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| East Asia |
| Standoff with Iraq’s former envoy to Beijing ends |
| 2003-08-04 |
| EFL A tense two-month standoff between Iraq’s former ambassador to Beijing and his staff ended peacefully after the envoy voluntarily left the embassy, an Iraqi diplomat said on Monday. The standoff, which began on June 7 and ended on July 31, was a problem for China, reluctant to expel the former ambassador Muwafak al-Ani, lest the move upset Chinese Muslims and some Arab countries. Mostly the Arab countries. Mr al-Ani was appointed in January by ousted President Saddam Hussein. The United States has asked China to expel Mr al-Ani who was recalled by Iraq’s post-war administration in June, said two independent sources -- a Western and an Asian. "The US has requested that the Iraqi ambassador be made PNG," the Western diplomat said, referring to the acronym for persona non grata. It was unclear if Mr al-Ani had left or would be allowed to remain in China. China has dragged its feet on the US expulsion request, hoping al-Ani would quietly leave the country. "We don’t want to offend the Americans, but we also don’t want to offend our Muslim friends around the world," said a Chinese government source. Note to China: See how long they stay your friends when your Chineese muslims act up. Talal Al-Khudairi, now the de facto Iraqi ambassador in Beijing, said al-Ani is wanted by Iraqi authorities for "armed assault" on the embassy and preventing staff from working. "We now have control of the embassy and the ambassador’s residence. Things are back to normal," he said by telephone. Mr Al-Ani is no stranger to diplomatic scandal. In 1991, the Philippines expelled al-Ani, then a first secretary, after he was linked to an attempted bombing of a US library in Manila. We’d like to talk to him about that, I’d wager. China is eager to recover billions of dollars in debts from the post-war Iraqi government. Bwahahahaha But it is also wary about upsetting about 80 million Chinese-Hui Muslims, many of whom are anti-American and sympathetic towards Saddam Hussein and Mr al-Ani. Assuming they have even heard of him. Mr al-Ani was reported to have resisted the recall order because he considered the post-war Iraqi authorities a puppet of Washington. That, and the Phillipine bombing thing. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #3 Purrfekt - my thoughts exactly. And the gang has extensive knowledge so precise that one would assume only the immediate |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-4 5:13:18 PM |
| #2 But it is also wary about upsetting about 80 million Chinese-Hui Muslims, many of whom are anti-American and sympathetic towards Saddam Hussein and Mr al-Ani. This is another Chinese excuse for sticking it to Uncle Sam. These Muslims are secular in outlook - hard not to be, given that the Chinese have banned mullahs from abroad and required Muslim college students to avoid all Muslim religious observances or face expulsion. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-8-4 5:10:32 PM |
| #1 Wonder if there was a "robbery" of the Embassy safe here too? Isn't that the weirdest thing? Seems to be a gang roaming the world, targetting Iraqi Embassy safes.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-4 3:59:10 PM |