine education, awareness and action. Reeker said that the State Department would also evaluate proposals for humanitarian relief inside the center and South of Iraq if deemed viable and consist with U.S. law and United Nations Security Council resolutions. Reeker also confirmed that on May 23rd the State Department notified the U.S. Congress of its intention to award the Iraqi National Congress (INC) an additional $8 million for June through December as part of a new cooperative agreement. The offer, said Reeker, was discussed with the INC leadership during last week's meetings, and it is expected to be finalized soon. The offer is to continue support for the INC many programs, which include a newspaper, a TV station, regional offices, an office of humanitarian relief, said Reeker. When asked about reports suggesting a lack of cooperation from some Kurds due to the absence of Kurdish Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani from last week's Iraqi opposition meetings in Washington, Reeker said that Mr. Barazani was invited, however could not attend "for logistical reasons, not for any other reason." Following is an excerpt from Reeker's August 15 briefing containing his comments about Iraq: (begin excerpt) QUESTION: I don't know if anyone noticed the report -- it was a brief story in the Financial Times -- that the US has invited humanitarian, private nongovernmental groups to bid for humanitarian projects in Iraq, to present proposals for projects and be evaluated, I guess, by the State Department. Is that something -- that came out last month, but I hadn't heard about it. MR. REEKER: Sure. Yes, you may not have seen it in the Federal Register. Matt have been away, since he's usually our Federal Register monitor. On July 10th of this year, the Office of Northern Gulf Affairs, which is an office in our Bureau of Near East Affairs, announced in the Federal Register an open competition for proposals for humanitarian assistance projects in Iraq and for Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, countries neighboring Iraq. The proposals, as stated in the Federal Register notice, may address a broad range of humanitarian relief to Iraqis and can include, but are not limited to, medical care, health services, health education, relief to internally displaced persons or refugees, relief supplies, shelter and housing, water supplies and sanitation, primary education and landmine education awareness and action. It's part of our ongoing humanitarian relief effort to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people, and is something we've certainly talked about from this podium for some time. It's intended to provide relief and access to basic life-sustaining resources for Iraqis and Iraqi refugees, and the funding level for the program is $6.6 million. I think as the notice indicated, we anticipate awarding at least five grants somewhere between $500,000 and $3.5 million each under that money. And we anticipate that the majority of the grant proposals will involve humanitarian relief for the Kurdish-controlled areas of Northern Iraq and for Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries. And we'll evaluate those proposals. I believe the time expired August 1st for submitting those proposals, so they will be looked at and we'll evaluate those proposals. QUESTION: Phil, a follow-up. There's going to be a great need for this kind of assistance in the event of hostilities in Iraq, and I just wonder whether the timing of this is related to anything that may happen down the road. MR. REEKER: I don't think so. As your colleague noted, this is something we put out quite some time ago. It's part of our ongoing efforts for Iraq. The money, in fact, was, I believe, provided earlier as part of the money we have as part of the FY '01 budgetary allocation for Iraqi opposition activities, $12 million of which was earmarked by Congress for humanitarian relief. So that's back in the Fiscal Year '01 budget process. So it is an ongoing effort. As the President has made quite clear, our concerns about Iraq, our policy on Iraq, and that he has taken no decisions in terms of steps there, but keeps on the table all of his options. QUESTION: And what has the response been to it? MR. REEKER: I know we've gotten a number of proposals submitted under that Request for Proposals. And I just don't have any specific ones to share with you, but we're reviewing them as the process warrants. QUESTION: Phil, so the Financial Times, though, in its story, which was actually not that small and on the front page and quite breathless in its scope, said that this was a prelude to an invasion. So you would reject that theory that this is being done to -- MR. REEKER: I think in answering George's question -- and I can't amplify yet again the President, who has spoken quite clearly about our Iraq policy, and the fact that he has taken no decisions regarding military action. QUESTION: Is this, though, the first time that the State Department, that you're aware of, that the Department has solicited offers for projects that are actually inside Iraq, inside like Central Iraq, not in the Kurdish zones? MR. REEKER: I would have to check. As I said, we anticipate that the majority of these proposals will involve humanitarian relief for the Kurdish-controlled areas of Northern Iraq and for refugees in neighboring countries. We will evaluate any proposals for humanitarian relief inside the center and south of Iraq for viability and consistency with US law, and of course appropriate United Nations Security Council resolutions. QUESTION: Does this soliciting of proposals suggest any deficiency in the way the Iraqi Government is converting oil revenue to good public use? MR. REEKER: I think we've seen that demonstrated quite well, including by the United Nations, which has shown that in areas where the United Nations is in charge of distributing money from the Oil-for-Food program for children and other purposes, the population in that country is doing considerably better than those who are living under