The Iraqi people shouldn't pay Saddam's bills
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Write to your Finance Minister: Draft Letter
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Dear XXX,
Over decades of oppression and mismanagement Saddam accumulated debts and reparation claims totalling over $160bn. The Iraqi people should not be held responsible for these.
Even with a large reduction in the debt in the Paris Club (say 70%), Iraq would be left with a huge burden relative to its export earnings, and money desperately needed to rebuild and establish a stable and peaceful society would be leached away by creditors. In addition the Paris Club's conditions on debt relief would require Iraq to hand over a large part of its soverignity on economic issues by submitting to IMF conditionalities such as privatisation and liberalisation.
It would be deeply immoral if the Iraqi people are kept in poverty and denied true soverignity in order to pay the bills for Saddam’s palaces, wars and oppression.
Jubilee Iraq has proposed a fair and transparent arbitration tribunal to assess and negotiate the debts in a fair way, so that the odious debts of Saddam's regime which did not benefit the Iraqi people will not be passed on to them.
I urge you to support this.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
P.S. For more information please see: www.JubileeIraq.org or call +44 7813 137171
