1. Facts > 2. Politics > 3. Action
Sources: 10 Downing Street | Hansard | Foreign Office | Treasury | APG on HIPC

1. Facts

• Debt: £1bn, Reparations: $6.88bn
• The debt is entirely held by the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) from trade in 1980s.
• £623m is principal, the remainder is interest & arrears since 1991.
• Some relates to the arms trade, see information from Jubilee Iraq supporter SPEAK - part-1, part-2 (pdf).
• Falluja 2, a chemical plant the CIA identified as a key component in Iraq's chemical warfare arsenal, was secretly built by Britain in 1985 with backing from the ECGD. British taxpayers paid £300,000 in compensation to the German-owned company after final checks on the plant, completed in May 1990, were interrupted by the outbreak of the Gulf war. (see the Guardian, 6/3/02, David Leigh)
• Information on part of the debt from the ECGD.

2. Politics

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• Export Credit Guarantee Department: Britain is prepared to forgive some, but not all, of the £1bn debt owed by Iraq. The debt had a face value of £623m in 1991 and is owed to the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECDG). The government hopes there will be an internationally agreed restructuring and the payments will be rescheduled. "It is taxpayers' money at the end of the day," said the spokesman. "It would not send a good signal just to write it off." Jubilee Iraq notes that the British government was perfectly happy to spend tax payers money to overthrow Saddam Hussein. What king of signal does it send to demand payment of any of his debts from the Iraqi people whom we claim to have liberated? - 15th April
• Clare Short (International Development): In response to a question from Caroline Spelman MP, she said "[Iraq] should be a prosperous middle-income country. In order to make progress, there will need to be agreement to reschedule and restructure Iraq's huge debt and reparations claims." - 10th April. In debate in the House of Commons on 10th April, Andrew Love MP asked: "I was at the UN, and I was staggered to discover that those [claims] could amount to up to a third of the income of the country. Does my right hon. Friend accept that not only rescheduling but, in some cases, cancellation of some of those reparations payments should be treated as a matter of urgency if that country is to get back on its feet, restructure and rebuild its economy?" Clare Short replied "My Hon. Friend is absolutely right. The level of debt and claimed reparation payments is so great that they could lock a naturally wealthy economy into an inability to recover: shades of Germany after the first world war. It is very important that we get this right. Paris Club and London Club arrangements exist for rescheduling and writing down debt. It is a UN matter in relation to compensation, but the matter needs attention; otherwise, a corset will be placed around the economy and it would never recover." On 15th April she called on nations to help Iraq to restructure its debts through the Paris Club of creditors in a way that was generous enough to allow it to get back on its feet.
• Tony Blair: No statements on debt. Message to Iraqi's promising "The money from Iraqi oil will be yours. It will no longer be used by Saddam Hussein for his own benefit and that of his regime. It will be used to build prosperity for you and your families." - (8th April)

3. Action - Write to your MP.

Ask them to sign Early Day Motion 138 and to write to Gordon Brown on your behalf. This is generally the most effective way of raising an issue.

Your could also write directly to Gordon Brown:

• Praise him for the leading role he has taken in the past on canceling the debt of Highly Indebted Poor Countries.
• Praise him for his commitment at a Jubilee 2000 rally a few years ago when he said: "Because poverty is so great and the need so urgent, neither you nor I want the richest countries to benefit any more from the debts of these poorest countries.”
• Tell him that on the issue of Iraq's debt there is a desperate need for his leadership to bridge the divide - between the US and France, Germany & Russia - which is threatening to deny essential debt cancellation to the Iraqi people.
• Ask him to continue his just policy of debt cancellation by submitting Britains claims against Iraq to an arbitration tribunal to assess how much is odious / personal debt of Saddam's regime.
• Ask him to use his role in the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and influence in the G8 and Paris Club to encourage international support for the arbitration tribunal which Jubilee Iraq is proposing.

General advice on writing to politicians.
Address for MPs: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Leaflet to print and distribute! (MS Word)

SPEAK's Pray & Post action (MS Word) sent to 8000 people.