ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:97121702.NLT

DATE:12/17/97

TITLE:17-12-97  IRAQ REFUSES TO LET U.N. INSPECTORS INTO PRESIDENTIAL SITES



TEXT:

(UNSCOM chairman reports to Security Council)  (510)

By Judy Aita

USIA United Nations Correspondent 



United Nations -- Iraq has rejected a U.N. offer to work out special

arrangements so that U.N. weapons inspectors could visit presidential

sites, members of the Security Council were told December 17.



Ambassador Richard Butler, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission

overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons (UNSCOM), reported the

results of his Baghdad visit Decemjber 12 to 16 to U.S., Chinese,

French, Russian, and British diplomats during a private meeting.



Butler is scheduled to discuss the details of his visit to Baghdad

with the entire council on December 18. China, France, Great Britain,

Russia and the United States are permanent members of the council with

veto powers.



Butler also reported that Iraq asked that the U-2 reconnaissance

missions flown by the U.S. for UNSCOM be replaced by Iraqi plans or

those of other states and refused to participate in planning a work

program for UNSCOM for January and February 1998.



Iraqi officials rejected his offer to discuss special arrangements

that would "take into account Iraq's legitimate security, sovereignty,

and dignity concerns" in inspecting presidential and sovereign sites,

Butler said.



Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz also refused to give UNSCOM and

the Security Council a list or map of such sites so that the magnitude

of the exclusive sites could be seen, Butler said.



Tariq Aziz said "such a map-would assist the bombing of those sites by

the United States," the UNSCOM chairman reported.



During his meeting with Iraqi officials including Tariq Aziz, Butler

said, that the deputy prime minister said no special arrangement could

cover the concerns of the Government of Iraq.



Butler told Iraq that the presidential and sovereign sites are in

contradiction to the Security Council's decisions.



Presidential and sovereign sites are "not clearly defined, except that

it was stated that they were areas associated with the presidency and

were well know. They include sites, offices and resorts at which the

head of state resides and/or works .... headquarters of ministers. All

had gates and high walls but no further clarification was offered," he

said.



"They would not be allowed to be inspected or overflown under any

circumstances," Butler reported.



Civilian sites could only be inspected if the property owners granted

permission and Iraq would be reluctant to ask for that permission

because it has not legal authority to do so, he said.



Tariq Aziz did, however, agree to improve the arrangements previously

worked out with UNSCOM for inspections of "national security" sites,

Butler said. The new arrangements "should be tested straight away."



UNSCOM will be able to increase the size of the team beyond the

current limit of four; Iraq will take steps to "significantly" reduce

the delay in entry to sites; and when sites are being declared

sensitive an UNSCOM inspector will be allowed to enter the site to

ensure that movement within it was frozen, Butler reported.

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