Iraq's UN ambassador appealed to the Security Council on Monday (local time) to lift "shackles and burdens" from the Saddam Hussein era and treat his country like any other nation.

In particular, Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie wanted the council to rescind resolutions imposed on the former government, such as arms bans, and end using Iraqi oil funds to pay UN weapons inspectors, several of whom are still on duty at the United Nations in New York.

"We need now to be relieved from shackles and burdens placed upon Iraq during the previous government in order to contain it," Sumaidaie said. He urged the council to "dismantle the structures, legal, bureaucratic and otherwise, which have outlived their relevance.

"Iraq is a fledgling democracy committed to the rule of law, both internationally and domestically. As such, it has the legitimate right to expect to be treated like any other member state," the ambassador said.

Sumaidaie said earlier more than US$12 million a year left over from the scandal-tainted oil-for-food programme was being used to pay UN inspectors monitoring Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The arms experts have not been allowed in the country since the US-led invasion two years ago.

He said last month the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in charge of nuclear materials, was using another US$12 million over two years.

China's UN Ambassador, Wang Guangya, told reporters the council would decide the future of inspectors in the next few months.

The lifting of an arms embargo, he said, would probably be considered as the "political process moves forward."

Rumsfeld visits Baghdad

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on a surprise visit, warned Iraq's new leaders yesterday against political purges and cronyism that could spark "lack of confidence or corruption in government."

He said the United States also opposed any move to delay the political schedule in Iraq, which includes drafting a new constitution by mid-August and elections in December.

His ninth visit to Iraq since the March 2003 invasion came as the US military hopes to cut troop numbers there next year.

"The presence of (US) security forces is not going to be something that is going to go on forever," he told reporters on his military transport plane that flew direct from Washington. Later he meets Iraq's new Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad.

Just before Rumsfeld's visit, a US contractor was kidnapped near Baghdad on Monday, raising fresh concerns about security.

Source: China Daily