Said al-Musawi, head of the Organisation Department at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry:

Ladies and Gentlemen: Good evening and thank you for your patience.

Concerning other allegations of Secretary Powell, I will touch on the allegations on so-called links with terrorist groups and human rights violations. In my statement in Arabic, I will explain in details our position. But the core of the statement, which I will say in English, is that we have no links whatsoever with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or Ansar al-Islam.

We do not know Mr Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi. We do not know his whereabouts. And we continue to cooperate with the Jordanian authorities to put an end to his activities in Iraq.

Concerning the group Ansar al-Islam, here again it is a sheer allegation. This group occupies a small pocket in the northern part of Iraq, which is out of the control of the Iraqi Government.

This group is responsible for terrorist acts inside Iraq, in Iraqi cities, including Baghdad and other cities. Their presence in Iraq is a part of the abnormal situation that has been created, or, rather, sustained by the US and the UK.

Human rights violations

I will also touch on the cooperation we extended to the US authorities to extradite one person accused of involvement in the World Trade Centre bombing in 1993, and the refusal of the US Administration to cooperate with Iraqi authorities on this matter.

Finally on the accusations of Secretary Powell on the so-called human rights violations in Iraq, it is obvious that the United States and the United Kingdom are the main violators of the Iraqi people's human rights through their insistence on the unjust embargo, which was imposed on Iraq more than 12 years ago.

You know that the death toll of this embargo rose to 1.8 million inhabitants, Iraqi civilians. The embargo also deprives the whole population of Iraq of their basic human rights. Add to that, the illegal no-fly zones imposed on Iraq and the daily bombing of the Iraqi cities and villages, which also constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights.

The United States is, unfortunately, using the human rights issue for tendentious political aims. The Iraqi people and the Iraqi Government endeavour to enhance the human rights situation in spite of these difficulties through enhancing and strengthening the political, economic, social, and other structures.

I will now explain in Arabic some of the details, at least to give some privilege to our correspondents who speak in Arabic.

Al-Qaeda links

In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. Mr Colin Powell spoke about an alleged link between Iraq and al-Qaeda organization. He claimed that Iraq is now harbouring a terrorist network, headed by a man called Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

This is a sheer and serious allegation. It is serious because it is being presented to the UN Security Council to justify a large-scale aggression against Iraq and the region. The world public opinion should know the facts about this subject.

The facts are as follows: During November 2002, the competent authorities in Jordan informed us that a Jordanian citizen called Ahmad Fadil Nazzal al-Khalayilah, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and some of his followers had entered Iraq.

We were told that members of this group use several passports and identification cards with different forged names because they are wanted on charges in Jordan and are accused of belonging to al-Qaeda organization.

In light of this request, the concerned Iraqi authorities were instructed to search for them and to exert extraordinary efforts in this regard because this issue poses threats to Iraqi national security and because their presence in Iraq conflicts with the current laws that forbid any terrorist activity. The results of the investigation are as follows:

First, the Jordanian Ahmad Fadil Nazzal al-Khalayilah, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was not registered as entering Iraq through any border post, whether using his real name or any of the aliases provided by the Jordanian side.

As to the information available about his presence in Iraq, our information says that he is present in the Al-Sulaymaniyah area, particularly Bayyarah area, in northern Iraq, which is outside the control of the central government.

We received this piece of information on 1 February, only a few days ago, from one of the radios that transmits from the northern region. We also confirm that no meeting took place with him before or at present by any official of the Iraqi authorities or the security agencies.

Second, concerning the rest of the names included in the request from the Jordanian side, who are called the group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, we could not confirm that they are in Iraq at present. The search for them is continuing. We are in touch with the Jordanian side on this issue.

The Jordanian side is updated regularly on the results of our search. The last update had been a few days before Colin Powell's speech at the Security Council.

World Trade Centre bombing

Of course, such elements could enter and exit many countries, since they use forged passports and names belonging to different nationalities.

No country can claim that it is immune to the infiltration of those people, especially if they use false names that are different from the names provided for the security authorities.

The United States in particular knows this very well and knows that many elements of the organization are active through this method in all countries, including the United States. Does the entry, or infiltration, of those people into a certain country, without its knowledge, constitute an accusation that it has links with that organization?

As for the allegations made by Powell that Iraq has a relationship with the Ansar al-Islam organization, the facts are as follows: Some elements of the so-called Ansar al-Islam organization attacked the group of Jalal Talabani in northern Iraq on 22 September 2001.

This occurred in the areas of Halabjah and Tuwaylah. Talabani asked for the support of the state. The Iraqi Government provided him with light weapons and hardware to face the said organization.

He was given these weapons and hardware on 23 September 2001. The group of Mas'ud Barzani was informed of this issue, and it supported extending help to Jalal Talabani to get rid of this pocket in northern Iraq, which is outside the control of the central authority.

