ZAGREB, March 20 (Hina) - Despite the fact that it has the second largest oil reserves in the world, Iraq, which on Thursday morning came under attack by US planes after long-standing warnings, has under Saddam Hussein's leadership
become a country whose annual per capita GDP totals only around US$2,500.
ZAGREB, March 20 (Hina) - Despite the fact that it has the second
largest oil reserves in the world, Iraq, which on Thursday morning
came under attack by US planes after long-standing warnings, has
under Saddam Hussein's leadership become a country whose annual per
capita GDP totals only around US$2,500. #L#
What bears witness to the level of development of this country, once
a cradle of civilisation, is the fact that its population of 24
million today has less than 700,000 fixed telephone lines and less
than 50 TV sets per 1,000 residents.
The core of today's Iraq consists of the area between the Euphrates
and Tigris rivers, ie Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of
civilisation.
In the Middle Ages the territory of today's Iraq was the centre of
the Persian Empire and Baghdad was the cultural and political
capital of the area stretching from Morocco to the Indian
peninsula. In the 13th century the country came under the rule of
Mongolians, and since that time played no significant role in the
region until 1932, when the Iraqi state was established.
The Hashemite monarchy was toppled in 1958 and after a coup d'etat
in 1968 Iraq became one of the centres of Arab nationalism, ruled by
the Ba'as party.
The country became rich thanks to its oil reserves and in 1979, at
the time Saddam Hussein seized power, oil accounted for 95% of its
exports. Due to UN sanctions, imposed after the Gulf War, Iraq was
banned from exporting oil, however, a special programme called
"food for oil" established the amount of oil Iraq was allowed to
export in exchange for medicine, food and other basic supplies for
its citizens.
Iraq launched two big wars - against Iran in the 1980s and Kuwait in
1991.
The war with Iran (1980-1988) and the war in the Persian Gulf
(1991), together with the imposing of international sanctions,
have had a devastating effect on the country's economy and
population.
According to the latest available data from 2001, the country's
military budget totalled around 1.4 billion dollars.
Iraq has a population of 24 million, the main languages are Arab and
Kurdish, and the religion Islam.
The government and the Ba'as party hold a tight grip on all the
media. The media do not carry the stands of the Iraqi opposition or
the international community. Their sole mission is to carry the
state propaganda and glorify Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi media empire is headed by Saddam's son Uday, who has been
declared "the journalist of the century". Several Kurdish radio and
TV stations are active in the north of the country, where the
majority Kurd population has formed a semiautonomous region.
(hina) rml sb