U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #38, 97-03-14

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U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing

I N D E X

Friday, March 14, 1997

Briefer: Nicholas Burns

DEPARTMENT
1,14-16     Farewell to Deputy Spokesman Glyn Davies
1-2         Secretary Albright's Visit to Watkins Primary School
3-4         Secretary Albright's Meeting with Swiss Foreign Minister Cotti
4-7         Visit of Foreign Minister Primakov
ZAIRE
2           Situation Update/Mediation Efforts of UN Special
            Representative/U.S. Support for Humanitarian Relief Operations
BELARUS
3           Human Rights Violations/U.S. Relationship with
            Government/Influence of Russia
HELMS-BURTON
7-11,12     Wal-Mart/Canada Decision to Sell Clothing Made in Cuba/Letters
            to Sherritt Corporation
MEXICO
11          Narcotics Cooperation with U.S.
CROATIA
11-12       U.S. Abstention on IMF Loan Vote
ALBANIA
12-13       Consultations with Government
CHINA
13-14       Alleged Interference in U.S. Elections

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #38

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1997, 1:47 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. BURNS: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the State Department. This is a very difficult day for all of us here.

It's Glyn Davies' last day as Deputy Spokesman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

At the end of the briefing, after you've exhausted all your questions, I want to say a few words about Glyn and then ask him to come up here and say a few words about you - what he really thinks of you after a year and a half. He deserves this opportunity, Barry.

QUESTION: Will this be at the end of the briefing?

MR. BURNS: We are reinstituting the old rules. No one can leave this room until the end of the briefing. I'm not going to say anything interesting, no news, because Glyn is going to take the floor. Fair enough.

I do have -

QUESTION: (Inaudible).

MR. BURNS: I've been available to the wires all morning.

I have a couple of things just to go over before we go to questions.

The first is to say that Secretary Albright visited the Watkins Primary School Cluster on Capitol Hill this morning. This was to be part of the President's program of Outreach to the Washington, D.C. community. She read this book to the first and second graders of the Watkins School. The title is Girls Can Be Anything which she thought was the right kind of book for her to read to first and second graders from the D.C. system.

That was open to the press. You might have been there, Barry.

QUESTION: Is this a public school?

MR. BURNS: This is a public school in Washington, D.C.

The Secretary had five or six books to choose from, and she saw this title and she chose that book to read because of who she is and because of the message she wants to send, particularly, to young girls in our society.

The message to young boys is, you better watch out because girls are better than boys. That is true. As a father of three girls, it is definitely my scientifically-based observation that girls are much more well behaved - much better behaved than boys.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) that a girl has an equal chance to rise to be Secretary of State as a boy does?

MR. BURNS: She smashed the glass ceiling, so I think she set the precedent. I think she set the precedent. From hereon in, we hope that women have as much opportunity as men to be Secretary of State. Absolutely.

QUESTION: But she doesn't think we're at that point yet, does she?

MR. BURNS: Pardon?

QUESTION: Does she think we're at that point?

MR. BURNS: It's going to be interesting to see the effect of her tenure on this building and the role of women in this building and the role of women in our government, in general.

QUESTION: (Inaudible).

MR. BURNS: Let's not talk about my appointment, or lack thereof. Anyway, here we go. We have a couple of things to do.

First of all, the United States remains gravely concerned by the situation today in Zaire. Continued fighting has prolonged the suffering of Zairians and refugees in the eastern provinces. The United States, again, urges all parties to the conflict to cease hostilities immediately and pursue a political dialogue to resolve this crisis peacefully.

To this end, we call on all parties to cooperate fully in the mediation efforts of the United Nations Special Representative who is also the OAU's Special Representative, Representative Mohammed Shanoun, who is currently in Zaire.

We understand that the international humanitarian agencies plan to expand their assistance efforts in eastern Zaire in the coming days. The United States stands ready to support these efforts.

