Reporters an early point of contention in Iraq inspections
By The Associated Press
11.27.02
BAGHDAD, Iraq — International journalists covering the U.N. weapons inspectors were allowed to follow teams to their work sites today but were barred from entering until the experts finished.
That represented a compromise solution after the journalists became an early point of contention in the tense showdown over Iraq.
When the two leaders of the inspection program — Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei — met with Iraqi officials last week, they said they did not want journalists tagging along, especially at suspected weapons sites.
"We don't want journalists to be with us in the facilities," said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency. "We believe we can't carry out our professional job" with journalists in tow.
But Iraq, which maintains one of the most restrictive press policies in the Mideast, championed free access for journalists — at least as far as covering the inspections is concerned.
Iraqi officials say they want maximum news coverage to prove to the world that they do not have weapons of mass destruction, despite Washington's claims to the contrary.
"We will allow everybody to follow in order that international public opinion be acquainted with what is going on in our country and from our point of view, the press will be granted full access to every single site," said an Iraqi official who refused to be identified. "Taking into consideration the transparency of our position, we are not hiding anything. Every journalist is allowed."
U.N. officials appeared concerned that reporters, lacking the inspectors' technical and scientific expertise, might be too quick to report that no banned materials had been found before the experts had had time to draw their own conclusions.
Apparently realizing the impossibility of excluding the press entirely, the U.N. team proposed that a limited number of journalists representing print, news-photo agencies and television be allowed to go along on the first inspection today. The U.N. team proposed that it organize and manage the press pool.
The Iraqis, however, insisted it was their country and they would be responsible for news media arrangements. Yesterday, the Information Ministry told each news organization that it would be permitted to send at least two representatives along with the inspectors.
Journalists were allowed to follow inspectors to the two sites they visited, the military-run Graphite Rod Factory 25 miles southwest of Baghdad and the al-Tahadi engine factory six miles east of the capital. At both sites, reporters were unable to enter the compound while the inspectors did their work.
The U.N. team clearly is reluctant to have journalists reporting what the inspectors have or have not found, especially since those findings may not be clear to the professionals themselves without lengthy analysis of data.
"We want to be the ones who draw the conclusions about what we see," Fleming said. "We are the experts. Our nuclear inspectors know what given 'dual use' items might mean, whereas a journalist doesn't. So we don't think it will be helpful at all to have the media with us during inspection. We hope to be as forthcoming as we can after an inspection to provide a certain amount of information."