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U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #26, 97-02-20

U.S. State Department: Daily Press Briefings Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>


722

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing

I N D E X

February 20, 1997

Briefer: Glyn Davies

DEPARTMENT
1        Welcome to Mr. Daniel Eckmann, Info. Dept., Swiss Finance Dept.
1,11     Statement on Behalf of Co-Chairman of Monitoring Group on Lebanon
1-2      Statement on Acting Sec. Tarnoff/Mexican For. Sec. Gurria Mtg.
2,6-8    Statement on Anniversary of "Brothers to the Rescue" Shoot-Down
9        Secretary Albright's Trip/Schedule
MEXICO
2-5      Drug Certification/Arrest of General Gutierrez Rebollo
GEORGIA
5-6      Makharadze Case
RUSSIA/BELARUS
6        New York Incident involving Diplomats
COLOMBIA
6        Legislation on Sentencing Criminals
NORTH KOREA
9        Briefing for Four-Way Talks/NY Mtgs.
9        The Case of Mr. Hwang
9        Food Aid
AEGEAN SEA
9-10     U.S. Policy
TURKEY
10-11    Visit of Turkish Minister of State Abdullah Gul

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #26

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1997, 1:34 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. DAVIES: Sorry to be a little late.

Welcome to the State Department briefing. I'd like also to welcome, in particular, a visitor to the briefing today, Mr. Daniel Eckmann, head of the Information Department of the Swiss Finance Department.

Mr. Eckmann, welcome to our briefing.

I've got a couple of statements to alert you to. I won't read every word because that will take too long. The first statement is on behalf, once again, of the Co-Chairman of the Monitoring Group on Lebanon. The Monitoring Group met on February 19-20 at UNIFIL Headquarters Compound near Naqoura , Lebanon, to consider a complaint presented by Lebanon and another one by Israel. The Monitoring Group unanimously condemned the shelling on February 18, 1997, which affected three villages in southern Lebanon. It expressed serious concern at the killing of a Lebanese woman as a result of military action by Israeli forces or those cooperating with them, and considered them as responsible for the manner in which they conducted their firing.

The statement goes on to note that the Israeli delegation declared that this firing was in self-defense against launching sites in the villages. The Lebanese delegation rejected this claim and stated that the firing was deliberately aimed at civilian-populated areas.

The Monitoring Group reiterated its call on all combatants to comply fully with the provisions of the April 26, 1996, Understanding and desist in all circumstances from operations that directly or indirectly put in danger the lives of civilians.

That's statement number one.

Statement number two is on the meeting this morning between the Acting Secretary of State, Peter Tarnoff, and Mexican Foreign Secretary Angel Gurria who is in Washington on a previously planned visit. They discussed a number of items:

the dismissal of General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, who was the former head of Mexico's Institute for Combatting Narcotics. He, of course, as was indicated yesterday, was dismissed on charges of narcotics corruption.

The Acting Secretary and Foreign Secretary Gurria reviewed various aspects of our counternarcotics cooperation with Mexico, which has improved over the past year. They talked about extradition, money laundering, other topics of law enforcement cooperation.

The Mexican Government took swift action in the case of General Gutierrez Rebollo. Nevertheless, this case demonstrates the serious threat which narcotics trafficking poses to Mexico's institutions.

The Acting Secretary stressed the need for further effective action against narcotics trafficking and corruption and the commitment of the U.S. to work with Mexico in the fight against this common threat. That was statement number two.

Statement number three relates to the anniversary coming up February 24th of the shootdown by Cuban forces of unarmed civilian aircraft in international waters near Cuba's shores.

There is a commemoration ceremony, we understand, that's scheduled for February 24th. We have a lengthy statement. I'll just give you the highlights of it.

The United States, of course, notes that activities are planned to commemorate last year's tragic shooting - shooting down of two "Brothers to the Rescue" aircraft in international airspace.

We understand that privately owned planes and perhaps boats plan to travel to these sites that are 21 and 22 nautical miles off Cuban shores.

