U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #184, 97-12-19
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
523
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Friday, December 19, 1997
Briefer: James B. Foley
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1 Secretary Albright to deliver year-end summary speech in
January
1 Background briefing today on Middle East peace process
1 US congratulates Jamaica on holding of elections
1 Assistant Secretary Inderfurth discusses Afghanistan at
Russian MFA
2 No change in U.S. passports requirement for travel to
Mexico
2 Ninth anniversary of PanAm 103 bombing
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
2-3 US reaction to PriMin Netanyahu remarks re construction of
settlements, Israeli sovereignty over West Bank
GEORGIA
3 Sentencing in Washington of Georgian diplomat Gheorge
Makharadze
DEPARTMENT
3-4 U.S. policy on diplomatic immunity, responsibility of
diplomats for criminal acts
IRAQ
4 Press tour of selected presidential sites in Iraq, UNSCOM
denied access
SOUTH KOREA
4 US congratulates Kim Dae-Jung on election as ROK President
5 No expected effect on four-party talks with North Korea,
China; ROK call for dialogue
SAUDI ARABIA
5 US welcomes Saudi initiative to meet travel needs of Hajj
pilgrims from Libya, Iraq
RWANDA
5-6 Report of another attack on a refugee center; US concerns
re potential genocide
6 Amb. David Scheffer report on number of victims killed in
Mudende attack
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
6-7 US supports War Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Arbour's
decision to release three detained indictees due to lack
of evidence
JAPAN
7-8 Upcoming Okinawa referendum on construction of alternate
helicopter facility for US forces
SINGAPORE / INDONESIA
8 Reports of American citizens killed in SilkAir crash
TURKEY
8 White House to address questions on Prime Minister Yilmaz
Washington visit
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #184
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1997, 1:10 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
MR. FOLEY: Welcome. I apologize for the delay. We had some technical
difficulties. I have a number of announcements to make.
First, following the holidays, Secretary Albright will deliver a major
address reflecting on her first year as Secretary of State. Her speech,
which is tentatively scheduled to take place in the second week of January,
will examine the critical foreign policy decisions of 1997, and she will
also explain her vision of the future of US foreign policy. We're going to
provide details as soon as they are finalized, shortly after the new
year.
Secondly, we're going to have a senior administration official here at the
podium at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon to give you a background briefing on the
Secretary's meetings yesterday in Europe with Prime Minister Netanyahu and
Chairman Arafat.
I have a few other announcements. We congratulate the people of Jamaica on
the holding of national elections on December 18. Jamaica has a strong
tradition of democratic government, but past elections have often been
marred by violence and fraud. Regrettably, yesterday's elections gave rise
to three deaths and to some allegations of malpractice.
Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of the people of Jamaica, also to the
efforts of domestic and international election observers, government
officials, and the political parties and their leaders, the elections of
1997 were more orderly than those in recent Jamaican history. The United
States Government looks forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister
Patterson and the government of Jamaica.
Next, the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Karl
Inderfurth, met with his Russian counterparts in Moscow, December 18 and 19
-- yesterday and today -- to discuss South Asia, and particularly the
situation in Afghanistan. The talks were conducted in a spirit of close
cooperation, and explored ways in which the two sides could work together
to create conditions for a political settlement that would bring peace and
reconstruction to Afghanistan.
The discussions were conducted in the context of the support given by both
the United States and Russia to the efforts of the United Nations and the
secretary general's special envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador Lakhdar
Brahimi. The United States and Russia call on all Afghan parties to stop
fighting and to begin serious negotiations.
I'm also going to post a statement concerning the use of American passports
for travel to Mexico. Let me just state briefly the main item, which is
that the Department of State has been receiving queries that, as a result
of an alleged change in either US or Mexican requirements, US citizens will
have to have a passport to enter Mexico. These reports are false. We would
like to affirm that the entry requirements for US citizens going to Mexico
are unchanged.
And finally, on a more somber note, this weekend marks the ninth anniversary
of one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of our country. On
December 21, 1988, a bomb destroyed Pan American Flight 103, killing 259
passengers and 11 residents on the ground in the town of Lockerbie,
Scotland. Altogether, the 270 victims represented nationals of 21
countries; 189 of them were citizens of the United States.
An exhaustive criminal investigation uncovered convincing evidence that two
Libyan intelligence officials were responsible for placing the bomb that
destroyed the aircraft and the lives of so many people. Both men face
serious criminal charges in the United States and in Scotland. The
international community has demanded that they be surrendered for trial.
