U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #82, 97-06-02
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
717
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Monday, June 2, 1997
Briefer: John Dinger
STATEMENTS/ ANNOUNCEMENTS
1 Statement on Conviction of Ethnic Albanians
FRANCE
1 Elections
SIERRA LEONE
1-5 Situation Update
2-5 --Mammy Yoko Hotel
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
6-7 Alleged Retaliation for Land Sales
7 --Letter from Senator Helms/Rep. Gilman
6-8 Reports of new Terrorist Attacks Planned against Israel
IRAQ
8-9 UN Resolution 986
CHINA
9-10 Reports of Missile Sales to Iran
CANADA
10-11 Pacific Salmon Dispute/Talks
FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
11 Secretary Albright's Trip to Region
BURMA
11-12 ASEAN Admission
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #82
MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1997 1:08 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. DINGER: Good afternoon. Welcome to the State Department briefing. I
have one statement, and then I'll take your questions. On May 30, 1997, a
court in Pristina, Kosovo, convicted 20 ethnic Albanians on terrorist-
related charges. U.S. embassy officials and other international observers
were present at various times throughout the proceedings. While the United
States Government is deeply concerned by acts of terrorism that have
plagued Kosovo in recent months, the defendants' trial was marred by a
number of serious judicial irregularities.
We, of course, condemn terrorism by any party. However, we do not believe
the conduct of the trial that ended May 30th met contemporary judicial
standards, including those supposedly enforced under the Serbian constitution.
To identify merely a few areas of concern, evidence was not controlled,
defendants were frequently denied access to their attorneys during the
prosecution of the case, and the judge refused to allow a number of
relevant interventions by the defense to be entered into the official court
record.
George, your questions.
QUESTION: Any reactions to the French elections?
MR. DINGER: We congratulate the Socialist Party and its allies on their
clear victory. We welcome Lionel Jospin as the new French Prime Minister,
and look forward to the formulation of his cabinet. As always, the United
States welcomes the opportunity to continue its close cooperation with
France on a wide array of issues.
We also want to express our deep appreciation to outgoing Prime Minister
Juppe and his Foreign Minister De Charette for their productive working
relationship with us during their time in office. Our relationship with
France has always been excellent, regardless of the fortunes of the various
political parties. We are confident that, as in the past, France will
remain a close ally with whom we enjoy excellent cooperation.
QUESTION: Do you have any idea what is going on in Sierra Leone?
MR. DINGER: Let me go through, I think, what I have, and then you can ask
any further questions if you have them. The United States carried out two
evacuations from Freetown on Friday and Sunday. We took out approximately 1,
300 people, including approximately 400 Americans. The remaining 900
nationals were from over 40 different countries.
All of the evacuees who had been taken to the Kearsarge were later taken on
to Conakry, Guinea. About half of those evacuees left Conakry on a charter
flight to Brussels on Sunday. A second charter is scheduled to depart
Conakry today. Additionally, there was a British charter flight which also
left Conakry on Sunday, and that carried approximately 30 Americans. That
flight was to London.
We now have reports of somewhere between 12 and 30 American citizens still
in Freetown.
QUESTION: Are they there voluntarily?
MR. DINGER: We believe that those Americans want to leave Sierra Leone.
It is difficult to speculate on why they were not at the departure point
for the first two evacuation flights, but that is beside the point.
We understand that what is happening now - the Kearsarge will remain in the
area pending a determination of whether another evacuation from Freetown is
possible.
Our ambassador to Sierra Leone, John Hirsch, returned to the region over
the weekend and arrived on board the Kearsarge on Saturday. He is now there
with Anne Wright who was the charge, now, the DCM. The two of them,
particularly Ambassador Hirsch and the commander of the forces there, will
make a judgment call on whether and when further evacuations can take
place.
We understand that there are perhaps some 200 - it's very difficult to know
how many, but perhaps 200 foreigners in the Mammy Yoko Hotel, which was the
evacuation site. We also understand that there has been fighting near the
hotel. It is very difficult to know specifically what is going on, of
course, because communications are very difficult between Freetown and
Washington or the Kearsarge.
