on the necessity 'not to interfere in the internal affairs of other states', they are both defending their rights to repress their own national minorities. The fate of the Kurds has rightly become a matter of concern and grief internationally. But the whole of Iraq is suffering enormously - from the effects of the war and from Saddam's repres sion.
Following the crushing of the rebellion in the south, hundreds of thousands have fled into the marshes which lie between Iran and Iraq. Their fate is said to be worse than that of the Kurds. All over the country people are falling victim to Saddam's torture and death squads.
The whole country faces famine and epidemics. Cholera has already broken out. UN under general secretary Finn Martti reported last month that Iraq had been thrown back to 'a pre-industrial age'. The bombing, he said, had seriously affected food supplies, agriculture, water, electricity, hygiene and health.
The heat of the summer has not yet come. When it does the danger of epidemics will drastically increase. While Saddam's military machine ruthlessly scours the country crushing rebellion, Western sanctions are continuing to subject the ordinary people to destitution.
Opposition to Saddam's regime, as before the war, cannot justify support for sanctions. the people of Iraq as a whole need aid, with or without Saddam.