Posted on 02/04/2005 6:34:32 PM PST by Indy Pendance
DIPLOMATS who received money from the United Nations’ discredited oil-for-food programme in Iraq were "parasites" profiting from the misery of an impoverished nation, the country’s human rights minister claimed yesterday.
Bakhtiar Amin said those responsible should be brought to justice and the money repaid to the Iraqi people.
"It shows that some so-called dignitaries had not an iota of shame in their bones, no conscience and no morals," he said.
"They profited as parasites on the misery of an impoverished nation."
The £32 billion oil-for-food programme, which ran from December 1996 to November 2003, allowed Saddam Hussein’s government to sell oil to buy humanitarian goods. It was intended to ease the life of ordinary Iraqis under 1990 UN sanctions. But an interim report from an independent inquiry into the programme reported it had found lax UN controls, a shortage of audit staff and political favouritism.
Yesterday Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, said two officials, including the programme director, would be disciplined and if criminal charges were needed, diplomatic immunity would be removed.
"We are as determined as everyone to get to the bottom of this," he said.
"We do not want this shadow to hang over the UN. So we want to get to the truth and take appropriate measures to deal with the gaps."
Investigators are still examining the role of Mr Annan and his son, Kojo, who had been employed by a Swiss company, Cotecna Inspection SA, which had a UN contract to certify deals under the oil-for-food programme.
Paul Volcker, the former head of the US Federal Reserve, who is leading the investigation, is expected to issue a report on that part of the inquiry soon.
More officials are expected to be named by investigators who are still looking into the actions of the UN Security Council, which authorised and monitored the oil-for-food programme, as well as the performance of UN contractors and the activities of UN agencies in the field in Iraq.
"It is not the whole story by a long shot," Mr Volcker said yesterday.
He has accused the programme director, Benon Sevan, of soliciting oil allocations for a small trading firm run by relatives of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the UN secretary-general from 1991 to 1996. Investigations are continuing into whether Mr Sevan received money for his efforts, as Iraqis have alleged.
"I think it is a fact that Mr Sevan placed himself in a grave and continuing conflict of interest situation that violated explicit UN rules and violated the standards of integrity essential to a high-level international civil servant," Mr Volcker said.
A second official, Joseph Stephanides, now director of Security Council affairs, was alleged to have intervened in selecting large contractors for the programme he helped organise in 1996, before Mr Sevan took over in late 1997.
Mr Sevan, a Cypriot, has denied profiting from the scheme. "Mr Sevan never took a penny," his lawyer Eric Lewis said. "Unfortunately, in the current political climate, the independent inquiry committee needs to find someone to blame."
"Mr Sevan ran the largest humanitarian programme in UN history, a programme that literally saved tens of thousands of innocent people from death by disease and starvation. He is enormously proud of his service."
But Mr Annan does not appear to accept this version of events.
"The secretary-general is shocked by what the report has to say about Mr Sevan," said Mark Malloch Brown, Mr Annan’s chief of staff. "He very much doubts there can be any extenuating circumstances to explain the behaviour, which appears proven in the report."
The report also cited "convincing and uncontested evidence" that three firms, Banque Nationale de Paris; the Dutch Saybolt Eastern Hemisphere and Britain’s Lloyd’s Register Inspection, were awarded contracts without competitive bidding in 1996.
But Mr Volcker said in the interim report - the final one will be in June - that the most serious violations of the UN sanctions involved illegal oil sales outside oil-for-food.
"And there is no question that those sales were known by the UN Security Council," the report added.
I have some other parasites who profited from Iraq's misery for Minister Amin to go after. Topping the list would be Michael Moore, Harvey Weinstein and others who made $100 million from a Baathist propaganda flick that portrayed Iraq under Saddam as an idyllic place somewhat nicer than Disneyland. CNN's Eason Jordan, who covered up for Saddam's crimes while cashing a hefty paycheck, should also be on the list. Many others.
The question then would be: Who cares?
Diplomats not only lined their pockets, in return they allowed Saddam to spend most of the money on weapons and palaces instead of badly needed food and medicine.
Then they blamed the United States for starving the Iraqi children.
Well, maybe clinton should share in some of the blame. Allbright was involved in setting this up, and clinton could not have been ignorant of such massive dealings. He had a nose for money and corruption. He and hillary were deeply involved with UN affairs.
There were a LOT more than just two freaking people involved in this.
Do you recall who succeeded Bill Richardson at the UN?
I can't find a list of ambassadors offhand, but I believe Richard Holbrooke became UN ambassador in 2000.
A news article posted here yesterday said that Maddy Albright was informed of the decision to give the contract to that French bank, although it's bid was the third lowest (out of four bidders), and she signed off on it.
So she at least had that much of a hand in it.
You are right that Parsites List should include Fat Boys, Moore and Swimmer Ted, sKerry, Soros....as well as a whole bevy of Pro-Saddamites!
Go to: http://www.getusout.org/un/index.html . Then go lobby at http://www.conservativeusa.org/megalink.htm .
The United Nations is a corrupt disgrace and it is time for the USA to WITHDRAW from and defund the United Nations. Please tell your senators, congressmen and everyone you know to support Representative Ron Paul’s bill H.R. 1146 which would WITHDRAW the USA from the United Nations, prohibit US funds going to the UN and prohibit US troops serving under UN command. H.R 1146 is the American Sovereignty Restoration Act.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.