U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #83, 97-06-03

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U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing

I N D E X

Tuesday, June 3, 1997

Briefer: Nicholas Burns

STATEMENTS/ ANNOUNCEMENTS
1              Welcome Visitors
1              Romania and Ukraine Sign Friendship & Cooperation Treaty
2-3            Secretary's June 5 Commencement Address at Harvard and June
                 8 Commencement Address at the University of South Alabama
INDIA/PAKISTAN
3-5            Acquisition & Deployment of Ballistic Missiles/Deployment of
                 Prithvi Missile/Acquisition of M-11s from China
CYPRUS
5-7,14         Allegations of Air Space Violation by Turkey/Unilateral
                 Decisions to Suspend Overflights/Secretary's Meeting
                 Friday with FM Kasoulides/Violations of Territorial Waters
15-16          Importation of Russian Anti-Aircraft Equipment
GREECE/TURKEY
6,7            Dispute Over Islands in Aegean Sea/List of Disputed Islands
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
7-9            Donors' Mtg in Dept/Allegations of Siphoning Funds
                 /Accounting for US Funds/Letters from Senators Helms and
                 Representative Gilman/Destination of US Aid 
SIERRA LEONE
9-11           Third Evacuation /Numbers Evacuated/US Efforts to Bring
                 Peace/US Amb Hirsch in Conakry/Presence of Nigerian
                 Forces/Reports of Relief Workers Held Hostage/Goals 
BOSNIA/CROATIA/ SERBIA
11-14          Extradition of War Criminals/Secretary's Views on Indicted
                 War Criminals/Housing for Refugees/Prisoners Still Being
                 Held/Serbian Claims About Economy/Inability of Refugees to
                 Return to Their Homes/Arrest Warrants Issued for Treatment
                 Against Elderly/Follow-Up on Serb Family Victims 
ALBANIA
14-15          Explosions in Tira/Elections
TURKEY/IRAQ
15             Territorial Integrity of Iraq/Limited Turkish Incursion
                 Against PKK
IRAQ
16-17          Oil for Food Resolution/Respect for Embargo/Implementation &
                 Accountability of Funds
IRAN
17-18          US Travel Ban/Travel by Wife of US Congressman/US Passport
                 Restrictions
ALGERIA
18             Bus Bombings/Upcoming Elections

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #83

TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1997 1:22 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. BURNS: I'm looking for veterans from the Albright trip. I see one right here, Sid. I don't see many others, though. Is there a two-day-off rule for journalists after these trips? Pretty much, Sid? Yeah. Well, welcome to the State Department briefing. Good afternoon, everybody. I want to introduce a couple of visitors that we have here today. Andy Koss is the press attache from our embassy in Ottawa, a friend of Christine Shelley's. You all remember Christine. He's here today.

Also four visiting TV journalists from Kazakstan are here through the USIA International Visitor Program. Mr. Zhibek Tastambekova, Mr. Asylbek Abdulov, Mr. Petr Saprykin, and Ms. Natalya Nigmatullina are here. All from Kazakstan.

Two State Department interns, very important. We have interns who work with us in the Summer. Lora Sawyer is here from the Public Liaison Office of the Bureau of Public Affairs. She is a senior at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She is from Winston Salem. Welcome, Laura. Also, Scott Lasensky from the Near East Bureau. Scott is a student at Brandeis, a graduate student. You must be a Red Sox fan if you're from Brandeis, right?

MR. LASENSKY: (Inaudible.)

MR. BURNS: Scott, wrong answer. I think you weren't briefed before.

(Laughter.)

You are a Red Sox fan. You are now confirming on the record. We are packing the State Department with Red Sox fans among the college interns this Summer. Thanks, Scott.

Two things to tell you about before we go to questions. The first is that the United States congratulates Romania and Ukraine on the signing of their bilateral treaty of friendship and cooperation. We understand that this treaty confirms their present borders, protects the rights of ethnic minorities in each country, and lays the basis for close political and economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries. As we have said, repeatedly, the United States believes that a more integrated Europe is a good thing, both for Europe and the United States. This treaty constitutes a very important contribution to the building of an undivided Europe rooted in common values of democracy and cooperation. A very important development today.

Now, my second announcement concerns both history and current diplomacy. Fifty years ago this coming Thursday, June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall was scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Harvard. Journalists from several influential newspapers called the State Department Press Office before the speech to ask whether the Secretary of State would announce any initiatives worth covering. They were told by the Press Office staff of the time, no.

(Laughter.)