Nevertheless, we understand that most of those foreigners are now in the
basement of the Mammy Yoko Hotel. We also understand that there are some
small fires in the Mammy Yoko Hotel; however, it is very difficult to know
with any certainty the origin of the fires or the extent of the fires.
However, the last word that we have is that the fires were relatively small
and did not pose any immediate imminent direct threat to the people who
have taken shelter in the basement.
The United States, of course, does not have a protecting power in Sierra
Leone. We issued a new travel warning over the weekend warning, first of
all, all Americans to defer travel to Sierra Leone; also again urging
Americans who continue to remain in Sierra Leone to leave immediately. We
ask everyone to be aware that there are no U.S. Government officials in
Sierra Leone to assist them.
Nevertheless, we are in close contact with the British High Commission
which is still somewhat staffed in Sierra Leone. We are cooperating closely
with them on security, evacuation and political issues. We understand that
the British High Commission is in touch with most, if not all of the
factions in Freetown, including the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.
We also understand that there have been discussions over the last 24 hours
between the Nigerian commander of the Economic Community of West African
States Monitoring Group forces in Sierra Leone and the Armed Forces
Revolutionary Counsel.
We also understand that the International Committee of the Red Cross is
very active in Sierra Leone, and is discussing and perhaps has even
established a very fragile cease-fire with the AFRC rebels. However, there
is fighting. Reportedly there has been some shelling this morning between
Nigerian forces, which are securing the Mammy Yoko Hotel and other
locations, and the other fighters in Freetown.
Meanwhile, on Sunday the AFRC was expanded to 26 persons. That incorporated
members of previous rebels during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The RUF
leader, Foday Sankoh, was named vice chairman of the council. However, he
remains under house arrest in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the United States is using all diplomatic channels available to
urge the rebels to quit and restore the democratically elected government
of Sierra Leone. We are also supporting, to the extent we can, the fragile
cease-fire between ECOMOG and rebel forces in an effort to stabilize the
situation and allow, as possible, a third evacuation.
We understand as of this morning that the Nigerian forces appear to be in a
defensive posture near the installations and buildings that they have been
securing against attacks by the rebels. To the best of our knowledge there
are currently approximately 2,000 Nigerian troops in Sierra Leone. I think
that's about all I have.
QUESTION: On the statement that the Nigerians appear to be in a defensive
position. Our reports say that their gunboats are shelling what appears to
be the rebel headquarters. Do you know if that is true?
MR. DINGER: I can't confirm that. We obviously are aware of reports that
there was at least artillery fire from the Nigerian forces this morning. We
are aware of those reports, but in the midst of the chaos in Freetown, we
cannot verify any of those reports.
QUESTION: Do you find that the Nigerian troops are playing a useful role
stabilizing the situation?
MR. DINGER: The Nigerians have said that is their role. I would point out
that my understanding is that the Nigerians have been in the vicinity of
the Mammy Yoko Hotel, and they have been acting to try to defend the hotel
against rebels. Certainly, if the Nigerians are protecting Americans and
other foreigners in the Mammy Yoko Hotel, we would certainly be grateful
for that.
QUESTION: John, there were also reports just before coming in here that
the Mammy Yoko Hotel was under fire. The accounts by the Nigerian forces
that apparently spoke to the wire services indicated that it was a very
severe battle. How is it - is the United States or is Ambassador Hirsch in
touch with the British High Commission to determine the fate of the
foreigners who are at the hotel? Or does he have direct links to the
hotel?
MR. DINGER: I'm not aware of any direct links between the Kearsarge and
the hotel. My understanding is that there are two main means of communication.
One is from the hotel to the United States or elsewhere. I understand much
of the communication has been with the manager of the hotel.
Also, as you have mentioned, I think, the British High Commission remains
active there, and we are in touch, as possible, with the British High
Commission. So the assessment is generally being made through those
communication links, and of course to the extent possible, any observations
that can be made from the Kearsarge or any of its assets.