But they are still sheltered in Libya.
We have not forgotten the terrible crime committed that day nine years ago;
and we shall not forget. We will continue to demand that the two men
accused of this crime be held to answer so that the truth may be known. We
pledge our continuing commitment to see that justice is done.
This Sunday, our thoughts will be with the family and friends of those who
so needlessly died, as they gather at Arlington Cemetery, in Lockerbie, and
elsewhere to remember their loved ones. We in the State Department,
particularly, send our prayers to the families of our colleagues who were
among the slain.
I'd like to take your questions.
QUESTION: Prime Minister Netanyahu said today that despite US calls for a
time-out, he won't limit the building of Jewish settlements in the West
Bank or Jerusalem. I don't know whether you saw those or not; but if you
did, do you have a comment?
MR. FOLEY: I've not seen those comments. But our position on the matter
of settlement activity is unchanged. We believe that such activity is
unhelpful, particularly at this very sensitive moment in the peace
negotiations. We've long urged all the parties to refrain from unilateral
acts which make it difficult for the negotiations to progress and to
prosper, and to avoid actions that tend to pre-judge final status or
permanent status negotiations.
QUESTION: He also said, Netanyahu, that the West Bank is part of Israel,
proper. That prompted some reaction from European officials. I was
wondering if you --
MR. FOLEY: Well, again, I have not seen his comments. So it's hazardous,
really, for me to comment on something that I can't officially attribute to
the Prime Minister. But clearly, that is an area and a territory that we
regard as subject to negotiations in the permanent status talks.
QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to the Makharadze sentencing?
MR. FOLEY: I just heard about it, in coming in, so I can't give you an
official comment. But we believe it was a fair trial. The sentence seemed
to us to have been also a fair one that reflected the nature of the crime
involved.
I'm aware that the judge in the case took note, acknowledged the courageous
decision by President Shevardnadze to waive the diplomatic immunity of the
defendant. I believe, in that respect, that the harshest sentence was not
imposed. It was clearly a serious sentence that he received, and we believe
that justice has been done.
QUESTION: What do you think the message is from the court about
diplomatic immunity?
MR. FOLEY: Well, I've just been briefed orally before coming in, so I'd
rather leave, maybe, until next week an official comment, because your
question is highly speculative.
I was informed, however, that the judge did take into consideration the
fact that the government of Georgia had voluntarily determined to waive the
diplomatic immunity, which, as you know, is a very unusual circumstance. In
that respect, I believe he took that into account in his sentencing
decision.
QUESTION: If I could follow just for a second, you know there are efforts
underway on Capitol Hill to reform - if that's the right word for it -
diplomatic immunity. How much is the State Department willing to support
efforts to reform diplomatic immunity?
MR. FOLEY: Well, I don't think we've seen specific legislation that's
been introduced. I think there's an effort underway in the Congress to
encourage nations around the world, including the United States, in
instances where diplomatic immunity is not waived, to commit to try
diplomats in their own country when they return.
As you know, our practice is - in cases such as these - is to seek a waiver
of diplomatic immunity. We do not believe that diplomatic immunity is in
any way a license for foreign diplomats to commit crimes in our country.
There have been cases where such waivers have been obtained, usually
involving lesser violations, lesser crimes than what occurred in this case.
There are very few. It's a very rare instance where crimes of this nature
do take place. I believe there was on in the United States a number of
years ago, involving a murder where diplomatic immunity was waived
and the prosecution ensued.
But we'd have to take a look at that legislation. We're working with the
Congress, I believe, on the idea. I'm not sure how far advanced it is,
though.
QUESTION: Do you agree with that concept of bringing diplomats back to
their home?
MR. FOLEY: Well, it's something that we'd have to look at very carefully,
our legal experts here, and I think at the Justice Department. There are
practical difficulties involved. For example, in a hypothetical case, where
an American diplomat was brought home to this country and was charged with
crimes overseas, there would be practical difficulties in pursuing a
prosecution here that one could imagine, involving location of witnesses
and the collection of evidence and items of that nature. So it's something
that the legal experts, I think, in the government and also in Congress
would have to work on.
QUESTION: What is the US reaction to reports that Iraqi palaces were
opened to the press?
MR. FOLEY: I think it's a demonstration of rank hypocrisy on Iraq's part.
