U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #96, 97-06-27
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
619
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Friday, June 27, 1997
Briefer: John Dinger
ANNOUNCEMENTS/STATEMENTS
1 Welcome to Visitors
1 Death of Ely Maurer
1 Conflict in Tajikistan
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
1-2 Detainment of Mr. Tshisekedi
2-3 Status of Foreign Troops
3 UN Investigatory Team
REPUBLIC of CONGO
3-4 Status of Situation
IRAQ
4 Peter Jennings' Report
4-5 US Position on Iraq
NORTH KOREA
5 Talks with Japan , US, and S. Korea
5,8 Political instability within N. Korea
7-8 Meetings after Trilaterals
HONG KONG
5 US Presence at Legislature Induction
6 Chinese Military in Hong Kong
SPAIN
5-6 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty
6 Cooperation with other Latin American Countries
CHINA
6 Wei Jing Sheng
CAMBODIA
8 Meetings with Cambodian Officials
BURMA
8 Charge of US funding of internal terrorist
organizations
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #96
FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 1997 1:08 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. DINGER: Welcome to the State Department. A couple of announcements
and a couple of welcomes. First, we are very pleased that we have two
officials from Finland with us today - the Director General of the
Department for Press and Cultural Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs of Finland, and the press counselor in the Embassy of Finland.
We also have several interns - Joseph Bradley, from Tacoma, Washington;
Jeremy Rossman, from Los Angeles; and a whole group here with Barbara
Maranzani, who I won't describe further; and my brother-in-law, Dan Duggan,
from Wisconsin, who happened to be in town on business.
I have sort of a sad statement, too. We had somebody closely associated
with the Public Affairs Bureau who died on Wednesday.
Ely Maurer, he was the assistant legal advisor for educational, cultural
and public affairs. He had worked in our legal bureau in Connection with
the Bureau of Public Affairs for 23 years.
Nick Burns has put out a statement in Hanoi, expressing our sadness over
Ely's passing. His sage advice, his wise counsel, his honorable and
unfailing service will be missed greatly and we offer our deepest
condolences to Ely's family.
I also have a statement on Tajikistan. The State Department welcomes the
news of the June 27th signing of a comprehensive peace accord, putting an
end to the conflict in Tajikistan. This accord represents an historic
opportunity for Tajikistan to enter into a new political stage - one
building lasting national reconciliation, stability and economic
development.
And we're very pleased with this historic step. The true test lies ahead.
The accords mark the beginning of the transition period. We urge all the
sides to take full advantage of this opportunity to move beyond civil
conflict in Tajikistan. That statement is available in the press office.
And that's what I have.
QUESTION: There is a report out of the Congo today that - I can't
pronounce his name - Tshisekedi --
MR. DINGER: Tshisekedi.
QUESTION: Thank you. That he has been detained for some reason. Have
you heard anything about that? Is the U.S. concerned?
MR. DINGER: We are worried that opposition leader Tshisekedi was taken
from his compound by alliance troops June 25th, after he had participated
in a rally at the University of Kinshasa.
Our understanding is that soldiers asked Mr. Tshisekedi to accompany them
for a meeting with President Kabila, and he reportedly declined to do so.
Mr. Tshisekedi was released later the same night and is returned home.
This of course brings up the issue of the state of democracy - or the state
of the movement towards democracy in Congo. We would report that the
record continues to be mixed. We have been encouraged by some things, and
we have been less than encouraged by others.
We are encouraged by the inclusion of non-alliance members in the cabinet
and the inclusion of non-alliance individuals in governorships.
We also welcomed President Kabila's commitment to elections to be held in
April 1999 and the specific election timetable that was set out. At the
same time banning political party activity and public rallies and this
latest development is certainly negative.
We have to emphasize that free political activity will be essential as the
Congo embarks on its democratic transition. We certainly will be watching
that very closely. We have made that clear.
We have also made clear that our assistance and, in fact, the assistance
from the international community to the Congo will, to a large extent,
depend on Mr. Kabila and his government's actions on political issues and,
of course, on refugee issues and on human rights issues.
QUESTION: John, according to the press reports, many of the troops that
went to arrest Mr. Tshisekedi were not from the Congo. They were Rwandans
and - you know, the troops that were part of the alliance and part of the
rebel movement that overthrew Mobutu. Is their presence in Congo
worrisome?