Organizers of the event have stated their intention to remain outside of Cuban territorial seas and airspace. The United States sympathizes with the families who suffered such great losses last February 24th. We recognize the right of participants to engage in peaceful protest against the Castro regime and to take part in peaceful ceremonies in international waters.

The Department of State cautions, however, that participants who enter Cuban territory, territorial seas, or airspace without authorization from the Cuban Government place themselves and others in serious danger. The United States Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration notices reinforcing these warnings remain in effect.

The Cuban Government has a clear track record here. They've proved themselves unwilling - or they've proved themselves willing to take actions in clear violation of international law, so they've proved themselves unwilling to observe international law and international aviation standards. We saw that last February 24th.

So in the interest of avoiding unnecessary risks to all concerned, the Department of State has informed the Cuban Government of statements by the organizers of February 24th anniversary events declaring their peaceful intentions.

The Department has also reminded the Cuban Government of its obligation to exercise, in accordance with international legal principles concerning civil aviation, the use of force and the law of the sea, the utmost discretion and restraint and to assure the safety of lives at sea and avoid any aircraft should private vessels or aircraft enter Cuban territorial seas or airspace.

There's a great deal more in that statement, which is available to you. George.

QUESTION: Could you talk about whether the arrest of Mr. Gutierrez could affect certification, which is due in 10 more days or less?

MR. DAVIES: I've addressed this before.

I've been asked questions about how this will relate to the certification process. We make these decisions about certification based on U.S. interests. We do it based on a number of factors. One of the main factors, of course, is the commitment - political commitment - of political leaders in the nations affected and, of course, what concrete steps have been taken specifically to combat narcotics production and narcotics transshipment.

So it's within those parameters, using those guidelines, that we will make our decision on Mexico. We'll take all factors into account. That announcement will be made most likely towards the end of next week. I think you'll just have to stay tuned to see what we've got.

QUESTION: I noticed you didn't mention that Gurria was also summoned to the White House for meetings with Gelbard and McLarty.

MR. DAVIES: I think Assistant Secretary Gelbard met with him here, with Acting Secretary Tarnoff. He may, as well, have been at the White House. I'm not sure.

QUESTION: He was at the White House.

How does the Clinton Administration feel about not being informed of this man's detention for two weeks?

MR. DAVIES: We, of course, were - we learned of this just recently when he was let go, shall we say, removed from authority. It's important that the Mexican Government took this action. It's important that the Mexican Government, after he had served just two and a half months in office, acted swiftly to remove him. But it's also important to note the seriousness of all of this. We have a very high-ranking official of the Mexican Government who is found to be engaging in corrupt activities.

That underscores the extent to which this is a problem in Mexico.

It's kind of on the one hand/on the other hand type of event here. We have the Mexicans acting swiftly and firmly to remove him from office; that's good. On the other hand, of course, what it shows is that corruption has reached fairly senior levels. That, of course, is something we take very seriously.

QUESTION: The question, though: he was detained February 6th. You all didn't find out about it until this week. How do you feel about that? In that interim period, could you have acted to protect some of the people doing counternarcotics activities down in Mexico and perhaps secure some of the operations?

MR. DAVIES: Sid, I don't know that the "two-week" delay between the time that they picked him up and the time they made this announcement has caused any particular concern in the U.S. Government. Obviously, we would have liked to have known just as soon this happened, just as soon as the Mexicans knew. That would have been very useful for us, from a number of standpoints.

It is, I think, important to underscore that they did act swiftly once they developed this information.

QUESTION: What a slap in the face.

What possible justification could the President of Mexico have for not informing the United States for two weeks about this?

MR. DAVIES: I think that you can be assured that this was an issue that was raised with the Foreign Secretary today.

QUESTION: Glyn, the Georgian diplomat who was involved -

MR. DAVIES: We'll go to that after we finish with Mexico.

QUESTION: Let me follow right on Sid, Glyn, and thank you. Glyn, first let me clarify. Did the U.S. Government find out about General Gutierrez on the 18th, the evening of the press conference in Mexico City? Or did we have prior knowledge to that?

