U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #100, 99-08-09
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
790
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Monday, August 9, 1999
Briefer: James P. Rubin
STATEMENTS
1 Transfer of War Criminal Vinko Martivonic to the Hague
MEPP
1-6 Secretary's Revised Travel Plans to the Middle East /
Implementation of Wye River Agreement/ Secretary Albright's
Objectives / Israeli-Syrian Track / Palestinian Track /
Israel-Lebanese Track / Advancement of Peace Process / Permanent
Status Talks / Wye Clock - Phases 1 - 3.
RUSSIA
7-9 New Prime Minister / Duma Elections / US-Russian Bilateral
Relations / Start III Talks / Autonomy on Dagestan / Chechnya
NORTH KOREA
9&10 Four-Party Talks / Missile Test / Statement of Policy by
US/Japan/South Korea
SERBIA (Kosovo)
10 French K-FOR Troops in Mitrovica
COLOMBIA
11 Venezuelan Plane Hijacking and Kidnapping of Passengers / FARC /
Peace Process / Visit of Under Secretary Pickering
QATAR
12 Former Police Chief
CHILE
12&13 Visit of Chilean Foreign Minister / Pinochet Case / Release of US
Documents
CUBA
13 Repeal of Ban on Food and Medicine Sanctions
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #100
MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1999, 1:00 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. RUBIN: Good morning, good afternoon. Welcome to the State Department
briefing. We're either a half an hour early or a half an hour late,
depending on how you look at it But I guess that means we're not on
time.
We do have a statement on the transfer of a war criminal from Croatia to
The Hague that we'll be releasing after the briefing.
Now, let me go straight to the Middle East and to the question that some of
you have had during the course of the morning. Secretary Albright has
spoken to Prime Minister Barak, Chairman Arafat and Foreign Minister Shara
of Syria in the course of the last several days. As a result of a request
from Prime Minister Barak, Secretary Albright has decided to make her trip
to the Middle East at the end of the month rather than the possibility of
earlier than that. It is Secretary Albright's hope and expectation that the
Israelis and Palestinians will work together seriously and constructively
during this period. In the Secretary's view, it is absolutely essential
that a working relationship between Israelis and Palestinians based on a
sense of partnership be reestablished. Based on her discussions with the
Prime Minister, Secretary Albright is confident that he is working in good
faith toward that end.
In this regard, let me say that Prime Minister Barak has assured both the
Secretary and the President that he will do his part to implement the Wye
agreement fully. We understand from Chairman Arafat that he will implement
his obligations under Wye fully as well. It is our view that the best way
to restore trust and confidence between the parties is to see Wye
implemented - that is, the Wye River Agreement - and to have permanent
status negotiations resumed.
At the same time, we also believe it is important to see all of the
negotiating tracks, including specifically the Israeli-Syrian track and the
Lebanese-Israeli track resumed in order to achieve the objective of
reaching a comprehensive peace.
With those comments, let me turn to your questions. I don't know whether
there's anybody from the Associated Press sitting down. I don't know which
one wishes to start.
QUESTION: Why don't you get someone who spent the whole weekend trying to
get what you just announced, which has come from every other part of the
world? What is the Secretary keying her travel plan schedule to? What
developments in the region because she had all sorts of possible dates.
MR. RUBIN: Right. The plan now is to go toward the end of the month, the
beginning of the next month. She has spoken to Prime Minister Barak,
Foreign Minister Shara, Chairman Arafat about her trip. Chairman Arafat
expressed understanding for this schedule, as did the Syrian Foreign
Minister and, as I indicated at the opening of the briefing that just began
a few moments ago, that the request for the trip to occur at the end of the
month came from the Prime Minister.
As far as what the Secretary hopes to achieve on this trip, there is a new
Israeli Prime Minister; she hasn't traveled to the region since the Israeli
Prime Minister has put his government together. She's visited with the
Israeli Prime Minister here. Obviously, it is an objective of American
policy to see whether a way can be found to reinvigorate the Israeli-Syrian
track and the Israeli-Lebanese tracks of the peace process. We are going to
be visiting Syria.
