Iraq: ‘great job so far, but much more to do’

Date: 28/05/03

COALITION forces in Iraq have made "tremendous progress" in restoring public services to the country, but much more still needs to be done, according to MEP Emma Nicholson.

The Liberal deputy, just back from visiting Basra, Iraq's second city, said water supplies are back to their pre-war levels, electricity has been restored and improvements have been made to the health and telecommunications system.

But Baroness Nicholson, a World Health Organization (WHO) special envoy, warned a "huge" amount of work remains to reconstruct the country after the US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein.

She called on the US and Britain to ensure that Iraq's skilled workforce is not bypassed in the country's reconstruction. "Iraq is full of professional people. They must be re-established and given the necessary support to enable them to play a full role."

Nicholson, vice-chairman of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee, was in Basra to reopen the WHO office, which was closed in the run-up to the war. Its job is to coordinate medical and health relief in the region.

Nicholson praised the role played by British troops in restoring basic supplies for Basra and other nearby towns. "These services are vital to the health of the local population. It is difficult to overstate the importance of what the UK armed forces have been doing.

Without their work, the plight of the people in southern Iraq would be immeasurably worse."

Once emergency health relief has been dispensed and immediate health needs addressed, the WHO will need to carry out an extensive health survey of the Iraqi population to plan the country's health infrastructure needs, she added.

Nicholson, the Parliament's rapporteur on Iraq and a frequent visitor to the country, is convinced Saddam Hussein is still alive: "I believe he's still in Iraq, possibly between north-east Baghdad and the Iranian border. I think he's moving around and organizing the selective looting that is going on in the country."

• A US soldier was killed and seven others wounded when they were attacked by a force armed with rocket-propelled grenades, according to reports yesterday (27 May). Two Iraqis were killed and six captured in the engagement at Falluja, north-west of Baghdad. Another American soldier was killed on Monday when gunmen fired on a convoy near Haditha.

Meanwhile, four British soldiers announced yesterday that they plan to sue the UK Ministry of Defence after suffering side effects from vaccinations they were persuaded to take ahead of the recent conflict.