As pressure builds in the oil-for-food imbroglio, the United Nations appears to be raising its drawbridge and closing its gates. Requests for contracts with companies involved in the scandal-plagued Iraqi-aid program have received a polite brush-off.
The head of the program, Benon Sevan -- who, himself, is under investigation -- clamped down on communications from a Dutch company that inspected Iraqi oil shipments, according to a New York Post report. It is alleged that U.N. personnel and various foreign officials received bribes and kickbacks in the multibillion-dollar aid program.
Initially in a television interview, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeared to be surprised by Sevan's April 14 letter to Saybolt International. In it, Sevan reminded the firm that its contract with the United Nations is confidential and that any information must not be handed over to congressional committees or to other government authorities.
A day later, damage control kicked in: A spokesman for Annan said the letter was actually written by another official on Sevan's stationery. Regardless of who wrote the letter, it reportedly follows the advice of U.N. lawyers, who no doubt have noticed the dark clouds gathering.
While the United Nations talks transparency in what may be the biggest bombshell to land in its lap, it also pulls the blinds.
