Secretary-General's press encounter

SG: I am sorry I had to rush into the Council and let you wait. Let me first say that I am really shocked by the tragic and criminal assassination of the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, Mr. [Ezz El-Din] Salim. I spoke to Mr. Brahimi this morning, and like all of us he is shocked by this assassination. I hope that the culprits will be apprehended and dealt with. In the meantime, the efforts to bring stability to Iraq will continue, and I hope this tragic event will not disrupt it.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what are the implications for this latest assassination, for both Mr. [Lakhdar] Brahimi's mission and the return of the United Nations to Iraq?

SG: I think, as far as Mr. Brahimi's mission is concerned, this has only just happened, and he is continuing his efforts. As I said, I hope it will not disrupt the efforts. We are doing our best to go ahead and I urge the Iraqi political leaders, and the Iraqi population, to go ahead with the formation of a government and the search for stability in their country.

On the return of the UN, I think we have some time yet. That is not something that is very much on the table today, so we will come back to that later.

Q: Mr. Secretary, you have said in the past that you thought that the end of the occupation would end the resistance and help end the violence. This is the second assassination of a Governing Council member. There have been police chiefs and other Iraqi officials that are affiliated with the transition who have been targeted; are you still convinced that the end of the occupation is going to be a change?

SG: I have indicated in the past that for those fighting the occupation, those who are genuinely concerned about the occupation, when the occupation ends and they have achieved their objective, there should be no reason for them to continue, but there are others who will continue resisting and fighting until perhaps every foreign soldier has left Iraq. Obviously there are elements on the ground who are against the process, who do not want it to succeed, and I think this is also one more reason for those who are determined to stabilize Iraq, and for the Iraqis who want to redeem their sovereignty and get on with their lives, to play an important role and not allow the elements that are determined to derail the process, to succeed.

Q: What about Iraqi versus Iraqi violence?

SG: That is always something of concern. It is something that we need to worry about and we need to try and take steps and encourage political leaders to ensure that we don't get to that stage.

Q: [inaudible] Mr. Brahimi has said in his statement that he had just spent, I think, three days with Mr. Salim. I don't know that there is, but is there any indication that that might have been part of the signal that was sent, that it was also targeting the UN as well?

SG: Yes, he had been. As you know, Mr. Brahimi went up north and Mr. Salim was with him. On a personal level I can imagine the reaction of Mr. Brahimi and those who were with him, those who spent the last few days together. I do not want to read too much into it, as if it was a message for anyone else, but I think it was tragic that Salim was killed. And I would want to leave it there for the moment.

Q: You have had concerns about security, but this was the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, in a convoy right outside the Green Zone, blown up. What does that say about the promises about security, going forward, whether it is Mr. Brahimi or simply a humanitarian worker, at this point, what does this tell you? You said there is a little time left, but we are getting there fairly soon. What does it tell you about going in, in any manner?

SG: Obviously the security situation is rather precarious and is very dangerous. I think what happened this morning in a way affirms that. It also means that one has to take extra precautions if one is operating in that environment. We have sent in some of our people, but under very strict security and protection arrangements, which have so far worked, and I think we are going to continue to operate in that cautious and careful manner, without sending in additional staff to go and continue business as usual –the atmosphere and the security situation does not allow that.

Q: Mr. Secretary, how do you see the picture in Gaza and Rafah this day?

SG: I did say something about that on Friday. I am really distressed that the destruction of houses continues. It really is causing a very difficult and painful situation for the people of Palestine. It is making it very difficult for UNRWA to carry out its activities, and I appeal to the Israeli government to stop this destruction, which is against international humanitarian law.

Q: Any comment or follow up on Israel's accusation that UN ambulances were being used to ferry out body parts of Israeli soldiers?

SG: We are investigating those allegations seriously.