QUESTION: There is the hope here, then, that a cease-fire is established
and then a determination made by the commander and the ambassador as to
whether or not an evacuation is possible?
MR. DINGER: We understand that there is, to some degree, a fragile cease-
fire in place. I cannot confirm that there is heavy fighting at the moment
near the Mammy Yoko Hotel. I understand there has been fighting. I just
can't confirm either the extent of it, or whether it goes on.
What will happen now in terms of a third evacuation is a judgment call by
the people nearest the events, that is the commander on the Kearsarge of
the Marines, and our Ambassador onboard. That is a judgment call - cost-
risk evaluation - to decide when or if a third evacuation should take
place.
QUESTION: Do you have any idea who these Americans are? They are not
officials, I assume.
MR. DINGER: I can't tell you who they are, although I did just receive a
call that some are journalists. Beyond that, I can't narrow it down for
you. We can't even know with any certainty what the numbers are. Our
numbers for Americans is between 12 and 30.
QUESTION: But you assume that they're not in any way connected with the
embassy? That's what I was saying.
MR. DINGER: There are no official Americans still in Freetown.
QUESTION: John, do you know where they are in town?
MR. DINGER: Pardon me?
QUESTION: Do you know where they are in town?
MR. DINGER: They are in the basement --
QUESTION: They're all in the hotel?
MR. DINGER: All that we are aware of at the present time are in the Mammy
Yoko Hotel, the vast majority in the basement. Now, I cannot rule out that
there may not be other Americans still in Sierra Leone, either in Freetown
or elsewhere.
I would assume that in case, for example, of dual nationals there almost
certainly are still Americans elsewhere in Sierra Leone. These individuals,
both the Americans and the foreigners, for whatever reason, were not at the
evacuation point for either of the evacuations that took place. We
understand that they are there now in hopes of being evacuated, and, of
course, every consideration will be given to doing that.
QUESTION: You said 12 to 30 U.S. citizens. Does that exclude dual
nationals?
MR. DINGER: No, that includes dual nationals. All American citizens are
equal in our eyes.
QUESTION: Reports this morning speak about a serious level of fighting; I
mean, bombing everywhere. Do you think this is a thrust by the Nigerians to
change the status quo on the ground in Freetown? And if it is, will it have
the blessing of the United States?
MR. DINGER: I cannot confirm the violence in Freetown of the scale, I
think, that you are alluding to. Clearly, there has been fighting. No
question about that. The degree of the fighting I can't confirm. Also I
don't want to speculate on what Nigeria's actions or intentions are. We
simply do not know. Of course, I have said before what the public
statements have been for the Nigerian commander. I am unaware of any change
in his public statements.
QUESTION: Anyone talk to the Nigerian Government at all?
MR. DINGER: Yes, we're in touch in the Nigerian Government and I cannot
contradict what they have been saying publicly.
I would reiterate that what we believe is essential immediately is a cease-
fire, an end to the violence, the people of Sierra Leone have suffered
enough violence. We believe the military clique should quit and should
restore authority to elected civilian leaders. Then perhaps Sierra Leone
can get back on track towards democracy and to some form of stability and
prosperity for the people of that country.
Anything else? Yes.
QUESTION: What about the reports today on Israel and the PIJ launching
major terrorist attacks? What is the State Department doing about
this?
MR. DINGER: Our view is very well known on the issue as a whole. We have
said it repeatedly, and we have made very clear to the Palestinians that
the United States condemns in the strongest manner any extra judicial
action, including alleged retaliation, including death for land sales by
Arabs to Jews.
We have also made clear we believe the death penalty is inappropriate
punishment for the sale of land under any circumstances. We are in touch
with both the Palestinians and the Israelis regarding the allegations
contained in the press report today that there has been proof of involvement
by the Palestinian authorities.
QUESTION: Do you have any proof of such an involvement of the Palestinian
Authority in the killing of the land dealers?
