USIA - State Department Report (96-08-22)

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

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1996

(Chechnya, Cuba, Burma) (410)

CHECHNYA -- Russia's security chief and Yeltsin aide, Alexander Lebed, signed an agreement with Chechen military commander, Asian Maskhadov, on August 22, Davies announced. The agreement was signed at 7:05 p.m. local time at Novye Atagi south of the Chechen capital of Grozny.

According to Davies, the agreement contains the following provisions: a partial pullout from Grozny; the establishment of joint military police patrols; the identification of areas of "permanent location" of the warring sides -- that is, the full disclosure of troop location and concentration; the establishment of deadlines and specific routes for the troop pullout; and a ban on all hostilities, including terrorist attacks and troop clashes.

"The United States government welcomes this agreement as a very positive step forward; we look forward to its implementation by both of the parties and hope that it leads eventually to political settlement to the Chechen crisis," Davies said.

CUBA -- The United States is distributing a statement to the Cuban-American community which underscores the full commitment of the United States to the migration accords with Cuba. The recent capsizing of a wooden boat with 31 illegal Cuban migrants aboard, resulting in two drownings, is the reason for the reminder that safe, legal opportunities exist for migration from Cuba to the United States.

BURMA -- Kent Wiedemann will be the new charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon beginning this October. There has been no U.S. ambassador to Burma since 1990, reflecting the strained U.S. relations with the Burmese military regime known as SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council), Davies said.

Davies added that the United States is concerned about reports that the SLORC has sentenced a number of members of the National League for Democracy to prison terms of up to seven years. "We view this as another in a series of oppressive actions by the regime to prevent Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters from exercising their rights," Davies said. "The SLORC has violated with impunity the human rights of the Burmese people." The United States, Davies said, has repeatedly denounced the policies of the SLORC in international fora and in meetings with the regime leadership and will continue to do so.

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