In addition to our current assistance to the U.N. relief agencies, we are dispatching a civilian disaster assistance response team from the U.S. Agency for International Development to eastern Zaire. We remain concerned with the fact that humanitarian supplies need to get through to the refugee camps in the Ubundu area and to the several hundred thousand refugees who have been affected.

I'm issuing a statement on this today. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to follow up.

Similarly, I'm issuing a statement on the situation in Belarus.

This is a very serious turn for the worse.

The United States remains seriously concerned about human rights violations in Belarus, particularly in the past several weeks.

We call on the Government of Belarus to exercise restraint during the political demonstrations which mark "Constitution Day," which is this evening and tomorrow. We call on the government to observe the international human rights agreements to which it is a party.

The Belarus Government issued a decree on March 5 imposing severe restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly and stiff penalty for violations. Various political party headquarters have recently, in the last few weeks, been searched by the Belarusian police.

Peaceful protests earlier this week in Minsk ended in the reported arrest or detention of more than 100 individuals, some of whom were reportedly followed and picked up well after the event and far from the scene of these political rallies.

Among those still under detention is a leader of the Belarusian Popular Front, Yuri Khadyka, who we understand is being held on charges of disobeying the police.

The United States recently re-evaluated its relationship with Belarus. We have adopted a new policy of selective engagement, reflecting the limited possibilities for engagement that we presently see because of Belarus' human rights problems and its failure to implement political and economic reforms.

As we have pointed out, how Belarus conducts itself, how it treats its own people will have an indelible effect on the U.S. relationship with Belarus.

The Government of Belarus claims that it tolerates dissent. It's time for a clear demonstration of that pledge.

QUESTION: Does Russia have any influence there? When Mr. Primakov is here, will the U.S. make an effort to ask Russia to weigh in on the side of human rights, their closest former republic?

MR. BURNS: President Lukashenko has said many times that he has great respect for Russia. He's talked about a closer economic relationship. So perhaps Russia can have some influence there, and that would be good.

The Russian Government, of course, is a completely different government.

It does have a reform orientation. It does respect civil liberties and press freedoms in a way that the Belarusian Government does not.

I have a couple more things. I just want to point you to a meeting that the Secretary is having at 4:45 this afternoon with the Swiss Foreign Minister, Minister Cotti. They're going to be signing the Instruments of Ratification of a new U.S.-Swiss Extradition Treaty. They'll also be discussing the issue of "Nazi Gold," the recent decision by the Swiss Government to create a memorial fund for Holocaust victims, and a variety of other issues.

If you're interested, I can give you a report on two meetings the Secretary had yesterday; one with the Polish Foreign Minister, Minister Rosati, and the other meeting with President Ratsiraka of Madagascar.

I have one more thing here. Yes. I just want to alert you to the weekend schedule. We understand that Foreign Minister Primakov will be arriving at Andrews Air Force Base at roughly 1:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. He'll be met by Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott and Ambassador Jim Collins at Andrews. He'll then come into the Department of State where he's going to have a private lunch with Secretary Albright and Strobe Talbott and Jim Collins. That will begin at roughly 2:15.

From roughly 2:15 until approximately 6:00, there will be a lunch and then a series of meetings on the major issues in our relationship with Russia - on arms issues, on European security issues, on bilateral issues.

Tomorrow night, Minister Primakov will be the guest of the Secretary of State at the Gridiron dinner, the annual Gridiron dinner. This is a departure from normal protocol, and the Secretary has chosen to invite him because Minister Primakov was very kind to her during her visit to Moscow. He rolled out the Red Carpet for her. He gave her a wonderful dinner at the Russian Foreign Ministry Guest House. She wanted to reciprocate in a way that would help to build on this relationship that they are developing.

So she has invited him to the Gridiron dinner, and I understand he's going to be seated at the head table at the Gridiron dinner.

QUESTION: She's not a member of Gridiron -

MR. BURNS: Pardon?

