Annan: Violence Feeds Resistance in Iraq

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/un_iraq

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on Wednesday warned that military action in Iraq (news - web sites) is feeding the ranks of the resistance and urged U.S. authorities to do everything possible to seek a peaceful solution in Fallujah and Najaf.

As explosions and gunfire rocked Fallujah and U.S. troops began expanding operations out of their base in the holy city of Najaf, Annan called for negotiations on the ground and a concerted international effort to stabilize Iraq.

"Violent military action by an occupying power against inhabitants of an occupied country will only make matters worse," he said. "It's definitely time, time now for those who prefer restraint and dialogue to make their voices heard."

Annan held a news conference a day after his top envoy for Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, told the Security Council that many obstacles remain but he was confident power could be handed over to an Iraqi caretaker government by June 30 as planned despite escalating violence.

[gottaB]

1. Annan's Statement

On Edit: Adding a better link

Annan urges US caution in Fallujah

That press release has a permanent link to the news conference, including the Q&A.

***

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I’m sure you all followed Lakhdar Brahimi’s presentation to the Security Council yesterday and his assessment of the chances of success in the political process in Iraq, given the deteriorating security situation.

I think it was a very sober assessment and I do not have much to add to it. But I want to add my voice to his in appealing to all parties in Iraq to refrain from violence, to respect international humanitarian law, and to give this process of political transition a chance.

We all want to see the end of the occupation. We all want to see Iraq at peace, with itself and with its neighbours and with a genuinely representative government. As Mr. Brahimi said, there will not be a fully representative government until there are free and fair elections, which we all hope will happen in January 2005. Somehow we have to get from here to there, and I think the kind of caretaker government he has proposed is the way forward.

I also think Mr. Brahimi was quite right to say that violent military action by an occupying power against the inhabitants of an occupied country will only make matters worse. It's definitely time now for those who prefer restraint and dialogue to make their voices heard.

There is nothing cowardly or faint-hearted about this approach. Those who venture into violent situations in the cause of peace run just as high risks as the soldiers do, as we in the United Nations learned all too painfully last year. It takes courage and dogged determination to work for peace in a violent world. Mr. Brahimi and his team deserve our respect and support, as do those who are serving the United Nations in many other zones of conflict which get less publicity than Iraq.

One of those is Darfur in the Sudan. As you know we have had some very worrying reports about atrocities being committed there – reports which, as I told the Commission on Human Rights on 7 April, fill me with a deep sense of foreboding. I am continuing to follow the situation very carefully. Today, we have two teams on the ground in Sudan – one from the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the other a humanitarian one led by Jim Morris of the World Food Programme].

I await their reports and hope that the Government of Sudan, as well as the international community, will take immediate and effective action to put an end or to stop human rights violations in the area and bring relief to the victims. That is the objective of the two teams on the ground.

I should also say a few words about Cyprus. The vote by the Greek Cypriots to reject my proposals last Saturday was of course a great disappointment, since it means that Cyprus will not now enter the European Union as a reunited island.

I salute the Turkish Cypriots for their courageous vote in favour of the proposals. We must all do our best to see that they are not penalized for the way the vote went in the other part of the island.

I remain convinced that the plan I put forward is the only realistic basis for reunifying the island, which I believe is the sincere desire of the majority of Cypriots in both communities. I hope that before too long the Greek Cypriots will have an opportunity to consider the plan more calmly, and to judge it on its true merits.

Let me now take your questions.

[Nihil]

2. Sorry old chap ...

> "Violent military action by an occupying power against inhabitants of
> an occupied country will only make matters worse,"

... that is far too f*cking sensible and obvious to get through to the
current crop of politicians in the US or UK (or even to the majority of
people in those countries for that matter).

[gottaB]

3. Annan's talk is getting blurbed in today's wire stories

Hope springs eternal?