MR. DAVIES: I don't have the tick-tock on exactly when we found out, how we found out. I don't know if we were given prior notice of this, Bill.

QUESTION: And, second, back to Sid's question. We have agents in Mexico - CIA, DEA, FBI - operating against the cartels. The Mexicans have their agents. Certainly, those agents could have been compromised or in great peril. We could have had information 12 days or more early to pull our people out. Is this not a problem?

MR. DAVIES: We are, as you would expect, looking into the extent to which there may have been any damage caused by this individual's compromise by narco-traffickers. We will, based on what we find out in our own internal look at this, take the appropriate steps in response to that.

QUESTION: Finally, is it not really of great concern to the U.S. Government that this man got into this office in the first place, and was received worldwide, especially in this country, as a staunch man of integrity and a drug fighter?

MR. DAVIES: The case of Mr. Rebollo is of extreme concern to the United States Government. Absolutely.

QUESTION: You would suggest that there's damage assessment going on. Was there an interagency meeting yesterday on this?

MR. DAVIES: I'm not going to get into what meetings were held when on this. Obviously, this is a matter of strong concern to the United States Government. We are holding the kinds of meetings and the kinds of internal deliberations you would expect to discuss it. We took an important step today by taking advantage of the fact that Foreign Secretary Gurria was in town, to invite him to come talk to us about it.

QUESTION: Will the U.S. still, nevertheless, go ahead with full cooperation with Mexico on anti-narcotics operations, or will it hold back until Mexico does some more -

MR. DAVIES: The United States will always act in the interests of the United States. It is absolutely in our interest, as a nation, to cooperate where we can with those it makes sense to cooperate with, to get at this problem of narcotics trafficking, narcotics production, and anything to do with narco-trafficking.

We're not going to suspend cooperation with the Government of Mexico. That would be foolish of us. We'll keep that up. It's in our interest. Mexico is one of the main transshipment points for narcotics into the United States. It has been for some time.

Any more on Mexico?

QUESTION: Just to ask, I understand from Ms. Reno this morning that there is an evaluation, a multi-transdepartmental evaluation going on. How is State involved in that? And is Mr. Gurria's visit a part of that?

MR. DAVIES: We're playing the role you would expect of the State Department. We're playing a lead role in looking at this issue, since we're charged with conducting the nation's foreign policy.

Anything else on Mexico? No. Let me go here first.

QUESTION: The Georgian diplomat who was involved in the fatal crash, he's now turned himself in. He's going to appear in court later on and a trial will probably go forward. How rare is it that a country will waive its diplomatic immunity to let that happen? I guess there's some talk about him serving a sentence, if he's convicted, in Georgia. Would there be any objection to that?

MR. DAVIES: I don't want to get ahead of the judicial process and speculate about what's going to happen down the road to Mr. Makharadze. It is true, as you say, that he surrendered himself at 10:00 this morning. He'll appear in D.C. Superior Court at 4:00 this afternoon for a hearing. That hearing is for the purpose of determining his status pending a Grand Jury indictment and trial.

We've talked a bit about immunity before from the podium. This is very rare because it's very rare for diplomats to be involved in, or allegedly involved in, an incident like this. There's only one other recent case of a foreign diplomat being involved in something serious and having his diplomatic immunity waived, and that was the case of the Belgian diplomat some years ago. So this is rare because only a very, very small percentage of foreign diplomats in this country become involved in something like this. Most of them, the vast majority abide by the law, understand that that's their obligation, and they don't commit these kinds of acts.

QUESTION: But when they are, they're usually shipped home?

MR. DAVIES: When they are, it's up to their governments to make a decision. Obviously, we work with those governments, based on our interests, to determine whether or not it's in our interests to ask that diplomatic immunity be waived. We'll make that request of a government and then it's up to that government, ultimately, to decide, as we do with our diplomats overseas, whether it makes sense or is important to waive immunity. In this case, the President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, took a very courageous decision and, from the beginning of this case, has expressed his interest, his willingness, to cooperate every way he could. He said very early on that he would make a decision to waive immunity if it looked like this was heading to some form of prosecution. He was true to his word, and he waived Makharadze's immunity, and for that we have thanked him.