In any case, I won't say that about the current Secretary of State's speech on June 5, 1997, at the Harvard commencement this coming Thursday. Secretary Albright is going up to Harvard tomorrow night. She will be attending a dinner for the Board and the honorary degree recipients tomorrow night. She will spend most of the day on Thursday at the Harvard commencement, and she will give the commencement address 50 years to the day after Secretary Marshall's famous Marshall Plan speech at Harvard.

You missed this, Barry.

QUESTION: No, but you left something out. I read the same article in the Paris Tribune when we were in Europe.

MR. BURNS: Right.

QUESTION: Do you remember the news organization that covered the speech and covered it as if it were a significant speech in Boston?

MR. BURNS: It must have been the Associated Press.

QUESTION: It certainly was.

(Laughter.)

MR. BURNS: Yes, how could I have missed that?

QUESTION: Do you remember the great newspapers that said it wasn't much of a speech?

MR. BURNS: Probably The New York Times.

QUESTION: We won't mention any names.

(Laughter.)

MR. BURNS: But, Barry, before you came in --

QUESTION: If they were at the briefing, they could defend themselves.

MR. BURNS: Apparently, one of my predecessors -- yeah.

(Laughter.)

MR. BURNS: But they rarely come to the briefing, Barry.

QUESTION: I have no comment.

(Laughter.)

MR. BURNS: Apparently, one of my predecessors told journalists --

QUESTION: You read the article?

MR. BURNS: -- on June 4, 1947, there was no news in Marshall's speech.

QUESTION: Right.

MR. BURNS: One of the great press backgrounders of all time.

QUESTION: Exactly.

MR. BURNS: I will not say that about Secretary Albright's speech. She is working very hard on her speech. This is an important speech to talk about the future of the United States and Europe and I just thought we'd have some fun with that today.

Now, in addition to Harvard, the Secretary will be going to Mobile, Alabama, this coming Sunday on June 8th to deliver the commencement address at the University of South Alabama. If any of you are interested in covering that event or the Harvard address, we will be able to give you coordinates for both of those speeches. Barry and George? Yes?

QUESTION: Are there any initiatives that the Secretary is going to announce in her speech at Harvard?

MR. BURNS: No news in this speech whatsoever, in keeping with State Department tradition. I don't have anything to say specifically about the speech. We're going to keep it under wraps, I think, for a day or two until it's finalized, until she's made the final -- given her final blessing. Then perhaps we'll be able to talk about it further.

Yes, George?

QUESTION: Did you see the story in the Post about India moving missiles close to the border with Pakistan? And do you have anything to say about it?

MR. BURNS: Yes, I did see that story in The Washington Post. I don't know if The Washington Post made any predictions about George Marshall's speech, but we saw the story. What I can tell you is that the United States has believed for a very long time that the deployment or acquisition of ballistic missiles by India or Pakistan would be destabilizing and that it would undermine the security of both countries.

We are working with the governments of India and Pakistan to prevent a deployment of ballistic missiles by either country. We've been in frequent contact with both governments for a very long time on this issue and other issues concerning nonproliferation. Both of those governments are fully aware of our position.

It seems to us that the recent progress and the recent good cooperative tone in India's relationship with Pakistan ought to continue and that the aim of both prime ministers to reduce tensions ought to focus on ways that they can cooperate together. We would see that the deployment by either of them of ballistic missiles would be fundamentally contrary to the recent good progress made in the relationship. So, that is our view. We hope this will be one of the central issues in their own discussions -- the prevention of a deployment of ballistic missiles in either country.

QUESTION: Are you suggesting there's been no deployment, then?

MR. BURNS: Well, I'm not in a position to confirm that. I suggest you address that question to the Indian Government and the Pakistani Government.

QUESTION: But you are proceeding as if there has not been any deployment.

MR. BURNS: I am not in a position to confirm whether or not the Prithvi missile has been deployed by India. All I can say is, we think that the actual deployment of the missile, if that does occur and any work to make the missile operational would be extremely destabilizing by India. The deployment of such missiles by Pakistan, if that were to happen, obviously we would feel the same way about it.

QUESTION: As I recall the story - I don't have it in front of me - it wasn't saying that the missiles were deployed, but preparations were being made for deployment. Do you know if preparations are being made?

MR. BURNS: I'm not in a position to confirm that either. Some of the sources in that article were intelligence sources. As you know, I cannot comment on intelligence matters. But I certainly am in a position to say that the United States would react very negatively to the deployment of ballistic missiles by either country.

QUESTION: How would you react to the preparation of deployment of ballistic missiles by either country?

MR. BURNS: Well, obviously, because we don't favor the deployment of the missiles, we think that any preparation to deploy would be a negative development. It does, again, Barry, it runs completely contrary to the only good news that we've seen on India's -- Indo-Pak relations in a very long time - and that is the recent meeting of the prime ministers. They ought to continue with that vein of cooperation.

