No UN mandate for Iraq regime change - Cowen

The Government believes UN action against Iraq should be halted as soon as Saddam Hussein's regime is in compliance with the resolutions of the Security Council and implements its decisions in full, the Dáil was told yesterday.

"Ireland wants very much to see a peaceful solution to this crisis," the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said. "We are working together with the other members of the Security Council to accomplish this objective." That was the overwhelming wish of the international community.

The purpose of the UN resolutions was to bring about disarmament - nothing more: "We do not see there is a UN mandate for any further end, such as regime change."

This common goal could be achieved, said the Minister. The Security Council could devise a resolution to bring it about. It should show how the current crisis could be resolved and "make clear the serious consequences of continued non-co-operation".

An effective and thorough arms inspection process, with the full co-operation of the Iraqi authorities, said Mr Cowen, would lead to the early suspension of economic sanctions and ultimately end the hardship faced by the Iraqi people.

In the event, however, that Iraq did not meet its obligations under Security Council resolutions, the council would "assume its responsibilities and decide on further action", including the possible use of force: "Our hope must be that the Iraqi government will act to ensure the Security Council is never forced to take such a decision."

The Fine Gael spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Gay Mitchell, said "knee-jerk anti-Americanism should not dictate our attitude" to the Iraq crisis.

Srebrenica was not "sorted by neutrals such as Ireland or even the European Union", he stated: "It was sorted out by NATO, led by the US, while cowardly, self-serving European politicians, many of them on this island, spoke in the most hypocritical and unpardonable manner imaginable."

It was vitally important the Government should use "its last few months on the UN Security Council" to uphold the UN Charter and reassert "some semblance of independence" in its foreign policy, said Mr John Gormley (Green, Dublin South-East).

It should oppose any UN resolution enabling military action to be taken against Iraq as being contrary to the UN Charter:

Opinion polls showed the Irish people did not want another war with Iraq and that Ireland should vote against any UN Security Council resolution authorising military action, said Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh (SF, Dublin South-Central).

Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) condemned "the cringing subservience of Irish governments" to the US administration of the day.