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Kofi rejects calls for him to quit United Nations
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, has rejected calls for his resignation over allegations about the UN's Iraq oil for food programme. "I think resignation is comparatively easy," he told the Financial Times, responding to calls last week by two US Republican senators for him to leave. "It is much more difficult to stay on and continue to do the job you are elected to do and focus on the important agenda of the organisation and the membership."
Gonna take the Bill Clinton approach and tar the prosecutor, is he?
Mr Annan asserted that his son, Kojo, whose relationship with a Swiss inspection firm implicated in the oil for food investigations has come under scrutiny, had never lobbied him on behalf of anyone. He said he had not been aware of any instances when Kojo might have traded on his name. He had never received any money from him although there had been occasions when Kojo would introduce him to friends. "He knows that I have always been very sensitive about conflict of interests and it is not something that I would appreciate," Mr Annan said.

After speaking to his son in recent days, "he [Kojo] indicated to me that he and his lawyers are co-operating with the Volcker commission [into the multi-billion-dollar oil for food programme]. I encouraged him to do so." Mr Annan appealed for people to allow the UN reform process and investigations into alleged fraud in the oil for food programme to take their course. "I wish we would all hold our horses and not jump to conclusions until the report of the investigative committee is in," he said. "In today's atmosphere, where there is leak after leak and relentless negative articles, one can very easily gain the impression that everything that is alleged is true. You repeat it three or four times and you begin to believe it and expect everybody else to believe it." Mr Annan conceded that there were grounds for criticism of the way the UN was managed. "I would accept there are some constructive criticisms, which we take very seriously," he said.
Posted by: Fred 2004-12-05
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=50498