MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UN Chilean phones bugged during Iraq debate

The Chilean United Nations legation was bugged in February 2003 during the crucial debates over a resolution allowing the use of force against Iraq, revealed then Chilean Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdés, quoted by a Santiago daily.

After the British press published that a communications control operation had been set up to monitor countries still undecided regarding support for the Iraq conflict, "we called in experts to verify if the phones in our UN representation offices had been bugged".

"Verification was positive, most phones had been bugged", said Mr. Valdés who is now Chilean Ambassador in Buenos Aires.

A year ago, February 2003, United States, Britain and Spain needed eight of the fifteen Security Council votes to ensure a resolution that allowed the use of force against Iraq. However some Security Council members were undecided, according to US Ambassador before the UN, John Negroponte.

In March 2003 the British press published that the US had requested assistance from Britain to "intervene" the phones of those countries still "undecided", (Chile, Mexico, Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Bulgaria and Pakistan) with the purpose of facilitating US policy makers "an edge in achieving a favourable decision", according to El País from Santiago de Chile.

However the lack of support eventually forced the US, UK and Spain to recall the proposal which was openly rejected by Russia, France and China who demanded more time for the UN arms inspectors working is Iraq.