the full strong arm of Saddam Hussein and what he's done to his own people while he, himself, continues to build palaces and import luxuries for himself and his cronies, and of course pursue his weapons of mass destruction programs and other insidious actions. Yes, Terri. QUESTION: Yesterday, the Iraqi National Congress says they had a meeting here, actually while we were in the briefing, and working out their budget with Assistant Secretary Burns. So can you tell us whether that qualifies yet as having notified you they intend to use this money? MR. REEKER: Yes. As you rightly note, things do occur even as we're standing here. You will recall, just to refresh people's memories, some people may not know what we're discussing, on May 23rd the Department of State notified Congress of our intent to award the Iraqi National Congress a new cooperative agreement offering the organization another $8 million for June through December of this year. We discussed the offer with the Iraqi National Congress leadership over the course of the last week, and we do anticipate finalizing an agreement very soon. QUESTION: So the money is now freed up and they have -- MR. REEKER: No, we anticipate finalizing an agreement very soon. You have to actually see the process through. But it's moving ahead. QUESTION: So it has to be finalized before it's considered that they've notified you they accept the money? MR. REEKER: I think what you can take from what I said is we've heard what they have said, yes, they're going to accept this, so we need to finalize the agreement. I can't really put it any more plainly than that. QUESTION: Can you go over what the money will be used for? MR. REEKER: Yes. We're anxious to continue our support, as we have said, for the Iraqi National Congress for their newspaper, for their TV station, for the regional offices they have, their Office of Humanitarian Relief, and a draw-down of training. We believe that the INC can continue to play a productive and useful role through the activities proposed in our new agreement and so we look forward to finalizing now this agreement very soon so that they can continue with those projects. QUESTION: Phil, what type of training? MR. REEKER: I missed that. QUESTION: You said a draw-down of training? MR. REEKER: I'd have to check into the specifics in the agreement of the training. That is something that will be drawn down, things that have been ongoing but will be drawn down. QUESTION: I have another question on Iraq. Some reports coming from Kurdish areas saying that both that the administration is not following through on their promises to protect the Kurds, that perhaps Mr. Chalibani, who came here and offered US bases and talked about a lot of cooperation with the United States, was not speaking for the whole -- all the Kurdish factions. Is there anything you can about whether you think that there will be a problem in terms of cooperation from all of the Kurds? MR. REEKER: I think this goes back to reports that some individuals who had been invited did not attend the meetings in Washington, in particular I would note because of press reports that suggest the contrary. We invited the Kurdish Democratic Party leader, Massoud Barzani, and we invited him to attend last week's Iraqi opposition meetings in Washington. We worked to facilitate Mr. Barzani's travel for the meeting, but for a variety of logistical reasons he wasn't able to attend, and he sent a personal representative in his place who did attend the meetings last week that we talked about. And it is our understanding that the only reason that Mr. Barzani himself was not able to attend was for logistical reasons, not for any other reason. We'll let individuals obviously speak for themselves. And in terms of the earlier part of your question about commitments, I think we discussed yesterday about our recognition that free Iraqis do run risks. The record of Saddam's regime in oppressing and murdering its own people is all too clear, including the campaign in 1998 against the Kurds, the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population at Halabja, and suppression of the Shi'a in the South. And so we are very conscious of the nature of that regime, the risks that are out there to those who oppose Saddam's regime, and that's why we have in place our no-fly zones, the Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch, and why we've consistently made clear that if Iraq reconstitutes weapons of mass destruction programs, threatens its neighbors or US forces, or moves against the Kurds, we maintain a credible force in the region and are prepared to act in an appropriate time and place of our choosing. QUESTION: When you say that you are prepared to act, what does that mean? It sounds as if the Kurds are willing to take risks that they haven't taken before, that it could be a much more dangerous situation for them. Did you give them assurances that you would protect them militarily, that you would give them protective gear? MR. REEKER: I could repeat what I just said, but I won't. I'll let you read it again. That's my answer to that question, and it's in line exactly with what we've been saying and the President's clearly stated policy. Yes, Elaine. QUESTION: Is it correct, as reported in one newspaper today, that a meeting with the President was offered as an incentive to get Mr. Barzani to come? And can you tell us who he sent in his place? MR. REEKER: Yes -- I had the name. I don't have it with me. We announced it at the time. It was quite clear. QUESTION: (Inaudible.) MR. REEKER: I don't remember, Elaine. I'm sorry. We could check for you. (Simultaneous conversation.) MR. REEKER: You can all discuss it, and somebody -- I'm sure your intrepid news agency has the name. QUESTION: Can you tell us, then, about the invitation to meet the President? MR. REEKER: No, I can't. I'd have to let the White House talk about anything that has to do with the President. (end excerpt) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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