Dining with the Iraqi ambassador

Last week I was invited to a Chinese dinner tendered by Filipino businessmen in honor of Iraqi diplomats who have been displaced by the war. It was a good occasion to know Iraqis among us personally. Watching television often gives us a different impression of people in the news than if we were to meet them in flesh and blood. This is especially true of Dr. Ghaxi Fayssal Hussein who was assigned ambassador to Manila just before the war broke out. He is amiable, very soft-spoken and quite knowledgeable about politics. Indeed he has a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Paris where he spent eight years prior to his being a professor of politics at Baghdad University. His last post before coming to Manila was Paris. Indeed he is more conversant in French than he is in English. His field of study is the history of political thought from the Renaissance to Machiavelli and Karl Marx. His wife, Depitihad Hamal, a teacher of art in a secondary school is with him as well as two daughters, Lyn and Christie who expect to study here. Although Dr. Hussein has still to be received by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he has been told by Secretary Blas Ople that his position as ambassador will be protected by the rules of the Geneva Convention. For the moment, life is extremely hard for his family and so far they have been living on personal funds.

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Perhaps it was because of my long exile during Marcos’s time but I was pleasantly surprised by the host, Mr. Oscar Violago and my friend Maribel Carandang of Grupo Filipino Producers who, like a number of Filipinos, have done business with the Iraqis under the UN oil for food program, speaking so candidly. They did not hesitate to call the Iraqis their friends and that they would not have anything to do with the rush to get some business out of the destruction of Iraq. They would do business with the Iraqis but would wait until an Iraqi government was formed. "We don’t need to do that through the government. We are only small businessmen and we have contacts within Asia to facilitate our trade with Iraq." one of the businessmen present said. Small and medium business do not expect help from the government to get contracts. "We have existing contracts under the UN oil for food program," they said. But given present difficulties in Iraq they may be in for a long wait to resume business. Although there were no after dinner speeches, Mr. Violago spoke warmly and assured Ambassador Hussein that Fiilipinos were not fair weather friends. Violago told Dr. Hussein he had friends he could call on if things become difficult for him and his family.

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But these small businesses may have to reckon with the announcement that President George W. Bush will ask the United Nations to lift economic sanctions against Iraq . There may be no business for them when the Americans take charge. France, Russia and other UN Security Council members were also cool to the US announcement to lift sanctions against Iraq and end the UN-administered "oil-for-food" program. If the Security Council vetoed the lifting of sanctions, it would "open the way for lawsuits arguing that sales of Iraqi oil not sanctioned by the United Nations violate international law. "We’re now thinking in terms of several resolutions and letting Iraqis build their economy in phases before they get full control of the oil." Some Bush administration officials want to see parts of the oil-for-food program turned over to Iraqis, but others argue that it is too soon. One official said "This is big league stuff, in which oil is sold and the proceeds are used to buy medicine and food for Iraqis. It’s complex international economics, with a big portfolio in place. It’s good to have Iraqis run it, but that may take time. It makes sense to leave the present structure in place but when this will happen is unpredictable.. Keeping the present structure in place would also avoid a fight with France, Russia and others who might oppose turning Iraq’s oil industry over to a new Iraqi government handpicked by Washington. French President Jacques Chirac has insisted that the United Nations should decide how and when the sanctions should be lifted.

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Dr. Hussein is not optimistic that his country will stabilize any time soon. When asked what he thought about the war he said, "traumatic", "disastrous". The different warring groups like the Shiites, the Sunnis, the Kurds and the Christians have now come to the surface and will be difficult to contain, Dr. Hussein said. This view coincides with some US policy makers during the first Gulf War when it was feared that getting rid of Saddam would mean disintegration of Iraq. That ‘s how Saddam escaped the first time. Well, the junior Bush in the second Gulf War thought otherwise. He went to war to get rid of Saddam Hussein and effect regime change. But as the first Bush feared for the country, it is now wracked by dissension and violence, with the latest tragedy in Falluja where US troops shot dead at least 13 Iraqis demonstrating against their presence at a school in a town west of Baghdad.. Falluja is 30 miles from Baghdad. "Our soul and our blood we will sacrifice to you martyrs," the mourners chanted as they buried six of the dead at a cemetery while U.S. helicopters flew overhead. A source said 17 people were killed in the shooting. Others put the death toll at between 13 and 17. Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television quoted American troops as saying they had come under fire after asking the crowd to disperse and were forced to retaliate.