QUESTION: A lot of folks think it is the most dangerous place in the world most likely to spark - blow up and, you know, if you can't get into this because of intelligence purposes, you also have a purpose to be served by going public, so it cuts both ways here.

MR. BURNS: We have gone public today with our outright opposition --

QUESTION: Yes. It's an "if," yeah.

MR. BURNS: -- to any move to deploy these missiles.

QUESTION: Does Pakistan have ballistic missiles, as far as the United States knows?

MR. BURNS: We have not come to that conclusion. As you know, there have been repeated press stories and allegations made that Pakistan has acquired the M-11 missile from China. As you know, we have been very concerned about those reports and we have addressed our concerns both to China and Pakistan. But we have not made a determination that the deployment has taken place because that would trigger, as you know, sanctions.

QUESTION: The deployment or the purchase?

MR. BURNS: Both, deployment and purchase. We have not made a determination that the purchase or delivery of the M-11 has occurred. Certainly, purchase, delivery, deployment, all of that, we think, would be an extremely negative development. We have not made that determination because that would trigger Category I sanctions under the U.S. Missile Sanctions Law.

QUESTION: Deployment of the M-11, if it exists, would trigger Category I sanctions against Pakistan and China, too?

MR. BURNS: I would have to check the law. I think it would. I am pretty sure that it would cover the seller, the country that produced the missile and sold it to another country.

QUESTION: But definitely the purchaser?

MR. BURNS: I'd have to check the law on the purchaser. Yes, Mr. Lambros?

QUESTION: Despite the existence of the moratorium over Cyprus, which has been imposed unilaterally by Mr. Cavanaugh, despite Mr. Simitis' decision not to send Greek military planes into the Republic of Cyprus, Turkey today violated Aegean airspace and the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus. I am wondering, how do you guarantee the security of Cyprus and what type of arrangements you made with the Turkish Government to this effect?

MR. BURNS: I understand the Cypriot Government informed our embassy in Nicosia this morning that three Turkish F-4 jets overflew the island of Cyprus near Kyrenia, penetrating at least three nautical miles inland before exiting Cypriot airspace. This is the allegation made by the Cypriot Government. Such flights, if they did occur, would in fact be a deviation from Turkey's unilateral decision to suspend military overflights over Cyprus.

Now, the Turkish Government has told us that Turkish planes were in the area, but they did not violate Cypriot airspace. That is the Turkish Government line with us. We don't have any independent information that will corroborate the story of either government. So we would just like to take this opportunity to reiterate our very strong belief that the unilateral actions taken last month by Cyprus and Turkey to suspend overflights were very valuable. We hope that these unilateral decisions taken by both governments, the Cypriot Government and the Turkish Government, will be continued, and that there won't be any overflights because that is the best way to begin lessening tensions in the Aegean.

QUESTION: Did the U.S. monitor this unilateral --

QUESTION: After this meeting with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel in Paris, the Greek Prime Minister Konstas Simitis stated that Turkey is asking 138 Greek islands only - I have to emphasize only - in the Aegean. Could you please release the list, since it was prepared by the State Department with full cooperation with the Greek and the Turkish Government according to a reliable source from this building?

MR. BURNS: Now, Mr. Lambros, you are talking about a different question now. We were on the question of overflights.

QUESTION: Well, can we stick with that one, please?

MR. BURNS: Barry had a question on this.

QUESTION: I just wanted - unilateral or not, the United States has an interest, doesn't it, in lessening tensions? Is that promise monitored by the United States? Could it be that in this instance you didn't notice for sure? Or there is some gray area?

MR. BURNS: Well, we -

QUESTION: Or is it something that is, you know, Ronald Reagan's trust but verify? Do you trust but don't verify?

MR. BURNS: Well, we have not taken upon ourselves the responsibility to be the party that monitors this agreement on site. We have not taken on that responsibility. Here, today, we have a statement by the Cypriot Government and a contrary statement by the Turkish Government. We're not in the position to confirm either one. We do not have the ability to monitor on-site. But we are a friend of Turkey and Cyprus, as well as Greece. Of course, we will look at all this very carefully. So that is how I would answer your question.

Now, Mr. Lambros, you have asked a completely different question. I'm not sure I understood it.

QUESTION: I was satisfied with the answer you gave as far as for the Cyprus question. My question is about - I told you that after his meeting with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel the other day in Paris, the Greek Prime Minister Konstas Simitis stated that Turkey is asking today only 138 Greek islands of the Aegean Sea. Could you please release the list, since it was prepared by the State Department with full cooperation of the Greek and Turkish Governments, according to reliable sources from this building?

