Blix demands sound evidnce from Iraq
Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has said he warned Iraq that it must prove to sceptical nations that it has no illegal nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes.
With inspections set to resume tomorrow, Iraq is mandated to provide the Security Council and inspectors with a declaration of its weapons programmes by December 8.
Yesterday, Mr Blix said Iraq reiterated during meetings in Baghdad last week that it does not have any weapons of mass destruction, a position it has taken for several years.
If Iraq states in the declaration that it has no such programmes, “it would need to provide convincing documentary or other evidence”, Mr Blix told the council, according to his briefing notes.
He told reporters later that two months after UN inspectors left Iraq in December 1998, they produced a document with outstanding questions about Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s weapons programmes.
For example, Iraq provided inspectors with figures about their production of mustard gas, a nerve agent, but “these figures do not give a full account”.
“If they want to be believed they better provide either the weapons if they remain, or better accounts,” he said.
Mr Blix said Iraqi officials told him they intend to cooperate fully with UN inspectors.
“Some members of the council said that so far so good, and I think that’s true, but … we do not have any illusions that it’s an easy job laid upon us,” he said.
On the critical issue of access, Iraqi officials remarked during last week’s talks “that the entry into a presidential site or a ministry was not exactly the same thing as entry into a factory”, Mr Blix said, according to his briefing notes.
“That is undeniable,” he told reporters afterward, but he stressed that “the council authorises us to go anywhere, anytime and we intend to do so”.
Several council diplomats said they will be watching closely to ensure that inspectors have immediate access to all sites.
The council resolution toughening terms for the return of inspectors, which was adopted unanimously on November 8, authorises Mr Blix to request the names of people currently and formerly associated with Iraq’s weapons programme – and the chief inspector said he told the Iraqis he wants that list.
Mr Blix said he would have 100 inspectors on the ground by Christmas and that logistics were being rapidly strengthened. He said he wants to open a field office in the northern city of Mosul “without delay”.
Mr Blix told the council that the Iraqis had expressed “some uncertainty” about how it should prepare the declaration of all nuclear, chemical and biological programmes.
Some of the Iraqi concerns appeared to be technical, including how detailed the submissions should be on Iraq’s petrochemical industry.
“Clearly, the most important thing was that whatever there existed by way of weapons programmes and proscribed items should be fully declared,” Mr Blix said he told the Iraqis.
“I said that I think they should look into all their stores and their stocks and this was a fundamental part of the declaration.”
Under the resolution, a false statement or omission, coupled with an Iraqi failure to cooperate with inspectors, would constitute a new “material breach” which would be reported to the council for possible action.
The resolution threatens “serious consequences” if Iraq fails to comply, and the US administration has threatened military action if the council does not move against Saddam in the event of non-compliance.
