Roger Hearing:
Let me go back to Pieter. Pieter do you think the Iraqi leadership should step down to avoid this situation?

Pieter:
I believe it certainly would relieve some tension from the point of view the Americans. If there were open and free elections with more than one candidate on the ballot, I'm sure that might change the scope of the matter. For moment just having Saddam's regime in power, it's certainly not helping matters from the Americans' perspective.

Roger Hearing:
Let's take a call from Dave O'Neil from the UK

Dave O'Neil:
In view of the recent election where you claim there was a 100% vote in favour of Saddam.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
It's a referendum actually.

Dave O'Neil:
Referendum, sorry. And your answer to Pieter, the last caller. The question I would like to ask you is this: If you have so much support from your people, why does the Iraqi leadership feel the need to persecute so many of your own people. I'm thinking in particular here of the Kurds, the Turk Omans, the Syrian Christians and in particular the Marsh Arabs?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
President Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government is the only government in the region who gave autonomy to the Kurds in Iraq since 1972. The Kurds got their rights, they practise everything as they want. And even the other nationalities in Iraq. So we don't have any problem with that actually. That's what the media are saying. This is information is by the western media.

Roger Hearing:
What about the attacks in Halabja where they used poison gas against the Kurds?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
This is a story which the media - the western media - have been insisting on since 1984.

Roger Hearing:
No, no since 1989.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
With this story, Iraq didn't use chemical weapons.

Roger Hearing:
You're saying it never happened?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
No, no, no. This happened by the Iranian side. The Iraqis have got their point of view on that and there was an answer on that saying that the Iranians used the chemical weapons against Halabja which is in Iraq. But they are using it as a pretext.

You know the only story they've got is that. In the whole of Iraq there was a war for 8 years - a war between Iraq and Iran. The Iraqis were fighting and the only story they got is this. Every time they talk about Halabja, which is not right - absolutely not right.

Roger Hearing:
But what about all the other occasions where the Kurds have been oppressed? There's certainly been a large number of Kurds executed, arrested by the government of Saddam Hussein.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
The Kurds were given full autonomy and they were actually enjoying this autonomy. But what happened that in 1991 we were about to reach a new agreement with the Kurds to enlarge the autonomy - but the American administration forced them not to sign the agreement with us. That agreement was ready. The Kurds want to have an agreement with the central government in Iraq but the others are putting pressure on them not to accept that.

Roger Hearing:
What about the Shi'ite people's in the south? They too rose in revolt in 1991 didn't they? If the government was so popular why did they rise?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
This is not politics actually. This is like Protestant, Catholic and so on. We don't have any problem with that. The Shi'ite Iraqis are Arabs and they fought against the Iranians who are Shi'ites. But the Shi'ites in Iraq they believe they are Iraqis, they are Arab and they will defend their country if any aggression happens.

It was announced even by the religious leaders - they was what we call fatwa - for all the Muslims not just the Shi'ites saying that we have to defend our country against any American aggression.

Roger Hearing:
Yann Chambrier, Hong Kong: The Bush Administration talks of the possibility of a regime change in Iraq. Do you believe that a western-style democracy could work in Iraq?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
First of all I think we can't accept that the Americans or any other government announced that they want to change the regime in Iraq because this is our own business. Who could go to the Americans or the British and say we want to change your government because we don't like it?

This government is governing since 1968 after the revolution. This government is developing the country. They nationalised the oil, they gave the autonomy to the Kurds. They developed the country - you see our country now.

Roger Hearing:
But they've never been put up for election have they? They've never stood in an election have they?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
No. This is the first time during the republican era that we have presidential elections.

Roger Hearing:
A referendum as you said.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
A referendum. But why Iraq? For example, why didn't they ask the Egyptians, the Syrians, the others to have this style of western democracy?

The West started with this style since Magna Carta - it developed after that. But in our country it's different. This is our custom, this is our tradition and we are practising it in a modern style. So there is no problem with that. The leader plays a very important role in Iraq.

Roger Hearing:
Wayne, San Francisco Do the people in Iraq really believe in having a vote when there is only one person to pick from? If they want to vote no who would or could be their second option?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Well this is just a suggestion. Everybody, as I said, everybody will elect President Saddam Hussein because they believe in their president just like in other countries.

Roger Hearing:
But isn't it better to have an option?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
What options do they have in Syria? What kind of options do they have in Egypt? What options do they have in Yemen?

Why Iraq? Do you know why Iraq? This is an interference in our internal affairs. This is against the United Nations convention, against international law, against human rights. This is our own issue and we will decide our own affairs. If you don't like it you can go and practise the western style in the West.