MR. BURNS: Mr. Lambros, I'll have to -

QUESTION: There is a list, a State Department list.

MR. BURNS: I'll have to look into that. I'm not sure we can release any kind of list. We have discussions with the Greek Government, the Cypriot Government, the Turkish Government about problems in the Aegean, but I'm not sure we want to go public with any of the information that we may or may not be extending to those governments.

QUESTION: Do you know when Madame Secretary Albright is going to meet the Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who is arriving in town today?

MR. BURNS: John, do we have that?

MR. DINGER: Friday at 11:30 a.m.

MR. BURNS: Friday at 11:30 a.m. Friday at 11:30 a.m. Ask and you shall receive. Yes.

QUESTION: Nick, on Thursday, the Palestinian Donors are meeting here at the State Department. I'm wondering whether the issue of the recent audit in which some $200 million was found to have been siphoned off for illegal uses will be something there. And will that affect the donors' previous position to release funds that they had planned to release at this conference?

MR. BURNS: I can check, Sid, to see what the agenda is of the meeting and whether or not that particular issue will be raised. I can tell you this, the United States extends substantial assistance the Palestinian people -- $500 million over five years, as you know. We can account for all the money that we have extended, both authorized and dispersed to the Palestinians.

That is a very important question. We report to the Congress every six months on that, and we certainly can account for American Government money.

QUESTION: Is the $275 million of it that hasn't been sent out yet being held back until you get a better idea what happens to the money overall? Or is the U.S. satisfied that if its money isn't stolen, it will keep pumping money into the PLO?

MR. BURNS: We can account for every dollar and every cent of what the American taxpayer has sent to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

QUESTION: But there's money still in - there is money still in the pipeline --

MR. BURNS: Therefore, we will continue the American aid program to the Palestinians because we think it's beneficial to the people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It supports the peace negotiations. That program has been supported, as you know, by the Israeli Government, which supports the concept of aid to the Palestinian people as a way to convince people that the peace process brings benefits to them.

QUESTION: Well, you've been rallying other countries. Do you have a tougher time rallying them until this money is accounted for?

MR. BURNS: Well, this is a separate question. This is not money that involves -- this is not American money that we are talking about.

QUESTION: No, no, I say - you've answered the --

MR. BURNS: So obviously --

QUESTION: I understand the American thinking. Your money hasn't been siphoned off.

MR. BURNS: Yes, right.

QUESTION: And you think it's money well spent, and you are going to keep distributing and sending money to Palestinian Authority.

MR. BURNS: That's right.

QUESTION: What Sid is referring to is the discovery that about 25 percent of the money that the PLO gets somehow has walked away. And you can't confirm that or not. I'm wondering if that situation doesn't make your job harder when you try to ask other countries to kick in.

MR. BURNS: Well, certainly, these are very serious allegations, and they will have be answered directly by the Palestinian Authority to the donors who have given this money in good faith. Fortunately, the United States has accurate track, accurate records of the money that we have sent; we know where it's being sent. But certainly this other issue has got to be looked into and I'm sure will be looked into.

QUESTION: Now, what you said about the continuation of American funding, is your answer to Gilman and Helms and the Senator from Alabama - there are two moves, you know, one in the Senate, one in the House, to stop delivering the money until what they do with it is accounted for.

MR. BURNS: Well, I don't believe the Secretary has yet responded to the letter from Senator Helms and Representative Gilman; but she intends to, and there was a brief discussion in her staff meeting this morning about the need, obviously, to respond to that letter.

But I can tell you, we are going forward with American assistance to the Palestinians because it is good for the United States. It's good for the Palestinians and good for Israel. It supports the peace negotiations. We would be sending the Palestinian people a very negative signal, indeed, if we pull the rug out from under this assistance program. The Palestinians need to work for peace, but the people - I'm not talking about the PA now -- our aid doesn't go to the Palestinian Authority any more, as you know. Our aid --

QUESTION: Goes to projects.

MR. BURNS: -- goes to projects. It supports individuals. It supports local communities -- the sewage projects in Gaza, the education projects on the West Bank. This money directly affects individuals.

Now, the PA will probably have to answer some questions from donors about this other story that Sid refers to of the siphoning off of funds. Those are very serious and they ought to be answered, those questions. But it is separate from what the United States is dealing with. Yes, Jim.

QUESTION: Nick, can you bring us up to date on Sierra Leone?

MR. BURNS: I would be glad to, yes. First of all, we continue to pay a lot of attention to the situation in Freetown. It is quite worrisome.

