Security Council meets on Iraq's rebuff of U.N. inspectors

[UPI]

UNITED NATIONS (UPI) -- Iraq's refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons
inspectors set the stage for a new confrontation Monday between Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein and the U.N. Security Council, which was
considering new measures against the Baghdad regime.
The chief of U.N. inspectors, Swedish Ambassador Rolf Ekeus, said he
will arrive in Baghdad Thursday to bring a message from the council that
Iraq will have to implement ``without delay and without conditions'' all
U.N. resolutions related to the post Gulf War.
Ekeus reported to the 15-nation Security Council the latest
difficulty his inspectors had encountered in Iraq when they were
prevented during the weekend from placing seals on stands for testing
missile rocket motors.
``The Security Council has firmly put itself on the line that all
resolutions have to be implemented without delay and without conditions,
'' Ekeus said. He said he will leave New York Tuesday night for Bahrain
and arrive in Baghdad Thursday.
He said he expects to meet ``the most senior'' Iraqi official to
discuss a ``broad range of issues'' relating to the comprehensive
monitoring by the United Nations of Iraq's weapon production program.
``The Security Council has decided to endorse this trip, and for me
to speak on its behalf and to make fully clear to the Iraqi leadership
where the United Nations stands,'' he said.
Ekeus said he has no intention to negotiate with Iraqi leaders how U.
N. resolutions are to be implemented. He said the installation
surveillance cameras at two missiles sites is the beginning of the
comprehensive monitoring system.
Iraq's refusal to let the inspectors carry out their mission forced a
series of meetings Monday. U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright and the
envoys from France, Britain and Russia met with Ekeus to discuss the
development.
A three-member team of U.N. ballistic experts left Baghdad Sunday
after Iraq refused to allow them to place seals at the al Rafa and al
Jawn missile testing sites south of Baghdad. They had planned to place
seals on stands for testing rocket motors as well as on protective
housing.
The inspectors decided to place the seals as a temporary measure
after Iraq prevented them from setting up remote-controlled cameras to
ensure that the equipment will not be used without U.N. authorization.
The government of President Saddam Hussein accepted the program as
part of the conditions for ending the Gulf war, but has balked at its
implementation.
Ekeus' spokesman Tim Trevan said Monday that ``future actions are
under consideration'' to carry out the monitoring of Iraqi's weapons.
But he said Iraq has shown a ``steadfast refusal'' to comply with U.N.
monitoring.
Iraq reportedly has proposed a compromise to the camera surveillance
by allowing the inspectors a 24-hour access to the sites. But Trevan
said it is not yet determined how often the inspectors would want to
visit the sites.
In a letter to Ekeus and the Security Council over the weekend,
Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohammed Said al-Shahaf explained the reason why
the inspectors were not allowed to carry out the sealing. He said
allowing them to seal the two missile testing sites could lead to the
closure by the United Nations of other industrial complexes.
Trevan said the Security Council will study al-Shahaf's letter and
the offer to open the sites for inspection around the clock.
After losing the war and being driven out of Kuwait by allied forces
in February 1991, Iraq agreed to the destruction of its chemical,
biological and nuclear-grade weapons. That country is also forbidden to
produce or use missiles with a range greater than about 95 miles.
The inspectors said the rocket motors at the two sites could be used
for missiles above as wella as under the 95-mile range. They said the
motors cannot be tested until Iraq and Ekeus have worked out an
agreement on the whole issues of weapons production by Iraq.
Iraq has said it would send a high-level delegation to meet with
Ekeus, but has not done so so far.