U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #49, 98-04-23
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
825
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Thursday, April 23, 1998
Briefer: James P. Rubin
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1 Statement by the Secretary Regarding the Visit of the
Romanian Foreign Minister
1 Two Background Briefings: Today on China and Asia; Tomorrow
on the Middle East Talks
BOSNIA
1-2 French Role in the US Effort to Arrest Karadzic; Transfer
of French Officer to Other Duties in France
2-3 US-French Cooperation in Pursuit of the SFOR's Mandate
3 US Reaction to President Djukanovic's Comments Regarding
Bosnia
GREECE
3 USG Expresses its Sorrow over the Death of Former President
Karamanlis
RWANDA
3-4 USG Reaction to the Proposed Executions of War Criminals
4 Status of the War Crimes Tribunal with Regard to the Cases
in Rwanda
IRAQ
4-5 Status of the US Option of Military Force in Dealing with
Iraq
5-6 Status of Iraqi Compliance with UNSCOM Inspections
6 Adjustment of Force Posture in the Region
6 UNSC Sanctions Committee Review of Iraqi Compliance
6 Russia's View of Iraqi Sanctions
6-7 Reaction to Reports of Large Numbers of Shia Being Put to
Death
TRADE
7-8 US Reaction to Report Regarding the Ban of US Arms Sales to
Britain
8-9 Re-exporting Controls in Britain
9 Definition of "firearms"
TURKMENISTAN
9 Readout on the Secretary's Meeting with Turkmenistan
President Niyazov
TURKEY
10 Turkish FM Meeting with Senior Department and Other US
Officials
ROMANIA
10 Assessment of Progress Toward NATO Membership
CUBA / CANADA
10-11 US Reaction to Canadian Prime Minister Chretien's Travel to
Cuba
11 USG Reaction to the Visit by the Pope to Cuba
11 Cuban Government's Involvement with the Colombian Guerrillas
CHINA
11-12 US Policy of Engaging the Chinese Government on Issues of
Human Rights; Security Issues; Weapons Proliferation
Issues
MONGOLIA
12 Goals of the Secretary's Trip to Mongolia
IRAN
12-13 Discussions Through Diplomatic Channels; US Broadcasting
Policy
GEORGIA
13 Evacuation of Nuclear Material; UK Role in the Operation
No details of operation discussed until completion
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #49
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1998, 12:45 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. RUBIN: Welcome to "Bring Your Daughters to Work Day." There are many
of them here.
QUESTION: Where?
MR. RUBIN: In the corner over there, but I'm not going to introduce them
lest we begin breaking the introduction precedent policy that will add time
and energy to all of your work.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MR. RUBIN: Yes, well, let me footnote that. I have no statements. We will
have something for you after the meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister,
probably in writing. There will be two background briefings -- one today on
China and Asia with respect to the Secretary's trip, and one tomorrow on
the Middle East portion of the Secretary's trip. You'll have more
information provided by our able deputy and other press office staff.
QUESTION: Could you give us the US version of what the French might have
done to spoil whatever efforts the US had underway to arrest Karadzic?
MR. RUBIN: As you all have probably noticed, that we do not believe it is
wise to discuss, from this podium or other fora, the operational planning
that may or may not go on with respect to the pursuit of war criminals.
Clearly, we have had great success in the pursuit of war criminals over the
recent several months. There are 20 such indicted war criminals who have
been either arrested or voluntarily surrendered to the War Crimes Tribunal,
and those who doubted the will of the international community to pursue war
criminals in Bosnia were clearly incorrect.
With respect to any particular operational plan, what may or may not happen,
all I can do is tell you that the operations of any particular French
officer or other officer, you should direct your questions at that
government. From our perspective, the United States believes that France
and the United States have worked extremely well together on the Bosnia
issue. Had it not been for American-French cooperation in 1995, peace never
would have been brought to Bosnia; the Dayton Accords never would have been
achieved. The deployment of IFOR, the International Force at that time
and subsequently the SFOR, the second force, has demonstrated in recent
months strong will to implement the Dayton Accords -- whether that means
refugee returns; whether it means, when contact is made and the tactical
situation permits, the apprehension of those war criminals; whether it
means a secure environment, an environment in which economic progress can
take place. In all of those areas, there has been great strides made as a
result of US-French cooperation.
