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Galloway accused of lying to US Senate
By
Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger in Washington
10/25/05 "The
Guardian"-- -- The MP George Galloway angrily
rejected fresh allegations last night from a US senate investigation
that he lied under oath about Saddam Hussein's multimillion-pound
oil-for-food programme.
The inquiry, headed by the Republican Norm Coleman, claimed he had
"knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath" when he
appeared before a committee hearing in Washington in May.
The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow won widespread acclaim, especially
from anti-Iraq war campaigners, when he flew to the US capital to
confront Mr Coleman.
An assistant to Mr Galloway, Ron McKay, who sat beside him at the
Senate hearing, said last night that the MP was prepared to fly to
Washington again to face the new allegations. "If such an allegation
has been made, George denies it absolutely and is ready to fly to
the US tomorrow if Coleman brings these charges and it will all be
sorted in court," he said.
Mr Galloway, who was forced out of the Labour party because of
anti-war comments, and the senator have been at loggerheads since
the Senate began its inquiry into oil-for-food, a UN humanitarian
programme intended to alleviate Iraqi suffering from sanctions.
Saddam abused the programme. The latest report from the committee
claims:
· "Galloway personally solicited and was granted oil allocations
from the government of Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein. The
Hussein regime granted Galloway and the Mariam Appeal (an
organisation he set up to help Iraqis suffering from sanctions)
eight allocations totalling 23m barrels from 1999 through to 2003."
· "Galloway's wife, Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad, received approximately
$150,000 in connection with one of those oil allocations."
· "Galloway's political campaign, the Mariam Appeal, received at
least $446,000 in connection with the oil allocations granted to
Galloway and the Mariam Appeal under the oil-for-food programme."
· "The Hussein regime received improper 'surcharge' payments
amounting to $1,642,000 in connection with the oil allocations
granted to Galloway and the Mariam Appeal."
· "Galloway knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath
before the sub-committee."
Mr Galloway said last night: "There is not a shred of truth in any
of these allegations. There has been no impropriety and I have not
received even one thin dime from the oil-for-food programme."
Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister who has been in jail
since the US invasion of Iraq, allegedly told the investigation the
oil had been allocated in the name of two of Mr Galloway's agents,
one of whom was Fawaz Zureikat. However, he added: "These oil
allocations were for the benefit of George Galloway and for Mariam's
Appeal. The proceeds from the sale benefited the cause and Mr
Galloway."
Mr Aziz is one of the primary witnesses mentioned in the new Senate
investigation. It quotes him as authenticating a letter supposedly
sent by the head of Iraqi intelligence detailing a meeting between
Mr Galloway, Mr Zureikat and an unnamed intelligence officer during
which the MP is said to have asked for an increased oil allocation.
The letter was published in the Daily Telegraph in 2003. Mr Galloway
successfully sued the newspaper, which is currently appealing
against the ruling. According to the new report, Mr Aziz "stated
that he recognised the ... letter and recalled seeing it in the
past".
Mr Aziz also allegedly told investigators that Mr Galloway had
expressed concern to him about "the appearance of taking money
directly from the Iraqi government", and asked for his and his
wife's name to be omitted from official documents. However, the
report found that several documents, authenticated by former regime
officials, did mention Mr Galloway by name.
The report quoted the former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yasin Ramadan
saying Mr Galloway, who is now an MP for the Respect party, was a
"friend of Iraq" who "needed to be compensated for his support".
"Galloway needed money to pay for his actions," Mr Ramadan allegedly
told investigators, adding "we gave him oil to sell to make the
money".
According to the report, the claim was confirmed by the former
minister of oil, Amer Rashid.
Mr Galloway's wife, Dr Abu Zayyad, from whom he is estranged, could
not be contacted last night. But she is quoted in the report as
denying having received any money.
Mr McKay challenged the validity of the statements made by Mr Aziz
and Mr Ramadan. "Tariq Aziz has been in custody and we know from his
lawyer this senate committee offered him a deal - just what I do not
know, whether reduced charges or freedom - and it is ironic that
Tariq Aziz , Yasin and Saddam are being accused, on the one hand, of
being homicidal maniacs and on the other of being relied upon to
give a true and accurate statements uncoerced."
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
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