Today, as you know, the United States completed a third evacuation of 12 Americans and approximately 1,220 other nationals this morning from Freetown; so, almost 1,200 - 1,232, approximate, people came out this morning from - to the Kearsarge. All evacuees were taken there. They will be flown to Conakry in Guinea today and tomorrow. That brings the combined total of individuals evacuated by the Kearsarge, by the United States since Friday, to approximately 2,530 people and that includes 440 Americans.

Now, we do not anticipate any further evacuation from Freetown because we think we have got all the Americans out who want to come out. There may be a couple of Americans left who absolutely insist on staying. We cannot force people to leave, although we strongly encourage all Americans to leave and we strongly encourage all Americans not to travel to Sierra Leone given the continued fighting there.

As you know, the effort to bring about a peaceful resolution of this conflict has not succeeded. The United States is using our diplomatic skills and capacity to urge the coup leaders to quit and to restore to power the democratically elected government of Sierra Leone. We are working with a number of countries on that. We will continue to keep this situation under close review. Our ambassador, Ambassador Hirsch, and his DCM will be in Conakry in Guinea for the time being, watching out for American interests and helping those Americans who are coming out of Sierra Leone.

QUESTION: The reports we're getting seem to indicate that the Nigerians are getting the worst part of the battle and have, in fact, been beaten back. Is that what you hear?

MR. BURNS: Well, I think the official rationale -- as John has explained it to you over the last couple of days -- of the Nigerian Government is that their forces are there to restore - maintain order.

Now, obviously, there has been some fighting between the Nigerians and the rebels. Our position is that we think there ought to be a peaceful resolution here, but the end result should be that the rebels step down and that they give up their fight to control the government by dictatorial means and they restore the democratically elected president of Sierra Leone.

QUESTION: There is at least one report that hundreds of Nigerian troops have been captured and are being used as shields by the rebels or the coup forces. Do you have any knowledge of that?

MR. BURNS: Well, since we have evacuated our embassy staff and our ambassador, we are not in a position to confirm those reports, but we have seen those same reports. Betsy?

QUESTION: Nick, do you have any knowledge of relief workers being held hostage?

MR. BURNS: I'm looking at John because John, as you know, has been here. I haven't heard either. Have not heard anything about that.

QUESTION: NBC had heard that some church workers were being held hostage. I don't think it was in Freetown. It was out in the countryside.

MR. BURNS: Just haven't heard anything about that. Yes?

QUESTION: There are reports that yesterday's attack was meant to prepare for a more comprehensive one. What is the U.S. response to that? Do we support the more comprehensive attack?

MR. BURNS: Attack by the?

QUESTION: Nigerians. The firing of shells yesterday by the Nigerians.

MR. BURNS: We support a restoration of the civilian government. We hope that that can be produced by negotiations with the rebels. We have not taken a position of direct support for the Nigerians, but we do support the ambition, the objective that the rebels cannot win. They cannot succeed in overthrowing a democratically elected government and installing in its place a bunch of military officers who don't know how to run a country, who haven't been given that mandate by the people of Sierra Leone. They ought to step down. That's our position. Yes, sir?

QUESTION: On Bosnia?

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: President Plavsic gave a news conference today. She said that, on the subject of war criminals, that - something I think you've heard before - that their constitution does not permit extradition. Then she went the further step to say that they had homogenized their constitution with the Dayton constitution and it still doesn't permit it. Can you clear up this confusion with your new friend in Banja Luka?

MR. BURNS: With our who in Banja Luka?

QUESTION: Your new friend in Banja Luka.

MR. BURNS: I thought you said that, Sid. Well, listen, Secretary Albright had a very frank meeting with Mrs. Plavsic in Banja Luka on Sunday afternoon, late afternoon. Secretary Albright said to her very clearly that we believe that the commitments made by the Bosnian Serbs at Dayton supersede anything in the Bosnian Serb constitution about extradition. Therefore, the indicted war criminals who currently are living under Bosnian Serb control must be turned over to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague for prosecution. That is their fundamental commitment.

I remember at Dayton the people who signed on the dotted line for the Bosnian Serbs, and they made that commitment. Secretary Albright told Mrs. Plavsic that the majority of people who have been indicted for war crimes are Bosnian Serbs and a lot of them are living in places like Banja Luka and Pale and throughout Bosnian Serb held area. There is a fundamental obligation here. There is no, there is nothing murky about this. So, therefore, we call on Mrs. Plavsic to reconsider her own viewpoint here and to bring these people to justice.

Number two, Secretary Albright asked Mrs. Plavsic to cooperate in efforts to try to effect the return of refugees of Bosnian Muslims, of Bosnian Croats to Serb held areas. She said that the United States was ready to provide $5 million in support of housing construction if the Bosnian Serbs could agree to multi-ethnic housing as the basis for the construction -- meaning that we wouldn't build housing just for Bosnian Serbs, but for Muslims and Croats as well.

