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Iraq: 'Mistakes all around'
21/08/2003 07:46 - (SA)
New York - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said both the United States and the United Nations had made mistakes in Iraq as the world body searched for ways to improve security after its headquarters in Baghdad were bombed.
Cutting short his summer holiday in Scandinavia, Annan returned to UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday vowing the UN would remain in Iraq to help restore peace and stability.
Hours later, he met somber members of the security council who stood for a minute in silent tribute to the victims of Tuesday's attack.
Syria's UN ambassador Mikhail Wehbe, the council president, read a formal statement from the 15 members "unequivocally" condemning the bombing as a terrorist attack "against the international community as a whole".
In a show of solidarity with the United Nations, US secretary of state Colin Powell arranged to meet Annan on Thursday morning at UN headquarters.
The secretary-general was scheduled to meet British foreign secretary Jack Straw later in the day.
While many at the United Nations were mourning the victims - at least 20 dead and more than 100 wounded - council members started to focus on the big issue ahead, ensuring security for UN operations.
Should have accepted aid offer
Annan said he was surprised to hear reports the UN had turned down an offer of security from US-led coalition forces in Iraq, emphasising that security was the responsibility of the United States as the occupying power.
"I don't know if the UN did turn down an offer for protection, but if it did, it was not correct and they should not have been allowed to turn it down," he said.
"That kind of decision should not be left to the protected. It is those with responsibility for security and law and order, who have intelligence, which determines what action is taken."
The secretary-general said mistakes had been made in dealing with the Iraq issue.
"The coalition has made some mistakes, and maybe we've made some mistakes, too," he said.
"I don't want to get into finger-pointing. I think we are all aware that along the way mistakes have been made by all concerned."
Annan said the international organisation, which provides humanitarian relief to millions of Iraqis and is working to rebuild the country and help restore its independence, wouldn't be deterred by Tuesday's attack.
"We will persevere. We will continue. It is essential work," Annan said in Stockholm en route to New York.
Analysing risks
The security council statement welcomed "the determination of the UN to continue its operation in Iraq" and declared that it "will not be intimidated by such attacks."
Annan warned, however, that without improved security, the United Nations would not be able to do its job in Iraq.
He said the UN had started assessing security arrangements, and he would make recommendations to the security council.
Tun Myat, the UN security co-ordinator, will leave for Iraq on Thursday to analyse the risks and recommend whether the remaining staffers should stay.
"We have been in Iraq for 12 years and we have never been attacked," Annan said, expressing shock at how a UN mission was targeted by an apparent suicide bombing.
Unlike US occupation forces, the organisation had been welcomed by many Iraqis.
The attack renewed discussions about the possibility of sending a multinational force to help secure Iraq. But the idea - favoured by the United States and opposed by others on the security council - appeared unlikely to pick up any new proponents unless Washington agreed to cede some control of Iraq to the United Nations.
Annan said an international force is "under discussion".
"But, I do not see UN blue helmets going into Iraq at this stage." He also said he didn't foresee quick action on this contentious issue.
US ambassador John Negroponte said "one of the possibilities that is being seriously thought about is the possibility of another security council resolution ... but we don't have any specific proposal to put on the table at the moment."
Queries about broader mandate
Washington had tried to recruit additional forces for Iraq, but couldn't get France, Germany, India and Russia to contribute without a larger role for the United Nations.
Diplomats said the United States wanted to listen to the views of those who want to broaden the UN mandate in Iraq.
"The first thing that comes to my mind" is that the Coalition Provisional Authority should take "additional steps" to provide security, said Russia's deputy UN ambassador Gennady Gatilov.
Deaths 'won't be in vain'
Annan said he was mourning those killed, including the top UN envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, whom he described as a "brilliant colleague, our brightest and best."
The UN humanitarian mission in Iraq will continue so the victims' deaths "shall not be in vain", said Annan.
Annan appeared to indirectly criticise the United States for having underestimated the difficulties of pacifying and rebuilding Iraq after its March invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
"We had hoped that, by now, the coalition forces would have secured the environment for us to be able to carry on... economic reconstruction and institution building," Annan said. "That has not happened."
Annan said he hoped those responsible for the attack would be brought to justice - although that may be a long way off. The unidentified perpetrators appeared to be organised and sophisticated, he said.
- AP
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