European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday april 16, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3 in the . Peacekeepers can t protect refugees adviser in Kuwait says by Luke Britt Middle East Bureau Kuwait City the . Peacekeeping units replacing . Forces in Southern Iraq will not protect the thousands of iraqi refugees who have fled to the area a senior . Adviser says. Many of the refugees participated in the failed uprising against Saddam Hussein and fear hours is a Mission not a Force a said . Adviser Joachim Hiitter. A we do not have the capability or the authority to assume the maintenance of Law and order in the demilitarized flutter a German is the . Senior adviser to austrian maj. Gen. Gunther Greindl who leads the 1,400-Man . Iraq Kuwait observation Mission. A your Mission is to observe and report according to our mandate a Hiitter said. A we will not be involved in the control of civilians in this the governments of Iraq and Kuwait will have the same control Over the areas of their countries in the demilitarized zone As they did before the War Hiitter said. The Only exception is that neither country May place military people or equipment in the demilitarized zone. The . Mandate does not include a provision for the safety of those refugees in Southern Iraq who fear attacks from iraqi Republican guard troops or Saddam a secret police. A. About 35,000 refugees Many of them rebels and their families have fled South in Iraq to escape Republican guard units cracking Down on the rebellion in the areas of an Nasi Riya and Basra. A so we Are left alone a said refugee Abdul Saad Ali when he Learned that the . Mission would not protect refugees a has the world turned its Back on us a Saad Ali said the United nations should feel More responsibility for the refugees because it was the .-sup-ported War that inspired the insurgence. The . Missions mandate docs include humanitarian assistance for refugees but delegates that responsibility to the United nations High commissioner for refugees. However that body will provide Only humanitarian Aid and assist with requests for political Asylum. Hiitter said the refugees had built unrealistic Hopes because they misinterpreted the proposed demilitarized zone As a Buffer zone. A a Buffer zone suggests you Are going to keep two parties separate a he said. A a demilitarized zone Means there will be no military but All other aspects of Normal life if Iraq or Kuwait place military forces in the zone the peacekeepers will not attempt to prevent it Hiitter said. Greindl will report the incident to the . Security Council which will decide what action to take. A although . Soldiers will be armed they will not be authorized to shoot except in self defense he said. Checkpoints will be established on All major roads and observation posts will be built throughout the zone Hiitter said. Travel also will be restricted but Hiitter would not say How or when. In addition to checkpoints Hiitter said helicopter flights and some fixed Wing of their countries in the demilitarized for refugees. However that body will helicopter flights a . Observers Survey Doz to prepare for peacekeepers by Luke Britt Ern Corner of the zone. Flutter would not say Why the a a a a. Str i a a in it a a. A a a a. Inti a Jmc run or font it inc a Kcf pm Tali v a amps Susan Harris flights will be used to observe the zone particularly at the edges. The length of the . Stay will depend largely on Greindl who will make periodic reports to the Security Council a . Spokesman in new York said. Those reports and a review of the . Presence will occur every six months. By Luke Britt Middle East Bureau Kuwait City a . Observers saw the Iraq Kuwait demilitarized zone for the first time sunday when an assessment team began planning for the arrival of 1,400 peacekeeping troops. Officers who saw the 120-mile stretch of desert found that a great Deal of work is needed to prepare it for the . Mission said Joachim Hiitter senior . Adviser in the area. A a there a not much out there a said Hiitter a German. A we will have to build almost everything a Hiitter is the senior adviser to austrian maj. Gen. Gunther Greindl Leader of the United nations Iraq Kuwait observation Mission. The group was created after the United nations approved Resolution 687, which called for a demilitarized zone extending six Miles into Iraq and three Miles into Kuwait. A team of military and civilian . Representatives met sunday with the country a Emir to discuss the need for support from the kuwaiti government Hiitter said. The team flew to Baghdad on monday to hold similar a talks. \. A -. A a a we re presenting a shopping list of what we need a Hiitter said a and we re explaining to both governments what we will be doing while we re the Mission has selected us quasar for its Headquarters he said. The Small port is in the extreme East Ern Corner of the zone. Hiitter would not say Why the town was selected Only that it was a the most the Only other town in the zone Safwan is Home to 35,000 refugees. That town was severely damaged by Allied bombings during the persian Gulf War. The first group of 300 military observers has begun arriving in Kuwait Hiitter said although it Likely will be weeks before All arrive. The observers come from 35 . Countries including All five of the permanent members of the Security Council. Supporting the observers will be . Soldiers who also will begin arriving this week. The Force includes 680 infantry soldiers from Austria Denmark Fiji Ghana and Nepal Hiitter said. All were temporarily reassigned from . Peacekeeping forces in Cyprus Lebanon and Syria. A these soldiers will be Here for four weeks a Hiitter said. A general Greindl will then decide if they should be replaced by a permanent a Hiitter said its possible the infantry units will not be replaced after four weeks and that Only the observation support units will remain. The decision will be based on the stability of the area and the potential threat to . Personnel he said. The support elements include a helicopter unit from Chile a fixed Wing aircraft unit from Switzerland a medical unit from Norway a Supply unit from Sweden and a postal unit from Denmark. Austrian maj. Gen. Gunther Greindl head of the . Peacekeeping Mission salutes an unidentified officer upon arriving in Kuwait City. Looking on is kuwaiti col. Faleh Al Shakti. A Kuwait City up a with Basic services virtually restored Kuwait is ready to invite Home its estimated 400,000 citizens who fled the nation after iraqis aug. 2 invasion a government official said official acting planning minister Suleiman Mutawa said a formal announcement would Likely be made by the ministry of Interior within a few Days. Mutawa also said in an interview that Crown Prince Saad Al Sabah was expected to name a new government this week to replace the one that resigned in disgrace on March 19. He said the new government in the form of 21 Cabinet ministers May be sworn in As Early As saturday at the conclusion of the Post Ramadan Holiday feast of eid Al fit. A the told us the ministers he would name a new government after the eid a Mutawa said. A presumably he will submit the new names to his highness the Emir Jaber Al Sabayon saturday a Mutawa said. Western diplomatic sources say they expect to see several new faces in the cab inet including perhaps some members of the resistance who stayed in Kuwait during the seven months of iraqi occupation. All the ministers submitted their resignations at the request of the Crown Prince following complaints that the gov v Ern ment failed to provide needed postwar services and leadership. They were retained on an acting basis. Mutawa disclosed that under a soon to be announced government plan displaced kuwaitis would be permitted to return Home effective May 4, at the rate of 6,000 to 8,000 a Day. They will be reunited with 200,000 kuwaitis who remained in Kuwait during the iraqi occupation during which Saddam Hussein a troops invoked a reign of terror and destruction. After the feb. 26 liberation of Kuwait the government advised kuwaitis who had tied to wait until needed services had been restored before going Home. Officials with the . Army corps of engineers who have helped restore Power and water said sunday that about 00 percent of the population now has electricity and running water
