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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Olara Otunnu
Aired July 26, 2003 - 14:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Help is on the way to war-ravaged Liberia. American Marines are sailing there to help support any future peacekeeping mission. Until that day comes, the death toll will likely continue to rise. Rebels today bombed a Monrovia church packed with refugees, killing at least seven.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian toll is worsening day by day. With more on this we are joined by United Nations Under Secretary-General Olara Otunnu. He is just back from West Africa. Ambassador Otunnu it's a bit of a catch-22. You have the Liberian situation right now in Monrovia deteriorating day by day. The fighting there is heating up, and the Nigerians, who have agreed to head this vanguard force, are saying they don't want to go in until the fighting there stops.
OLARA OTUNNU, U.N. UNDER SECRETARY-GENERAL: Well, the West African countries, ECOWAS, have really assumed their responsibilities. They made a commitment a few weeks ago that they would provide the backbone of an intervention force. Nigeria has now come forward to say they will send in two battalions. And we hope that next week these two battalions will go in.
But they can't do this on their own. They are poor countries, they are not well equipped. They don't the financial wherewithal and the logistical means. They need support from our side, which is where the U.S. comes in, in a crucial way.
KOPPEL: Now, does that support, in your opinion, have to be the presence of American soldiers, American Marines on the ground, or can it be as President Bush has suggested, logistical support or money?
OTUNNU: The announcement by President Bush that the ships and Marines are going to be heading to the coast of Liberia, this is very, very good news, indeed, a wonderful signal. I hope that this will be a prelude to the U.S. participating actively in some way as part of the intervention force. This is what the West African countries have asked for, it's what the secretary-general of the United Nations has asked for, and in parallel with that, it will be very important for the U.S. to provide much needed material support to enable the West African forces who are the men and women to go in, which means logistical support, communications, equipment and financial support.
All together, the significance of U.S. support is that being the major and super power that it is, this will give a certain political and military weight and credibility to the operation. And unlike other situations where U.S. participation may be contested, in the case of Liberia, all the factions welcome this. The civilians are pleading for U.S. to be involved. The West African countries want the U.S., so does United Nations, a different situation from Somalia or Rwanda.
KOPPEL: You are just back from West Africa. Obviously you were focusing on the humanitarian situation. The NGO community has withdrawn from Monrovia and from Liberia. What is it going to take, sir, to get them back in?
OTUNNU: It's a catastrophic situation, because there's no access to civilians in distress, especially women and children, humanitarian personnel, the local personnel who are still there cannot provide food, water, sanitation, and women and children are being forced to join in the fighting, and, of course, we are witnessing indiscriminate shelling. Most of those who are dying are not combatants. The dying is being done by civilian populations, especially children and women. War crimes are being committed in Liberia by the various factions, for which they should be held accountable.
So the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, which is why action and the arrival of the forces must be immediate without further delay.
KOPPEL: And hopefully, sir, we will find out when they will be going in early next week. U.N. Under Secretary-General Olara Otunnu, thank you for joining us from New York.
OTUNNU: Thank you, Andrea, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 26, 2003 - 14:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Help is on the way to war-ravaged Liberia. American Marines are sailing there to help support any future peacekeeping mission. Until that day comes, the death toll will likely continue to rise. Rebels today bombed a Monrovia church packed with refugees, killing at least seven.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian toll is worsening day by day. With more on this we are joined by United Nations Under Secretary-General Olara Otunnu. He is just back from West Africa. Ambassador Otunnu it's a bit of a catch-22. You have the Liberian situation right now in Monrovia deteriorating day by day. The fighting there is heating up, and the Nigerians, who have agreed to head this vanguard force, are saying they don't want to go in until the fighting there stops.
OLARA OTUNNU, U.N. UNDER SECRETARY-GENERAL: Well, the West African countries, ECOWAS, have really assumed their responsibilities. They made a commitment a few weeks ago that they would provide the backbone of an intervention force. Nigeria has now come forward to say they will send in two battalions. And we hope that next week these two battalions will go in.
But they can't do this on their own. They are poor countries, they are not well equipped. They don't the financial wherewithal and the logistical means. They need support from our side, which is where the U.S. comes in, in a crucial way.
KOPPEL: Now, does that support, in your opinion, have to be the presence of American soldiers, American Marines on the ground, or can it be as President Bush has suggested, logistical support or money?
OTUNNU: The announcement by President Bush that the ships and Marines are going to be heading to the coast of Liberia, this is very, very good news, indeed, a wonderful signal. I hope that this will be a prelude to the U.S. participating actively in some way as part of the intervention force. This is what the West African countries have asked for, it's what the secretary-general of the United Nations has asked for, and in parallel with that, it will be very important for the U.S. to provide much needed material support to enable the West African forces who are the men and women to go in, which means logistical support, communications, equipment and financial support.
All together, the significance of U.S. support is that being the major and super power that it is, this will give a certain political and military weight and credibility to the operation. And unlike other situations where U.S. participation may be contested, in the case of Liberia, all the factions welcome this. The civilians are pleading for U.S. to be involved. The West African countries want the U.S., so does United Nations, a different situation from Somalia or Rwanda.
KOPPEL: You are just back from West Africa. Obviously you were focusing on the humanitarian situation. The NGO community has withdrawn from Monrovia and from Liberia. What is it going to take, sir, to get them back in?
OTUNNU: It's a catastrophic situation, because there's no access to civilians in distress, especially women and children, humanitarian personnel, the local personnel who are still there cannot provide food, water, sanitation, and women and children are being forced to join in the fighting, and, of course, we are witnessing indiscriminate shelling. Most of those who are dying are not combatants. The dying is being done by civilian populations, especially children and women. War crimes are being committed in Liberia by the various factions, for which they should be held accountable.
So the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, which is why action and the arrival of the forces must be immediate without further delay.
KOPPEL: And hopefully, sir, we will find out when they will be going in early next week. U.N. Under Secretary-General Olara Otunnu, thank you for joining us from New York.
OTUNNU: Thank you, Andrea, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
