February 5, 2003	Wednesday	Zul Hijjah 3,1423

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NEW YORK, Feb 4: Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations would be allowed to speak at the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday to rebut the US Secretary of State Colin Powell who is expected to provide evidence of Iraqi noncompliance with the UN resolution 1441.

Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Aldouri told reporters that he had submitted a letter to this month’s council president, Ambassador Gunter Pleuger of Germany, which diplomats said would probably be approved as is normal under council procedures.

“I submitted a letter asking to represent Iraq on Wednesday,” Aldouri said. “There is no reason to wait for an answer as it is within our rights to speak.” A US official said: “We haven’t been officially contacted to say he requested it. We certainly would not be against it.”

On Friday, Russia’s UN ambassador, Sergei Lavrov said Iraq had a right under the UN Charter to address the council on the subject of the meeting. “It’s their sovereign right,” he told reporters.

Mr Powell has said that in his address he will provide “straightforward, sober and compelling proof” that Iraq is hiding banned weapons of mass destruction from UN arms inspectors.

In an Op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal Mr Powell said that he had no “smoking guns” but enough evidence to prove that Baghdad was not coming clean on its weapons programme.

Meanwhile, on Monday, a British lawmaker handed the chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix what she believed was evidence of two sites where Iraq has hidden material used to make weapons of mass destruction.

Baroness Emma Nicholson, a member of Britain’s House of Lords and the European Parliament, said she also gave Mr Blix a form showing that Iraq as recently as last month was trying to order materials that could be used for banned weapons.

“This information has come from inside Iraq in the last few days and has not been given to anybody else before,” she told reporters after a private meeting with Mr Blix and eight other members of the European Parliament.

Ewen Buchanan, Mr Blix’s spokesman, said: “We did receive some information from her, and it will be evaluated. It was received in confidence and will not be disclosed.”

Iraq’s UN Ambassador Al-Douri, when told of the possible evidence, said: “Certainly he [Blix) will instruct his people in Iraq to see whatever they might find in these sites. We have to wait a little bit.”

Iraq, which has consistently denied having weapons of mass destruction, is under pressure to make concessions and show progress in the UN inspections process, to head off any US- British diplomatic bid for support for military action.

The United States faces an uphill task to get council support for a quick war against Iraq. Despite critical reports from top UN inspectors and President Bush’s assertion that Iraq has not complied, 11 of the 15 council members said last week they favoured continued inspections and peaceful efforts to disarm Iraq.

The UN Security Council has agreed that the Secretary of State will speak first. The other 14 council members will then have 10 minutes each to respond.

The foreign ministers of 12 council nations including Pakistan are flying to New York for the meeting, reflecting its importance.

According to reports International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei will be in New York on Tuesday for Mr Powell’s briefing. In New York, he will meet up with the chief UN inspector Hans Blix ahead of the meeting.