Annan Says UNSCOM
Spying Charges Credible
06:25 a.m. Jun 27, 1999 Eastern
LONDON (Reuters) - U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
said Sunday there was some
evidence that weapons inspectors
in Iraq were involved in spying for
Washington.
''I think there was a measure of
justification in those allegations and
Washington never denied it,''
Annan told BBC television.
''That...was worrisome because it
not only undermined UNSCOM
but it could undermine future
disarmament regimes,'' he said.
''The suspicion will always be
there: 'Are they coming to disarm
or are they coming to spy','' he
said.
Earlier this year, Scott Ritter, a
former U.N. inspector, accused
Washington of using the U.N.
Special Commission (UNSCOM),
in charge of Iraqi disarmament, to
obtain information on how Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein could
be removed rather than where he
might have hidden weapons of
mass destruction.
In January, The Washington Post
said Annan had convincing
evidence that UNSCOM
inspectors helped collect
intelligence used in U.S. efforts to
undermine Saddam. And the
Boston Globe said U.S. agents
eavesdropped on secret
communications between elite
military units responsible for
Saddam's security.
UNSCOM has not been in Iraq
since U.S.-British bombing raids in
December.
Annan said the U.N. Security
Council was urgently discussing
Iraq and might be able to reach
agreement on a plan to put to
Baghdad. Plans had been floated
by the Russians, British, French
and Dutch, he said.
''It is my hope that the council will
find common ground and come up
with a proposal that we can put to
the Iraqi leadership,'' he said. ''We
can do very little without their
cooperation.''
Since the December raids by the
United States and Britain, the
15-nation Security Council has
been deadlocked on how to
resume political and disarmament
ties with Baghdad.
Britain and the Netherlands, trying
to break the deadlock, have
proposed a resolution that would
suspend Gulf War sanctions
against Iraqi exports, such as oil, if
Baghdad answered outstanding
questions about its weapons
potential.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. |
