Jubilee Iraq, launched on 5th April 2003, is a coalition of organisations and individuals working to ensure that the Iraqi people - emerging from decades of war, oppression and sanctions - are not required to pay Saddam's bills. It has a growing network of supporters in many countries.
In the 1980s countries gave Saddam huge loans to finance his wars, build his palaces and oppress the Iraqi people. Now Saddam is gone, these countries are demanding that the Iraqi people pay them. These debts belong to the Baath party, not Iraq. Jubilee Iraq demands that creditor countries should write off all their claims and apologise to the Iraqi people for financing Saddam's regime. Jubilee Iraq will support the future Iraqi government in repudiating any debts which creditors refuse to cancel. Claims for reparations resulting from the invasion of Kuwait are also Saddam's responsibility and should be cancelled.
Saddam Hussein owes up to $400bn. If the Iraqi people are made to pay this each will owe $15,000 - many times their yearly income. Iraq can earn $15bn a year from oil, but this just three percent of the money Saddam owes. It would take decades to repay even a fraction, diverting critical resources needed to rebuild Iraq.