QUESTION: I don't believe you included the apprehension of war criminals
as an example of great cooperation. Do the French take the same view -- the
French Government or French officers take the same view? You may celebrate
the 20, but those who are skeptical of how hard the US is trying always use
Karadzic and Mladic as examples. You know, you would get little fish and
medium-sized fish, but you don't go after the big guys. This leak
suggests that the US was going after the big guys and the French spoiled
it.
MR. RUBIN: Let me say this: Rodovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic should be
well aware by now that we are keeping open all of our options to ensure
that they and all other indictees are brought before the Tribunal in The
Hague. More than 20 of such indictees have been brought to justice. We
expect more will surrender or be transferred in the coming months. There is
no statute of limitations on war crimes, and NATO will continue to detain
indictees if they come into contact with them.
What I am telling you is that the operational planning or discussions or
actions that may or may not have occurred in the course of this policy of
detaining war criminals when the tactical situation permits is not
something we are going to get into publicly for fear of giving solace or
information or other evidence to the indicted war criminals that will make
it harder for us to achieve the goal of bringing them to justice.
QUESTION: Jamie, is the United States satisfied that this French official
apparently is not going to be punished in any way for --
MR. RUBIN: I would have to refer you to the French Government for the
results of what may or may not happen. The French Defense Ministry issued a
statement today. I am sure that you all can get a copy of it yourself. They
said that they transferred the French officer to other duties in France.
With respect to our views as to what the results of this may be, all I can
tell you is this is a military operation. SFOR is a military organization
operating under a peacekeeping mandate; and I'd recommend that you contact
SFOR and others to talk about detailed operational questions of who did
what, who said what, who should have said what, and what the results of
what they may or may not have said will be.
QUESTION: Well, has there been any interruption or change in the way the
French and the United States share intelligence -- let me strike that word -
share information about the war criminals issue? Has there been any change
or interruption in the sharing of information between the United States and
France on the war crimes issue since this incident?
MR. RUBIN: What I have said earlier, which I will repeat until we're all
bored with it, is that with respect to operational planning for the
apprehension of war criminals, to discuss any aspect of that planning --
other than to say that we are keeping open all options -- from this podium
would be a mistake that would only redound to the advantage of those who
are indicted for war crimes. So we will not discuss publicly what we
believe to be operational planning matters with respect to the apprehension
of war criminals.
QUESTION: But France is a long-time ally, and a chief ally of the United
States. And presumably, if you were still cooperating and sharing
information, you would be only too happy to say, of course we --
MR. RUBIN: Let me, lest you get the wrong impression from what I didn't
say, say that we and the French Government are working extremely closely
and cooperating in full in the pursuit of SFOR's mandate.
QUESTION: Jamie, let me sort of try another angle. In the meeting
yesterday with Mr. Djukanovic, did he agree to close his borders to
indicted - people who have been indicted for war crimes?
MR. RUBIN: Again, the ways in which we are tightening the noose around
the necks of those who are indicted for war crimes and have yet to
voluntarily surrender, we do not think it's wise to discuss that matter
publicly.
Secretary Albright was obviously very pleased with the overall policies of
President Djukanovic on the question of Kosovo and overall moderation and
cooperation in pursuit of peace in the former Yugoslavia. With respect to
steps we may or may not be taking to tighten the noose around the necks of
those who have been indicted for war crimes, we do not think it would wise
to discuss such matters publicly.
QUESTION: Do you have a statement on the death of former President of
Greece, President Karamanlis?
MR. RUBIN: The United States Government expresses its profound sorrow on
the passing of President Karamanlis, one of the most prominent and
respected figures of modern Greek history. The former president was a
respected friend of US leaders from President Eisenhower to President
Clinton. His contributions to the strengthening of Greek-US relations will
not be forgotten.
QUESTION: Jamie, the Rwandans are going to execute in public displays
tomorrow 33 people who have been convicted of crimes of genocide. This has
generated some controversy. I wonder where you come down on it.
MR. RUBIN: First off, let me say that capital punishment is not a
violation of internationally recognized human rights. Our concern is that
the accused is afforded adequate protection in mounting both a defense and
any appeal.
We cannot tell you that these trials would reflect our high standards,
especially when the penalty is public execution. We are not aware of the
circumstances of individual cases, but we understand the accused were tried
in Rwandan courts. We would urge Rwanda to conduct such executions only
upon the exhaustion of all avenues of appeal open to the defendants and a
proper review of the cases by appropriate judicial authorities.