Roger Hearing:
We have another e-mail we've received from Dain, also in the USA : How can Saddam say he got 100% of the votes when he gassed and killed his own people? For some reason I think the families of these people did not vote for him. Call it a hunch.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
No he didn't say that - you the western media, everybody was there and everybody voted yes. It was not the president who said that but the Iraqi people who said that. He didn't kill anybody. As I described it, this is the dis-information of western media against President Saddam Hussein. This is the Zionist media against President Saddam Hussein because he believes in the liberation of Palestine. This is a very important issue. The Iraqi people believes that Palestine is an Arab land and it is not for others.

Roger Hearing:
Are you saying that anybody who criticises him in the international media, are you saying that they are entirely Zionist?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
I think the media is controlled - we believe that the media is controlled by the Zionists actually and also by the West who are trying to control our country because of our wealth - our oil, our principles - they want to control our area because of that.

You know the new plan the Americans are planning? You know that's why they want launch an aggression on Iraq because if they control the oil that means they control the whole world.

Roger Hearing:
Abu Mohamed, Milan, Italy: As an Iraqi living in exile I would like to ask if you think your elections were conducted with no pressure on the public whatsoever. Do you seriously believe that all 11.8 million voters did vote and that they all were in favour of Saddam Hussein? Could nobody have accidentally ticked the wrong box? Wasn't there anyone who was ill and unable to go to the polling station?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
In the last elections many ticked the wrong box - they said no - maybe for different reasons they believe in. But now it's not just the question of a referendum.

Now the situation in Iraq - the challenge to the Americans who are threatening to launch an aggression because these bombs, these rockets will attack the Iraqis, the innocent people - the women, the children, the families - everybody. So they are refusing that - they say no, we don't want war.

Roger Hearing:
But I think Abu Mohamed's point is: Is it really credible that every single one of those voters actually got to the polling station? Perhaps somebody was ill?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
You have seen by your own eyes - everywhere you went you saw the people ticking yes. Even if they didn't go to these small boxes - openly they ticked yes - by their blood, by pencil - because of this.

The Iraqi people like foreigners but they don't like to be controlled by foreigners. Even those who have different points of view to the government, they refuse the occupation of Iraq by other foreigners - whatever they are - Americans, British.

Roger Hearing:
We have a call from Victor in Amsterdam. Victor what do you think about all this?

Victor:
My position is I'm a little bit in the middle, not only as a European but as a person. On the one side, I have America, who's politics often tend to be dictated by business interests and on the other hand there is Iraq who's track record, as far as it's neighbours are concerned, isn't very good. My worry is that I don't trust either one of them.

Roger Hearing:
So Victor what do you think should happen then? Do you think that there should be huge pressure on Iraq to disarm on not?

Victor:
I think there should be some kind of d�tente so that Iraq is not able to get aggressive again against any of its neighbours or others further afield. If you're building ballistics then the threat that you make is much bigger of course.

On the other side I would like America to back off a little bit and to find another solution than the military one.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
That's what the whole world is trying to do - the French and the Russians and the others are refusing the way of the Americans in dealing with this question. They are putting pressure on the Americans to allow the inspection team to enter Iraq and to do their work. If they found any obstacles on their way it would be another matter.

But the Americans want to launch an aggression against Iraq. It is not the weapons of mass destruction - it is the Americans who want to enforce and put in their plans in attacking Iraq and control the oil.

The Gulf area as a whole has two-thirds of the oil of the whole world. One-third of it is in Iraq and the cheapest oil to be produced is in Iraq. It costs on 50 cents per barrel while it costs in Saudi Arabia more than $2 per barrel and in the North Sea it costs about $17 per barrel.

So Iraq is very important to be controlled for the Americans which will allow them to control the prices, the protection, the trading of oil and then they will control Europe, Japan and the whole world by this aggression.

Roger Hearing:
But why do you think that's happening now? After all that's been the case for many years. Why is it only in the 1990s that America has opposed Iraq?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Now the new government in America they are trying to do so because they believe in that. Many of them are under pressure of Zionism - some of them are Zionists. It's not only the oil of course. Also they want to move the Palestinians from their land during this disturbance which will happen according to their plan. And they even want to divide Saudi Arabia, they want to divide Syria, they want to control Lebanon and so on.

Roger Hearing:
A call know from Mirek Kondracki, Alexandria, USA.

Mirek Kondracki:
It's very ironic this show takes place today because today American and the international media reported prominently that after years of staunch denials, the North Korean regime - which is just as evil and just as ruthless as the regime of Saddam Hussein - finally admitted that it has a nuclear weapon development progamme.

It occurred when American representatives finally presented the North Koreans with hard core intelligence proving that such a programme exists.

Now we have similar intelligence regarding the weapons of mass destruction programme in Iraq. So my question is not whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction but when Baghdad is going to face up to it and to admit publicly that it does have such a programme?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
We have admitted that we don't have any weapons of mass destruction.

Roger Hearing:
I think Mirak's point is that you have weapons in the past for example. You denied you'd ever had chemical and biological nuclear weapon programme. But then you did begin to admit that you had in the past.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
No - in 1991, after the inspection team started their work and they destroyed everything, since that time there were no weapons of mass destruction.

