Report: Iraq Inspector Sees Any Delay as Serious

15/11/2002| IslamWeb

Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said even a half-hour delay in allowing inspectors access to sensitive sites in Iraq could be serious, but stopped short of saying it would violate a U.N. resolution which could trigger war. In an interview with the French daily newspaper Le Monde published on Friday, Blix said a half-hour delay to the inspections would be significant as this was enough time to hide crucial evidence.

"It has to do with the central principle of immediate access, without restrictions and without conditions. If there is a delay of two hours, depending on the reason given, two hours could be a serious delay, yes. I would say even a delay of half-an-hour can be serious," Blix was quoted as saying.

"You cannot hide a bulky weapon or a big machine in half an hour, but you can hide documents or test tubes."

Inspectors would report such delays but it would be up to the United Nations to decide whether they constituted a "material breach" of the U.N. resolution on disarmament.

"It is not up to us to decide if there is a material breach. It's up to the (U.N. Security) Council," Blix told Le Monde.

The United States has warned it will use military force if Baghdad violates the new U.N. resolution which paves the way for weapons inspectors to return after a four-year absence.

President Bush  has set a "zero tolerance" standard for judging Iraqi compliance.

"We will not tolerate any deception, denial or deceit, period," Bush said on Wednesday.

Blix, a 74-year-old Swede, is head of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, which is in charge of accounting for Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles.

He was due to arrive in France on Saturday on a stopover before heading to Cyprus and Baghdad to prepare for inspections to resume.

PHOTO CAPTION

U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix arrives the Security Council Chamber to attend Security Council consultations on Iraq at United Nations headquarters on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002 (AP Photo/Osamu Honda)