Posted on 03/13/2003 9:23:50 PM PST by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan made yet another appeal today for united Security Council action in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction as the 15-member body continued to wrestle over whether to give UN inspectors more time or to declare Baghdad in default by next Monday.
“I think what is important is that governments have to find a way of working together,” Mr. Annan said in reply to reporters’ questions at UN Headquarters in New York. “Regardless of how this crisis or the current issue is resolved, the Council will have to work together, and the Members States will have to work together to deal with the situation in Iraq, in the Middle East and in many other issues.”
The Secretary-General said he had spoken to British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday night and “he seemed very genuinely looking for a compromise and a way forward.” He also said Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva had sent him a message proposing a summit meeting of world leaders, not necessarily Security Council members, who are also searching for “a compromise to get us out of this crisis.”
The United States, United Kingdom and Spain have introduced a draft resolution that presents Iraq with a 17 March deadline to cooperate fully with disarmament demands, which France says it will veto. France, Germany, the Russian Federation and other Council members have voiced opposition to action at this time and seek continued and enhanced weapons inspections.
After meeting with the Russian and British Ambassadors on Wednesday, Mr. Annan is holding a series of one-on-one meetings with the remaining Council members today. He is “urging them to continue their strenuous efforts to find compromise and exploring with them what might be done to further their objective to define a united position,” spokesman Fred Eckhard said at a press briefing.
The Council has scheduled closed-door consultations this afternoon to continue discussions on Iraq.
What exactly does declare Bagdad by default mean?
SG: Good morning.
I've just come back from the Netherlands where we worked on the Cyprus issue. As close as we thought, it was not to be, and we had to give up the efforts of getting a united Cyprus into the European Union when they do the accession ceremony on the 16th of April.
And of course the International Criminal Court was launched, and I think that was a very positive development in the area of international law. And I hope it sends a powerful message to would-be perpetrators of major crimes that impunity will not be allowed to stand.
I know you are all anxious to talk to me about Iraq.
Q: Do you have any formula to break the deadlock in the [Security] Council?
SG: I know that strenuous efforts are being made by Council members to compromise and break the deadlock. I think these efforts should be taken seriously and I would urge all Council members to cooperate and to work in search of that compromise.
Q: Mr. Annan, if America and some of its allies eventually go to war without specific UN authorization, would it be better to pull the second resolution or for them to go after it was defeated? It seems to me that might be worse.
SG: Well, the resolution is before the Council, it has been tabled, and the Council members are discussing it. Some amendments have been introduced and I think this is a judgement for the sponsors of the resolution and the Council members to make.
Q: Mr. Annan, when you told Abu Dhabi television on the 14th of February that you support the second resolution, you found it necessary as well. Did you have in mind, did you envisage the same resolution now on the table, giving Iraq an ultimatum, giving them a short period of time, and possibly waving their way to war?
SG: I was referring to the logic in resolution 1441, which would require the Council to determine a further material breach and serious consequences.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, aren't we in a very unusual situation and the real key problem is that two of the permanent five members are not speaking to each other? You have a situation in which the French and the Americans really do not have a dialogue. Is there not something that you, as Secretary-General, could do to bring those two specific parties together on this?
SG: There are lots of contacts between capitals on this issue. And I know that there have been contacts between the Americans and the French. I cannot say what has happened in the last 48 or 24 hours. But I think what is important, and I think you've touched on it, that governments have to find a way of working together. Regardless of how this crisis or the current issue is resolved, the Council will have to work together and the Member States will have to work together to deal with the situation in Iraq, in the Middle East, and in many other issues. And therefore the divisions which have appeared, some of it is normal in democratic parliamentary processes, should not be long divisions that will prevent the Council from tackling the major issues ahead. Regardless of how this issue is resolved, the Council will have a role and the UN will have a role to play in Iraq and beyond.
Q: Sir, do you think the British attempt at diplomacy which we saw yesterday as a genuine and goodwill effort to build bridges or, as the French are suggesting, was that a disingenuous attempt to have a, find a hidden trigger for war?
SG: I spoke to the [United Kingdom] Prime Minister Tony Blair about this on Monday night, and he seemed very genuinely looking for a compromise and a way forward. He also indicated to me that if, in his judgement, Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership were to meet the criteria or the tasks set, and one were to conclude that he was genuinely disarming, we should accept it. And of course if he failed, then the consequences should follow.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what have you talked to Dr. [Hans] Blix about those benchmarks? A lot depends on what Dr. Blix thinks is doable in terms of the British proposal?
SG: I think most of the benchmarks apparently are already in the document Mr. Blix will be giving to the Council next week regarding remaining disarmament issues. And of course, we are consumed by Iraq here at Headquarters, but in capitals also, it's a very big issue. As you read in the papers, President [of Brazil Luis Inacio] Lula [da Silva] sent me a message through his Foreign Minister on Monday night suggesting that maybe we try and bring together a group of world leaders – organize a summit – with a group of leaders who are also searching for a compromise to get us out of this crisis. Not necessarily Council members, but interested heads of state in the world who are not on the Council, but are genuinely concerned to find a way out.
Thank you very much.
Kofi already has a secure career opportunity.
They've issued him an H-1B visa and an offer to become a customer greeter at WalMart.
Kofi's standing there holding a pair of training wheels while the rest of the world rides off on their mountain bikes.
Michael
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