Essentially what the trip will be designed to do will be to take stock of
where all the parties are; what their positions are; and then be in a
position to see whether down the road there are openings that one can try
to advance.
QUESTION: Her objectives, of course, are peace and all of that, but the
question is how did she determine to go now because there have been talks
between the Israelis and Palestinians? One day things look positive; one
day they don't. Has she chosen this because this coincides with the end of
a period that the Israelis said the would need to begin to withdraw --
(inaudible) - so she's going after the fact? Or is she going at that point
because that's a critical point for that or for something else? In other
words, how did she - to use your word and her word - "calibrate,"
how did she calibrate her decision? What does it coincide with? She didn't
pick the date out of a hat, clearly; she had some connection to events on
the ground.
MR. RUBIN: Right. We have believed for some time that the best way to
advance the peace process in the Middle East - certainly with respect to
the Palestinian track - is to have the Israelis and the Palestinians
working very closely together to be in a position to work out problems
themselves. It is our understanding that the Prime Minister wants to
continue that work in the coming weeks, and it is my understanding the
Prime Minister has indicated that it is his intention to begin the
implementation, or essentially end the suspension of the implementation of
Wye, around the time of the Secretary's trip. He has made that decision
now.
To the extent that the Israelis and the Palestinians have made progress on
various aspects of implementation -- because implementation is not done
with the snap of a finger - requires a great number of steps on both sides.
We're looking for parallel phased implementation that the Secretary will be
able to focus on issues beyond implementation of Wye. Those are the very
issues that we would want to talk about - the permanent status talks, the
Syria track, the Lebanon track. So that's where the situation stands.
QUESTION: I'm going to give someone else a chance, but that answers the
question. I have a couple other questions, but if someone else wants to --
MR. RUBIN: You seem to have the floor - oh, no, there we go.
QUESTION: Since you are interested in invigorating the Lebanese track,
will she be visiting Lebanon?
MR. RUBIN: I think those of you who followed Secretary of State's trips
to Lebanon in the past know that there are security issues associated with
trips to Lebanon, and the only stops that I'm in a position to say will
occur are the - in addition to Israel and Gaza and the West Bank - is
Syria. So I'm not in a position to answer that question.
As you well know, that's the kind of question that may never be able to be
answered because of the security situation.
QUESTION: Did the Secretary get a sense from Arafat of what the
Palestinians' reaction was to her deciding to move the trip?
MR. RUBIN: Yes, she had a very good phone call with him on Saturday, I
believe. He expressed understanding with the timing of her trip.
QUESTION: Was he kind of - I mean, obviously he wasn't thrilled with it,
but I mean, was the reaction a resigned acceptance?
MR. RUBIN: No, I wouldn't see it that way. Again, in response to one of
your colleague's questions, I pointed out that the Prime Minister has
indicated that he intends to implement fully the Wye Agreement, beginning
at the beginning of next month. That is what the Palestinians have been
concerned about.
What we've been concerned about is that both the Israelis and the
Palestinians implement the Wye Agreement. So to the extent the Palestinians
have had concerns about whether Wye would be implemented, I think Prime
Minister Barak has answered those concerns by indicating that he will - the
suspension of Wye will end and that the second phase will begin on
September 1.
QUESTION: This postponement is obviously related solely to the Palestinian-
Israeli track. In the meantime, what will the State Department be doing to
prepare a resumption of talks on the Syrian track?
MR. RUBIN: Well, we don't expect anything resembling a quick resumption
of talks. The Secretary's trip is a stock-taking trip. She will be going to
Syria; she hasn't been there for, I believe - someone in this room can
probably correct me - but I would think it was two years since she went to
Syria in the fall of 1997. So it will be precisely two years since she went
there.
So that will be an opportunity to have an extensive discussion with the
leaders in Syria about their views on the Syria track - the first time such
a discussion will have been had in a very, very long time; at the end of
which, one will have a better sense of what is possible and not possible.
