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| America and The Weapons Inspectors |
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| BrKhalid |
| 04/20/02 at 11:45:09 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Huh? :o Did I read that right? :o Salman Rushdie??? But apart from that I'd love to know the true intentions of the US. Only Allah truly knows. [hr] Stars stand up to US over weapons Robbie Williams and Damien Hirst are calling on the Foreign Secretary to try to stop the US sacking the a top chemical weapons inspector. The singer and sculptor have teamed up with cult rock star Brian Eno to fight plans to axe Jose Bustani as director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The group believes the US wants the Brazilian diplomat to go because he has insisted that America should be subject to inspections and has tried to find a peaceful solution to the Iraq stand-off. Allowing the US to have its way would destroy the credibility of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which is supposed to control their development, they say. The group wants Mr Straw to protest against America's plans at a special meeting in the Hague on Sunday. Mr Eno told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The best hope of stopping the US plan lies with the United Kingdom, whose support for the Chemical Weapons Convention has so far been impeccable. "If the UK Government made a stand, there's a good chance that other members would fall in behind it. On Sunday, Jack Straw could make a real difference to the way the world is run. "We urge him to put the special relationship aside this week for the sake of peace." Others backing the campaign include Dave Stewart, Joe Strummer, Salman Rushdie, George Monbiot, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Bianca Jagger and Jonathan Ross. [url]http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/html/news.html[/url] |
| 04/20/02 at 11:46:09 |
| BrKhalid |
| Re: America and The Weapons Inspectors |
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| BrKhalid |
| 04/20/02 at 11:59:50 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) The same story from an American point of view [hr] U.S. predicts head of chemical weapons monitoring group will be ousted Fri Apr 19, 8:00 PM ET By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - U.S. State Department officials said Friday they expect the Brazilian head of a 145-nation chemical weapons monitoring body to be fired at a coming meeting in the Netherlands. The United States has been leading the campaign against Director-General Jose Bustani, accusing him of "confrontational conduct" and mismanagement of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The meeting begins Sunday in The Hague and is expected to last a few days. The State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they are confident they have the required two-thirds vote plus one to depose Bustani, and Bustani has acknowledged he lacks the votes to keep his job. Member countries of the OPCW are subject to regular inspections of suspected chemical weapons stockpiles. The administration decided to seek Bustani's ouster after he refused to resign when the organization's 41-nation executive committee approved a no-confidence motion last month. The vote was 17 supporting the motion, five against and 18 abstentions. Under Bustani's leadership, the 5-year-old organization has headed toward collapse, officials have said. The administration tried without success last month to persuade the Brazilian government to urge Bustani to step down quietly. Bustani remained on after the March no-confidence vote because, his spokesman said, "He has done no wrong, and he has nothing to hide." Bustani told the executive council in February that the U.S. government never approached him directly with complaints but circulated them to other nations. "The very principle which is at the foundation of the work of every international organization, its independence and that of its chief executive officer, is being jeopardized," he said. A State Department summary says its misgivings about Bustani fall into three categories: "1) The polarizing and confrontational conduct of the director-general; 2) mismanagement issues; and 3) advocacy of inappropriate roles for the OPCW." Specifically, the summary said Bustani's conduct "has seriously undermined the functioning and authority of the executive council. These acts have been deliberate and have continued despite private expressions of concern by OPCW members over several years." It added that a financial crisis that came about last year was caused primarily by the director-general's failure to match spending to income in 2000. The summary said executive council efforts to understand and address the situation were blocked by "months of obfuscation, finger-pointing and conflicting explanations by the director-general." Bustani is serving a second four-year term, having been re-elected in May 2001 with U.S. support. The United States contributes 22 percent of the dlrs 60 million annual OPCW budget. This year, it is running 50 percent behind on its payment. [url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020420/ap_wo_en_ge/us_chemical_weapons_3[/url] |
| Re: America and The Weapons Inspectors |
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| BrKhalid |
| 04/20/02 at 12:05:23 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) The same story from Bustani’s point of view. So who do *you* believe then? [hr] Chemical weapons monitor: U.S. upset over my independent ways Fri Apr 19, 2:45 PM ET By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The head of the international chemical weapons monitoring organization said U.S. allegations of his mismanagement are "absolute nonsense" and the real reason for America's displeasure with him is his independence. Jose Bustani, the director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, also reiterated Thursday that he will not step down, despite another U.S. effort to oust him scheduled for Sunday. The U.S. State Department said two months ago it wanted to remove Bustani, accusing him of "ill-conceived initiatives" and criticizing his "management style." Those claims were to be detailed at a conference in The Hague that could last several days. "I would define this as my being independent, not taking instructions from one particular country, simply because that particular country is a major contributor," Bustani told The Associated Press. The 145-member OPCW was created to oversee the implementation of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, a treaty banning