She did not respond favorably but said she might consider it. We hope she considers that because Secretary Albright stood up for the rights of all the different ethnic groups over the weekend in Bosnia. She went into a little town in Croatia and she met two Serb individuals who had been harassed and brutalized by Croats in Croatia and Prevrsac. She stood up for the rights of Serbs, as well, to return to their homes in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. So, if we are going to argue for the rights of Serbs to return to their homes, the Bosnian Serbs have an obligation to take in Muslims and Croats who wish to return to their homes in Bosnian Serb held territory.

Secretary Albright had a very clear, candid, direct talk with Mrs. Plavsic, and we hope we might be able to work with her. But the message was, if you can't come forward and meet your commitments, it's not going to be possible for the United States to assist you. Five percent of American assistance goes to the Bosnian Serbs. Everything else goes to the Muslims and Croats. The reason is, the Muslim government - or at least President Izetbegovic - is meeting his commitments, by and large, under the Dayton Accords; and the Bosnian Serbs are not. They've got to draw that lesson.

QUESTION: I believe there's also a commitment to return prisoners of war in the Dayton Accords.

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: I'm sure you recall the protesters in Banja Luka, very plain, too.

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: Mothers claiming the Muslims were still holding their kids, and the Croats. Can you comment on that? Are there war prisoners who are still being held? What's --

MR. BURNS: I can't give you numbers and facts off the top of my head, but we can certainly take that question and get you a good answer on it, Sid.

QUESTION: If they are still being held.

MR. BURNS: Right.

QUESTION: Not necessarily numbers.

MR. BURNS: Right. That's a concern. We saw the people - the women in the square in Banja Luka, holding up signs. Obviously, if there are war criminals - if there are prisoners, excuse me, still being held, they ought to be returned.

Another thing from the trip, I think, that was left dangling a little bit by the Serbian Government is that there are claims by the Serbian Government that somehow everything is wonderful in Serbia. Mr. Milosevic made the statement, in the meeting, that Serbia has the fastest growing economy in Europe, which is an incredible statement to make, if you know anything about what all of you know about; that is that the economy of Serbia is collapsing. What we saw in Banja Luka is that the economy of the Bosnian Serb held areas is also collapsing.

The Bosnian Serbs and the Serbs are shooting themselves in the foot. They are isolating themselves by their actions. If they want to receive any assistance - the billions of dollars that go into that area - they've got to meet their commitments. President Milosevic needs to understand that. Maybe he doesn't.

There was an interesting part of the conversation with Secretary Albright when he said, you're misinformed. She said, I am not misinformed; I know what's going on in this part of the world - I know exactly what's going on. The big losers are going to be the Serbs and the Bosnian Serbs, unless they wake up to the fact that all of these billions of dollars are going to flow to Sarajevo if they don't meet their commitments - if they, the Bosnian Serbs, don't meet their commitments under the Dayton Accords.

It's a very serious question that really hit home to us as we went through Croatia and Serbia and Bosnia over the weekend.

QUESTION: In Sarajevo there's a story today which claims that the Bosnian Government is bringing thousands and thousands more Muslims into an area - I believe in the northeast - than had originally had homes there, in hopes of dominating the new housing situation. This, I believe, was in The Washington Post. Have you see that? Can you comment on it?

MR. BURNS: I saw the Post article. I can't corroborate it. All I can tell you is that one of the biggest problems, 17 months after the Dayton Accords were signed, is the lack of the ability of refugees to return to their own homes. The numbers are staggering. Secretary Albright's major message was, that problem has got to be met head on by the leaders of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina; they have got to solve that problem or else justice will not have been done.

I can't confirm this particular report, but I can tell you that the United States supports the right of people to return to their own homes and that is why the Secretary went into this little village in Croatia to talk with Serbs who have been brutalized by Croatians. That is why the Secretary made a very, very aggressive remark against the Croatian Government that it is disgusting and it is inexcusable that the Croatian Government would stand by and allow Serbs to be brutalized by Croatians.

Now, just today, President Tudjman has issued arrest warrants against a number of Croats -- citizens of his own country -- who we believe are guilty of brutalizing elderly Serbs who have tried to return to their homes. This is a step in the right direction. It is the kind of action that Secretary Albright asked President Tudjman to take to make sure that people can return to their homes in the Krajina region, to make sure that the end game in Eastern Slovonia is an end game that allows Serbs to live in Eastern Slovonia after it reverts back to Croatian Government control.

QUESTION: Do you know whether the people who were so brutalized in the village that she went to see - I know you asked them to follow up on that to see if they could do anything about it. I assume you are going to be tracking that. As you do, if you can report back to us?

