USIA - State Department Report, 97-03-06

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

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1997

(Zaire, Colombia, Korea/Team Spirit, Thailand/Karen, Bosnia, Albania, Yeltsin, U.S. Human Rights Delegation) (870)

There was no regular briefing, but State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns did speak on-the-record with reporters. No transcript is available.

ZAIRE -- The government of Zaire has announced its acceptance of the peace plan proposed by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity, Burns said. "This is a very positive development," Burns said. "We welcome the Zairian Government's acceptance of the plan, which we believe provides a strong basis for a resolution of the conflict in the Great Lakes region."

He added that the United States remains very concerned about the estimated 170,000 to 200,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees. "We are asking the rebel alliance in Eastern Zaire to allow these people access to corridors out to Rwanda itself," Burns said.

COLOMBIA -- The Colombian government has told U.S. Ambassador Myles Frechette March 6 that it will take another day to review the coca eradication project. According to Burns, the Colombian government will be examining "technical aspects," but it plans to resume eradication flights on March 7. "We hope that that is the case," Burns said. On March 5, Colombia had suspended its program to eradicate plants which are the source of cocaine and heroin.

KOREA/TEAM SPIRIT -- Burns confirmed reports that the United States and the Republic of Korea have decided to cancel "Team Spirit" joint military exercises for 1997. "We made this decision taking into account the overall security situation on the Korean peninsula," Burns said. "This cancellation will have no impact on the readiness of our military forces -- American and South Korean -- to defend South Korea."

Burns said the cancellation is part of an effort to build confidence and "to create an atmosphere to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula."

THAILAND/KAREN -- Burns noted U.S. expressions of concern earlier this week that the Thai Government was forceably repatriating Karen refugees from Thailand into Burma. "I'm very pleased to say that we have now a reaffirmation of Thailand's long-standing policy of offering humanitarian relief to people fleeing from neighboring countries. And we believe the Thai Government is now prepared to protect the Karen refugees who have taken refugee along the border on the Thai side," Burns said.

BOSNIA -- Ambassador Robert Frowick, who heads the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Bosnia, has decided to postpone the Bosnian municipal elections from July until September. According to Burns, Frowick believes logistical and technical complexities must be worked out, and that a delay of two months would "expand the chances that these elections would be free and fair." The United States fully supports Frowick's assessment, Burns said.

ALBANIA -- President Sali Berisha and opposition leaders agreed on March 6 to resolve the current state of unrest in Albania and to discuss the broader issue of political reform, Burns said. "We understand that they are prepared now to begin talks with each other on the issues that have divided them," Burns said. "We welcome this agreement.... We hope very much that a ceasefire can be worked out between those who have taken to the streets and the Government itself." The Albanian Government has reportedly offered a general amnesty to the rebels if they put down their arms within the next two days.

Burns reiterated U.S. support for the OSCE mission which will go to Albania March 8. It will be led by former Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitsky. U.S. Representative Eliot Engel (Democrat of New York) will be a member of the delegation.

Burns said the United States has not requested any kind of U.S. military assistance in Albania, nor are there plans to reduce U.S. Embassy staff there. About 1,600 private American citizens are in the country, most in northern Albania. The violence has been largely confined to the southern part of the country.

YELTSIN -- Burns said Russian President Boris Yeltsin was "vigorous" and "articulate" in his March 6 state-of-the-nation speech. Burns said Yeltsin "clearly wants to negotiate with NATO and the United States on the NATO- Russia Charter....

"What was most important about the speech was that he clearly laid out an agenda -- very coherent, well thought-out domestic and foreign policy agenda," Burns said. "He's clearly in control; no question about it."

U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS DELEGATION -- Burns said Nancy Rubin will head the U.S. delegation to March 10-April 18 United Nations Human Rights Commission conference in Geneva.

Rubin, Burns said, "is an eminent person, and she's very prepared for this, and we are looking forward to her leadership."

She has served in the White House under both Presidents Clinton and Carter, was a nongovernment organization (NGO) participant at the 1995 United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, and was a member of the U.S. delegation at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women in Vienna in 1993. She is a director of the Overseas Development Council and the Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children and is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and the Council on Foreign Relations.

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