29 October 1997
UNSCOM SUSPENDS OPERATIONS IN IRAQ
(Butler: Iraqi demands unacceptable) (1090) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The head of the Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM) suspended operations in Iraq and canceled talks with Iraqi officials October 29 after being told by Baghdad that American weapons inspectors will not be allowed in the country. UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard Butler announced the temporary suspension saying "it is not acceptable to me on an administrative level, nor is it consistent with the agreements Iraq has already entered into or with the longstanding policy of the United Nations to permit a circumstance where one member state would seek to exercise the right of decision or veto over the persons, who in good faith and I hope high professionalism, carry out objectively the work of the United Nations." "We want to resume our work as soon as we can but I'm not prepared to have this work continue on the basis that Iraq can say to us which person from which country is or isn't acceptable," he said. "Let me ask you a question: Who's next? Who's next? Today the United States, tomorrow the United Kingdom and so on. This is wrong," Butler said at a press conference. "Iraq is a party to an agreement made with the Security Council of the United Nations which specifically states that they are obliged to accept whatever staff UNSCOM hires to do the job." "Iraq signed an agreement. That agreement has to be adhered to," he said. Butler received a letter from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz October 29 complaining about "the roles of the American personnel and other personnel of the Special Commission who implement the American policy" and the commission's use of an American U2 plane. "No individuals of American nationality shall participate in any activity of the Special Commission inside Iraq, particularly the activities of inspections, interviews, aerial and ground surveillance," Tariq Aziz said. The decision not to deal with the Americans will go into effect at 1 a.m. on October 30 and Americans must leave Iraq within seven days, the Iraqi said. Butler said that "as a first step in response to that letter I have decided to suspend all operations of UNSCOM in Iraq." UNSCOM uses about 1000 people a year, many of whom are on short-term missions. It has a full-time staff of 160, of which 60 are in New York and 100 in Baghdad. Of the 100 in Baghdad, 10 are Americans, Butler said. The largest number of staff are from Chile, which supplies the helicopters and crews. UNSCOM maintains an office in Baghdad called the "Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Center." U.N. personnel live in various hotels and residences around the city. During the suspension, UNSCOM personnel will work in the monitoring and verification center. There will be no field operations, Butler said. Staff of the commission due to be rotated in an out will continue in their normal way. Some of the UNSCOM due to be rotated in the next few days are Americans. Butler took the decision as the chief administrator of UNSCOM. The Security Council was scheduled to meet later in the day to discuss its reaction to the Iraqi demands. As to the withdrawal of Americans from Baghdad, Butler said that he had not made a decision about that. He added that he had received assurances that "there's no threat to the safety of those personnel at the present time," but emphasized that he would be "taking steps through diplomatic channels to reinforce that assurance." The UNSCOM chairman said that he was canceling meetings he and other UNSCOM officials had set for October 31 with a visiting group of senior Iraqi officials responsible for weapons programs. Butler noted that he had worked with the U.S. Government to get the Iraqis visas to make the trip. Now, he said, "they will have made their trip for nothing." Butler also canceled his four days of meetings in Baghdad which were to begin on November 7. Butler, who replaced Rolf Ekeus as head of the commission in July, said he is not sure what the next move will be. He refused to discuss "the issue of nationality of any staff" or making any choices about how to continue operations without American personnel. "The only thing I'm sure of is what cannot happen, and what cannot happen is that the United Nations be told by one member state which of its personnel is or isn't acceptable," Butler asserted. "Every member of UNSCOM staff is recruited on the basis on their professional ability and their willingness to serve the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and the mandate of UNSCOM," he said. "The removal from us of any of our competent staff -- and we don't have a large staff; the job is far larger than the amount of staff we have -- is harmful," he said. "I'm nationality-blind," Butler said. If UNSCOM personnel are "doing their job right, they're in; if they're not, they're out." "Since I took up this job I have emphasized to this staff that UNSCOM rises or falls on the basis of its professional competence, integrity, and objectivity," he said. "We are not in the business of miscounting missiles or missing out on some chemical munitions. There is no second prize ... you're either right or you're wrong. And it's very important that we be right." Butler also took exception to what he called "personalizing" by Tariq Aziz and other Iraqi officials of problems with UNSCOM because of Americans. He rejected Iraqi charges that the U2 is spying for the U.S. under UNSCOM cover. The United States "operates the U2 for us. It supplies its film product to us. To say the U.S. is spying under U.N. cover I simply reject," he said. Butler added that he was "mystified" as to why Iraq was taking such a negative stance about UNSCOM's recent report to the Security Council and had made the move against the Americans. "Our report ... demonstrated that in the last 4 or 5 months we've made significant progress. That's what I call a 'glass half full,'" he said. Both Butler and UNSCOM Deputy Chairman Charles Duelfer, an American, said that to date Iraq had not discriminated against American members of UNSCOM. "Iraqis on the ground seem to be nationality blind. They treat all inspectors much the same on a day-to-day basis," Duelfer said.
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