MR. DINGER: One, I don't know what the composition of the forces were,
and I guess, two, in that respect, it's a little bit difficult to comment
on that. I am not aware of recent reports of foreign forces. Of course,
we saw them before. I don't really have much I can say about that. It's
not an issue that has been before us recently.
QUESTION: But as far as you know, all the foreign troops are out. Or
you're just not aware?
MR. DINGER: I don't know what the status of that issue is.
QUESTION: If there were foreign troops, would you call on them to leave?
MR. DINGER: Well, I'm not going to speculate about that issue. I can't
do it.
QUESTION: So you're saying the U.S. is not aware that a large part of
Kabila's force are Rwandan Tutsis?
MR. DINGER: I think I would say that -- that we are not aware that a
large - I don't know what you mean by a large part.
We are certainly aware that in the activities, or in the advance of the
alliance forces through Zaire, there certainly were many reports, many
credible reports that there were outside troops involved. That means all
sorts of things, or could mean all sorts of things.
That could be people of different ethnic backgrounds who are from Zaire.
It could be informal use of foreigners; it could be formal; all sorts of
things. These reports were very difficult to sort out at the time. I am
not aware of it being an issue in the month or so since the alliance troops
entered Kinshasa. It is not something that I have looked at.
So not speaking categorically is simply something that I have not looked
into because it has not been an issue in the last month or so.
QUESTION: Except it is now since there are those reports.
Can you look into it and --
MR. DINGER: I'll consider the question. I'm not sure how relevant it is,
in fact. But I'll consider it.
QUESTION: Has the UN advance team arrived in the country?
They were due, I believe, last week.
MR. DINGER: The advance team arrived last week. They have been trying to
make initial arrangements for the full investigatory team, which is
scheduled to begin its work on or about July 7th.
QUESTION: What sort of cooperation are they getting from the Kabila
folks?
MR. DINGER: I don't have any good thorough reports on that. I believe
that their efforts have been sort of preliminary in terms of where they'd
like to go and what they'd like to do.
Now, I should take this opportunity to stress that President Kabila has
committed very strongly that they will have his government's cooperation,
that they will have access to all the areas. We expect President Kabila to
fulfill that promise.
QUESTION: Do you have any idea what's going on across the river in
Brazzaville?
MR. DINGER: We have seen the reports of continued violence.
We, as you know, do not have any presence in Congo, Brazzaville.
That ended a week or two ago. We believe it is essential for the people of
Congo, Brazzaville and all the factions and all the political parties and
all the leaders to end the violence there, to return to a peaceful and
democratic process. We still have to hold out some hope that elections can
still be held. We certainly call on everyone in Congo, Brazzaville to stop
the violence and work towards a democratic resolution to these problems.
QUESTION: Do you know which faction is in charge - in control of the
city?
MR. DINGER: I don't. To the best of my knowledge, that would be a very
difficult thing to know with any certainty given the confusion and the
back-and-forth and the sort of chaotic nature of the situation there. That
is somewhat beside the point because the point is we believe all of them
should stop the violence.
This is not in the interest of the people of Congo, Brazzaville.
What is in the interest of the people and the leadership of Congo,
Brazzaville is that there be a peaceful resolution of this, that there be a
democratic process that hopefully will lead them to a stable and secure
future.
QUESTION: Another topic?
MR. DINGER: Sure, Bill.
QUESTION: Yes. What is the reaction of this department and the
Administration generally to the Peter Jennings program last night aired on
ABC about the Kurds being involved in trying to depose Mr. Saddam Hussein?
MR. DINGER: There have been a couple of reports recently revolving around
alleged intelligence issues involving Northern Iraq. As you know, as a
matter of policy, we do not comment on
intelligence matters. Let me say, however, that our policy towards Iraq is
long-standing and clear. We support the goals of the Iraqi opposition,
which include the maintenance of Iraq's territorial integrity and a free
pluralistic Iraq at peace with its neighbors.
Now, Secretary Albright, on March 26th in a speech at Georgetown, very,
very clearly enunciated this policy. I would certainly refer you to her
remarks. They are quite comprehensive.
Beyond that, I am not sure I have too much to add.
