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Programme Number: 041
Week of: 27th March 2005
Recording Date: Thursday, 31stMarch 2005
PRESENTER: Hello and welcome to United Nations Radio
from New York.
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PRESENTER:
This is, UN and Africa. I’m Ransford Cline-Thomas.
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PRESENTER:
This week the Chairman of the independent panel
investigating allegations of corruption in the
oil-for-food programme for Iraq, Paul Volcker
presented a second interim report on the role
of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in alleged
corruption involving his son during the implementation
of the programme. There have been calls from
certain quarters for him to resign as Secretary-General
because of this and other allegations against
the United Nations. But are these allegations
true? And is he really going to resign because
of this?
CLIP-1: Kofi Annan.
“Hell no. It is not unusual that institutions
this size, whether it’s government or
companies that problems do arise. You deal with
the problems, draw the lessons and move on.”
PRESENTER:
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaking to
reporters in New York.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
disarmament of armed militias in the eastern
part of the country gained momentum this week
as more armed militias surrendered their weapons
in Ituri. But there is a deadline of midnight
on the 31st of March. So what’s going
to happen to those who refuge to hand in their
weapons?
CLIP-2: Rachel Eklou-Assogbavi
“Those who have not disarmed before the
first of April are considered outlaw. They are
not considered as armed groups anymore, rather
as individual criminals.”
That’s Rachel Eklou-Assogbavu, a spokesperson
for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. We’ll hear more from her
from the town of Bukavu in the eastern part
of the country.
And we will also revisit the issue of Togo
which was recently brought from the brink of
a political crisis.
So stay tuned to UN and Africa.
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PRESENTER:
The head of a panel that is investigating allegations
of corruption in the oil-for-food programme
for Iraq, Paul Volcker this week presented the
much anticipated second interim report on the
role of the United Nations in alleged corruption
in the implementation of the programme. The
programme allowed Iraq during sanctions imposed
on the country under the rule of the former
President Saddam Hussein, to use its oil revenue
to buy badly needed goods such as food and medicine
for the Iraqi people. There have been reports
that during the implementation of the programme,
a company associated with the Secretary-Generals
son was given a s contract to conduct business
in Iraq. UN Radios Gerry Adams reports on the
findings of the Volcker report.
NARRATOR
The report focuses on allegations that UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan may have been involved in a conflict
of interest in the awarding of a contract to
Cotecna, a Swiss firm which had connections
with his son Kojo. The Chairman of the Independent
Inquiry Committee, Paul Volcker, rendered the
panel’s verdict on this aspect of the
investigation.
CUT 1: Paul Volcker
Diligent and extensive search of written and
electronic records and intensive interviews
of all of those involved have provided no evidence
of any influence by the Secretary-General on
the bidding and selection process for humanitarian
goods inspector in 1998.
NARRATOR:
The UN Secretary-General himself says that
although his exoneration by the report has come
as a relief, he is not surprised because he
knew that the allegations that he influenced
the awarding of the contract to Cotecna was
not true. He says that when he appointed the
Committee a year ago, he was determined to establish
the full truth, without fear or favour about
the allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food
programme. In fact, the chairman of the inquiry
committee said that the company received the
contract to inspect goods sent to Iraq because
it was the lowest bidder.
CUT 2: Kofi Annan
While I am gratified by that, I also note, of
course, that the Committee does criticize me
for not referring the matter to the UN’s
Office of Internal Oversight Services, or its
Legal Office, for a formal investigation after
I became aware that Cotecna had been awarded
a contract in January 1999. I accept that criticism.
NARRATOR:
The Secretary-General points out however, that
at that time he ordered a different kind of
inquiry based on the information available and
therefore the steps he took were consistent
with UN regulations. In January 1999 the media
disclosed the relationship of the Secretary-Generals
son with Cotecna. The Independent Inquiry Committee
says that after that Kojo Annan actively participated
in efforts by Cotecna to hide the true nature
of his continuing relationship with the company
him. He also intentionally deceived his father
about continuing financial relationship with
the company. The Committee is continuing to
investigation Kojo Annan’s actions in
1998, the integrity of his business and financial
dealings involving the oil-for-food programme.
CUT 3: Kofi Annan
For reasons that parents everywhere will understand,
the most difficult and painful moments for me
personally, throughout this past year, have
been those when it appeared that my son, Kojo,
might have acted inappropriately, or might not
have told me the full truth about his actions.
