Australia's Prime Minister John Howard answers questions during a news conference after he appeared at the Cole Inquiry in Sydney April 13, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters)

    CANBERRA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday appeared before an inquiry to give evidence about what he knew of Australia's wheat exporter AWB's role in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal.

    He is only the second prime minister to be called to give evidence to a judicial inquiry after Bob Hawke, who became the first when he appeared before a royal commission in 1983.

    The inquiry, headed by Commissioner Terence Cole, Australia's former Supreme Court judge, is investigating claims that AWB paid 220 million U.S. dollars of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government in order to obtain contracts through the oil-for-food program, in breach of UN sanctions.

    Howard was in the hearing room for 50 minutes and the questioning of him is described as very "limited."

    He told the inquiry that he saw none of a batch of cables, including two key ones which contains warnings about the bribery information.

    The questioning was focused on two key cables containing the warnings.

    One was from Bronte Moules from the Australian office in New York in 2000 warning back home in Australia that the Canadian government had raised concerns about AWB kickbacks.

    The other is the one from Iraq's UN office, after the war, where they discovered that all contracts contained kickbacks of 10 to 15 percent.

    Howard said he didn't see these two key cables.

    He said that out of all the cables that the inquiry has examined, some didn't even get to his office, adding of the ones that did, none of the information about the bribery was passed on to him.

    Speaking to reporters before the hearing began Thursday morning, Howard said "the appearance by me, earlier this week by the Foreign Minister (Alexander Downer), and also by the Trade Minister (Mark Vaile), demonstrates absolutely how open, transparent and accountable the Government is being in relation to this matter."

    The security was tight around the building housing the inquiry in Sydney, Australia's largest city.

    A group of protesters chanting "John Howard is a liar" and holding placards saying: "John Howard War Criminal" and "Troops out now" demonstrated outside the Cole commission before the hearing began. One protester was arrested when trying to enter the building straight after Howard.

    Australia's largest opposition party, the Labor party, has accused the government of gross negligence and of limiting the powers of Cole to investigate the commonwealth's role in the issue. Enditem

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