QUESTION: I guess you couldn't comment as to the veracity of the CIA
operatives that are witnessing in this program?
MR. DINGER: As a matter of general policy, we don't comment on alleged
intelligence matters.
QUESTION: And finally, does this government continue to deny or does it
deny currently involvement in attempts to assassinate Mr. Hussein last
year?
MR. DINGER: Secretary Albright addressed that issue quite clearly in the
remarks. She pointed out that we are not telling the Iraqi people what
they should or should not do. That is for them to decide. The President
has also pointed that out. The Secretary made clear that Saddam Hussein's
record and actions are important factors determining Iraq's intentions and,
frankly, that the evidence is overwhelming that Saddam Hussein's intentions
will never be peaceful.
She also expressed our readiness in principle to establish a dialogue with
a post-Saddam government. As part of that dialogue, we would require
improvements in Iraq's behavior. But I will reiterate again, the Secretary
and the United States has not told the Iraqi people what they should or
should not do.
QUESTION: And finally, there was the allegation, I believe, or
implication that the Clinton Administration pulled the plug on the Kurds
because of election - let's say, election convenience, that being the U.S.
election last year. Any comment?
MR. DINGER: No comment. We have supported the goals of the Iraqi
opposition. We have also viewed the Iraqi National Congress as a part of
the Iraqi opposition whose program reflects our values. We have supported
the INC's efforts to forge unity and cohesion within the Iraqi opposition.
QUESTION: John, another subject. Can you confirm reports that the United
States, Japan and South Korea have held talks aimed at coordinating
possible future international relief efforts for North Korea in the event
of a government collapse?
MR. DINGER: We do not see signs at the moment of political instability in
North Korea. As a general policy, we don't comment on contingency
planning. The report I think that you're referring to involved reported
DOD contingency planning. I would refer you to the Department of Defense
for what they may be planning.
I would note that DOD has lots of contingency plans. That is nothing new.
That is part of their job and, in fact, it is a part of our job. Our
current relief efforts have been and will likely continue to be conducted
through international relief organizations.
QUESTION: The administrative talks that are reported to have taken place,
can you describe where and when, who was involved?
There is also a mention of some general discussions with China.
MR. DINGER: No. I don't have anything for you. The article I think that
you're referring to mentioned that they were DOD talks. DOD has a lot of
contingency planning and a lot of contingency talks. You might see if they
have anything that they can offer, but this sort of planning of that type
is very routine. And of course, you and the American people would expect
us to make contingency plans. But we do not see signs of political
instability at the moment in North Korea.
QUESTION: On another subject. Have you seen the reports that some people
in Hong Kong and some countries friendly to the United States believe that
the United States has undercut the joint approach to the turnover by
allowing Richard Boucher to attend preliminary sessions of - what is it
called the transitional parliamentary --
MR. DINGER: I think I will. Frankly, Jim, I'll let the party that will
be arriving in Hong Kong address any issues regarding Hong Kong, rather
than try to do it here.
QUESTION: This new agreement between the Spanish authorities and the
U.S. authorities to investigate the human rights abuses in Chile - two
questions, please. What made the U.S. decide to cooperate with Spain? And
second, would that apply to similar cases in Latin America, like Argentina?
MR. DINGER: There was a report in the press today that I think was ahead
of the story. Under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the United
States and Spain, the Spanish Government has requested information from
United States official records that relate to events in Chile during the
Pinochet regime.
The United States has received this official Spanish request for
information, and we are currently in the process of determining how we
might respond to it. Obviously, we will cooperate with Spain to the extent
permitted by that law and to the extent that any information may be
available in official U.S. Government records.
The Department of Justice is responsible for implementing the request, or I
might say coordinating the request and the response.
So I would refer you to the Department of Justice for details.
Any documents that the Spanish might request would be released to the
Spanish Government under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to the extent
that it applies. So we will cooperate to the extent that we can,
obviously, with the Spanish request.
QUESTION: Would this treaty apply also to other countries, like
Argentina?
MR. DINGER: This is a treaty, of course, with Spain -- a Mutual Legal
Assistance Treaty with Spain. On a case-by-case basis, should there be
future requests, we will consider them in the context of this treaty. I
don't, of course, want to speculate about any future requests. What we
have before is a request from Spain regarding events in Chile during the
Pinochet regime. I think we would be very reluctant to speculate beyond
that.