Roger Hearing:
But you'd admit in the past you'd said you didn't have these weapons and then you admitted that you did have some of them.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
No, no, we don't have them now. We didn't have them in the past after 1991.

By the way the caller said "the evil" and I want to comment on that. Who is "the evil"? Who threw the bomb on Hiroshima? Who killed the innocent people in Vietnam? Who fought many other nations and attacked them in Latin America? In Asia?

Everywhere the Americans are killing and attacking the people and now they are talking about "evil". Who is the "the evil"? Who is the terrorist? The Israelis and the Americans or the Arabs?

Roger Hearing:
Two points there: one Dr Mohammed says there aren't weapons and two, he objects to the term "evil" applied to Iraq? What do you say?

Mirek Kondracki:
First of all I am not surprised that he is denying the existence of such a programme because he knows very well what Saddam Hussein would do to him and his family if he said something different.

Secondly, I don't have to use the word "evil" - I can describe Iraq as a major threat to the international community - that suffices.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Actually the American administration is a great threat to the international community by this policy.

Roger Hearing:
We have an e-mail from NB in the USA: Iraq has a secular government. Have you any comment about the accusations that you support religious extremists in al-Qaeda?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
You know Iraq - before 11th September, before the attack of the American government on Afghanistan - had a representative in the Northern Alliance. We didn't have any contact with al-Qaeda.

Roger Hearing:
You can say that there's never been any contact between them and the Iraqi government?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
None at all. Even Osama bin Laden, if you read his book in Arabic, you will see that he is criticising Iraq. We don't have at all any relations with them.

Roger Hearing:
What do you think about the activities of al-Qaeda?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Well the activities of al-Qaeda - Osama bin Laden and the others - I don't know because until now he didn't say - I have done so - he is only supporting this and that and so on. Of course we don't accept that innocent people are being killed

Roger Hearing:
You would condemn, for example, the events on September 11th?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Yes, yes. Iraq, by the way, condemned that. Two letters were sent to America - one through Ramsey Clark, the former Attorney-General and the other to American organisations sent by Mr Tariq Aziz, the vice-chairman of Council of Iraq, condemning and feeling sorry for those innocent people who were killed through that incident of 11th September. We don't support that and we don't agree with that.

Roger Hearing:
Do you support any acts of terrorism?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
We don't actually. How could we support terrorism while we are suffering from terrorism - 1,750,000 people have died in Iraq have died in Iraq because of terrorism - because of sanctions, because of the Americans insisting on enforcing sanctions on Iraq. So we don't like it that innocent people would be killed.

Roger Hearing:
We have an e-mail from Russ, Aberdeen, Scotland: How can Iraq claim it is illegal and wholly wrong for Iraq to be invaded as it is a sovereign state when Iraq invaded Kuwait?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Yes, that's a different matter. If we want to talk about that question it will be a very long story. This happened in 1990 as you know and it was a very complicated matter.

Roger Hearing:
But it was a sovereign state that you invaded?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
If I want to talk about history - the Iraqis have recognised Kuwait - the borders everything, no problem with that. And we've got not bad - good - relations with them now - it's recovering.

Roger Hearing:
You had those before and you still invaded them.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Yes, yes but what happened actually that the Iraqis since the monarchy - with the creation of the Iraqi state - because the Iraqis believe - I'm not talking now politics, I'm not talking history - believes that this is an integral part of Iraq - this is the problem. The monarchy believed in that, there was a lot of crisis and we were about to have war in the area - this is a very complicated question.

It is difficult to explain it but there were reasons that pushed Iraq and forced Iraq to go through Kuwait. By the way, after five days, of what you call the invasion, the Iraqis started to withdraw after the late King Hussein of Jordan and President Mubarak reached a solution. But the Americans refused that and they came in because they wanted to invade Iraq.

Roger Hearing:
But you didn't actually withdraw from Kuwait.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
We started to withdraw on 5th August.

Roger Hearing:
But you didn't fully withdraw until January 1991.

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
With the resolution of the Iraqi Revolutionary Council we started to withdraw. Nobody knows about that because the media didn't cover it. We started to withdraw but there was a big problem on that.

Roger Hearing:
An e-mail from Darren Robinson, Sheffield, UK: How did you decide who was eligible to vote? Were the Kurds in the North allowed to voice their opinion? Would you have been prepared to allow the UN to oversee the election process?

Dr Mohammed Murafa al-Adhmi:
Yes, many of them came. An announcement was made by the Iraqi government calling them to come and to participate in the referendum and they came. I don't have the exact number - many of them came and voted. No problem with that. It is not the Kurdish area who have got the Kurds - we've got them in the north, in Baghdad - everywhere. They participated as Iraqis in this referendum.