26 February 2003
Blix Says Iraq Not Fully Cooperating
(UNMOVIC preparing quarterly report for Security Council) (540) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said February 26 that even with increased interaction between Iraq and the inspectors he has not seen any indication that Baghdad has made the fundamental decision to disarm. Speaking with reporters at U.N. headquarters, Blix, the executive chairman of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) said, "I do not think I can say there is evidence of a fundamental decision, but there is some evidence of some increased activity. There is certainly more activity now." Blix has received six letters from Iraq providing information the U.N. weapons inspectors had requested, and the UNMOVIC chief has said that they contained "some positive elements," but must be examined further. One letter reported the discovery of an R-400 bomb containing liquid at a biological weapons disposal site. Blix is preparing a report for the Security Council due March 1. U.N. officials said that the written report will be sent to the council on that date, but the Security Council had not yet set a date to discuss the report with Blix. Asked to characterize the increased activity, Blix said, "full cooperation or a breakthrough? No, I don't think you can say that. We have a very long list of disarmament issues and it will require a big effort in order to clarify all of those." Blix ended two days of meetings with UNMOVIC's College of Commissioners to review some 30 unresolved disarmament issues that are to be covered in the March 1 report. Blix said he still has no official word on whether Iraq will begin destroying its Al Samoud 2 missiles on March 1, as UNMOVIC has demanded. The missiles exceed the 150 km. range for missiles set by the Security Council in resolution 687 passed at the end of the Gulf War. An UNMOVIC official is in Baghdad discussing the issue. "These things are deployed, a lot of them are deployed out in the field and it is quite an effort to have (them) destroyed," Blix said. "I am sure he will try to make a plan." In Baghdad, UNMOVIC spokesman Hiro Ueki said that biological weapons inspectors returned for a third day to a site in the Al Aziziyah Range about 100 km. southwest of Baghdad where Iraq says it destroyed R-400 bombs filled with biological agents without U.N. supervision in 1991. Missile teams visited the Al Shika company which supplies support equipment for research and development, and the Al Amin Factory which performs mechanical machining and hydrostatic testing of Al Fatah and Al Abour motor cases and produced the body for the Al Fatah cluster-type warhead. The inspectors tagged equipment which had previously been destroyed by weapons inspectors prior to 1998 but subsequently was repaired by Iraq, Ueki said. Inspectors also tagged other equipment that had been destroyed by UNMOVIC's predecessor (UNSCOM) but repaired by Iraq at the Al Basil Company. The equipment was related to a banned missile of the past and some of it is currently being used to produce parts for the Al Fatah missile, he said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