QUESTION: She's not a member of -

QUESTION: She can't invite people to Gridiron.

MR. BURNS: You'd be surprised what the Secretary of State can do, even with members of the press corps.

QUESTION: I'll never be surprised.

MR. BURNS: The Secretary was invited to the Gridiron and special arrangements were made with key correspondents, who cannot now be revealed but will be revealed perhaps at a later date, who agreed to this invitation. The Secretary suggested that Minister Primakov be a guest, and he will be an honored guest at the Gridiron dinner. It should be a wonderful affair.

On Sunday, March 16, I understand that Minister Primakov will be going over to the Pentagon in the afternoon for meetings with Secretary Cohen. On Monday - well, we'll see what happens on Monday.

On Monday, there will be further meetings with Minister Primakov.

We'll have to consult the White House to see exactly what type of meetings those will be.

Now, press coverage. We have decided to make the very wise decision to only have a camera spray, no questions - absolutely no questions - at the top of the lunch tomorrow at 2:15 p.m. here at the State Department. That camera spray will be up in the Secretary's office on the Seventh Floor. There will be no questions because - there are three days of meetings - Saturday, Sunday, and Monday - and we want to make sure that the speaking part comes on Monday.

Secretary Albright will be giving an On-the-Record press conference at the White House briefing room on Monday afternoon, I believe with the National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger, to talk about the series of Primakov meetings over the three days and to preview the Helsinki summit meetings. That's Monday. I'll give you the time for that once we've nailed it down with the White House.

Primakov will not be there, no. This is an American press conference.

So that's the way we've decided to do the press here for the weekend. You understand the reasons for that.

QUESTION: That means we get nothing. That means the networks get nothing.

MR. BURNS: No. The networks get pictures. That's more than the others get.

QUESTION: No, we don't.

MR. BURNS: Why not?

QUESTION: If there is not an editorial person present, the networks do not send in cameras. We don't go to camera and stills.

MR. BURNS: Betsy, it's a camera spray, so the cameras are welcome. Anyone is welcome to show up at a camera spray.

I've always said that; I've always said that. It's a camera spray. There are no questions. So cameras are welcome to come.

QUESTION: You said it's a "wise decision." What's wise about it?

MR. BURNS: I think what's wise about it is that Minister Primakov is arriving -

QUESTION: Cynical, but it isn't particularly wise. (Laughter)

MR. BURNS: You know, Barry, the great thing about our relationship is, we get to set these rules. You have a perfect right to sound off, as you've just done.

QUESTION: This is not a private affair.

MR. BURNS: What's wise about it is, he will have just arrived. The Secretary of State won't have had a chance to talk to him. She meets with him on Saturday, but there are important meetings on Sunday and Monday. We won't know until Monday, probably, the substantive results of this meeting. You'll get a chance to ask the Secretary on Monday.

That completes my announcements, and I'm glad to go to your questions.

QUESTION: Nick, will you be doing any kind of briefing later in the day?

MR. BURNS: Today.

QUESTION: Saturday.

MR. BURNS: No, I'm not going to do any briefing tomorrow.

No briefing whatsoever. I'll be glad to take phone calls. I'll have very little to say. I can say they met; they met for "X" number of hours; they discussed all the issues that you would expect them to discuss. It's not going to be a substantive readout.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

MR. BURNS: I have not yet completely decided.

QUESTION: It sounds like you're pretty pessimistic about what's going to happen tomorrow. To shut down quite so firmly always, to me, suggests sort of an ominous -

MR. BURNS: Oh, I wouldn't read that into it, Carol. I think you would not be on point if you deduced that or if you wrote that in the story. It just wouldn't be accurate. The fact is, we're trying to be careful here. He's just arriving. We have three days of talks. So we're going to have a press conference. You're going to have a chance to ask all the questions you want to ask when those talks are completed.

If the talks were ending tomorrow night, we'd have a press conference tomorrow night, but they're ending Monday. So that's when we've chosen to have a press conference.