It is of a piece, with the announcement three or four weeks ago, that Iraq
was willing to invite delegations, foreign delegations, to visit presidential
sites. What it demonstrates is that the Iraqi claims of sovereignty
protecting UN access to those sites are hypocritical, because what's clear
is that Iraq does not want UNSCOM to go to those sites to do its work.
But it's willing to let reporters, foreign delegations to go there
to visit what they claim to be sensitive and sovereign sites that ought to
be off-limits.
It's very obvious that their problem is with UNSCOM, and it's UNSCOM they
don't want to visit those sites, and that can only raise questions as to
why they don't want UNSCOM to visit those sites. I think it's, again, of a
piece of a pattern where the Iraqis take actions which only undermine their
own case, the coherence of their arguments and the legitimacy of their
case.
QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the result of South Korea's
presidential election? And what kind of cooperation do you expect between
the US Government and Mr. Kim Dae Jung, elected candidate as the next
president of South Korea? Do you have any plan to invite him to Washington?
MR. FOLEY: Well, we certainly congratulate Mr. Kim Dae Jung on his
victory in yesterday's election. Mr. Kim is well-known as a supporter of
strong relations between the United States and Korea, and he has many
friends here. So in answer to your first question, we certainly look
forward to working with him in the future, and we expect to have an
excellent, productive working relationship with him.
We also would like to congratulate the people of Korea, who once again have
demonstrated their impressive commitment to the democratic process. This is
the third free presidential election since the end of military rule, and
the first to involve a transfer of power from one political party to
another. So we think it's a very significant event that really consolidates
once and for all the establishment of democracy in South Korea. We
congratulate the people of South Korea on the elections.
In terms of a possible visit, I'd have to refer you to the White House,
because, of course, it would involve presidential invitation.
QUESTION: Do you think it's going to do something for the four-party
talks?
MR. FOLEY: We don't anticipate any change in South Korea's commitment to
the four-party talks. I understand that in his comments following his
victory last evening in Seoul, that Mr. Kim did, among other things,
declare his support for the four-party talks forum. So we're very
encouraged by that.
QUESTION: -- during the presidential election, Kim Dae Jung said over and
over again that he is interested in direct dialogue with the North Koreans
more than the four-party talks. So other than he supported the four-party
talks yesterday, do you have any anxiety of the future of the four-party
talks because of his attitude toward the presidential campaign?
MR. FOLEY: That's a good question. We have no anxiety whatsoever. On the
one hand, he confirmed his support for the four-party talks. We look
forward to their continuation in the next couple of months, after the new
year.
But in terms of his long-standing call for dialogue between the North and
South, and the development of relations between the two countries, we
support that and we think that it can only help to reinforce prospects for
success within the four-party talks forum.
QUESTION: Can we go back to Iraq for a second?
MR. FOLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: Saudi Arabia has announced that they plan to arrange for
transport for pilgrims from Iraq and Libya to Mecca for the upcoming Hajj.
Is there any US reaction to that?
MR. FOLEY: Yes, the Saudi Arabian Government announced this on December
16 - that the government will take measures and request appropriate UN
approval to ensure that all Libyan and Iraqi pilgrims are able to meet
their Hajj obligations. The US very much welcomes this important Saudi
initiative. The United States has always supported allowing Libyan and
Iraqi pilgrims to meet their religious obligations.
In the past, the Libyan and Iraqi regimes have made cynical political use
of the Hajj, by dispatching flights in defiance of UN Security Council
resolutions. We believe that this year, the Saudi initiative will address
fully the needs of all Libyan and Iraqi pilgrims. We understand that third
country aircraft will be used, and UN procedures respected.
In other words, unauthorized flights would therefore be unnecessary and
unjustified. We expect the Iraqi and Libyan regimes to respect the will of
the international community in this regard.
QUESTION: On Rwanda, have you seen the latest reports about the
violence?
MR. FOLEY: I have not - reports this morning, Carol, or today?
QUESTION: Yes, about another attack on a refugee center.
MR. FOLEY: I don't have the document before me, but you would have seen
the very sobering statement that our spokesman, Jamie Rubin, issued the
other day in Europe, following the report that Ambassador Scheffer made to
Secretary Albright on his visit to the site of the latest massacre. And we
are indeed deeply concerned about the prospect of renewed genocide in
Rwanda, and are consulting with the United Nations Security Council, with
the Rwandan Government and with countries in the region. We are considering
diplomatic and other steps that we will take to deal with what is
clearly a deteriorating security situation.