MR. BURNS: Secretary Albright is absolutely determined that these individuals should be able to live in their village without harassment. Anybody who met them the other day, your hearts go out to them. These are people who were victimized at the beginning of the war, who are now being victimized. They have four little kids who can't go to school because the people in the town ridiculed the kids. It is not safe for them to walk the streets. They had their homes plundered. Everything they owned was taken by these Croat mobs and it is just wrong.

So, she asked the Croatian Government directly, Minister Radic and Minister Granic, to take individual personal responsibility to make sure that those two Serb families are not victimized. She asked the local police official and a local governor to make the same pledge. She asked the UNHCR to check up on this family and she asked Ambassador Peter Galbraith, the American ambassador, to make sure that we went back to that village repeatedly to inquire about the welfare of those two poor families.

We now have very serious commitments by the Croatian Government. They have to live up to these commitments. That is the responsibility that they have under the Dayton Accords. If they don't live up to them, the message is very clear -- Croatia's hope to become a country fully integrated into Europe will not be realized because we will act against that. We will not vote in the international financial institutions in support of loans to Croatia.

Now, today's actions by President Tudjman, we hope are the beginning of a rethinking of this policy in Croatia itself. We hope that the people who are responsible for murdering, whether it is ethnic Muslims or ethnic Serbs, are brought to justice in Croatia; that people responsible for brutalizing, for beating them up, are also brought to justice and we hope that these trials are fair trails, but we hope that they result in justice being done - - these trials announced today by the Croatian Government. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: One clarification on the Cyprus issue. You stated earlier that you are not in the position to confirm the allegations by the Cypriot Government that Turkish war planes violated air space, which is understandable. What about violations of the territorial water of Cyprus? I'm sure that the ambassador in Nicosia could see easy today the Turkish war ship in the Cypriot ports.

MR. BURNS: I don't know if Ambassador Brill was in that city to see it easily or not. All I can say, Mr. Lambros, is we have an outstanding embassy and ambassador in Nicosia. They're looking into all of this. We have two contrary statements - one by the government of Cyprus, one by the government of Turkey. We'll have to see how the facts play out in this case.

QUESTION: Anything on the series of explosions in downtown Tira in Albania yesterday?

MR. BURNS: No, I don't have anything particular to comment on that; although we hope that the elections go well in Albania. We hope that the people of Albania have a chance now to decide the future of the country.

QUESTION: And the last one - despite international outcry, Turkey is continuing its invasion and occupation of Northern Iraq and into the Kurds. This was reported yesterday, with the final goal to partition the country among Kurds, Sunnis, Shi'ites, and Turkomans. Could you please comment?

MR. BURNS: Well, on the second question, the United States - ever since March of 1991 - at the end of the Persian Gulf War, the United States has believed and has acted to support the territorial integrity of Iraq. We do not believe that Iraq should be dismembered. We believe it should be kept together - its current borders in tact -- by the international community.

On the first question, we've been told by the Turkish Government that this current incursion into Northern Iraq will be limited in scope and in duration. Now, we expect the Turkish Government will abide by its own commitments, but there is a reason for this incursion. The reason is that the PKK, a vicious terrorist organization, has been attacking Turkish citizens in Southeastern Turkey; so Turkey, here, is acting in its own self- defense. But we do have a commitment that they will be out in a short period of time. We expect that commitment will be met. Yes, is this on a related issue? Yes.

QUESTION: Nick, several wire reports suggested that the government of Cyprus either start or begin to import some part of the Russian made anti- aircraft missile part, which is contrary to their promise to - at least a year later they will start it. Do you have anything on the subject?

MR. BURNS: No, I was just looking over at John because he's been here the last ten days and I have not. But we have not received any indication that the Cypriot Government has indeed begun to import into Cyprus elements of the missile defense system.

As you know, the United States has a very clear position and we don't believe the acquisition of this system is helpful for stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. We have been assured by the Cypriot Government that it will not be - that this system will not be imported or assembled for a good period of time and we trust that that commitment will be met.

QUESTION: Could we take this question, because it is very important. It's a lot of publicated stories in the Turkish press and this information to this effect, because right now is the most crucial time as far as --

MR. BURNS: Which kind of stories?

QUESTION: -- for the moratorium and I don't believe that --

MR. BURNS: What kind of stories? What is the adjective?

QUESTION: Excuse me?

QUESTION: Fabricated.

MR. BURNS: Fabricated. Oh.

QUESTION: Fabricated. That's exactly.

MR. BURNS: Well, I don't know if they were fabricated or not. All I can say is we will keep an eye on it, Mr. Lambros, because we have been given a commitment that this system, this anti-aircraft system will not be mobilized. Patrick?

