Iraq: Kuwait and Iraq tell Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union conference, Iraq is not "occupied"

Kuwait and Iraq have protested against the branding of Iraq as an "occupied" country.

Delegates from both countries attending the conference of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU) in Irbil, north Iraq, asked the representative of the Arab League to withdraw the term of "occupied Iraq" from his address and apologize.

During his address to the work session of the conference earlier in the day, the league delegate was interrupted by the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Jassem Al-Khorafi, who asked why he termed Iraq as "occupied".

He wanted to know, "Is there a league resolution deeming Iraq as occupied country? Have we reached the extent of interfering in the internal affair of countries without legal resolutions?" He added, "With due respect to the representative of the Arab League, I ask him to withdraw the term and never repeat such mistake".

KUNA reports that the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly Sheikh Khaled Al-Atiyyah, protested that "Iraq is against being termed as occupied country. If Iraq was occupied, no Iraqi would hesitate in going to war against occupation," noting that the foreign troops in Iraq were multi-national force formed under a UN Security Council resolution.

"Iraq has offered a formal request to the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of the Multi-National Forces (MNF) beyond 2008 to help stabilize the country," Al-Atiyyah emphasised.