MR. DINGER: I don't have anything I can give you that would be proof of
that, no. What we have said from the beginning is that the Israelis and
Palestinians are both investigating these allegations. I have not see a
result of those investigations and I think, first, we need to see the
results of those investigations.
QUESTION: Do you ask the Israelis to provide you of such proof that they
have achieved?
MR. DINGER: We have been in touch with the Israelis regarding one, the
issue in general and, more specifically, the issue of whether the
Palestinian Authority is directly involved in this issue. I don't have any
details for you on those sorts of communications.
QUESTION: John? On that same issue, it has been verified that a
substantial amount of the land sales and the purchase of houses in old
Jerusalem are a result of a verifiable illegal use of 501 (c )(3) money
from the United States, particularly on the part of the Moscowitz
Foundation and various others. Has the United States been approached by the
Palestinians or by any others to try and cut that off, because it is
illegal according to IRS - ex-officials of the IRS.
MR. DINGER: You just went well beyond anything on this issue that I'm
aware of.
QUESTION: Can you take the question?
MR. DINGER: We can look into that issue.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. DINGER: Yes, Laura.
QUESTION: Senator Helms and Congressman Gilman sent a letter to Secretary
Albright sometime in the last couple of weeks, requesting that the United
States either suspend aid to the Palestinians or withhold future aid until
it is determined whether or not the Palestinian Authority knew about these
murders. Are you aware of this letter? Have you received it? Do you have
any comment on it?
MR. DINGER: We did receive a letter from Senator Helms and Representative
Gilman. We are preparing a response. At the moment, all I can tell you is
that I will repeat that we have made clear to the highest levels of the
Palestinian Authority our condemnation of any extrajudicial actions,
specifically the allegation of retaliation for land sales. We've also made
clear we believe the death penalty in any case is inappropriate punishment
for the sale of land.
We are preparing a reply to this letter, but of course that is something
that we, as a matter of policy, would keep private.
QUESTION: You did condemning extrajudicial land sales. If the Palestinian
Authority were to forbid the sale of land to Israelis, would that be
okay?
MR. DINGER: I don't --
QUESTION: By law?
MR. DINGER: I don't think I want to get into that sort of --
QUESTION: Raise the question. And the obverse, of course, comes to mind
also - the Palestinians charge that just such difficulties exist in Israel
proper for Arabs to buy land.
MR. DINGER: I think we need to stay focused here on the core issue that's
before us; that is the allegation that there is either extrajudicial action
or the death penalty. We absolutely are opposed to either of those aspects
to the issue.
QUESTION: John, also on Israel, did you see the report in a certain
Washington newspaper this morning that a new batch of terrorists have been
dispatched to Israel, targeting both Israelis and Palestinians?
MR. DINGER: I saw that report. It appeared to be based on allegedly
leaked documents about alleged intelligence information. As you know, as a
matter of policy, we do not comment on allegedly leaked documents about
alleged intelligence issues.
QUESTION: So it was leaked?
(Laughter.)
MR. DINGER: I will not confirm that it was leaked. Let me say two things,
though, separate from those documents. That is that we do have a public
announcement in effect for Israel. It's available in the press office or on
our Internet site, www.state.gov. It does warn of the possibility of
terrorist attacks in Israel. That announcement remains in effect until July
15th.
QUESTION: What's the date of the announcement?
MR. DINGER: I believe it was May 4th. When you go onto the website, you
see it quite easily.
QUESTION: John, I'm wondering why you chose July 15th. Was this because
it was after July 4th?
MR. DINGER: No, actually this was an extension of a previous advisory
that happened to end, I believe, on April 15th or maybe May 15th. No, it's
just a procedural matter.
QUESTION: So you expect to renew it, then?
MR. DINGER: Case by case judgment call. We'll see what the situation is,
and see if we need to maintain it. In any case, our consular information
sheet, which of course is always available, also warns of instability and
other issues that American citizens considering travel to Israel should
keep in mind in terms of security.