QUESTION: Nick, is the decision to close it off have anything to do with President Yeltsin's comments this morning, his apparent hardening of a position on NATO expansion?

MR. BURNS: This decision was made two days ago - 48 hours ago. It had nothing to do with anything said today.

QUESTION: Do you have any comments on what he said today?

MR. BURNS: I did not see the comments. I did not see President Yeltsin's comments.

QUESTION: Will you take a look at them and get back to us with an answer because it's rather -

MR. BURNS: Have we seen comments by President Yeltsin this morning? I haven't seen anything today. Just haven't. I'd be glad to look. If we have something to say, I'll let you know.

QUESTION: Is Primakov expected to appear with the Secretary at some point on Monday, to the press?

MR. BURNS: No, I don't think so. I think that she is going to be with Sandy Berger at the White House.

QUESTION: But it will be at the White House, presumably?

MR. BURNS: Yes. We'll have to see what happens with the White House schedule on Monday. That's a question for the White House to answer.

QUESTION: But the plan is for some sort of press photo op or something at the White House -

MR. BURNS: If there is a meeting, yes. That's right.

QUESTION: Yes, with the President.

MR. BURNS: That's right.

Okay, we'll go to Glyn. Any more questions? Any questions on issues?

QUESTION: On Helms-Burton, I don't know if - you're probably aware that Wal-Mart/Canada has decided to resume selling pajamas made in Cuba, and this is making a lot of noise in Canada. But I'm wondering in light of that, what does this controversy say about the problems that are in Helms- Burton, and what about your reaction to the decision of Wal-Mart/Canada, and are you going to do, if anything, something about it?

MR. BURNS: Yes, we're well aware of the Pajama affair, and I can tell you that U.S. subsidiaries are subject to the Cuban assets control regulations that bar those subsidiaries - for instance, Wal-Mart/Canada - from trading with Cuba. This has nothing to do with Helms-Burton, actually. It has everything to do with the Cuban Democracy Act and with the long-standing United States economic embargo on Cuba, which prohibits financial transactions that benefit Cuba.

We understand that the Treasury Department has this case under review, and we're aware that Treasury has been in contact with Wal-Mart officials to discuss it. Treasury needs to make a

ruling here, and I am sure that Treasury is working hard on this and will have something to say soon - probably next week. But that's where the decision-making lies in the U.S. Government.

QUESTION: You know about the controversy, the two laws that are just contradictory. What about what it says for a company like -

MR. BURNS: Oh, we think it makes sense. We very much think it makes sense to follow this policy. This has been the policy of the United States since President Kennedy's era, and we still think it makes sense for the American people and the United States to maintain our own laws and to prevent U.S. -- subsidiaries of American corporations from trading with Cuba and to make money in that totalitarian state.

We understand that Canada has passed a countervailing law, and we understand the complications for Wal-Mart, but Wal-Mart is a corporation that's based, the last time I checked, in the United States of America with subsidiaries beyond the United States.

So the Treasury Department is looking into this very seriously.

Henry.

QUESTION: Keeping in mind that these remarks of yours are often viewed in Canada and you do want to help with the sense of this situation, and I know you're a law-abiding citizen, so you haven't been recently to Cuba. But many Canadians have, and they buy Coca-Cola in Cuba. They buy Marlboro cigarettes in Cuba.

They buy hundreds of American products in Cuba. Why is it that there is no reaction on the part of the State Department verbally about those arrangements and by the Treasury Department perhaps criminally about those arrangements?

MR. BURNS: Henry, I'm glad you asked. I mean, we can have a pajama scandal, and we can have a Coke scandal, and we can do all sorts of things here. The fact is that Treasury does have a - we have a law that we have to fulfill, and Treasury is responsible for contacting American companies or their subsidiaries when we think there's been a violation of a law.

I think the reason why Wal-Mart is in - Wal-Mart is in the news now. It just happens to be the flavor of the month, I guess, and there have been lots of newspaper articles written on it, so that's the one we're focusing on. If you'd like us to focus on other specific issues, I can do that.