Similarly, people in this building and the Secretary of State work on this
problem every day in some form or another. We will continue to work on it
by providing the assistance and the help and the confidence and the support
that the parties need.
QUESTION: When was the initial request from Barak for her to postpone her
trip? Was it last week?
MR. RUBIN: I don't know precisely when that was.
QUESTION: Was there a lag time between his request and her answering him?
Did she say, let me get back to you in a couple of days?
MR. RUBIN: No, I don't think so. I think it was in the call on Friday
that they began to talk about it, and the next work day was Monday, and now
we're talking about it on Monday.
QUESTION: Is it the US' understanding that the pull back will begin in
two or three weeks, or preparations for the pull back and then maybe
another month before the pull back? And I guess related to that, did Arafat
relate to the Secretary in that conversation any disappointment with the
pace of the Israeli withdrawal?
MR. RUBIN: Well, in response to your colleague's question, I think I
answered the Arafat point, which is that Chairman Arafat has been very
clear in his concern about implementation of Wye. We believe that the Prime
Minister's announcement that Wye will be implemented in full one way or
another beginning the period on September 1 certainly satisfies us as to
the resumption of the Wye process. Now Wye has to be implemented, but at
least the suspension will now be ended and it will be resumed - phase
two.
As far as how phase two and phase three of Wye unfold, I think all of us
who were there are quite familiar with the agreement and quite familiar
with the American positions about the agreement. The agreement clearly
states that there are a number of responsibilities on both sides during
this phase two and phase three, including on the subject of prisoner
releases and the subject of fighting terrorism and anti-incitement and a
number of steps - safe passage, committees on the various other subjects -
as well as the transfer of land pursuant to phase two and phase three. We
expect all parts of those agreements to be fulfilled, and have stated in
the past that by the end of each period the land has to be transferred.
QUESTION: You said - that was a long statement, and you spoke of one way
or another.
MR. RUBIN: Long answers, sometimes long questions.
QUESTION: That's fine, but I don't know if "one way or another" really is
what you want to say if I put the question to you this way. Israel, the
Prime Minister, wants to fold in the final phase to at least the outline of
an agreement on final status issues, which everybody recognizes are far
more difficult than the current problem. So do you have from the Israeli
Prime Minister, does she now have that if that scheme doesn't work out,
he will - one way or another - conduct the final pull back?
MR. RUBIN: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR. RUBIN: I did say it exactly as I wanted to say it.
QUESTION: Tangled or unentangled, either way, they're going to pull
back.
MR. RUBIN: The Prime Minister of Israel's statement says that the
Government of Israel will proceed to honor its obligations to implement Wye
fully with the timeline for implementation resuming again on September 1.
That is the full implementation of Wye; not partial implementation --
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MR. RUBIN: You're asking two separate questions: the timing of the pull
back and the other question of whether it's wrapped into the permanent
status talks. I think for the first time in a long time, you've managed
even to confuse yourself on this subject.
QUESTION: No, I haven't confused myself at all. I think that's a very
clever statement.
MR. RUBIN: It's not clever; it's clear.
QUESTION: It's extremely clever - the word "proceed" means they will
begin.
MR. RUBIN: Right, that's what we expect.
QUESTION: My question to you is, put away the statement; I'm talking
about what he's told the Secretary of State. They will proceed - of course
they'll proceed; they'll proceed to implement all of it. But he wants the
end of it tied into the final status talks. So the question is, proceed as
he will, when he gets to the final phase and if it is not acceptable to the
Palestinians that it be pegged or linked to the final status talks, will
he go ahead with a final withdrawal anyhow?
MR. RUBIN: That's what the word "fully" means, Barry.
QUESTION: See, if you start down that road it doesn't mean we're going to
get there.
