USIA - State Department Report, 96-12-26

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From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at <gopher://gopher.usia.gov>

STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING REPORT, DECEMBER 26, 1996

(Peru hostages/Uruguay, Singapore elections, Serbia/demonstrations)(710)

PERU HOSTAGES/URUGUAY -- Dinger reiterated the U.S. call for the Tupac Amaru terrorists in Peru to release the hostages they are detaining in the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima. He added that the United States remains in close contact with the Peruvian and Japanese governments. "We have been satisfied with the way the Peruvians have handled the situation," Dinger said.

Dinger responded to questions regarding reports that the government of Uruguay decided on December 24 to release two alleged Tupac Amaru guerrillas in an attempt to gain the release of Uruguay's Ambassador now held by the terrorists in Lima. "We can only note that the government of Uruguay has stated that there was no connection between the conclusion of their judicial review process that led to the decision not to extradite two reputed MRTA terrorists wanted in Peru and the release of its ambassador," Dinger said. "We do not have any evidence to contradict the government of Uruguay's statement. Distinct from that, we would repeat what the United States' policy is, and that is: We do not make concessions to terrorists, and we do not encourage other nations to do so."

SINGAPORE ELECTIONS -- Dinger said the United States is a "little surprised" at the anger expressed by Singapore's government over U.S. comments on Singapore's upcoming parliamentary elections.

"We have seen that ruling party candidates, including the Prime Minister, have warned that constituencies that elect opposition candidates will receive low priority in extensive government plans to upgrade public housing facilities," Dinger said.

"Frankly, we are a little surprised by the back and forth we've seen today over the fact that we've repeated factually what some leading Singaporean officials, including Prime Minister Goh, have said themselves. We simply reiterated what those officials said and then we added a point that, frankly, as a general principle, we believe few people can disagree with, that being that we believe voters everywhere should be able to vote without fear of repercussions as a result of the exercise of their democratic responsibilities as citizens." Dinger added: "We didn't see either of the statements as controversial."

Dinger noted that December 3 was the nomination deadline for Singapore's January 2 parliamentary elections. "Opposition leaders nominated candidates to contest only 36 of the 83 open seats," he said. "As a result, it is clear that the ruling Peoples Action Party will win at least 47 seats and a clear majority of the Parliament."

SERBIA/DEMONSTRATIONS -- The United States is repeating its call to the Serbian government to show restraint towards the peaceful demonstrations of members of opposition parties. "We also once again condemn the actions of the Belgrade authorities to stifle the civil liberties of Serbia's citizens, " Dinger said. "The issue of orders restricting demonstrations is an attempt to prevent the marchers from exercising their rights and can only serve to increase the possibility of confrontation and violence."

The United States holds Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic "responsible for any violence which may occur," Dinger said. "The situation in Belgrade and other cities will be resolved much more effectively through the recognition of the November 17 elections, dialogue with the opposition, and the installations of the representatives chosen by the people."

Dinger observed that "What we've seen is 37 days of ... peaceful demonstrations. They only became violent through the provocative and irresponsible action of the Serbian government" on December 24. "It is pretty easy to draw the conclusion that if there is violence, it is going to be the result of irresponsible, provocative actions by the Serbian government." He added that the U.S. Charge d'Affaires spoke December 26 to the Serbian foreign minister about the U.S. concerns. On December 24, Acting Secretary of State Strobe Talbott had issued a public statement condemning the violence by pro- Milosevic demonstrators in Belgrade.

The demonstrations began when the Serbian government annulled the opposition victories in the November 17 elections. Serbian authorities have brought thousands of people into Belgrade to confront the opposition demonstrators.

From the United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at gopher://gopher.usia.gov

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