The inquiry has now rendered its judgments on
those issues.
NARRATOR:
The Secretary-General says he loves his son
and has always expected the highest standards
of integrity from him.
CUT 4: Kofi Annan
I am deeply saddened by the evidence to the
contrary that has emerged, and particularly
by the fact that my son had failed to cooperate
fully with the Inquiry. I had urged him to cooperate
and I urge him to reconsider his position and
cooperate.
Asked whether it was not time for the Secretary-General
to step down at a time when the Organization
was facing a number of scandals, Mr. Annan had
this to say.
CUT5 5: Kofi Annan
Hell no. It is not unusual that institutions
this size, whether it’s government or
companies that problems do arise. You deal with
the problems, draw the lessons and move on.
NARRATOR:
And while the United Nations Secretary-General
moves on in his work, the Independent Inquiry
Committee continues its investigation before
issuing the final report. The Secretary-General’s
Chief Staff Mark Malloch Brown indicates what
to expect from that report.
CUT 6: Mark Malloch Brown
In June there will be the overall programme,
which will look at implementation on the ground
in Iraq and draw broader parallels to that issue,
which is the issue of oil smuggling, the much
larger sums which accrued to Saddam Hussein
because of reasons which had nothing to do with
oil-for-food. So it’ll give the total
picture, and I am sure it’ll embarrass
many people. But I don’t think it’ll
particularly embarrass the Secretary-General.
NARRATOR:
That was the UN Secretary-General’s Chief
of Staff Mark Malloch Brown. Reporting for UN
Radio, I am Gerry Adams.
STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME
PRESENTER:
In another development this week, the Security
Council decided to extend the mandate of the
UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (MONUC) until the first of October this
year. It also demanded that all parties cooperate
fully with the operations of MONUC and ensure
that its personnel have full access to all areas
in carrying out their mandate. In the eastern
part of the country, there have been problems
recently, including the killing of UN peacekeepers.
Last year, the government working with UN peacekeepers
started a voluntary disarmament programme and
gave armed militias until the end of March this
year to surrender their weapons or be forcibly
disarmed. Now, as Rachele Eklou-Assogbavi, tells
UN Radio’s Derrick Mbatha the militias
who had previously been reluctant to hand in
their weapons are doing so in large numbers.
REA: During the last week there have been hundreds
of combatants going to the different transit
sites throughout Ituri in eastern DR Congo to
register their weapons and go through the disarmament
programme.
DM: How many militias are we talking about
all in all?
REA: All in all we are talking about 15,000
militias to be disarmed in Ituri, including
6,000 children.
DM: Where are these armed militias from?
REA: There are six or seven different armed
groups in Ituri. All of them are Congolese.
As you know, the disarmament and community reinsertion
programme is a programme devised for Congolese
militia in Ituri.
DM: So what happens? They go into centres there
for MONUC and surrender their weapons. What
actually happens?
REA: The process is a process whereby the combatants
give up their weapons, go through the disarmament
programme. The ex-combatants, once he has dropped
his weapons and received an ID card, an ex-combatant
ID card has the choice to either reintegrate
into civilian life or to state his interest
in being integrated into the national army.
And I will have to say that so far the number
of combatants who have chosen integration in
the national army is quite small. So there is
definitely a strong will for those who have
already disarmed to stay in Ituri and to rebuild
their lives here as civilians.
REA: And what’s the attitude of the civilians
to this disarmament programme? Are they feeling
a little bit more secure now?
REA: For the areas of Ituri where the disarmament
programme has picked up since the beginning
there is a sense of relief for the civilian
population. In Aru, in northern Ituri, it’s
a city close to the border with Uganda and Sudan
the population showed they were extremely tired
and annoyed by the constant harassment of the
armed groups controlling that area. And there
are some positive signs of relief and the armed
group in that area is disarming right now en
masse. So for the civilian population it has
a direct benefit: the end of forceful tax collection
and now we can also possibly expect the reduced
number of rapes in the area.
DM: And for my final question, what’s
going to happen to those armed militias who
refuse to surrender their weapons?
REA: The sensitization has been highlighting
since the beginning the fact that the disarmament
programme is only for a time, six months, and
it’s the end of the programme now. Those
who have not disarmed before the first of April
are considered outlaw. They are not under a
special status anymore. They are not considered
as armed groups anymore, rather as individual
criminals, hence they can possibly be prosecuted
by the Congolese authorities. And they can definitely
expect to have MONUC troops going after them
and forcibly disarm those who have not complied.