MR. RUBIN: Proceed to implement fully. The proceed means to start the
clock, the Wye clock. The Wye clock has certain obligations that they will
proceed to implement fully. The Wye Agreement also envisaged the possibility
that the Israelis and the Palestinians might make modest adjustments. They
might have their own ability; and frankly -- I'm sure you know this as well
- the permanent status talks were specified in Wye to begin as well.
There's nothing new about permanent status talks.
QUESTION: I know that; it had US support as well.
MR. RUBIN: Exactly. So the issue here is that the Prime Minister has
indicated they are going to implement Wye fully. That means phase one,
phase two - proceed means to start the clock.
QUESTION: Correct - to restart the clock.
MR. RUBIN: Right, to restart the clock. So I think you're over-focused on
the word "proceed." There are two issues and I think I've answered them as
best as I can. We believe the Prime Minister intends to implement Wye fully
- all parts of Wye, not just the parts that he says he will implement prior
to any agreement with the Palestinians, but all the parts of the Wye
agreement. That's our view.
QUESTION: Jamie, when you stay starting the Wye clock, can you jog our
memories on what - do you recall what it is?
MR. RUBIN: Yes, I can give you some general numbers; you won't hold me to
it - just for the moment so you don't have to go right to your agreement.
Phase two involves a series of responsibilities for four weeks; phase three
is six weeks. So there's ten weeks of the Wye clock remaining. Phase two
involves certain activities on fighting terrorism, prisoners, weapons
collection; all the committees. Phase Three involves also the transfer of
land and a number of other activities. So according to the Wye clock, if it
were to resume on September 1 it would end on November 15.
QUESTION: Do you recall in which phase the Palestinians are supposed to
reduce the numbers of their police force?
MR. RUBIN: All the way through there's a process for that.
QUESTION: Do you know if Morocco will be on the Secretary's itinerary?
MR. RUBIN: I will have to check when we're in a position to announce the
itinerary but I wouldn't rule that out.
QUESTION: But do you think the US will still encounter the new king in
the mediation between Arabs and Israelis in tradition for his dead father?
And also, are you aware of any new aid package to Morocco?
MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of any new aid package to Morocco. I'm sure we
will work closely with the leader of Morocco - the new leader - as closely,
we hope, as we worked with the last leader.
QUESTION: Sergei Stepashin is out, Mr. Vladimir Putin is in. You don't
like my style? It was an announcement. President Boris Yeltsin says he's
appointed his successor now to be the chief what - help - so what do you
have to say about this? They can't seem to keep anybody in the position.
How are they going to get a successful government if they can't get a guy
trained and keep him in there for a while?
MR. RUBIN: Could you try to do that question again for us?
(Laughter.)
With respect to that subject, it is the prerogative of the president to
choose the premier. President Yeltsin's actions are consistent with the
constitution. It's now up to the Russian Parliament to consider the
candidacy of President Yeltsin's nominee. We understand that this candidacy
will be debated next week.
We have focused our policy on the policies of Russian reform and the
policies of the Russian Government, not the personalities. We do have some
experience with Mr. Putin and have a constructive relationship with him. We
note that President Yeltsin also signed a decree reaffirming his intention
to hold Duma elections on schedule in December.
Our two governments and two presidents have laid out a clear agenda for our
bilateral relations to focus on arms control, economic reform in Russia and
non-proliferation; and it will be important for us to follow up on these in
the coming weeks.
QUESTION: Is there any concern on the part of this government that Mr.
Yeltsin might be unstable insofar as his changing the prime minister as
rapidly as the seasons?
MR. RUBIN: I think there are other governments in the modern era that
also change their prime ministers quite often.
QUESTION: Did this cause any uncertainty - I almost want to ask if the
Gore Commission has permanent stationery.
(Laughter.)
It's the Gore fill-in-the-blank Commission. We went through now a very
serious visit - Mr. Stepashin made speeches, had news conferences. It was
billed as a get-acquainted session. Some serious business was done --
particularly on one of your old favorite subjects - getting started on a
new treaty even before the old treaty gets finished and ratified. I mean,
doesn't this create some sort of, if not chaos, some sort of uncertainty
who you're dealing with in Moscow?
