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09 September 1998

UNITED NATIONS REPORT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1998

(Iraq, Libya)  (830)
UN SECURITY COUNCIL PREPARED TO SUSPEND IRAQI SANCTIONS REVIEWS
The Security Council September 9 was drafting a resolution that will
suspend Iraqi sanction reviews until Baghdad resumes cooperation with
UN weapons inspectors.
Suspending the six-month sanction reviews removes any chance that the
wide-ranging economic sanctions imposed on Iraq after the invasion of
Kuwait will be lifted or eased.
Council President Hans Dahlgren of Sweden said that the Council
members were working out minor details that would allow the resolution
to be adopted unanimously.
On August 5 Iraq announced it was "totally suspending" cooperation
with the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq (UNSCOM) and with
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying that its weapons
files should be closed and intrusive inspections ended. Both the
Security Council and Secretary General Kofi Annan declared that Iraq's
actions were unacceptable and in violation of the Gulf War cease-fire
agreements. On August 10 Annan sent his special envoy for Iraq,
Prakash Shah, to Baghdad to urge the government to cooperate with UN
weapons inspectors, however his mission was unsuccessful.
The new resolution condemns Iraq's August 5 announcement and demands
that it rescind the decision and cooperate with the UN immediately.
The draft says the Council will not conduct the review scheduled for
October nor conduct any further reviews until Iraq resumes cooperate
with the weapons inspectors. It also says that the Council will
consider "a comprehensive review" of Iraq's compliance with the Gulf
War cease-fire demands and the Secretary General's recommendation for
a comprehensive review of UNSCOM's work after Baghdad demonstrates
that it is prepared to fulfill all its Gulf War obligations.
Talking with journalists after a private meeting with the Council,
Annan said that he had no immediate plans to return to Baghdad to try
to resolve the impasse as he did in February.
"I stepped in in February to be helpful and I have made it clear to
the Council I will do whatever I can to help, but the Council is in
the lead," Annan said.
The Secretary General said that he talked with Iraqi officials
attending the Non-Aligned Summit in South Africa earlier this month
and stressed that their government was in breach of Security Council
resolutions and the "memorandum of understanding" he signed with Iraq
in February.
"I did tell them that it was essential that they rescinded the
decision and come back into compliance," Annan said. "For quite a
while they have been anxious to see the light at the end of the tunnel
and the only way that will happen and happen quickly is enhanced
cooperation.
"I wish they would come back, because without that they will be making
it difficult for the Council or anyone to talk of lifting sanctions,"
he added.
Asked about the harsh criticism of UNSCOM and the UN by former UNSCOM
chief inspector Scott Ritter, Annan noted that "there are many aspects
to the UN's relationship with Iraq and many aspects of the UNSCOM
operation. Mr. Butler's statement in the New York Times put things in
context."
UNSCOM Chairman Richard Butler told the New York Times that Ritter's
characterization of UNSCOM was filled with inaccuracies.
"UNSCOM has a dedicated team of men and women and they are continuing
to do its work," Butler told the New York Times. "...Unfortunately,
Scott Ritter's chronology of events is not accurate. You can't go
about making claims like this about who did what with which and to
whom on dates and times and places unless you get the story right or
otherwise its misleading."
UN WORKING WITH LIBYA ON BOMBING SUSPECTS EXTRADITION
Secretary General Annan said September 9 that UN lawyers are working
with Libya so that the two suspects in the 1988 Pan Am flight 103
bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, can appear in the Netherlands for
trial. The sabotage attack killed 270 persons.
Annan, who met with Libyan officials during the Non-Aligned Summit,
said that "the Libyans have indicated that they will need certain
clarifications which my office is prepared to provide to the extent
that we can."
On August 28 the Security Council officially accepted the proposal of
the United States and the United Kingdom to try the Pan Am suspects in
the Netherlands and asked the Secretary General to facilitate their
transfer there.
On August 24 the United States and the United Kingdom proposed that
the suspects, Abdel Basset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa
Fhimah, be tried before a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands.
"The Libyan foreign minister confirmed to me that they are prepared to
comply with the decision of the Council," Annan said, "and reminded me
that the suggestion that the trial by a Scottish court in a third
country came from them and that they are prepared to go ahead with
that but ... there are certain things in the fine print that they
would want some clarification on."