QUESTION: On Iraq?

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: Has the United States taken a position yet on the renewal of the Iraq Oil-for-Food Bill?

MR. BURNS: Yes. The Secretary has decided that the United States will support the renewal of UN Resolution 986. That is the oil-for-food deal. Now, this agreement benefits the people of Iraq, as it should. It does not benefit in any way the government of Iraq which does not deserve international support. Yes.

QUESTION: Will there be a Jordan-like special training status recognized to Turkey?

MR. BURNS: For which country?

QUESTION: For Iraq.

MR. BURNS: For Iraq. I'm not aware of any such initiative. We believe that Turkey should respect the United Nations embargo on Iraq. Turkey was a full partner, a valued partner in the Gulf War coalition against Iraq and it is important that, even six years later, that we keep that embargo together because Saddam Hussein is still in power.

QUESTION: On oil-for-food.

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: The U.S., I gather, had some concerns about how the -- how the food and humanitarian assistance was distributed both in the North as well as whether UN inspectors were watching the distribution closely enough in the South. Have there been any kind of commitments on that from the UN?

MR. BURNS: Yes. Our mission, our U.S. mission to the United Nations has reiterated these concerns and we have been assured by all individuals involved here at the United Nations that rigorous implementation of the agreement will be met -- meaning that there is no leakage here of funds to the government of Iraq; that everything is given for the benefit of the Iraqi people who suffered under Saddam Hussein. That is a very important commitment.

QUESTION: Does that mean that there wasn't leakage before? Are you satisfied there wasn't before?

MR. BURNS: I think we have learned that there were some problems in the implementation in the first round and we think they should be taken care of in the second round and we have been assured that it will be. We will be watching, because we will not support this program if there is any indication that Saddam Hussein is profiting illegally from it. But, we believe that this program should go forward because the Iraqi people need help. They have had to live with a dictator who does not care about them or their economic welfare.

QUESTION: Do you have a travel ban to Iran for the U.S. citizens?

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: If the one of the U.S. congressman's wife planning to travel to Iran, any problem arise?

MR. BURNS: Is this a hypothetical question?

QUESTION: No. It's not hypothetical because one of the congressman's wife, they announce the last week in one of the meeting, she officially announced that she was planning to visit Iran.

will strike from the record your question and my answer and we will start all over again. I was answering a question about Iraq.

MR. BURNS: What's the question on Iran, Mr. Savas?

QUESTION: Do you have any travel ban to Iran?

MR. BURNS: Well, we don't talk about travel bans here at the State Department. We talk about whether or not you can use your passport.

QUESTION: Or restrictions.

MR. BURNS: John tells me that there are no passport restrictions on travel to Iran.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. BURNS: Iran. Some of your fellow journalists have traveled to Iran. Christine Amanpour, Elaine Sciolino, they have both been to Iran recently.

QUESTION: I understand this is - normally, you don't have to for the journalists for Cuba, traveling to Cuba, the same thing most probably. But the problem is, is the regular citizen, can they travel to Iran?

MR. BURNS: Iran?

QUESTION: Any restriction? Without any restriction?

MR. BURNS: There are no passport restrictions on travel to Iran. Right, John? Do you want to offer anything else?

MR. DINGER: He might want to pick up a copy of our consular information sheet.

QUESTION: Yes, please.

MR. BURNS: We have a consular information sheet. Or if you are at home and you have a question, you go into www.state.gov.

(Laughter.)

MR. BURNS: Enter the State Department web site, 1.7 million hits last month. We are a fountain of information. We aim to please.

(Laughter.)

MR. BURNS: That's very good. George says more hits than the Red Sox. Probably in their history, that's right. But they have given up about 1.7 million hits in the last month. Red Sox pitching, third worst in the American League. Yes, Yasmine.

QUESTION: Anything on Algeria, where they have elections on Thursday?

MR. BURNS: Algeria, yes. What I can say on Algeria is that we have seen, as you know, there have been some bus bombings in Algiers. The United States condemns brutal acts of terrorism in the strongest possible terms. We deplore the loss of life and injuries to innocent civilians in these bus attacks. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims, and we call for an end to the violence that has plagued Algeria in recent years.

Now, for the elections - the legislative elections in Algeria will be an important crossroads in the political development of Algeria. Peaceful, honest elections, we believe, could help Algeria emerge from the violence that caused the cancellation of the elections back in 1992. We believe that terrorism and violence have no place, certainly, in the election process, but in general throughout Algeria. We have been dismayed to see that this terrorism continues. Thank you very much.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing concluded at 2:02 P.M.)

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