Lawmakers accuse Annan of blocking oil-for-food inquiry
International Herald Tribune ^ | Thursday, November 11, 2004 | Judith Miller
NEW YORK Leaders of a U.S. subcommittee investigating allegations of fraud in the oil-for-food program in Iraq have accused Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations of obstructing their inquiry.
In a letter sent to Annan on Tuesday, the leaders, the top Republican and the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, asserted that Annan and a panel he appointed to conduct an independent investigation into the charges of abuses appeared to be "affirmatively preventing" the U.S. Senate from getting documents from a former UN contractor that inspected goods bought by Iraq.
The senators also said Annan was blocking access to 55 internal audit reports of the program and other relevant documents and refusing to permit UN officials to be interviewed by the subcommittee's investigators.
The UN-administered program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, allowed Iraq to sell oil to buy food and other essential supplies for Iraqis hurt by economic sanctions.
The senators said that it had taken four months for Annan to reply to the subcommittee's requests and that when he finally did, he refused to cooperate.
"We are concerned that the UN's nondisclosure policy is being used as both a sword and a shield," the senators wrote, "sharing such 'internal records' when it favors the UN, but then declining to do so when such disclosure could have negative implications."
The blunt letter is signed by the subcommittee's chairman, Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota, and ranking minority member, Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan.
Edward Mortimer, director of communications in the secretary general's office, said UN officials would "carefully look into what is clearly a very awkward and troubling letter." He said he would also consult with Paul Volcker, who heads the UN-appointed investigation panel, the Independent Inquiry Committee.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...