QUESTION: Chile's current democratic government has said it will not
recognize the authority of Spain's high court to try Pinochet for Spanish
killings. Is there any way the United States can pressure Chile to
cooperate with this?
MR. DINGER: I have not seen those reports. I am not sure that there is a
role for the United States in this. I would say that this is an issue for
Spain and Chile to resolve.
QUESTION: John, on the document request -- is it correct to say the U.S.
is considering the request but has made no decision?
Is that where it is?
MR. DINGER: Right. We have two issues that we need to consider. One,
it's a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and what that requires or permits.
Obviously we want to make sure that anything we do operates underneath that
umbrella. The other thing is what we may or may not have available, which
at this point we don't know.
QUESTION: China?
MR. DINGER: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: Anything to say about China's plans to bring a rather large
military contingent into Hong Kong just after the handover?
MR. DINGER: Oh, I don't think so.
(Laughter.)
Since, as I just told Jim, the Secretary of State and her party of senior
officials will be arriving in Hong Kong very soon. In fact, many of our
people who are the experts on China are with the Secretary. Clearly it's
best to leave those sorts of questions to them.
QUESTION: John, do you know if the Secretary plans on brining up the
dissident Wei Jingsheng and the reports that he has been beaten and his
current situation? If she is going to bring that up with any Chinese
official she might meet at the hand-over ceremonies?
MR. DINGER: Again, I would leave those sorts of questions to the
traveling party.
QUESTION: If the traveling party is not going to Cambodia, then you can
answer.
(Laughter.)
MR. DINGER: There is a large portion of the world that the traveling
party is not going to.
QUESTION: Have you seen the reports that the Cambodian opponents are
united in their criticism of the United States for canceling the visit
under what they consider to be impolite conditions?
MR. DINGER: I have seen the reports.
QUESTION: And what do you think?
MR. DINGER: I think I will leave that to the traveling party.
(Laughter.)
Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: There was a report this morning on Japanese wires that the
United States and North Korea will be meeting after Monday on their own
bilateral talks. Do you know anything about that?
MR. DINGER: I don't know anything about that. When I asked our experts
yesterday about any meetings in addition to the trilateral meetings, I was
told that there was nothing formally scheduled as of now.
QUESTION: But it has been common in the past for bilateral meetings to
take place after the trilateral meetings?
MR. DINGER: It has happened in the past, that's right, to discuss
bilateral issues that aren't appropriate in the trilateral talks.
QUESTION: One question on Burma. Have you seen the reports out of
Rangoon about the intelligence chief there holding a news conference to
accuse the U.S. of funding, basically, internal terrorist organizations?
If you have, do you have anything to say about that?
MR. DINGER: That charge is obviously outrageous. I can only speculate on
the motive behind such a charge, that it perhaps might be an attempt to
divert attention from the SLORC's terrible record of abusing the human
rights of its own citizens and, as I say, an attempt to divert attention
away from that and towards some other issue.
The United States has suffered very much from terrorist acts both at home
and abroad against its citizens. We are a leader in the international
fight against terrorism. I absolutely reject that sort of charge,
categorically.
QUESTION: One more on North Korea. I didn't get to ask Ken yesterday.
John, does the State Department view some of this very negative rhetoric
about fighting the final battle with South Korea and the United States -
that was last week - there has been some more this week from Pyongyang - is
that viewed by the State Department as some kind of rhetoric designed to
get concessions in negotiations? Or is it taken seriously?
MR. DINGER: Well, North Korea is well-known for its rhetoric.
So the rhetoric alone, of course, has had little impact on our policies.
We of course do monitor the situation in North Korea closely. As I said,
we see no signs of political instability at the moment. And as we have
said many times in the past, we're not aware of any eminent threat from
North Korea - military threat - at the moment.
QUESTION: Is there some kind of dichotomy in that government that could
be producing a government that wants to be fed on the one hand, and one
that wants to have war, like the defector has stated?
MR. DINGER: North Korea is a very opaque society, and I'm not going to
speculate about that. Okay, thank you.
QUESTION: Okay.
(The briefing concluded at 1:30 P.M.)
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