
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991                   TAG: 9104040320
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: UNITED NATIONS                                LENGTH: Medium

U.N. APPROVES GULF CEASE-FIRE/ AMBASSADOR FROM IRAQ DISAPPROVES

Eight months after Iraq's troops stormed across the border into Kuwait, members of the U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to formally end the Persian Gulf War and to give the United Nations an unprecedented role in the peace-keeping process.

The resolution, however, is dependent on Iraq's acceptance of some of the strictest measures of surrender in military history. While some U.S. officials said privately that they expect Saddam Hussein to agree with the terms, his U.N. ambassador denounced the resolution and left doubt as to Iraqi compliance.

"I do not know whether my government will accept this or reject this or accept it conditionally or reject it unconditionally," Abdul Amir Anbari said. "My recommendation is that this is a very bad resolution that infringes on the sovereignty of my country."

Twelve of the Security Council's 15 member nations voted for the measure. Only Cuba rejected it. Ecuador and Yemen abstained.

Diplomats said that if Iraq accepts the cease-fire resolution - the longest and most complex in the United Nations' 45-year-history - the international organization will undertake tasks historic in scope.

In one of the core provisions of the resolution, the United Nations would oversee the cataloging and destruction of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons, its nuclear bomb-making materials and its long-range missiles. A U.N. peace-keeping force would be sent to the troubled border between Iraq and Kuwait and help demarcate the boundary.

The measure declares that Iraq is liable for injury, damage and loss of property stemming from its Aug. 2 invasion and occupation of Kuwait, including damage to the environment. It directs U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to help supervise the establishment of a fund, using a percentage of Iraq's oil revenues, to pay compensation for damages to the war's victims.

If Iraq accepts the terms of the resolution, the next step would be for military officers of Iraq and its enemies, the U.S.-led allied coalition that defeated Saddam's army, to meet and sign the truce document, formalizing what has been a temporary cease-fire since late February. If Iraq does not accept the resolution, a formal cease-fire will not take effect.

by CNB