Tracking Number: 236528
Title: "UN-Iraq Standoff on Weapons Inspection Ends." The standoff between the United Nations and Iraq over inspection of the Agriculture Ministry ended July 26 to the
satisfaction of both with a team of top UN inspectors allowed to enter the building as soon as possible. (920726)
Translated Title: Fin du bras de fer ONU-Irak sur les inspections (920726)
Author: AITA,
JUDY (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19920726
Text:
*SUF712
07/26/92
U.N.-IRAQ STANDOFF ON WEAPONS INSPECTION ENDS (U.N. to enter Iraqi building July 28) (1,380) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The standoff between the United Nations and Iraq over inspection of the Agriculture Ministry ended July 26 "to the satisfaction of both" with a team of top U.N. inspectors allowed to enter the building as soon as possible.
"The modalities of the inspection of the building -- the Ministry of Agriculture building -- was discussed and arrived at to the satisfaction of both sides," the head of the Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM) said, referring to several days of talks between the U.N. and Iraq.
"The Special Commission will conduct a full inspection of the building of the Ministry of Agriculture as previously designated....under the terms of Security Council resolution 687 and it will be carried out in accordance with the standard operational procedures of the inspection teams," Ambassador Rolf Ekeus, the chairman of the commission, said.
The team of nine inspectors and three translators are expected to arrive in Baghdad July 28. Ekeus said that he, too, will be in Baghdad to have follow-up talks with the Iraqis. While his presence was not a requirement, he said he had "a very strong invitation."
At a press conference, Ekeus acknowledged that the final problems centered on the nationalities of the inspectors who would be on the team. Iraq had objected to inspectors from nations that had participated in the Gulf war, especially the United States, Britain, and France.
Nevertheless, the commission insisted that it alone had the right to name the team members, but was sensitive to Iraq's complaints "without in any way compromising the quality of the inspection," Ekeus said, adding he picked the team "on the basis of what target, what circumstances."
U.S. Ambassador Edward Perkins said that the United States is "very skeptical" that the agreement...represents a basic change in Saddam Hussein's attitude. It is no guarantee UNSCOM will be able to do its job in the future."
In a statement to the press, Perkins said that "the real test of Saddam Hussein's behavior will be in future inspections: behavior along the lines we have just witnessed will not be tolerated."
Six inspectors along with translators will conduct inspections inside the building, Ekeus said. They can "remove, if they find, any relevant information on the weapons prohibited by the Security Council resolution...to a site outside the building designated by the commission. There (the material will be) examined and investigated by the inspectors and other members of the team."
The deputy chief of operations of the Special Commission, Achim Biermann of Germany, will be the chief inspector. The other members of the team allowed inside the building are from Germany, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia. Of the three inspectors outside the building, two are from the United States and the other from Russia. All have been part of other UNSCOM inspections over the past year.
"We have picked the best possible team. It's a very strong team," Ekeus said. "These are top experts in the field....highest quality and best experts, with long experience."
The presence of one particular inspector appeared to be at issue. Ekeus theorized that Iraq's motives may have been "to demonstrate that they were influencing the composition of team."
"But as a specific individual (he) had extraordinary skills and we were not were not ready to not make use of (those skills)," he said.
Iraqi Ambassador Abdul Amir Al-Anbari told journalists after delivering his government's answer that "we are satisfied the crisis -- as you call it the crisis -- is over. We hope the operation will be carried out smoothly and to the interests of both sides."
"The basic objective has been to insure the full respect of Iraq's sovereignty and Iraqi national security. Mr. Ekeus was more than happy to meet this requirement and we are happy with the modalities we have arrived at," Al-Anbari said.
"We have made it clear that we do not object to the principle of inspection. We agreed to that -- resolution 687 -- however we have to be sure that our sovereignty, our dignity, and our national security are not jeopardized," he said.
The standoff, which began on July 5, escalated when violent demonstrations and attacks threatened the safety of the inspectors keeping a 24-hour watch on the building. Ekeus withdrew the inspectors from the building to a Baghdad hotel July 23 and eventually five of the seven inspectors left the country for Bahrain.
During the two-and-a-half week standoff, Ekeus met with Iraqi officials in Baghdad and at U.N. headquarters to work out face-saving measures that would allow the inspectors in the building and thus prevent the allied coalition from declaring the gulf war cease-fire agreement broken. The threat of renewed military attacks from the coalition hung over the talks.
The military threat, Ekeus said, "put an element of reality into our discussions." As late as July 25 "the seriousness of the situation...the full risk and enormous weight of the consequences -- I didn't feel it had fully penetrated Baghdad."
Ekeus stressed that the commission never negotiated on the principle that the U.N. inspectors can go wherever they deem necessary throughout Iraq.
The Security Council's resolution says that the commission has access "every facility, every area, every place in Iraq we have access," he said. "But it goes without saying we have very wide rights and certainly we will exercise these rights in a reasonable way and with due respect to what could be legitimate concerns and interests of Baghdad."
The commission does not "foresee entering the (agriculture) minister's personal office," Ekeus said. He said that he expects to be invited to the office while he is in Baghdad.
Ekeus acknowledged that the material on Iraq's ballistic missiles that the commission was searching for when they targeted the agriculture ministry probably won't be there after the two-and-a-half week standoff.
"Most probably this building has been quite effectively cleaned out," he said. "I recognize that, but we are still looking for traces or there may be some material of significance for us."
"Essential material may be destroyed but there are things you don't destroy because you need it or...it will be relocated or hidden," the ambassador said. He added he hoped Iraq would cooperate and turn over the material.
The commission is still looking for "secret research, some specific equipment, mapping out supplier systems," Ekeus said.
"My trip now, hopefully in a more quiet atmosphere, (will be)...to tell the Iraqi government and high representatives to sort out once and for all, let us go toward finishing our requirements" under resolution 687, he said.
Another problem for the commission is the threats of physical harm and physical attacks on the inspectors.
The Special Commission is also sending a strong letter to Iraq criticizing the poor security measures for the inspectors and demanding better protection. Ekeus, himself, will be pressing the issue during his visit.
Al-Anbari was also asked by journalists about the other outstanding problems between the U.N. and Iraq, including its refusal to sell oil under a U.N. plan; using fixed-wing aircraft against Shi'ite areas in southern Iraq; and delays in renewing a memorandum of understanding with the U.N. on the relief workers in Kurdish areas in northern Iraq. The ambassador said the timing was a "coincidence" and each issue would be discussed on its own merits and not linked to the inspections.
Perkins also noted in his statement that the UNSCOM agreement did not resolve the other issues of Iraqi noncompliance.
"The bottom line is that Iraq is systematically preventing the U.N. from doing its job and, there, frustrating the will of the international community," Perkins said. "The international community cannot tolerate Iraqi defiance of the United Nations. There is too much at stake for the region, the U.N. and the world."
He said that the United States will continue to consult with the U.N. and its allies to insist on Iraq's "full compliance across the board."
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File Identification: 07/26/92, SU-712; 07/27/92, AE-112; 07/28/92, AF-210
Product Name: Wireless File
Product Code: WF
Languages: French
Keywords: IRAQ/Defense & Military; INSPECTIONS; ARMS CONTROL VERIFICATION; UNITED NATIONS-SECURITY COUNCIL; UNITED NATIONS-SPECIAL COMMISSION ON IRAQ; EKEUS, ROLF; PERKINS, EDWARD/Policy; IRAQ-US RELATIONS/Policy; BIERMANN, ACHIM
Thematic Codes: 1AC; 1NE; 1UN
Target Areas: AF; AR; EA; EU; NE
PDQ Text Link: 236528; 236817
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