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No witch-hunting through Volcker report: UN official

     New Delhi: The United Nations today denied the Volcker Committee report was used to witchhunt political leaders in India inimical to the United States. Denying reports that the Volcker Committee was used to "punish" political leaders who were opposed to the US policies in Iraq and lately in Iran, UN Under Secretary General Shashi Tharoor said in New Delhi on Friday (November 11) that it is not just coincidence that the people named in the report had indeed been to Baghdad "and their names emerged in the list obtained in the records of the erstwhile Saddam government". "It is not a coincidence that the list of alleged beneficiaries of vouchers from the Saddam Hussein regime happened to consist of people who have been critical of the opponents of Saddam Hussein's regime as well," Shashi said. "It is logical that those who went to Baghdad and showed certain sympathy and support are by definition opposed to what happened afterwards. It is not as if, shall we say, there is a conspiracy to pick on certain people," he added.

    Tharoor said India's decision to set up an inquiry authority to probe the allegations that Natwar Singh and Congress were "non- contractual beneficiaries" of UN's oil-for-food programme is "entirely consistent with the spirit in which the report was made available to member states." He said it is entirely appropriate for each national government to decide what step they will take to do further to follow up if "they deem it appropriate" as the report itself is "no presumption of any guilt." "The UN is certainly not saying that because your name appears in the list, we are accusing you of being guilty," said Tharoor, while terming Volcker's mission as that of "fact finding" rather than "a judicial determination of any guilt." Tharoor said Russia has rejected the report terming it as "unreliable", while France has arrested a former diplomat, who had been named in it. The UN official however, admitted that "there was inadequate management of oversight in the way the oil for food programme was run," in Iraq. The way the programme was designed inevitably left in the hands of sovereign government of Iraq the right to decide whom they will sell too and whom they would buy their goods from. Inevitably that left enough obvious possibilities for surcharges and kickbacks. He said UN would not be in a position to help the Indian inquiry as much as the Volcker Committee itself would be able to do, as it "does not have any material involved."

     Tharoor also brushed aside allegations that Volcker had diluted the report to save the skin of Secretary General Kofi Annan, whose son has also allegedly benefited from the erstwhile Saddam regime. "None of the substantive findings of the Volcker Committee were in any way diluted," said Tharoor, adding that "there was no action of corruption on the Secretary General's part." "There was no wrong-doing done by the Secretary General," said Tharoor defending his boss. Describing Paul Volcker as an man, whose "integrity is impeccable" and therefore, accepted his team's judgement "even when they are harsh on us (UN). "As far as we are concerned, we consider this as neutral, independent body, did its job independently and we accept it," said Tharoor. Tharoor, who is in India on a personal trip, however, met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh yesterday, but refused to divulge details of his interaction with Dr. Singh.

      It is another matter the author of "From Midnight to Millennium", "Reasons of State" and " "Riot"coincidently Tharoor is in India, just at a time when the Volcker Committee Report has created ripples in political circles, forcing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh do strip Natwar Singh of his External Affairs Ministry portfolio. Tharoor managed to give a slip to preying eyes of Delhi's media and sneaked into 7 Race Course Road to meet Dr Manmohan Singh yesterday, in what is believed to be a closed-door meeting on the involvement of Natwar Singh and Congress in deriving "non- contractual" benefits from the UN's oil-for-food programme. Tharoor has now added another feather to his many accomplishments - he is now an accomplished diplomat well-versed in talking a great deal without divulging practically anything. All he has said during an interview was that the UN was not being "used" by any power - meaning the only super power - to put pressure on countries to support its stand on Iraq and lately on Iran. Tharoor, who said, by coincidence the whole controversy erupted and his "hard-earned" holiday was taken away, which otherwise he could have spent with his mother and friends. The alumni of St. Stephens College in Delhi, he is also scheduled to speak at the 150th anniversary celebrations of the college on Saturday, besides attending a book-reading session for the socialites of the capital.