QUESTION: Any American officials planning to travel to the Middle East in
the near future?
MR. DINGER: I don't have anything to announce for you.
QUESTION: (Inaudible)
MR. DINGER: No. Of course, I could run through the reminders of you that
we are very, very actively engaged in this process. The Secretary travels
when she believes it is useful. Dennis Ross has made several trips and, in
addition, much of the Middle East has come here.
QUESTION: The U.N. Secretary General's proposed the extension of the Iraq
oil-food arrangement. Does the United States support this?
MR. DINGER: That will, I believe, come up for consideration later this
week. We will study the issue closely and make our determination closer to
the time of renewal, but I don't have any - I don't want to send you the
wrong signal here. But it is just that it has not yet come before the
council and, so, we want to make our position known closer to the
date.
QUESTION: Well, are you satisfied with the implementation and the
safeguards of the last six months?
MR. DINGER: We are very satisfied with the safeguards as they appear on
paper. Meanwhile, we are very disappointed with continued attempts by the
regime in Baghdad to evade the procedures that are laid down in the
Memorandum of Understanding that governs Resolution 986.
QUESTION: Do you think they got away with any major infractions?
MR. DINGER: No. That is in part because the United States and other
members of the international community have been vigilant in ensuring that
doesn't happen.
I was disappointed to note statements from Baghdad recently, somehow
blaming the United States Government for suffering and hardship of the
people of Iraq. I found that to be a transparent and callous attempt on the
part of the Iraqi Government to shift blame from Baghdad for the suffering
of Iraqi people. It is very clear that there is only one party responsible
for the suffering of the people of Iraq and that is the regime of Saddam
Hussein.
There are at least three ways for that situation to be improved. Most
generally, the regime in Baghdad can stop being a threat to regional
stability and perhaps get the entire sanctions regime removed. If not, the
regime in Baghdad can stop trying to evade, constantly evade the restrictions
included in the Memorandum of Understanding. I think if that were to happen,
the people of Iraq would see that much of the assistance could flow much
more quickly and efficiently to the people who are in need. Finally, the
regime in Baghdad could use its resources to try to import directly
food and humanitarian assistance, rather than diverting those resources
to maintaining or perhaps enhancing military capabilities or building
palaces or building yachts.
I was frankly outraged at this, as I say, callous attempt to shift the
blame for all that to someplace other than where it belongs, and that is on
the regime in Baghdad.
QUESTION: The Trade Minister, Mohammed Mahdi al-Salih, said yesterday, I
mean concerning the 986 - we're not talking the blame, you know, the
suffering of the Iraqi people in general. He is saying that just a third of
the food arrived to Iraq, which is under 986, and that 30,000 child has
died this year. These are figures by him. And he is blaming the United
States. I am not talking about the general suffering of the Iraqi people,
but when you hear figures like 30,000 child has lost his life, it
is alarming.
MR. DINGER: I would certainly extend our condolences to the victims and
to the families of those victims. I can't confirm those figures. What I
have to stress is that the responsibility for that sort of suffering does
not lie with anyone but the regime in Baghdad for the three reasons that I
just laid out. That's clear.
QUESTION: Yeah.
QUESTION: Do you have anything about China's Missile sales to Iran?
MR. DINGER: This is the report over the weekend?
QUESTION: Right. The Washington Times article, not the Post article.
MR. DINGER: I don't think I have anything with me. What I can say, though,
is that these reports of those specific missile sales have been in the
public record for some time. In that regard it was - in fact, in most
regards, it was not a new story as far as we could tell.
There is law in place governing the sale of such systems to Iran. We apply
that law appropriately and, under the law, we have determined that there
has been - the sales thus far have not met the threshold for any action by
us. We will continue to monitor this issue and these issues against the law
and, of course, we'll apply the law appropriately.
QUESTION: Any possibility are you going to review the export/import
control?
MR. DINGER: No, I don't have anything for you on that.