such weapons and setting out the process to destroy existing stockpiles. Members are subject to inspections of chemical weapons production facilities, including commercial manufacturers, and stockpiles. The United States contributes 22 percent of the group's dlrs 60 million annual budget. This year, it is 50 percent behind on its payment. Only 58 members have fully paid their dues. U.S. officials have indicated Washington would not pay its arrears as long as it believes an untrustworthy director runs the organization. "There are some accusation of the OPCW 'initiatives,' as they call them, but I am very proud of them. I don't see them as crimes: like my trying to develop programs to help developing countries, which is a way of attracting them" to join the convention, he said. Bustani's refusal to quit could prompt Washington to reevaluate its cooperation with the organization, which could have serious consequences for its work. Washington accuses Bustani of threatening five countries with inspections of industrial sites "to use the inspection regime that is at the very heart of the Chemical Weapons Convention for political ends, as a punitive tool to coerce member states into acceding to his demands." The State Department says he has a "habit of refusing to consult" and says it was "astonished" when Bustani proposed anti-terrorism measures at a meeting after the Sept. 11 attacks without prior consultation with American representatives. Sources at the organization who requested anonymity attributed the sudden shift in American policy to the organization's efforts to bring aboard countries, such as Iraq, considered U.S. enemies. But Bustani said he "had no evidence" supporting the claims. Bustani, the organization's first director, enjoyed strong support, including from the United States, until the State Department sought his resignation Feb. 28. Bustani lost a U.S.-sponsored vote of no-confidence in his leadership in March, but refused to step down. On Sunday, at least 100 OPCW members will gather in The Hague to consider what Bustani called a "terrible precedent" threatening the independence of all international organizations. "What I am afraid of is that this will lead to the creation of artificial legal grounds to force a decision to oust the director-general," Bustani said. "I am not fighting for my post. I am fighting for the precedent that the director-general has to be independent and that should not be victimized by such an initiative leading to his or her ouster," the Brazilian diplomat said. Bustani can be fired only if two-thirds of the countries voting support the U.S. effort to remove him. Bustani said he will recount his achievements Sunday, including increasing OPCW membership from 87 countries and destroying about two-thirds of the world's chemical weapons production facilities in just five years. But, he added, "The Americans are always very successful in their lobbies. It is a reality and I am a realistic person." [url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020419/ap_wo_en_ge/chemical_weapons_5[/url] |
| Re: America and The Weapons Inspectors |
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| BrKhalid |
| 04/23/02 at 06:34:05 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Was there any doubt? [hr] World Chemical Arms Chief Dismissed Mon Apr 22, 2:20 PM ET By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The head of the world's chemical weapons regulatory body, Jose Bustani, was dismissed from his job after a U.S.-led vote Monday to oust him, the diplomat said. "I am out of a job," Bustani told Associated Press Television News after leaving the conference hall in The Hague (news - web sites). The vote came two months after the United States opened its campaign against Bustani, threatening to cut funding if he remained director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The U.S. delegation said the diplomat had mismanaged the organization and undermined its credibility. The U.S. proposal to oust Bustani received 48 votes in favor and only seven against. There were 43 abstentions, and two delegations were absent. The proposal required a two-thirds majority for passage. After a 30-minute vote, a devastated Bustani stormed out of the conference hall, threw his hands in the air and said he had lost his job. The United States had said all along it was confident of gaining enough support in the 145-member nonproliferation group to have Bustani ousted. But Bustani said the move lacked legal basis. "The convention does not allow for such a dismissal," he complained ahead of the vote. The U.S. State Department has accused Bustani of threatening inspections in five unspecified countries "for political ends." In a statement, it also said Bustani has a "habit of refusing to consult" with member states, such as when he proposed anti-terrorism measures after the Sept. 11 attacks without first approaching the United States. OPCW officials have countered those allegations, saying Bustani doesn't have the power to order inspections and called his anti-terrorism proposals "a responsible action on his part in regard to the concerns being expressed" by member states. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bustani's actions "may seem petty in isolation, but the cumulative nature of those actions has led the organization to go downhill dramatically." The U.S. official declined to give examples of what Washington calls Bustani's "ill-conceived initiatives" and poor management style. The U.S. delegation had promised Sunday a document explaining its allegations but when it did not come through on its promise, several delegations started booing during Monday's closed meeting, OPCW officials said on condition of anonymity. The U.S. official said Bustani's lapses "are not legal crimes, nonetheless they are severe mismanagement policies which significantly impede the effectiveness of the organization." Brazil's delegation, headed by Ambassador Luiz Augusto De Araujo, called the U.S. move illegal and said it would harm efforts to rid the world of chemical weapons. The group was established in 1997 to oversee the destruction of the world's chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities. The United States and Russia both supported Bustani's reappointment in May 2000, a year before his first term was to expire. Without U.S. funding, representing 22 percent of an annual budget of $60 million, the OPCW would spiral into a deeper financial crisis and could face closure. [url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020422/ap_on_re_eu/chemical_weapons_25 [/url] |
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