House Republicans call for Annan to step down

House Republicans yesterday called for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign in light of the oil-for-food scandal and threatened to withhold funding from the United Nations unless it fully cooperates with investigators.

“The oil-for-food program is a scandal of enormous proportions, and it may reach into the highest levels of leadership at the U.N.,” said Rep. Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who introduced a resolution yesterday calling for Mr. Annan to resign.

“I don’t think we’ll get all the facts as long as Mr. Annan is remaining at the helm,” Mr. Wicker said.

Nineteen Republicans and one Democrat — Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi — had signed the resolution, as of late yesterday.

Calls for Mr. Annan to step down already have come from Sen. Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who is heading the main congressional inquiry into accusations of fraud, bribery and corruption in the United Nations’ administration of the Iraq oil-for-food program.

Mr. Coleman’s Senate inquiry already has determined that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime skimmed billions of dollars from the program, which allowed Iraq to sell small amounts of oil to pay for food and humanitarian assistance while it was under U.N. sanctions.

A separate group of Republicans led by Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican and member of the House International Relations Committee, yesterday pushed legislation that would tie the United States’ U.N. funding to the organization’s cooperation with investigators.

The corruption accusations have prompted numerous investigations, including several congressional inquiries, a U.S. Treasury Department investigation and a U.N.-commissioned inquiry conducted by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

But Mr. Flake and other Republicans say the United Nations is not cooperating with investigators, is withholding information, and has denied Mr. Volcker’s investigation any subpoena power to get information.

“I’m convinced that the only way we can ensure the U.N.’s full cooperation is with the threat of withholding our funding,” Mr. Flake said.

“We want to shine the light of day on the U.N.,” said Rep. Scott Garrett, New Jersey Republican.

Under Mr. Flake’s bill, which has 77 co-sponsors, Congress would withhold 10 percent of its U.N. funding in fiscal 2005 and 20 percent in fiscal 2006, until President Bush certifies that the United Nations has agreed to certain standards laid out in the bill. The bill calls for full disclosure of documents related to the oil-for-food program, asks U.N. officials to waive diplomatic immunity, and asks any U.N. official who benefited from the program to reimburse the full amount that was improperly received.

Mr. Flake’s bill did not call for Mr. Annan’s ouster because he fears that would garner all the attention and that deeper problems at the United Nations would be ignored. But other Republicans supporting Mr. Flake’s bill also called for Mr. Annan to leave.

“Kofi Annan must go,” said Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican. “I think its time we get someone up there that’s responsible, who we can trust.”

Mr. Garrett added, “The larger question is whether he should be in jail.”

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