Evo Islandske "mafije"...
Andres, si mel ti tud klele prste vmes?
jap, čudeži dogajajo....
Icelanders Apologise for Iraq War
By Vidir Sigurdsson, Reuters
Jan 21, 2005, 20:27
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REYKJAVIK -
A group of nationals from tiny Iceland have slammed their government's support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, apologising to Iraqis in a full-page advertisement in The New York Times.
The advertisement, paid for with donations from more than 4,000 citizens which constitutes about 1.4 percent of the population, demanded "that Iceland be immediately removed from the list of invaders in the 'coalition of the willing'. "We apologise to the Iraqi people for the Icelandic ministers' support for the invasion of Iraq," said the ad, published on Friday.
Four out of five Icelanders want their country off the list, according to a Gallup opinion poll published earlier this month.
But a foreign ministry official ruled out any policy change.
"No, Saddam Hussein has been overthrown and we are steadfast in our support for stability and democracy in Iraq," Foreign Minister David Oddsson's political adviser Illugi Gunnarsson told Reuters.
Iceland's backing has had little impact on the coalition's fortunes since the war began in March 2003. The North Atlantic archipelago of 295,000 people and no military has contributed nothing but its government's verbal support.
Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson and Oddsson, both seen by analysts as staunch allies of President George W.Bush, have come under fire for signing up Iceland as a coalition partner without consulting parliament.
"The decision to land us on this list of the coalition of the willing should have been discussed by parliament's foreign affairs committee," said Olafur Hannibalsson, spokesman for the National Movement for Active Democracy, which placed the ad.
He characterised the government's unilateral action as a "deviation from our foreign policy".
NO VETO
Gunnarsson said critics skated "on very thin ice".
Although major foreign affairs decisions should be brought to the attention of the committee in order to ensure members are informed, the body makes no decisions and has no veto over foreign policy, he said.
The government's position -- that the use of force in Iraq was not excluded -- was known to all committee members long before the decision to join the coalition, he said.
And the policy was known weeks before Iceland's May 2003 general election and voters could have opted for change, he noted, adding: "But the government firmly held office."
University of Iceland associate professor of political science Baldur Thorhallsson said the administration was "in trouble, but not in serious trouble" over the affair, which lately has dominated the news and public debate.
"The government is not going to back off and will not leave the coalition ... in no way is this ad going to affect the policy of the government," he said.
Some critics say the government sided with Washington in an effort to keep U.S. air force fighter jets at Keflavik air base. Reykjavik sees the base as vital for security and is worried by U.S. plans to close it due to the end of Cold War tensions.
"Several hundreds of jobs are at stake," said Hannibalsson, arguing that the base was probably "the real reason" for the cabinet's eagerness to please Washington.
Gunnarsson denied any such connection.
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