QUESTION: Let me ask you how that determination is made, because Coca- Cola has been sold in Cuba for 35 years.

MR. BURNS: I would gladly refer you to the Treasury Department.

The State Department does not administer the law or deal with the companies on a day-to-day basis who are subject to the law but Treasury does. I'd be glad to refer you to the Treasury Department on that.

QUESTION: Perhaps you could explain the hypocrisy of this.

I mean, keep in mind that Canadians -

MR. BURNS: What hypocrisy are we talking about here?

QUESTION: Well, the hypocrisy of the American Government, prosecuting -

MR. BURNS: I don't agree with the premise of the question, with all due respect.

QUESTION: Well, let me help you with the premise of the question then. The pajamas, 80,000 pairs of which are retailed at $9.00 apiece, even by retail sales, far fall short of the kind of trade that American companies are doing in Cuba. How is this determination made that pajamas sold in a Winnipeg Wal-Mart store become more important than the sale of American products in Havana?

MR. BURNS: I don't agree with the premise of your question that the United States has a policy towards Cuba based on hypocrisy.

We have a policy towards Cuba which is resolutely opposed to a totalitarian dictatorship. Some people may want to conveniently disregard the fact that there are gross violations of human rights in Cuba, but we don't, and we remember, and we do have an obligation to support the democrats in Cuba.

By the way, we'll be sending out four more notification letters to the Sherritt Corporation today, and these notification letters will in essence inform four executives of that corporation that they will no longer, 45 days after the receipt of the letters, be welcome in the United States. The reason for that is that Sherritt is in possession of a nickel mining operation which was stolen from an American corporation - the Moa Bay Mining Corporation, currently known as the Freeport-MacMoren Company of New Orleans, Louisiana.

This was a company, an American company, that had its assets nationalized by Castro in the early 1960s. The nationalized industry was then sold or given at some low market value to the Sherritt Corporation.

Sherritt now makes money off an American investment that was stolen by the Cuban Government. The Cuban Government never compensated the Moa Bay Corporation or its successor, the Freeport-MacMoren Corporation of New Orleans, for the many, many millions of dollars put into that investment.

So I don't know whose hypocrisy we're talking about here. Here we have a Cuban Government that steals financial assets, plants from private corporations, and then we have other companies that waltz in and take over those assets with no regard to the American company that walked out. That's one of the reasons why Helms-Burton was passed, because frankly Republicans and Democrats in the Congress had had enough of this. Five thousand nine hundred and eleven individuals and corporations have had their assets stolen by the Cuban Government - I use that word advisedly - and no one's repaid them.

So if we're talking about hypocrisy, then let's direct it to the companies that waltzed in and take over stolen goods.

QUESTION: You raised the issue of the expulsions, if I can use that in a reverse term, of these four executives -

MR. BURNS: No, they're not being expelled from any place.

They're just not going to be able to come to the United States under the terms of Title IV of the Helms-Burton Act.

QUESTION: But if, in regard to that, the Trade Minister of Canada, Arthur Eggleton, has said that if there was any further action by the United States under Helms-Burton that curtailed the travel of Canadian nationals into the United States as it applies to that law, that Canada would take steps to bring this before an advisory panel of NAFTA. Has the State Department been told that indeed that action is imminent, and what can you tell us about the State Department's reaction to that kind of initiative, should it happen?

MR. BURNS: I don't know if we've been advised by the Canadian Government that that action is imminent, although we would respectfully argue with the Canadian Government that NAFTA does not apply here.

QUESTION: I don't suppose you can give us the names of the four?

MR. BURNS: No, I'm not able to do that for the usual reasons.

QUESTION: Can you say why these four were not mailed last year when other Sherritt executives were -

MR. BURNS: Yes, because we were not aware that they were on the board. They may be either new members of the board, or they may have taken the place of other people who have left the board.