QUESTION: There was a determination, then, that there were these sales to
Iran by China, but the sales have not met the threshold of action?
MR. DINGER: That's right. I think we've covered that in this briefing
before, the same issue. I believe we have. The reports date back sometime,
I believe. Yes?
QUESTION: Do we have any meeting with North Korea in New York today?
MR. DINGER: I'm not aware of any meeting in New York, today. With North
Korea?
QUESTION: Yes.
MR. DINGER: Which we have periodic meetings. We normally don't announce
them in advance. We did have trilateral meetings on Friday. I'm not aware
of any meetings today.
Yes, sir?
QUESTION: Given the fact that in Canada there is a federal election today
and the government is expected to be reelected, will this clear the air,
possibly clear the air in the minds of the State Department so you can
resume talks with Canada over Pacific Salmon?
MR. DINGER: : I clearly don't want to link the issue of salmon to the
elections that are taking place in Canada today. Very separately I can say
that we certainly hope that we will soon have atmosphere that allows us to
get back to talks and addresses important issues.
QUESTION: Just to follow up, it seems that the four boats that were
seized and the skippers arrested were only fined a minimal $300, and the
judge sort of admonished both Canada and the United States. And I'm just
wondering if there has been any contact between your department and the
department of foreign affairs in Canada about re-opening the talks?
MR. DINGER: Absolutely. There is virtually constant contact between the
United States and Canada in an attempt to clear the air, to calm the seas -
no pun intended - so that we can get back to the table and resolve the
Pacific salmon dispute. But I do not want to, in any way, make any link
between that effort and the Canadian elections today.
QUESTION: Are you any closer to getting the talks back on track?
MR. DINGER: I don't have anything to report to you. Yes.
QUESTION: Do you think going to the Balkans over the weekend, the
Secretary made quite a bit of news about her comments to the leaders there,
saying that she felt in many ways that - inferring from her comments, such
as disgusting what's going on, that the peace accords have somehow been
abandoned - what do you think that she accomplished by going there and
speaking so strongly against the leaders' actions?
MR. DINGER: The Secretary, as you point out, was just in the Balkans. She
spoke extensively while there, and I don't have anything at all to add to
what was said during the trip.
QUESTION: Did she forge headway? I mean, new ground? Are we back on --
MR. DINGER: The Secretary always is an effective diplomat, obviously. I
don't have anything to add to what she and her party had to say over the
weekend.
QUESTION: Well, did you see the statement today by President Tudjman, in
effect, urging his Croatian population to allow refugees to return?
MR. DINGER: I saw some mention of that. Obviously that was on of the
issues that the Secretary took up when she visited Zagreb.
QUESTION: And do you see any link between the Secretary's statements and
his statement?
MR. DINGER: I think I'll just leave it with what was said on the trip for
the time being, until we have time to have everybody back and assess the
progress that hopefully was made. Then we'll perhaps address what was
accomplished and what still lies ahead.
But there have been many, many spokesman, including the President and the
Secretary of State, on this issue over the last few days. I don't think I
have anything to add today to what they said.
QUESTION: Will the Secretary be in building today?
MR. DINGER: The Secretary is on the job. Yes, Patrick.
QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to the decision by ASEAN to admit
Burma as a member?
MR. DINGER: Our concerns about the State Law and Order Council's policies
are very well known. It has violated the rights of its own citizens. It has
taken actions that undermine stability in the region by producing refugee
flows and allowing Burma to remain a major source of narcotics.
We know that ASEAN shares those concerns and, like the United States, wants
to see them addressed. Of course, we acknowledge that decisions about
ASEAN's membership are for ASEAN member nations to make. We, nonetheless,
regret that ASEAN appears to have invited Burma to join its organization at
this time.
At the same time, we now look to ASEAN to use its good offices to urge the
SLORC to seriously address our mutual concerns, and urge the SLORC to enter
into a productive dialogue with democratic forces in Burma, to cease its
actions that damage stability the region. That's it?
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. DINGER: Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:40 P.M.)
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