QUESTION: Have you heard anything from the New York Police Department?

MR. DAVIES: I cannot report to you that we've received anything other than a letter from Mayor Giuliani back at the outset of all of this - what, six weeks ago now? --

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

MR. DAVIES: Yes, some time ago. We received a letter from the Mayor, a kind of preliminary police report. This is on the incident involving Russian and Belarusian diplomats, the shoving incident up in New York. I don't believe we've yet received the full police report from New York.

QUESTION: On Colombia?

MR. DAVIES: Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about the legislation on sentencing guidelines that passed yesterday?

MR. DAVIES: We understand that President Samper may sign the bill into law today or tomorrow. We're encouraged that Colombia is taking this step to enable its judges to sentence drug traffickers and other criminals to prison for longer periods.

This law, unfortunately, comes too late to affect the Cali cartel leaders.

We will have to review the law in detail as it's finally enacted and signed into law before we comment on it specifically. The effect of the law, however it is written, should be that criminals actually serve sentences commensurate with the crimes they have committed.

QUESTION: Could I follow up the statement on the Cuban exile shootdown anniversary. In light of what happened after the shootdown, the flotilla that was organized and the disruption that was caused during that demonstration, is the State Department going to watch more closely? Is there anything that you're going to do this time around that you didn't do last time, issuing - are your warnings more stern?

MR. DAVIES: This warning is very similar to the warnings that were issued four previous times. This is the fifth such warning that's been issued, and this is very much a joint effort on the part of various agencies of the Federal Government, not just the State Department. I mean, our piece of this is to deal with the Cubans and to wag a finger at them and to insist that they abide by international law; that they not harm these protesters, even should they stray into Cuban territorial waters.

But the Cubans have said that they will "do what they need to do" to protect themselves or their territorial integrity, and we've seen what that meant on February 24th of last year. It was very tragic. So in addition to State, you'll have Transportation in the form of the Coast Guard; the FAA is involved here. Many of the warnings and license suspensions and what have you that were put into effect after the incident occurred are still in effect, and you can address yourself to the FAA for that.

So we're doing everything we can to make sure that these protests, this commemoration, is peaceful. But what's needed, of course, is a degree of restraint on the part of the protesters or those who are demonstrating, and on the part of the Cuban Government -- they shouldn't even contemplate taking the kind of actions that they took.

QUESTION: One other follow-up. One Cuban exile group has apparently purchased two military aircraft - experimental British warplanes called "Provost." Is the State Department aware of this, and is the U.S. concerned that these planes will be used for possible provocation with the Cuban Government?

MR. DAVIES: We are aware of this. We've spoken with the organizers of the demonstration. We've written to them. We've spoken with them, and they have said that they don't intend to violate Cuban airspace or territorial waters, and that's very important. I hope, if they have faster moving aircraft; they take account of the fact that if they are just 20, 21, 22 miles off the Cuban coast they should take great care in terms of how they use those aircraft.

QUESTION: During the shoot - after the shootdown, there was some criticism that the United States did not act to protect these people militarily. Is that something you're prepared to do this time around? Will there be American jets patrolling the area? And, sort of secondarily, when you informed the Cubans of your position, did they give you the same response - that they'll take whatever steps they deem necessary to protect their territorial waters?

MR. DAVIES: I think we can consider that a standing response of the Cubans. I don't know if they came back with precisely that set of words, but that is our continuing impression of where the Government of Cuba stands on this matter.

Your first question is one that's probably better directed to the Department of Transportation and the Defense Department - those that have the assets that I understand will be deployed to monitor the demonstration when it takes place.

I was told by the Pentagon that the Coast Guard would be on site, but you will want to talk to them about that.