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News World Asia. Speaker Jose de Venecia has been invited by Newsworld Asia to be a keynote speaker in its annual conference which will be held from May 30-June 1 at The Nikko Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It acknowledges the work he has done for a dialogue between civilizations. He will speak on the importance of education of the youth as the key strategy for peace among differing civilizations. The Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr.Mahathir Mohamad, proud anti-colonialist and architect of modern Malaysia, will deliver the keynote address on " The Media and Islam " and take part in a unique hour-long Q & A. More than thirty distinguished speakers from more than twenty countries have confirmed their participation..

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The countries so far represented include Malaysia, Iran, Afghanistan, The Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Nepal, South Africa and Kenya. With the dust of war still settling over Iraq, News World Asia is poised to provide top journalists, academics and politicians with their first opportunity to review and assess some momentous months

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"Tell me of any other time," says News World Asia Chairman AlexanderThomson, "when broadcasters have faced such daunting challenges and such dramatic, confounding issues; whether broadcasting from big city studios in Washington, London, Paris, Cairo, Doha, Baghdad or New York; or embedded on location with the most powerful military force in history. And, wherever we are, we must report not just both sides but all sides.

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News World Asia in Kuala Lumpur will provide a perfect platform to examine and debate the big editorial issues hovering over the Iraqi conflict: perceptions and images of the U.S. ‘mega-power’, international law and the United Nations, the coexistence – or is it clash? – of cultures and civilizations, and the difficult relationship between the western-dominated international mass media and the Islamic world. Apart from Prime Minister Mahathir and Speaker de Venecia other speakers include the Secretary General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Some of the participants are the Senior Media Adviser at the President’s Office in Teheran , the Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcast Development (AIBD), the Assistant Director General of UNESCO, the Chairman of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), and the Secretary General of the Eurasia Media Foundation in Kazakhstan (EAMF).

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Top global and regional broadcasters represented at the highest level include the BBC, CNN, CCTV of China, Al Jazeera, Star TV, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, India Today TV , Phoenix TV and TV 3 of Malaysia. From the print media speakers include the Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Middle East Editor of Le Monde in France. The crucial debate on the safety of journalists, more vital and topical than eve before, will be led by Rodney Pinder of the International News Safety Institute and Martin Bell one of Britain’s most distinguished War Correspondents and a former Member of the British Parliament. News World has a "no holds barred" approach. So although the lessons of the war in Iraq and its aftermath will dominate, delegates can expect discussion and argument on other issues including developments in Afghanistan, Iran and China and SARS ( severe acute respiratory syndrome). Has its importance been blown up by the international media particularly given the continuing devastating effect of AIDS in Asia and Africa .Did the Asian media originally cover SARS up? And if so why? I have been invited to join the board of advisers of the conference representing the Philippines. Those who wish to know more details and delegate and sponsor information can e-mail me [email protected]. ph or contact >[email protected] or [email protected]

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Constitutional reform. I am glad that senators and congressmen are finally meeting to thresh out the issues on constitutional reform. But there is still some lingering doubt on what exactly is the role of lawmakers in a constituent assembly. There is a misconception among some senators and congressmen that by discussing reforms they are changing the consititution. That is not the case. Their job, and that is mandated by the Constitution, is to debate the proposals being suggested by a good segment of the citizenry and to put it in a form to be voted on in a plebiscite. That duty is just as important if not more important than deliberating and passing bills. When the proposals for change are ready for a vote in a plebiscite then only can it be said that the constitution is being changed, not before citizens vote in a referendum. It is a fine distinction but it could dispel some of the misunderstanding.

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My e-mail is: [email protected]