MR. RUBIN: Governments work at a variety of levels; not just at the prime
minister-to-prime minister level or the prime minister-to-vice president
level in this case. The officials that we've been working with by and large
on arms control, on matters related to security in Europe and elsewhere
have, in the Foreign Ministry, certainly, have remained largely the same.
We have no reason to think that Foreign Minister Ivanov -- as I understand
it, the statement of Mr. Putin is he intended to keep most of the
ministries the same. So I don't think we should blow this out of proportion.
Government heads do change and yet governments work with each other on
substance, on issues of concern. As the famous dictum goes, countries act
in their national interest, not on the basis of one person or another. So
we believe it is in the national interest for Russia to pursue the
ratification of the START II agreement. We believe that most of the top
Russian generals have explained that to the Duma. We believe it is in the
national interest of Russia to work with us on lowering those levels even
further, and that is the decision that they will have to make; but it
won't be necessarily effected by personalities.
QUESTION: One fast one - we could try Gore's office, but you remember
there were to be start on START III Talks this month in Moscow. As far as
you know is that still on?
MR. RUBIN: No reason to think that would change.
QUESTION: Roughly the same subject - what's the Administration's position
on autonomy for Dagestan?
MR. RUBIN: I don't think we have any new position on parts of Russia. As
far as the situation is concerned, we understand that after several clashes
with authorities patrolling the border of the breakaway Russian Federation
Republic, the group succeeded in seizing several villages. According to the
Russian press, the armed groups are subordinate to outlaw field commanders.
We understand that as many as 50 people have been killed. We are following
this situation very closely. Obviously, Dagestan is a very volatile
region and the situation there is very complex. We view with concern the
marked increase of violent classes in the region of Chechnya in the past
months, and condemn this action by armed groups from Chechnya, which has
resulted in the loss of life.
We look forward to a time when the security situation in the North Caucasus
will allow those who live in this troubled region to enjoy a more normal
life. We wish to use this opportunity to remind all Americans of the State
Department's consular information sheet on Russia, which recommends
Americans defer travel to Chechnya, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Dagestan and
surrounding areas due to continued political strife and frequent kidnappings.
QUESTION: So basically it's an internal matter as far as you're
concerned?
MR. RUBIN: We don't have a new position on the sovereignty question; we
continue to recognize the borders of Russia. That doesn't mean we have no
concern or interest about what goes on there.
QUESTION: The Four Party Talks have presumably ended in Geneva --
MR. RUBIN: Haven't ended yet, according to last count.
QUESTION: They're still on?
MR. RUBIN: Yes.
QUESTION: Will there be any sort of bilateral discussion after these?
MR. RUBIN: Could well be, yes, I expect there to be.
QUESTION: Could I ask you to respond to Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan's
statement to reporters? He says, "We'll launch a missile whenever we feel
it's necessary." Have we gotten a better feeling or a better idea of how
they feel on the issue or what's necessary?
MR. RUBIN: Yes, we certainly have talked to them extensively in the last
week about this issue and other issues. We do have a better feel for their
position.
We hope that North Korea embraces a positive path towards a constructive
relationship with the United States, where North Korea would forswear
further testing or exports of long range missiles.
It would not be appropriate for me to comment about what we know of the
details of the activities. Suffice it to say that we remain concerned about
this possibility of a missile test.
QUESTION: How about timing? Could you make any further statements as far
as timing? Are they ready to go ahead and test now?
MR. RUBIN: No, my impression is the most of the people who make comments
to you about the timing of this test tend to reverse themselves a day or
two later because they're obviously not providing you with accurate
information. I'd like to avoid falling into that pitfall.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
(Laughter.)
MR. RUBIN: A wrong story a day, but at least it's source-able.
QUESTION: Can you say anything about reports that, in conjunction with
Japan and South Korea, you are actually preparing some kind of formal
warning related to this possible missile test?