PRESENTER:
That was Rachele Eklou-Assogbavi, a spokeswoman
for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo speaking on the line to the eastern
town of Bunia with UN Radio’s Derrick
Mbatha.
STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME
PRESENTER:
The death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema of
Togo at the beginning of February plunged the
country into a political crisis. Why? Because
instead of following the constitution, the army
installed the late president’s son, Faure
Gnassingbe to complete the remaining term of
his father. The Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) intervened and stopped this.
UN Radio’s Diane Bailey discussed this
crisis with Sammy Buo of the UN Department of
Political Affairs, who says that the constitutional
crisis has been averted in Togo, at least for
now, thanks to the firm stand of ECOWAS which
was immediately supported by the United Nations.
BUO: Other organizations and countries including
the AU, the EU, the United States, France and
other countries towed the same line, that is
we will support what ECOWAS is doing in Togo.
DB: Now I understand that they are planning
for elections in April. What will the role of
the UN be in those elections?
BUO: The Untied Nations has been requested
both by ECOWAS and by the government of Togo
to provide support for the elections. Those
elections normally according to the constitution
should take place within sixty days of a vacancy
of the presidency. President Eyadema died on
the fifth of February. But since the current
transitional president did not take office until
the 25th of February, his sixty days will start
from then. So the elections now will take place
on the 24th of April. What I can tell you right
now, of course, will be that we will not be
in the lead in the elections. ECOWAS has already
set up a three-person team on the electoral
process in Togo and they have already arrived
in Lome. What assistance we will provide will
be aimed at strengthening that regional role
by providing perhaps technical assistance to
ECOWAS as well as technical assistance to the
National Electoral Council.
DB Do you think the presence of ECOWAS or their
participation will help to ensure that these
elections are free and fair?
BUO: That’s the objective. The United
Nations stands for free fair and peaceful elections.
That is the goal we expect to be replicated
in Togo as well. However, what we must understand
is that this is, above all, an attempt to stabilize
this country so that it gets back on track on
the road to constitutionality. The history of
free and fair elections is not replete in Togo.
This has been a country where there have been
accusations of electoral malfeasance over the
years.
DB: I don’t want to be belabour it too
much, but what about the role of the military?
They have been always pretty influential in
Togolese politics. Do you think they will be
able to step aside and let things take their
course?
BUO: Naturally that’s a very important
point because the first statement that was made
after the president of Togo passed away on the
5th of February was made by the military in
which they appointed one of the president’s
sons as the new leaders. And, of course, that
unleashed the controversy that we now know and
which is, I am glad to say now, behind us. So
the military is an important player in Togo.
But as in every other country, the military
is set up to defend the territorial integrity
of the country. That’s the role we expect
them to play. That is, they are subordinate
to the civilian democratic authority. We expect
them to support the democratic process that
will evolve from the people’s verdict.
DB: Now why was it so important that the situation
in Togo not get out of hand?
BUO: That’s a very important question.
Not only because it concerns Togo as a country.
Every country deserves peace and security. But
in the case of West Africa in particular Togo,
for example, is located in a very fragile neighbourhood.
It is close to Cote d’Ivoire. Cote d’Ivoire
is an important player, one of the most economically
important countries on the continent of Africa
and the leading economy in West Africa. For
the past two years and a half, almost three
years, Cote d’Ivoire has been embroiled
in conflict. This has definitely undermined
the economic prospect of West Africa. To have
another conflict added to that list, where we
have Liberia next to Cote d’Ivoire, we
have Sierra Leone, where we are beginning to
draw down our presence, to have to add another
West African country to a growing list of countries
in turmoil there will not be in the interest
of regional stability and clearly not in the
interest of the people of Togo.
PRESENTER:
That was Sammy Buo of the United Nations Department
of
Political Affairs in an interview by UN Radio’s
Diane Bailey.
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PRESENTER:
You've been listening to, UN and Africa, from United
Nations Radio in New York.
Thank you for listening to the programme and
thanks also to the team here in our studios.
That's our Producer Derrick Mbatha, Production
Assistant, Charles Appel and our studio engineer,
Rosie Starr.
And from me Ransford Cline-Thomas bye for now.
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