The Hindu : Onus is on Iraq to disarm: Annan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003

International

International

Onus is on Iraq to disarm: Annan

By P.S. Suryanarayana

KUALA LUMPUR FEB. 24. The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, today urged Iraq to disarm because the future course of global politics could depend on the manner in which the issue of proliferation of mass-destruction weapons is resolved.

In a message to the Non-Aligned Movement's 13th summit here, Mr. Annan said the Iraqi leadership should "choose full transparency and cooperation with the (U.N.) inspectors to help avoid conflict''.

Placing the onus on Iraq to disarm "for the sake of its own people and for the sake of world security and world order,'' he said that "what happens in Iraq (now) will have serious implications for other issues for many years to come, including international terrorism and the situations in the occupied Palestinian territory, Afghanistan and elsewhere''.

The Secretary-General's message to the NAM, in his absence, was read out by Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Representative for Afghanistan.

In a warning to the U.S., Mr. Annan said that "if ... (military) action is taken without the authority of the Security Council, the legitimacy of, and support for, any action will be seriously impaired.

States and peoples around the world attach fundamental importance to such legitimacy and to the international rule of law.'' In this context, Mr. Annan drew attention to the "potentially very serious humanitarian implications.''

He cautioned the international community that it should not allow itself to be distracted by the "current focus on Iraq'' and must, instead, address other pressing issues such as "the concern about North Korea's decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.''

The South African President, Thabo Mbeki, who handed over the NAM chairmanship to the Malaysian leader, Mahathir Mohamad, at the inaugural session today, said that even the powerful countries "should respect the findings of the weapons inspectors in Iraq and the decisions of the Security Council fully and without reservation.''

Briefing the NAM leaders on the Group of 77 activities, its current Chairman and King of Morocco said that "the negotiations initiated by the Doha process should lead to the establishment of a fair and balanced international trade system which has the potential to give tangible expression to the special and differential treatment principles.''

The other objective was to "open the markets of the North, on a preferential basis, to goods and services which are important to developing countries in terms of export.'' There was need to "ensure that the economic and financial policies of the relevant multilateral institutions are consistent with each other.''

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Onus is on Iraq to disarm: Annan