Same issue? Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: (inaudible) in boats -

MR. DAVIES: I heard cutters, but I don't know what other assets they may use --

QUESTION: Regarding the air fighters by the Democracy Movement over Cuba, they did speak to WPLG in Miami, and they said to WPLG in Miami that they were planning on flying over the airspace in Cuba. So this being the case - if this is the case - since they did tell WPLG, what is the U.S. reaction?

MR. DAVIES: There's a bit of a contradiction there, if in fact that is true - and I don't know that they said that to that news organization. What we've been assured is that they have no intention of violating Cuban territorial seas or airspace, and that's a very important promise or pledge that they've made. Were they to indicate something else, we might take other action. But we think it's very important that as American citizens they have the right to demonstrate, commemorate, do this kind of thing. That's their right. They've done it before. They ought to be able to do it again. That's very, very important.

We don't want to constrain them in that respect, but we do want them to understand that when you're talking about Castro's Cuba, given what happened on February 24th of last year, you could be playing with fire if you go into Cuban territorial airspace. So it's a very dicey sort of a situation. We want them to exercise their right to protest peacefully, but we want that protest to remain peaceful.

QUESTION: Are there any special alerts going up at the Homestead Air Reserve Base?

MR. DAVIES: That's a question you'd have to ask across the river. I don't speak for the Pentagon.

Anything else on that?

QUESTION: A general question you can answer. Is the United States prepared to do what it has to do to protect these people as American citizens?

MR. DAVIES: We're going to do everything that we think is right and proper to help this demonstration occur on a peaceful basis. One of the main things is in fact issuing this kind of a public warning to Cuba - that's the most important aspect of it - but also to those organizing this protest, so that they understand the parameters here. Nothing has changed from the earlier protests that occurred in the wake of the February 24th shootdown. It's still somewhat of a dangerous business to be that close to Cuba, and therefore we want to do everything we can to make sure that it comes off peacefully. But again for questions about precisely what military or Department of Transportation assets are going to be down there, what their rules of engagement are, I'm not your guy. You want to put those questions to the appropriate authorities.

QUESTION: On the announcement of food aid to North Korea, has there been any progress on scheduling the briefing for the Four-Way Talks?

MR. DAVIES: I don't have anything to report to you on the briefing. We hope that it takes place soon.

That is very much in our interests, and we believe it's also in the interests of North Korea. We know it's in the interests of South Korea. But I don't have anything to report to you by way of a scheduled date or time for that.

QUESTION: Have there been any more meetings in New York?

MR. DAVIES: Not that I'm aware of, no.

Not recently.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on the defector?

MR. DAVIES: I don't, no. We understand that China and the Republic of Korea are continuing to discuss the case of Mr. Hwang. We hope that that matter will be resolved soon, but I don't have any developments to report on that.

QUESTION: Do you have anything in your response from North Korea after the announcement of food aid indicating that they might show some kind of leniency in the case of the defector in relation to this?

MR. DAVIES: No. I've not seen that they've made any linkage. In addition, of course, to the $10 million package that we announced yesterday, South Korea has also announced a $6 million package of food aid, which is $16 million toward the $41 million shortfall that the World Food Program is trying to fulfill. So we look to others also to pledge more here.

But, no, I've not seen that the North Koreans have taken any actions yet in response to this.

QUESTION: Glyn, what has this done to Mrs. Albright's visit to Beijing and to Seoul? Any alterations?

MR. DAVIES: I don't have any to report to you. Nick, I know, said on the way to Moscow on the Secretary's aircraft - the Secretary is now in Moscow - that we understand from the Chinese that she is to come ahead with her visit to Beijing.

She's scheduled to get there on Monday. Her visit is now scheduled for Monday/Tuesday. It has been scheduled for those dates. I don't know that the schedule on the ground in Beijing is going to change as a result of the death of Deng Xiaoping, but we will in coming days be putting out that schedule.

Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: In the presence even of U.S. officials like Marshall Adair, the Turkish Army General Bir of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Turkish Air Force General Kilic of National Security Council, as of today in the Hyatt Regency Hotel here in town threatened openly Greece and Cyprus militarily on a polemical fever. In one point the army general stated, "We are no longer optimistic," and he warned Cyprus with adventures, militarily. And the air force General stated that Greece is not a problem for Turkey from a military point of view. Could you please clarify the U.S. position vis-a-vis to the Greek-Turkey differences over the Aegean Sea and Cyprus?