QUESTION: Can you say how many people in that corporation have now been sent these letters?

MR. BURNS: We can get that. I don't recall exactly how many. It's four plus X, and I'm sure that Lee McClenny can get that for you.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

MR. BURNS: Pardon?

QUESTION: And what's the criterion?

MR. BURNS: The criterion is that Title IV of Helms-Burton essentially states - I'm not quoting from the law - that the principal shareholders of corporations that have taken over assets that have been stolen from American firms are subject to the penalties of Title IV; and that is that they will not be able to enter the United States lawfully, nor will their family members, their spouses and minor children be allowed to enter the United States. It's one of the more controversial aspects of the Helms- Burton law.

It is the law of the land. The State Department has a responsibility to implement U.S. law.

Bill.

QUESTION: Nick, if we could go across the straits of Yucatan to the Republic of Mexico and talk about an interesting hearing - it was more of a conference - on Wednesday in Senator Coverdell's subcommittee and with Diane Feinstein being one of the principals.

Nick, coming out of this, a number of drug experts in this government came pretty much to the same conclusion that the fight against drugs in Mexico by the Mexican Government is being lost. I would ask the State Department if perhaps what was suggested there, a new approach, a new policy, something that would bring us together and then to join with the Mexicans in this drug fight; something that is not status quo, is not a loser, as was expressed.

MR. BURNS: Bill, we have a good policy towards Mexico.

I see no reason for us to revise that policy substantially, and the President and Secretary both issued statements yesterday about our narcotics cooperation with Mexico following the House vote, and it's full steam ahead. The President and Secretary will be in Mexico in just about a month.

Yes, Tom.

QUESTION: Nick, why did the United States abstain from the IMF vote on a loan to Croatia this week?

MR. BURNS: The United States has watched the behavior of the Croatian Government very closely. We've watched the behavior of the Croatian Government on its application of the commitments that it made in the Dayton agreement to arrest indicted war criminals.

There are a number of indicted war criminals who live in Croatia who have not been turned over to the War Crimes Tribunal by the Croatian Government, and there are certain individuals that we're watching very closely. We've told the Croatian Government we know who these people are. They've been named by the Tribunal as indicted war criminals. We know where they live. You need to go in an arrest them and turn them over to the Tribunal. The Croatian Government has failed to do that.

To express our displeasure with the Croatian Government, to send a shot across their bow that we do want them and expect them to implement the Dayton accords, we abstained in the vote earlier this week at the IMF. We did so to send a message. We hope it's heard, because Croatia has an obligation, just as Bosnia-Herzegovina, just as Serbia does.

QUESTION: What are the details of the IMF transaction?

MR. BURNS: I don't have the details with me, unfortunately, but I can tell you it was a vote on an IMF loan to Croatia. The United States representative to the IMF was instructed to abstain, and that we hope has sent a message that the Government of Croatia will understand. The Croatian Government performance stands in stark contrast to the Bosnian Government's cooperation. This week there were three Moslems and a Bosnian Croat on trial in The Hague for war crimes. They were turned over to the Tribunal by the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which among the three governments has by far done the most to comply with the War Crimes provisions of the Dayton accords.

QUESTION: Does this suggest that you're going to crack down more broadly on this issue?

MR. BURNS: As you know, we've been looking at this issue quite intensively over the last several months trying to find a way that would reinforce the Tribunal itself and enhance the prospects that people actually wind up in The Hague on trial.

We've been looking at a variety of ways to do that. This was obviously a symbolic gesture. We did not vote against the loan.

It was symbolic, but sometimes symbolism, coupled with stronger measures down the road if compliance is not met, get the attention of governments like the government in Zagreb.

QUESTION: The Foreign Assistance Act actually advises the United States not just to abstain but to oppose applications from governments that knowingly harbor war criminals. The World Bank is coming up with several hundred - there's a project worth more than $100 million coming up for World Bank approval in May.