The hardware and weapons were delivered to the Jalal Talabani group in Al-Sulaymaniyah on 19 November 2002 [year as heard]. This is documented with the Iraqi authorities and there is evidence to prove it.

A number of the elements of this organization infiltrated into Iraqi cities, including Baghdad. They carried out acts of sabotage and bombings, including a bombing at a restaurant in one of the quarters in Baghdad.

Some of them were arrested and they admitted to carrying out acts of sabotage in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. These are the facts concerning the Ansar al-Islam organization.

By the way, we have to note in this regard that the United States, regrettably, exploited the charge of terrorism to achieve aggressive political goals and rejected Iraq's offer to cooperate in this regard.

Here, I am talking about the case of suspect Abdal Rahman Yasin, also known as Abbud. This person is of Iraqi origin and holds US citizenship.

He was born in 1958 in Indiana. He spent his youth there and later came to Iraq. In 1992, he decided to return to the United States to join his family there.

He went to Jordan and the US Embassy in Amman gave him a US passport since he was born in the United States. He then joined his family in the United States. While in the United States, he came to know suspect Ramzi Ahmad Yusuf, one of those responsible for the bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York in 1993.

Ramzi Ahmad recruited Yasin and convinced him to participate in the bombing of the World Trade Centre in 1993.

Co-operation with Washington

At that time, Abd-al-Rahman Yasin took part in the manufacturing of the explosives. He, however, withdrew from this operation before it was carried out after he spilled a chemical material on his body, which burned him.

One day after the bombing of the World Trade Centre, he was summoned by the FBI, which conducted an initial investigation on him. The outcome of the FBI investigation on Yasin helped identify the residence of Ramzi Yusuf. The FBI went there and arrested him.

Later, Abd-al-Rahman Yasin was released. Following his release, he left the United States for Amman in Jordan and from there he left to Baghdad.

In late 1993, the US authorities announced that a $25,000 award would be given to anyone who gives information about Abd-al-Rahman Yasin. The value of this award kept on rising until it became 25 million in 2002.

At the beginning of 1994, the Iraqi security authorities collected information about a person called Abdal Rahman Yasin, who was wanted by the Pakistani authorities.

It seems that this was the outcome of coordination between the US and Pakistani authorities. Yasin was accused of participating in blowing up the World Trade Centre.

After pursuing him in Iraq, he was arrested on 3 April 1994. He was remanded in custody for investigation. He is still held in custody. He admitted that he had a relationship with those accused of blowing up the World Trade Centre, especially Ramzi Ahmad Yusuf.

On 12 April 1994, Iraqi Information Minister Hamid Yusuf Hammadi said during a news conference that Iraq informed the United States that it possesses important information about the bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York.

Iraq asked the Americans to form a committee supervised by the US Congress to allow Hammadi to relay this information to Washington. However, the US authorities turned down Iraq's request.

Once again, Iraq made another offer to the US authorities through an international mediator. However, the US authorities rejected this offer too.

In 2002, the US CBS news network conducted an interview with that person on its 60 Minutes news programme. In that interview, he admitted that he played a role in the bombing of the World Trade Centre and that he was held in custody in Baghdad.

During this interview, there was a contact with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz who made a comment saying that this person is in Iraq and that Iraq is ready to hand him over to the US authorities. Thus far, we have not received an answer from the US authorities. So, it is the United States that should be accused of not cooperating.

Iraqi suffering

As for the allegations made by Mr Colin Powell regarding the human rights situation in Iraq, the fact is that the US Administration is the last party that can have the right to give lessons on human rights to the people of the world.

The US Administration - the successive US administrations - abused human rights around the world, including the Iraqi individual's economic, social, cultural, and other rights. For the United States is determined to perpetuate the unfair Iraqi embargo that has been in place for the past 12 years. This is a flagrant violation of human rights.

Some 1.8 million Iraqi civilians have fallen victim to this embargo, not to mention the daily suffering that you as journalists have seen. I am referring to the Iraqi citizens' sufferings caused by the continuation of the unjust embargo, not to mention the enforcement of the no-fly zones, which is also a blatant violation of human rights and a daily encroachment on Iraqi individuals.

By the way, only since 1990 has the United States been talking about the human rights situation in Iraq, which is an indication that must be taken into consideration. It shows how the United States exploits the human rights situation for political purposes. That is, it keeps silent on the human rights situation somewhere, and evokes it elsewhere.

Iraq is a country with a civilization dating back 7000 years, during which the Iraqi individuals made their contributions to human civilization. They have continued to make these contributions. They are determined to develop their political, economic, and social institutions despite the difficulties created by the United States.

The Iraqi Government, the Iraqi people, and the Iraqi political and constitutional institutions have made numerous moves towards that end. Iraq is continuing to make such moves. Thank you very much.