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Kofi Annan Loses Cool Over Car
Embattled UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan lost his cool and lashed out at a reporter who questioned him about his son’s Mercedes-Benz. The very undiplomatic outburst came at Annan’s year-end press conference, when he attacked James Bone, a correspondent with The Times of London who has raised questions at daily UN briefings about Annan and his son Kojo’s possible involvement in the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq. An 18-month investigation cleared Annan of influencing an oil-for-food contract that went to a company that employed Kojo, but was strongly critical of his management of the $64 billion program. At the press conference, Bone asked Annan about the whereabouts of a Mercedes bought by Kojo and imported into Ghana using his father’s diplomatic immunity to avoid paying taxes and customs duty.
Story Continues Below "I think you’re being very cheeky,” the normally low-key Annan interrupted. "Listen, James Bone, you’ve been behaving like an overgrown schoolboy in this room for many, many months and years. You are an embarrassment to your colleagues and to your profession. Please stop misbehaving and please let’s move on to a serious subject.” Ironically, the tirade came just minutes after Annan – whose term expires next year – said a thick skin and a sense of humor were essential character traits for any future secretary-general, The Australian newspaper reports. The president of the UN Correspondents Association came to Bone’s defense, saying: "I really have to do this for the record. James Bone is not an embarrassment. He’s a member in good standing of UNCA. He had every right to ask the question.” Annan countered: "I reserve the right to refuse to answer questions I don’t want to answer.” He never did address the question about the Mercedes.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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