If there's no action between now and then, will the United States take an additional step and actually vote against that project?

MR. BURNS: I'm aware of the provisions of the law, and I think that the Croatian Government is on notice that our concern is rising, and that our frustration has been elevated because of their failure to comply with the most elementary aspects of the Dayton accords. We've said many times in addition to peace, justice is important. Justice has been elusive. Very few people have been extradited, much less tried at the Tribunal and The Hague, and all of us need to do better - all of us - in trying to give the support that the Tribunal needs.

Just a fact: Sherritt, I believe, now with the four letters today, added to seven before, there are 11 members of the Sherritt board that will not be permitted to enter the United States.

QUESTION: And how many minors, Mr. Burns? Have we calculated that?

MR. BURNS: I have not calculated the number of minor children who will not be allowed to cross the border into the United States.

That's what the law says. Congress makes the laws. Administrations implement them. We will implement the law.

Laura.

QUESTION: Since you last briefed, Mr. Vranitzky has met with reporters or done an interview with reporters, indicating in his consultation with representatives of the Albanian Government they have declared that they are unable to get control over what is happening in that country. Have you had any consultation with him since this meeting adjourned? Do you have anything more?

MR. BURNS: We have not. We have seen the brief press statement that you have. We have a young Foreign Service Officer, Elizabeth Bonkowsky, who's with him. She's from our OSCE mission in Vienna. I'm not aware that we've heard from her, just because of the communications. So we'll have to talk to Mr. Vranitzky before we can comment, really, on the suggestion that he appears to have made. We need to have formal discussions first.

QUESTION: Is he spending the night on the ship, or is he back in -

MR. BURNS: No, I believe he's gone to Italy, to Brindisi.

QUESTION: New subject?

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: I believe Turkey and Albania has a security agreement. Do you know any Turkish officials attended this meeting in the U.S. ships?

MR. BURNS: The meeting was on an Italian ship today; that Mr. Vranitzky met with some of the government leaders from Albania on that ship. I don't know if the Government of Turkey was represented.

Yes, Yasmine.

QUESTION: The German Parliament (inaudible) their ruling that requires for 800,000 children in that country to get visas, even if they were born to legal foreign workers. Does the U.S. have any position on that?

MR. BURNS: Does this concern the Bosnian refugees?

QUESTION: No, that concerns Turkish children, Tunisian children, former Yugoslav Republic people.

MR. BURNS: I'm not aware that we have a position. We may. I'll have to check into that for you, Yasmine.

QUESTION: New subject. China. Nick, Janet Reno said yesterday that she personally called Anthony Lake last July, I believe, to warn of the credibility of the evidence of Chinese Government interference in our election, and she was unable to get Anthony Lake, so the FBI agents were sent to brief the NSC people.

Nick, if Janet Reno thought it was important enough to call Anthony Lake, isn't it possible that the State Department would want to talk to the Chinese about this matter, or have we talked to the Chinese or even demarched them about attempting to interfere with our politics?

MR. BURNS: Bill, I think you know that Secretary Albright had a brief conversation in Beijing a couple of weeks back. She reported that publicly, and I have nothing further to add to that statement.

Now, I'd like to just say a few words about the departing Mr. Davies. Today is a very sad day for all of us in the Public Affairs Bureau. Glyn is going to leave our humble Department for the lofty position of Executive Secretary of the National Security Council. It's a real tribute to him that the President and Sandy Berger have asked him to take on that job, which is a very important job, a very tough job.

Glyn's a true son of the Foreign Service. He was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. I'm not sure how many people know that. He lived in Calcutta. He spent some time in Warsaw when his father was American Ambassador in Warsaw, and as a Foreign Service Officer he served in Melbourne, Kinshasa and Paris. He's been Special Assistant to George Shultz. He has run the Operations Center. He's been a Political Officer in our NATO office, and most recently he has been our indispensable man in the Public Affairs Bureau as our Spokesman and our Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

He is exceedingly well-liked by everybody in our Bureau, most especially by the women -- I'm told -- by the women in our Bureau. In fact, I've made a comprehensive survey of all the women in the Public Affairs Bureau just this past week, which has produced the following startling results.

