BAGHDAD, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The U.N. spokesman in Baghdad vowed Wednesday that the U.N. presence would continue in Iraq despite the bombing Tuesday that killed 20, including the chief of the mission, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
"If those who attacked us wanted to drive us out they will not succeed that way," said Salim Lone, the U.N. director of communications in Baghdad, under a noon sun in a rocky field that overlooked the ruined building. "In a tribute to Sergio, we will make sure he did not die in vain."
Vieira de Mello was respected and even loved by the U.N. staff in Baghdad for his commitment to restoring Iraq to a peaceful existence. His primary goal was to speed the end of the U.S.-led coalition occupation and to return full sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Tuesday's attack may have the opposite effect.
Vieira de Mello came to Iraq "to help bring an early end to the occupation, to help restore the sovereignty of Iraq, to help reconstitute this society -- not in a technical sense with bridges, water and schools, although that is important -- but more to help reconstitute people's lives and peace and stability," Lone said.
He said he and every U.N. staff member he had spoken to expressed a desire to stay in Iraq. Even those who were scheduled to take vacations have refused to leave.
"They are walking around in shock, devastation and denial as well," he said. "But everyone I talked to is determined to stay as long as the United Nations stays."
In Stockholm, Sweden, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday the staff would stay.
"We will persevere. We will continue. It is essential work," he said. "We will not be intimidated."
Lone suggested that much of the work in Iraq will fall on the shoulders of thousands of Iraqi nationals who have worked for the United Nations here for the past decade.
In New York, U.N. spokesman Fred Ekhard said they were looking at ways to get the operation in Iraq back on its feet.
"I think there has been a de facto suspension of U.N. operations in Baghdad," he said. "We of course are looking at alternative ways to house our headquarters unit so that we can get operations up and running again."
In the meantime, Lone and U.N. staff are preparing to operate under heightened security, exactly the opposite stance they wanted to take in the war-torn country. Most stayed in their hotels Wednesday, meeting quietly in small groups and declining to talk to reporters.
"Please no," said a man with a fully bandaged head and an arm full of stitches when asked for an interview. "We don't know yet if we will leave Iraq or not," he said.
Lone said the way the U.N. staff of about 650 people does business will change.
"This attack will have a really profound effect on how we operate here," Lone said.
"We did not wish to have large tanks outside...because we were here to help the people of Iraq..." he said. "After having been targeted in this most devastating way, it certainly can't go on in the same way, moving freely, unarmed, without protection, in unarmed cars. It cannot continue," he said. "You have to find a balance (between accessibility and security) what balance there will be is hard to predict at this moment."
Eckhard said few members of the U.N. staff in Baghdad wanted to leave after Tuesday's attack.
"I understand we asked our staff if there was anyone who wanted voluntarily to be repatriated and I think there were a total of two people of the total 300 or so that are in Baghdad who asked to go." He said. "I think UNICEF's request for voluntary repatriation ended up with no volunteers. So I think the staff is pretty committed to staying on the job. The leadership is reassessing security."
Unlike the Coalition Provisional Authority and military forces who live and work deep behind high walls and miles of concertina wire, U.N. personnel as a matter of principle traveled in civilian cars and without military guards and slept in hotels in the middle of the city.
"We have to very carefully and seriously review what we are doing," he said. "How would the United Nations ever explain to the loved ones who die (in a possible future attack) because of our high principles we decided to continue as before?"
"We were not 100 percent sure we would be attacked but we were aware we might be targeted," he said. "None of us thought that there would be an attack like this."
Three U.N. personnel were killed in drive-by shootings prior to Tuesday's bombing but no one imagined there would be an attack of this size.
"We are totally devastated. This is an enormous blow to the U.N and to the Iraqi people...The U.N. is only here for the Iraqi people," Lone said.
The southwest wall of the U.N headquarters in the Canal Hotel in northeast Baghdad collapsed Tuesday. The building is still too unstable to occupy or even for staff to enter to retrieve their belongings and important papers.
Lone said there may still be victims recovered from the wreckage.
"We are afraid there are still people buried," he said.
About 200 people were in the office at the time of the bombing.
Lone said he does not know why the United Nations was targeted.
"We can speculate -- it was aimed at the coalition, it was aimed at the international community to show we do not approve of the occupation. There are any number of reasons but the impact is clear when you massacre a lot of innocent people who are not protected by tanks, barbed wire or soldiers."
Lone said he was startled watching television when file footage of De Mello was shown on Tuesday night.
"I thought, 'hey, there is Sergio!' forgetting he is gone," he said.
(With William M. Reilly at the United Nations)