MR. RUBIN: Well, I believe that Secretary Albright and the Foreign
Ministers of Japan and South Korea issued a very carefully worded and well-
prepared statement in Singapore about this question of the missile. That's
a pretty high-level statement of policy from the three countries, and I'm
not aware there's any real need to go beyond that statement from Singapore.
QUESTION: In your talks - or at least up until the last few moments of
them - you have received no assurances from the North Koreans that they
would not launch the test?
MR. RUBIN: We remain concerned about the possibility of a test by North
Korea. That's a matter of serious concern to us, has been for some time. I
would not want to get into any of the details of the bilateral discussion
that we've had with North Korea.
QUESTION: You said that the Four Party Talks hadn't ended yet.
MR. RUBIN: Correct.
QUESTION: And this missile isn't coming up in that.
MR. RUBIN: We had a couple of bilateral meetings last week, and I
indicated in response to the question that I would think it quite likely we
would have additional bilateral meetings, even after the Four Party Talks
end.
QUESTION: Right, but you wouldn't expect the North Koreans to come out
with some announcement saying, oh, we're not going to shoot the missile off,
during the Four Party Talks.
MR. RUBIN: That would be a question that those of you who have to make
decisions whether to write a story every time somebody says something would
have to make; it wouldn't be for me to make - to try analyze at what time
the North Koreans are likely to make or not make a statement.
QUESTION: It's a different subject than the Four Party Talks.
MR. RUBIN: I think I've been quite clear on that; I agree with you
completely.
QUESTION: Thank you. Can I change the subject? Kosovo - things seem to be
deteriorating in bits of Kosovo, and I notice that Mr. Thaci has, within
the last two hours, blamed the French for this uprising - the French KFOR
troops -- calling them arrogant. I'm wondering what the US reaction
is.
MR. RUBIN: For the third consecutive day, French KFOR troops prevented a
crowd of ethnic Albanians from crossing a bridge into a predominantly Serb
area of Kosovska Mitrovica. KFOR believes that at present, there would be a
serious risk of large-scale violence if the Albanians were allowed to cross
the bridge. By preventing them from doing so, KFOR is acting to keep the
situation under control.
QUESTION: So you don't agree with the characterization that Mr. Thaci
used?
MR. RUBIN: I think I just spoke as far as our view is concerned.
QUESTION: Are you staying in regular touch with Thaci?
MR. RUBIN: Yes, not as much as it was during the military campaign, but I
am from time to time in touch with him, yes.
QUESTION: And do you discuss things like this?
MR. RUBIN: We discuss matters related to Kosovo. I haven't talked to him
about this incident.
QUESTION: On Colombia, regarding the visit of the officials of the State
Department to Colombia this week?
MR. RUBIN: Yes.
QUESTION: And what is the purpose of their visit?
MR. RUBIN: Didn't we put a statement out on this? Yes, let me get you the
statement.
QUESTION: Okay, and one more thing about Colombia. General McCaffrey --
(inaudible) - were in Colombia a couple of weeks ago, and at the same time
there was a plane from Venezuela hijacked. Now the FARC are claiming
responsibility and it has come up that probably General McCaffrey and --
(inaudible) -- knew something about this while they were in Colombia.
MR. RUBIN: Don't believe everything you read.
QUESTION: No, I don't; I just want to see if --
MR. RUBIN: We are aware that the Colombian guerrilla group, the FARC,
announced over the weekend that it discovered the missing Venezuelan
passenger plane. The FARC professes that individuals hostile to Venezuelan
President Chavez had hijacked the plane, but that the hijackers fled when
FARC troops approached the plane. We understand that the plane has flown
back to Venezuela and find it strange that the FARC did not allow the
passengers to return with the plane. We deplore the kidnapping and
hijacking of civilians by any group and hope the FARC will honor its
statement that it will free everyone that was on the plane.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) - Colombia is the peace process, and President
Pastrana announced on Saturday that the commission that was supposed to be
in place as a mediator is not a must now; it could be a possibility that it
is in place or not in place for negotiations to begin. Is this the position
of the United States Government -- agree or disagree?
