AMMAN - Jordan reiterated on Monday that the issue of handing over former Iraqi president's eldest daughter, Raghad, to the Iraqi government has not been raised with any party.
Speaking to reporters at his weekly news conference, Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh said despite the Red Alert issued by the Interpol regarding Raghad, "we are not dealing with that situation right now".
He said: "There are internationally recognised procedures when it comes to requests like that."
Judeh said Raghad, 38, was in Jordan for "humanitarian reasons".
"We spoke about this in the past and we indicated that... she does not practise - an agreement was struck with her concerning this - any political or media-related activities."
An Interpol Red Alert issued last year, saying Raghad is wanted for "crimes against life, incitement and terrorism", gained new publicity after Iraqi government announcement this weekend.
Government officials in Baghdad have previously accused Raghad of similar crimes.
The spokesperson also stressed that the issue of Raghad's extradition was not raised with Iraq's National Security Adviser Muwaffaq Rubaie during his recent talks in Amman.
Meanwhile, Judeh said that with the acceptance of around 40,000 Iraqi children into public schools, the burden of sustaining services to the more than 750,000 Iraqis in Jordan would exceed $1billion a year.
Jordan's decision to drop a residency requirement to admit school-age Iraqis in state-run schools this year has been welcomed by the Iraqi community in Jordan and other concerned parties.
On Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called for international support for Jordan following its decision.
"This courageous gesture by the Jordanian government will have to be strongly supported by the international community. It deserves wide recognition," the agency's country chief, Peter Janssen, said in a statement.
"It will help many Iraqis give some meaning to a very difficult and, at times, hopeless situation."
"UNHCR and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) are committed to providing technical assistance and financial support to help the Jordanian government expand and strengthen the private and public education sectors," the agency said.
Last month, the two agencies appealed for $129 million so that 155,000 Iraqi children in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria could attend school in the new academic year.
© Jordan Times 2007
