TEXT: UN SPOKESMAN'S DAILY BRIEFING FOR APRIL 27, 1998
United Nations -- Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, briefed. Following is the UN text of the summary: (begin text) 27 April 1998 Press Briefing DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL (Incorporates briefing by spokesman for General Assembly President.) Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by stating that the Security Council was conducting its periodic review of sanctions on Iraq this morning. Gary Dillon, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) action team in Iraq, first introduced the report on their activities over the past six months. Ambassador Richard Butler, Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission on the disarmament of Iraq (UNSCOM), had then introduced his biannual report. Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, the Commissioner of the Special Group which conducted the inspection of eight presidential sites, also reported on his Group's mission. The review was likely to continue into the afternoon. Ambassador Butler was expected to brief the press. In addition, the Russian Federation was organizing an informal meeting of Council members with Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mohammed Said Al-Sahaf, and Iraq's Oil Minister, General Amir Rasheed, under the "Arria formula" the Spokesman said. That would take place at 4:30 p.m. today in Conference Room 7 and the two Iraqi Ministers would hold a press conference in room 226 at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Mr. Eckhard said that Iraq's detailed response to the biannual report of UNSCOM was out as a Security Council document this morning and was available on the racks. It contained several annexes on the Iraqi accounting of the activities of inspection teams and monitoring groups over the past six months, the technical evaluation meetings, and a list of weapons, materials and destroyed equipment between 1991 and 1997. .............. Asked about reports that the Secretary-General had asked UNSCOM to change a paragraph in its report, Mr. Eckhard said that no changes had been made in the report and none had been requested by the Secretary-General. .............. It had come to the attention of correspondents that the Office of Internal Oversight Services had been asked to investigate the leak of a United Nations report, a correspondent said. "It would seem to a number of us that is a bit chilling on just normal contacts and press freedom in the building. It is not as if a secret document was stolen out of the Secretary-General's office." Mr. Eckhard said that the Member States did not like to see reports discussed in the media before they themselves had received them. "There has been a pattern of leakage -- we don't know where it is. But when a wire service or someone else starts discussing the content of a report before it has reached the Council members, we do not think it is against free speech and we do not think it is against you. We would just like an orderly distribution of reports, so it goes first to the Council and then to the media." The same correspondent said there was a "very political game" in the Council directed against UNSCOM and it was surprising that the Secretariat would get involved. Mr. Eckhard said that if Council members leaked their own reports that was their business, but the Secretariat should not. "We are not saying that the Secretariat is involved, but we suspect that it might be and we just want to look into it." Asked to comment on the different evaluations of Iraq's cooperation with inspections of the presidential sites, the Spokesman said the UNSCOM report covered a significant period which preceded the Memorandum of Understanding. However, as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding, Iraq had committed itself to allowing unfettered access by UNSCOM. In the investigations that had happened since then, including the inspection of presidential sites, Iraq had made good on that pledge. There might have been some tension during the presidential site inspection relating to the overflight by UNSCOM helicopters, but those problems were eventually worked out. The Security Council was just beginning its review of sanctions in the light of those changes "and we'll just see where it goes." The Secretary-General was pleased with the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding and was hopeful it would continue. ........... (end text)
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