USIA - State Department Report (96-08-13)

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

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, AUGUST 13, 1996

(Cuba, Turkey/Iran, Indonesia) (420)

CUBA -- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 27 Cuban migrants August 12 who were found 25 miles off the Florida keys after the 30-foot wooden boat they were in capsized. All are now on board the Coast Guard cutter "Nantucket," Davies said. A 47-year old woman and a 16-month-old girl died in the accident. "We consider that an unfortunate tragedy, but a reminder of the necessity for intending Cuban migrants to avail themselves of the regularized procedures that exist to apply to come to the United States under the May 2, 1995 joint statement." The Coast Guard continues to search for two members of the original group of 31 who remain missing.

Officials from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) are on the Nantucket interviewing the migrants. "No decisions will be made on those cases until those interviews are completed and the results reviewed by INS headquarters here in Washington," Davies said.

TURKEY/IRAN -- Davies said that more needs to be known of the Turkey-Iran gas deal and more progress needs to be made on implementation procedures for the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act before the United States can make a determination as to whether Turkey's $23-billion agreement signed August 12 to buy Iranian natural gas over the next 23 years is sanctionable under U.S. law.

Davies reiterated the U.S. view that "the deal sends the wrong message to Iran. We remain convinced that Iran is pursing unacceptable behavior, including supporting terrorism and the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction."

Davies maintained that a good U.S.-Turkey relationship will survive. "We don't have any reason at this stage to question our relationship with Turkey, or to question Turkey's commitment to Western institutions," he said.

INDONESIA -- The United States is concerned about the continuing arrests and detention of political activists by the Indonesian government in the wake of the July 29 riots in Jakarta. "We continue to urge the Indonesian government to conduct a full accounting of what has happened to those arrested and to look into the cases of those reported missing," Davies said. "We'd also like to see independent monitors granted access to arrestees and to those who are hospitalized."

(No transcript of this briefing is available)

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