US breaks silence to support Annan

The Bush Administration has expressed confidence in United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and says he should stay in office, a belated rebuff to demands from Republicans in Congress for his resignation.

US Ambassador John Danforth, speaking for the White House and the State Department, said he wanted to clarify the US position.

"We are expressing confidence in the Secretary-General and his continuing in office," Danforth said. "No one to my knowledge has cast doubt on the personal integrity of the Secretary-General. No one."
US Senator Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, and five congressmen, called last week for the resignation of Annan, who has two more years in office before completing his second five-year term.

They accused him of presiding over corruption in the now defunct UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq, administered by the United Nations but supervised by the Security Council.

In reaction, the 191-member UN General Assembly gave Annan a standing ovation. Previous statements by the White House and by Danforth have mainly emphasised the need for an open investigation into the scandal and Danforth has repeated that.

After Coleman's demand, President George W. Bush had neither defended Annan nor called for his ousting, saying only that he wanted a "full and open accounting" of the oil-for-food programme.

"The worst thing, to continue the cloud over an organisation, is to give the impression that something is being hidden or that there is not total co-operation," Danforth said. "Our view of the performance of the secretary-general is that he has done a good job ... that we anticipate working with him in the future."

The oil-for-food programme was launched in 1996 and continued until last year to supply civilian goods to ordinary Iraqis suffering under UN sanctions. Most of the corruption revealed so far involves illegal transfers or smuggling of oil. Investigations are also looking into whether UN employees received bribes.

Danforth played down reports that Annan's son, Kojo, had not fully disclosed his ties to a Swiss firm hired by the UN to inspect goods in Iraq.

- REUTERS