It was generally agreed - this is true; I have this on recommendation from several women in our office - generally agreed that Glyn bears a striking resemblance to the late, great James Dean. Think about it; think about it. I'm not making any of this up. I was even told that he is known to some of his secret female admirers in our bureau as "Mr. Cool." Two of our female colleagues even went so far as to say that he reminds them of Robin of "Batman and Robin" fame, which was my personal favorite.

Those are the views of the women in our bureau. I'd just like to add to those, seriously, by saying that Glyn has been absolutely the best partner and the best friend that I could have had through all of the different things that the press subjects us to on a daily basis.

Glyn is the best at many things. He's the best manager and motivator of people that I have worked with in 14 years in my career. He thinks up the best sound bites. He's the best Spokesman at giving short rather than long briefings. I'm glad someone has a sense of humor about this. He's been a great friend.

Glyn, I think you've really distinguished yourself in this job. I remember, particularly, Glyn had to handle the aftermath of the crash of Ron Brown's plane. Glyn handled the Iraqi crisis in late August 1996. I remember a lot of people were amazed by Glyn's encyclopedic memory of the geography of eastern Zaire during the refugee crisis of December.

I know that he's been particularly well-liked by a lot of you in the press corps for his openness and his accessibility; the fact that he returns phone calls, and that he's been an excellent Spokesman. So I hope you'll join us after this at 2:30 to 4:00, in Room 6800 for a party in Glyn's honor where he's going to be given the State Department Superior Honor Award for his distinguished service as Spokesman. He's going to be roasted with the Top 10 List. The Top 10 List category is the top ten things that Glyn Davies wanted to say but never did at the briefing. So I can't wait for that.

Glyn, it's all yours.

MR. DAVIES: I'll be quick because I know that there's real news today, and this is not real news. I obviously wouldn't come here without my guidance, so I brought guidance. It's only a page. It's not six pages.

I want to, first off, thank you, Nick, very, very much for the opportunity over the past year and a half to speak for the Department from this podium. You were right, it is like playing "Super Jeopardy" everyday, with a crucial difference, which is, when you play "Super Jeopardy," if you win, you get a check. If you lose, you get to go home. If you lose here, you keep coming back everyday.

Thanks also for everything you've taught me. Because if this "Super Jeopardy," you are a grand champion. I've learned a lot just by watching you and working with you.

Above all, Nick, thanks very much for your friendship. It has meant a great to me. I appreciate that. Also, I've already told him, but I want to repeat here just a word about the marvelous 95 people who work in the Bureau of Public Affairs of the State Department. They are not just the people who bring you this briefing everyday but they're the people who bring you our Web site on the Worldwide Web, the people who write the history of American foreign policy, who answer the questions of American citizens, and who set up our Town Meetings around the country. They are consummate professionals whose imagination and drive makes so much happen.

Finally, and in many ways most importantly, a quick word of thanks to you, members of the press. This is a heck of a day to do it on, but I'll do it anyway. The biggest lesson I've learned in a year and a half doing this job, and it's a lesson that may set your teeth a little bit on edge, is how much alike you and the press and we in government really are at the end of the day. We are both, after all, in a forum of public service.

This is a similarity that kind of sets up a struggle sometimes between us, if not an occasional clash between our two estates. But it's a struggle and a clash that I think is of great benefit to our fellow citizens.

Representing the Secretary and the State Department has been a privilege. Working with so many excellent people in the State Department and in government has been a pleasure. Getting to know the many fine journalists who cover our work here as been both a privilege and a pleasure. Thanks for giving me these couple of minutes and for giving me a year and a half in this job. I hope we all stay in touch.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

(Press briefing concluded at 2:25 p.m.)

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