April 6, 2002	Saturday	Muharram 22, 1423

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UNITED NATIONS, April 5: In a unanimous vote the United Nations Security Council on Thursday demanded the implementation “without delay” of its recent resolution 1402 on the Middle East, and welcomed the mission by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region.

The council also welcomed the peace efforts by a “quartet” of envoys representing the United States, Russia, the European Union and the UN. The adopted resolution, 1403, also requested Secretary-General Kofi Annan to “follow the situation and keep the council informed.”

Speaking before the vote, Mr Annan welcomed President Bush’s decision to send Mr Powell to the region and stressed that the council’s resolution 1402, and an earlier one, 1397, provided “the vision” for a permanent settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the immediate security and political steps needed to move beyond the present crisis. “Our efforts need to focus on implementing these resolutions.”

Mr Annan also called on Israel “to give the quartet full access to the compound of Chairman Arafat and to the chairman himself,” stressing that together with US envoy Gen Anthony Zinni the quartet could be used as an effective instrument to pursue the implementation of resolution 1402.

He noted that forcing Chairman Arafat into exile would be “reckless” and said that it would be “a miscalculation of monumental proportions” to believe that dismantling the Palestinian Authority would create conditions where Israel can achieve security for itself. At the same time, Mr Annan stressed that the spiralling violence could not be blamed on one party alone.

“The Palestinian Authority seems to believe that failing to act against terrorism, and inducing turmoil, chaos and instability, will cause the government and people of Israel to buckle,” he said. “They will not.”

While noting that the Palestinian security services were seriously limited in their ability to contain terrorism, Mr Annan underscored that Chairman Arafat did have the capacity to exercise political leadership to set the course for the future of his people.

Nasser Al-Kidwa, the permanent observer for Palestine, welcomed the readiness of the US to engage in the peace process as well as Mr Powell’s planned visit to the region. “I can absolutely assure you that President Arafat is absolutely willing to cooperate with Mr Powell to ensure the success of his mission, once again, in order to put an end to the ongoing tragedy and to go back to the path that would lead us towards peace,” he said.

In his speech, Yehuda Lancry, the permanent representative of Israel, said his country was willing to work with Gen Zinni and Mr Powell “to engage in steps, together