Tunisia has complained about the UN Security Council's recently-adopted practice of listening to music at the start of each session on Iraqi sanctions, according to a report by BBC.Online.
The five-minute musical interlude was introduced last week in an effort to improve the atmosphere of the almost-daily negotiations, said the report.
However, it was stopped on Tuesday after Tunisia objected, saying it was not amused at the lack of seriousness towards Iraqis under eleven years of UN sanctions.
Correspondents say the playing of musical favorites at the start of discussions had been well received by negotiators, and that selections by Bangladeshi, British, Chinese and Colombian artists had been heard.
Experts have been meeting to try to reach a consensus on overhauling sanctions against Iraq by July 3.
Iraq said Tuesday that it would refuse to bow to US and British proposals for "smart" sanctions even if military force was used to impose changes in the UN embargo regime.
A senior official warned in an interview with AFP that "any resolution which Iraq refuses to accept will never be implemented, whatever the diplomatic or military measures to which the Anglo-American coalition resorts."
Also on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said that nearly 1.5 million of its citizens had died as a result of UN sanctions in force since August 1990, including 8,967 deaths last month – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
