PRESS BRIEFING BY CHAIRMAN OF SPECIAL COMMISSION ON IRAQI DISARMAMENT

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY CHAIRMAN OF SPECIAL COMMISSION ON IRAQI DISARMAMENT

The Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission set up under Security Council resolution 687 (1991) to monitor the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that he had decided to withdraw most UNSCOM personnel from Iraq and leave only a skeleton staff at its Baghdad Centre.

His announcement was contained in a statement which he read to the representatives of the media, as follows:

"Iraq informed the Special Commission in Baghdad at 1725 hours Baghdad time (0925 New York time), and the Secretary-General here in New York roughly one hour later, that all Americans in UNSCOM must leave Iraq this day, 13 November. They insisted that they leave by road to Jordan, that is, no later than six-and-one-half hours after this demand was conveyed to UNSCOM Baghdad.

"I have decided to continue to resist this segregation of UNSCOM's staff according to nationality. As I have said with respect to our inspections, we will not accept this illegal separation of nationalities. Therefore, I will withdraw all UNSCOM staff tomorrow and leave a skeleton staff at the Baghdad Centre to sustain our facility pending resolution of the present crisis.

"Our goal is to keep open the possibility to restart our work as soon as possible when the conditions are acceptable.

"I am requesting that Iraq allow the Americans to depart tomorrow on board the UNSCOM aircraft with the rest of our staff. Agreement to this request would make virtually no difference in terms of the time at which the Americans would be out of Iraq. I await an answer from Baghdad."

A correspondent asked whether UNSCOM's day-to-day monitoring operation could survive the inspectors' withdrawal or would be seriously hampered. Mr. Butler said the Commission's skeleton staff would be running the monitoring machines, some of which included the screens at the receiving ends of remote cameras. "But I would be misleading you if I thought that gave us any confidence. The fact is that every day that has passed since the 29 October announcement by Iraq has harmed our monitoring effort. And certainly, the absence of inspections has been a matter of very serious concern. Every day lost makes the circumstances worse. And, of course, when we leave tomorrow, those problems will simply grow."

UNSCOM Briefing - 2 - 13 November 1997

Asked to state the numbers and nationalities of the staff that would be left behind, Mr. Butler said he could not reveal their nationalities, as that was a point he was trying to get across. Nine staff would be left in the Baghdad Centre and about 72 would ride the aircraft that would leave Iraq tomorrow. That number could rise to 78, if the American UNSCOM staff were allowed on the plane.

Did the withdrawal pave the way for the use of force by the United Nations or Member States? a correspondent asked. "You are asking the wrong person", Mr. Butler said. He would write to the President of the Security Council on his decision and assumed that the Council would take up the matter.

Mr. Butler was asked to respond to the charge by Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, that the Executive Chairman would be responsible for the consequences of the withdrawal. "I grow a little tired of this swapping of who is at fault for what", he said.

In October, UNSCOM had reported some progress with Iraq on the question of disarmament, Mr. Butler said. On 27 October, he had written to Mr. Aziz, proposing an agenda for the next moves on disarmament. Instead of getting a reply, UNSCOM was faced with the Iraqi decision of 29 October.

"Those are the decisions that have brought about this crisis", he said. "My necessary decision to remove our staff temporarily is, of course, my responsibility. That's what I am supposed to do as head of this organization -- accept responsibility for such decisions. But if he is implying that I am responsible for what happened on 29 October, that's plainly wrong."

To a correspondent who stressed that Mr. Aziz had charged the Executive Chairman with responsibility for whatever happened after withdrawal of the UNSCOM team, Mr. Butler said, "I grow a little tired of this degree of personalization of things". There were disarmament issues at stake here. The Commission wanted to return to its work as soon as it could, and -- as the Council unanimously made clear yesterday -- that work would proceed if Iraq changed its policies.

How vulnerable or secure would UNSCOM's facilities in Iraq be after the staff withdrew? a correspondent asked. Mr. Butler said the facilities were secure, since UNSCOM had taken precautions to ensure security.

Asked whether the absence of inspectors would shorten the time it would take Iraq to arm weapons with chemical or biological components, Mr. Butler said "I don't know what they are doing because we can't see any more". Given what must happen tomorrow, UNSCOM's ability to see things would be further reduced for a while. "I can't predict what in fact is happening, because we can't see."

UNSCOM Briefing - 3 - 13 November 1997

Was air surveillance by helicopters and high-altitude aircraft continuing? a correspondent asked. Mr. Butler said the helicopters had not been flying, even though the skeleton staff to be left behind would include the Chilean helicopter component, which had worked out a schedule to maintain its presence. However, the Chileans had not been flying and would not do so under the current circumstances. Nevertheless, high-altitude reconnaissance had been authorized to continue.

Asked of the destination and duration of stay of those who will leave Iraq tomorrow, Mr. Butler said they would go to Bahrain and stay there for a while, with the hope that they would be able to resume their work shortly. He declined to comment when his views were sought on hints by the United States that it was within its right to unilaterally strike at Iraq over the crisis.

Why were not the UNSCOM helicopters flying, and when would the next flight of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft take place? a correspondent asked. The Executive Chairman said the helicopters had not been flying because inspections that required their services, such as site visits, had not been undertaken recently. As for the U-2 aircraft, they had been authorized to make some flights, of which the Iraqi Government had been informed.

Should the withdrawal of UNSCOM personnel lead to military conflagration, how capable was Iraq of striking at its neighbours? a correspondent asked. "You are asking the wrong person", Mr. Butler said.

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