Iraq declares holy war on UN sanctions: Iraqi TV report

Excerpts from report by Iraqi TV on 18th January

Taha Yasin Ramadan, member of the Revolution Command Council and vice-president of the republic, has said that 1st February will mark the beginning of training the people with weapons because we insist on the greater jihad [holy war] in order to lift the blockade and back the recommendations of the people's representatives at the National Assembly.

This is because there is no alternative to this position after seven years of patience and cooperation with the Security Council and its committees, he added.

Attending a ceremony held by the General Secretariat Bureau of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party and the Secretariat of the Ba'th Party's Iraq Command on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the great confrontation in the immortal Mother of Battles, the vice-president reviewed the speech of leader President Saddam Husayn on the seventh anniversary of the immortal Mother of Battles...

The vice-president asserted that the training will include one million men and women fighters of various ages and levels under the leadership of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party.

He also underlined the affirmation by the comrade leader that the training with arms should be voluntary and through full conviction, rather than obligatory.

He said that the practical measures to implement the contents of the message of the comrade leader were approved...

Source: Iraqi TV, Baghdad, in Arabic 1800 gmt 18 Jan 98

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