Kofi Under Fire

A smudge on Kofis halo? The New Yorker magazine today reported that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had been made aware of the planned genocide by Hutu nationalists in Rwanda in 1994, and had ordered U.N. peacekeeping forces not to intervene to stop the slaughter. The unflappable Annan has not denied the report, but says the U.N. acts within parameters set by the political will of the major powers. TIME U.N. correspondent William Dowell agrees: Most people at the U.N. believe that Kofi had no choice in Rwanda. He would have needed enough troops and the major powers willingness to get involved, says Dowell. Peacekeepers are traditionally small forces whose major function is to monitor a cease-fire; they are not designed to attack other military forces. In other words the report is unlikely to besmirch the reputation of the worlds senior diplomat.