MR. RUBIN: Under Secretary Pickering and a delegation will be visiting
Colombia and these are the kind of subjects that they will be discussing --
the question of how we could be most helpful to the peace process in
Colombia. I wouldn't want to preempt anything they might want to say on
this subject.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) - on Colombia, but how does this visit fit in with
the McCaffrey visit? Is it a follow-up visit; is it separate?
MR. RUBIN: Under Secretary Pickering works on issues beyond drugs;
General McCaffrey works solely on the drug issue. Under Secretary Pickering
is, as the third ranking official here at the Department, involved in the
whole panoply of US-Colombian relations going beyond just the fight against
drugs, including the peace process, the difficulties Colombia has been
having in dealing with the many security issues as well as a number of
other subjects.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about Qatar? Last week the former chief of police
of Qatar was taken from Lebanon back to Qatar. He had been the mastermind
of a counter-coup in '96, working with the previous emir, and now is back
in jail in Qatar. Is the US familiar with this situation now and what's
going on with the coups and counter-coups in Qatar?
MR. RUBIN: I will see whether we intend to answer that question.
QUESTION: Jamie, the Secretary is going to meet with the Chilean Foreign
Minister in about an hour. Undoubtedly the Pinochet case will come up.
Could you give us your thoughts on the Pinochet case?
MR. RUBIN: We have taken the view for some time that we are not in the
business of giving advice to the United Kingdom regarding how its judiciary
should handle the case of former Chilean President Pinochet.
The US is committed to the principles of accountability and justice and to
supporting Chile as it wrestles with the difficult problem of how to
balance the need for justice with the requirement of reconciliation. We
believe that the United Kingdom is similarly committed firmly to these
principles and will make its decision based on how it can best serve those
purposes.
With respect to our part - and that relates primarily and exclusively to
documents - the first tranche of documents was released on June 30. They
are available on the Department's website, and I'm sure some of you have a
lot of fun doing weekend reading going through those hundreds of pages of
documents. We expect that the second tranche of documents covering the
period 1968-1972 will be released later this year. No date has been set for
that. Those would be the points the Secretary would make to the Chilean
Foreign Minster.
Now, we were over here and then we're going to go over there.
QUESTION: I don't know whether you have anything on this. The Commerce
Department is expected today to decide whether this anti-dumping - no, you
don't have anything on that?
MR. RUBIN: I'll try to check and see whether we intend to speak out on
that.
QUESTION: Because it has foreign policy implications in Saudi Arabia and -
-
MR. RUBIN: It absolutely does, but since it's a Commerce issue --
QUESTION: I didn't know whether the State Department had been asked to -
MR. RUBIN: I'm know we've been involved in all of the dumping cases that
have received a lot of prominence, but let me try to get something for you
after the briefing.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask about Chile also. Does the US Government have a
position on the idea and the Chilean idea to use an arbitrator to decide
where Pinochet should be judged?
MR. RUBIN: Right now this case is before the UK courts and we don't
intend, as I think I indicated in response to the last question, to say
anything that would prejudge how those courts make that decision; and your
question would suggest that we would.
QUESTION: Is that what the Secretary would tell the Foreign Minister if
he brings this up?
MR. RUBIN: Our position, because we are the United States, is the same in
public as it is in private.
QUESTION: Cuba? Do you have any reaction or position over the decision
that took place in the Senate on Friday to approve the amendment that --
MR. RUBIN: As I understand it, nothing happened was the end result. We
continue to be able to pursue the policies that we indicated were based on
our overall view that food and medicine should not be used in sanctions
regimes in the future and it has no effect. So we're pleased that we were
able to insure that that approach prevailed.
QUESTION: Pan-Am Games. Is the United States involved in sabotaging
Cuba's efforts in Winnipeg?
MR. RUBIN: I have no information on that. I will check it for you,
though.
(The briefing concluded at 1:35 P.M.)
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