QUESTION: Can I follow up on that?
MR. FOLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: David Scheffer, in his report, talked about 327 people that
were killed in the Mudende attack, but apparently there is some consternation
around that figure, because some witnesses put it three, four, five times
greater.
MR. FOLEY: Well, I've read the report that he gave to the Secretary, and
he conducted a very thorough and serious investigation. He was not alone;
he was accompanied by other experts and officials. I have to believe that
it's a credible report, and the Secretary was deeply moved by his report.
As I indicated, we're consulting with our allies on the Security Council to
see what we can do about the current situation, which is clearly deteriorating.
As to the specific numbers, whether it was - I believe the number in his
report was higher than what the original press reports had indicated. So
I'm not sure that it is an issue, but I'd be happy to talk to Ambassador
Scheffer, though, to ask him about the specific number.
QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the International Tribunal releasing
- I guess it's three Bosnian Croat suspects?
MR. FOLEY: Yes. The United States supports the prosecutor's decision to
withdraw these indictments after they were reviewed. This decision is in
accord with the highest duty of any prosecutor, which is to see that
justice is done.
We would also point out that this development shows that these indictees
did the right thing by surrendering voluntarily on October 6. It shows, in
particular, that the process at the Tribunal is fair and impartial. This
example illustrates to all sides each case is looked at individually. No
one is prejudged when they arrive in The Hague.
Today's action by the Tribunal also sends a strong signal that other
indictees should surrender voluntarily now. They, too, will get fair
treatment in The Hague.
No other questions?
QUESTION: There was a lack of evidence; is that your understanding?
MR. FOLEY: That's my understanding. I'd have to refer you to the Tribunal
for details on that. But the legal standards for bringing an indictment and
for going to trial are different. The prosecutor must review evidence
against any indictee before deciding to bring an indictment and before
going to trial. So the standards may be different.
QUESTION: Are you concerned that there may not be enough evidence against
a lot of these other suspects; that maybe they have nothing to fear at all
by turning themselves in?
MR. FOLEY: Well, there have been, I think, upwards of 22 indictees in The
Hague. And there have only been three now, as of today, who have been
released.
What we're looking for is not to look at the number who are there, but the
number who belong there. We've got some ways to go so that all indicted
detainees are in The Hague.
What this development today demonstrates is that they'll get a fair
hearing. I think, clearly, it must be a complicated situation that the
Tribunal has to deal with, in compiling evidence and witness testimony. But
they've been at work on this for quite some time, and they believe that
they have solid cases. That's why indictments are issued.
But the standard for prosecution, clearly, is higher. I'd have to refer you,
though, to their assessment of how they're doing with their other cases.
But we want the emphasis to be on those who are not yet in The Hague. They
need to go there. It's obviously a fair Tribunal. Those who are indicted
and who loudly proclaim their innocence ought to test their innocence in
what is clearly a fair Tribunal.
QUESTION: On Sunday in Okinawa, Japan, voters are going to be participating
in a referendum on whether or not to build a new heli-port off of Nago,
Okinawa. Depending on the outcome, what do you think - will it have an
effect on US-Japan relations?
MR. FOLEY: Well, let me give a little of the background to this vote. On
the Special Action Committee on Okinawa final report, the governments of
the United States and Japan agreed to the return of Marine Corps air
station Futenma, after adequate replacement facilities were completed and
operational.
We remain committed to the implementation of this SACO final report, as
it's called. The final report stated that a replacement facility for
Futenma air station must maintain that air field's critical operational
functions and capabilities. We believe a sea-based facility, such as is
proposed in this referendum, could meet these criteria.
We'll be watching the outcome of the vote, but we believe this is a
domestic matter within Japan. So I really wouldn't want to comment further.
This is one possible solution to the relocation question to which we've
committed. But it's an issue that will be with us, regardless of the
outcome of the referendum.
QUESTION: Anything on Americans who may have been aboard the plane that
crashed?
MR. FOLEY: We have only press reports that indicate that there may have
been several American citizens who were on board; but we're unable to
confirm that. Our embassies both in Jakarta and in Singapore are working
intensively on this right now.
QUESTION: The Turkish Prime Minister is here in Washington --
MR. FOLEY: And I can't really comment on it while he's over at the White
House.
QUESTION: Nothing at all?
MR. FOLEY: The White House will be in a position to talk about the visit
maybe later this afternoon.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:45 P.M.)
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