THE United Nations plan for Iraq to sell limited quantities of oil for food was clouded with uncertainty yesterday, writes Mark Tran from New York.
The US insisted on changes in the original scheme. The US envoy, Mr Edward Gnehm, said that conditions in a memorandum of understanding signed by Iraq and the UN in May had changed and needed to be reopened.
"It's a matter of going back to the MOU and looking at it," Mr Gnehm told reporters. "It was a designed programme and those conditions do not exist any more."
The UN Secretary General, Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, at the weekend suspended implementation of the oil for food plan designed to soften the blow of sanctions on Iraqi civilians, citing safety concerns for UN personnel. UN food and oil monitors were about to be deployed just as President Saddam Hussein launched his attack on Erbil. But there are serious questions about the plan's future now that the Americans want to reopen what was a painstakingly negotiated agreement.
"Conditions are fluid," said a UN spokeswoman, Ms Sylvana Foa. "Our concerns are totally on the deterioration of security and when the dust settles we can look at the technicalities."
The US dragged its feet on the oil for food plan and only gave its blessing in early August after monitoring procedures were tightened considerably. The UN oil plan was to have marked Iraq's return to the oil market for the first time in six years.
President Clinton made it clear that the oil for food plan will be on hold indefinitely until President Saddam retreats from the area. "Erbil, the city seized by the Iraqis, is a key distribution centre for this aid," President Clinton declared. "Until we are sure these humanitarian supplies can actually get to those who need them, the plan cannot go forward and the Iraqi government will be denied the new resources it has been expecting."
US insistence on reopening negotiations is certain to displease Turkey, which had been counting on getting receipts through the use of its pipelines. France and Russia are also likely to take a dim view of the latest American initiative.
Meanwhile, only Britain rallied to the US's side in the UN Security Council when the Clinton administration cited UN resolution 688 as legal justification its strike.
France and Russia strongly disputed the US's right to launch an attack under the diplomatic cover of the UN. Both accused President Clinton of acting for domestic political reasons.
. The UN Security Council yesterday renewed international sanctions against Iraq, as Russia fought a British bid to formally condemn Baghdad for its drive against Kurds. The decision to roll over the six-year old sanctions, imposed after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, came at the council's two-monthly review.
The UN Special Commission chairman, Mr Rolf Ekeus, informed the council that Iraq had a policy of concealment" concerning key aspects of its banned weapons programme.