MR. DAVIES: Mr. Lambros, that sounded to me a lot more like a statement than a question, frankly. It sounds to me like you're trying to get statements on the record here, which is your right. You can come in and take up all of our time with that. But you're asking me a very specific question about something that happened at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. We've got a few other issues to deal with.

QUESTION: Clarify -

MR. DAVIES: I don't have anything -

QUESTION: No, no, clarify -

MR. DAVIES: I don't have anything on that, Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: -- the U.S. position vis-a-vis those differences.

MR. DAVIES: Excuse me. We've clarified the U.S. position on the Aegean many times at this podium. It hasn't changed. We'll send you any number of references from past briefings on our policy on the Aegean. The questions you're asking are much too specific for me to address at this podium.

QUESTION: But somebody is stating what he is going to do with the use of force. So your policy - could you please clarify your policy.

MR. DAVIES: I don't have any change to report on our policy on the Aegean.

QUESTION: But according to the bulletin at the Turkish Embassy -

MR. DAVIES: Mr. Lambros -

QUESTION: No, no. - the U.S. Government warned Greece not to share the military exercise in the Aegean February 18 and 19 and were (inaudible) Turkey. This pressure I understand the Greek Government accepted. Could you please clarify this information, how this message was given to the Greek side via Greek Ambassador Tsilas and when exactly?

MR. DAVIES: I don't have anything on that for you, Mr. Lambros. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Do you have anything on the meetings with the visiting General - Turkish General?

MR. DAVIES: Yes. The Secretary General who visited? I think I do have something on that.

QUESTION: The Turkish Minister of State, Minister Abdullah Gul, who is in town for the annual meeting of the American-Turkish Council, called on Acting Secretary of State Tarnoff and other State Department officers yesterday. They discussed the full range of issues of concern between Turkey and the United States.

Minister Gul also met separately with Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Marshall Adair, so he was in the building.

QUESTION: Did he offer any reassuring words about the situation in Turkey, as far as the military exerting more control over day-to-day affairs?

MR. DAVIES: I don't have that to report to you. I've only got the very general -- I'm sure unsatisfactory from your standpoint -- readout that I've just given.

QUESTION: Mr. Gul expressed some reservations on NATO expansion and related NATO expansion to Turkish succession to the European Union. Do you have any reaction to that?

MR. DAVIES: No, nothing new on Turkey's position on NATO expansion. A version of this question was put to Secretary Albright, I think, just within the last 24 hours, and she laid out the United States' position, which is that it's our understanding that Turkey is very much on board with NATO enlargement. I simply have no changes to report to you. So we're looking forward to going forward with NATO enlargement, starting with the July summit meeting of NATO leaders in Madrid.

Sid.

QUESTION: It seems like every couple days, every week, you or Nick reads these statements about the results of the Monitoring Committee meeting, and nothing seems to happen. What is the purpose of this Monitoring Committee?

I mean, as conceived, I thought it was to prevent fighting, but fighting is going on stronger than ever, so what's -

MR. DAVIES: Sid, I question the premise.

I don't know that fighting is going on stronger than ever. I mean, yes, fighting continues, there is no question about that, and nobody wants to see it continue, but it is. The purpose of the Monitoring Group is to provide a mechanism for the sides so that they can air their differences. They can bring complaints about military actions that they've seen. They can apply some sort of rough rules to the conduct of the conflict. I wouldn't agree with you. I believe that the Monitoring Group has in fact been useful, and obviously the sides agree or they wouldn't continue to get together in Naqoura and air these differences and these problems and discuss them and release these types of statements.

It's always better to talk than it is to fight.

The fighting continues, but maybe at some point the talking will crowd out the fighting. That's the objective.

Anything else?

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. DAVIES: Thank you.

(The briefing concluded at 2:04 p.m.)

(###)


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