Capital punishment is a government-sanctioned act that should only be
resorted to for the most serious crimes, after proper trial and review. We
urge the government of Rwanda to avoid any sensationalizing of such
punishment.
QUESTION: Could you say what the status is of the War Crimes Tribunal,
with regard to Rwanda and the situation there?
MR. RUBIN: Well, I could get you some details on exactly how many
indictees there are and what level the cases are and that for the record.
I'd be happy to do that.
QUESTION: There's a report today that suggests that the United States is
giving up the military option vis-a-vis Iraq. I was wondering if, in
fact, you had either come to a conclusion or at least were moving in that
direction?
MR. RUBIN: First let me state my normal caution against believing
everything you read in the newspapers or in the wire services or even those
things you watch on television. Did I miss anybody? Magazines - news
mags.
QUESTION: Radio.
MR. RUBIN: Radio, as well.
QUESTION: Internet.
MR. RUBIN: And the Internet. I think I've covered everything now. And
always believe that your able Spokesman is doing his best to tell you
everything he knows and everything he can tell you.
Our objectives on Iraq remain the same: to diminish the threat of Saddam's
weapons of mass destruction and reduce his ability to threaten his
neighbors. To pursue those objectives, we are supporting the UN Security
Council resolutions that demand the Iraq provide a full disclosure about
it's WMD -- weapons of mass destruction -- programs. The US remains willing
to use all appropriate means to secure Iraqi compliance with these
resolutions.
The issue at hand in the earlier crisis was Saddam Hussein's demand that
all the inspectors be kicked out of Iraq and complete their work in a
month's time; and secondly, Saddam Hussein's refusal to allow access for UN
inspectors to presidential complexes that provided a sanctuary for
potentially hidden material, referring to weapons of mass destruction. The
United States deployed military force to the region. Those forces are still
there. They, in combination with our diplomacy, made it possible for the
palaces to be open to inspection, and made it possible for Saddam Hussein
to cooperate to the extent of allowing those inspections.
But the fundamental problem remains. Whether it's Anthrax, whether it's
missiles, whether it's VX, whether it's other germ warfare weaponry or germ
warfare components, whether it's other poison gas, Saddam Hussein will not
come forward and positively provide to the United Nations what he produced,
and what he did with what he produced, and eliminate the huge discrepancy
between what the UN can confirm was destroyed and what the UN knows has
been imported. That is what this crisis is about; and so long as he refuses
to do so, we will hold the line in preventing any adjustment in the
sanctions policy.
With respect to the use of force, I think I've made clear that the United
States remains willing to use all appropriate means to secure Iraqi
compliance with these resolutions; but we are not going to get into a
public discussion of what would or would not trigger what type of military
action.
QUESTION: Well, you have in the past talked about military actions.
MR. RUBIN: I think we've been very clear on not providing you a specific
trigger for the President's decision. I think we've talked about what the
results would be of a failure to comply with it, being that we would
consider the military option. But beyond saying that, I think we've been
very careful not to preview for Saddam Hussein what would or wouldn't
result from some specific action.
QUESTION: A couple of follow-ups. I believe it was last week you were
playing off of the most recent report by Butler; you were very critical
about Iraq and what it wasn't doing.
MR. RUBIN: I hope I was equally today.
QUESTION: No, you were. But the question is raised, then -- and I
apologize if this seems to be sort of going over the ground where we
covered -- but I just want to make sure it's explicit. Does this failure of
Iraq to comply still with UN resolutions, and specifically the arms
inspections, make it more or less likely that you feel that you may have to
keep force as an option on the front burner?
MR. RUBIN: Well, with respect to what we would or wouldn't do with our
forces in terms of drawing them down, we have not made any decision to draw
down the forces we now have in the region. With respect to what would or
wouldn't trigger the use of force, again, what I'm trying to distinguish
between, is the refusal of Saddam Hussein to even allow the inspectors to
do their work, to allow them access to these presidential complexes, and to
threaten to kick them out on the one hand; and on the other hand, the
fact that his failure to positively provide information, material
and analysis that proves what they do or don't have, is non-compliance
of a different type. That kind of non-compliance makes it impossible for
the Security Council to ever declare him in compliance with Resolution 686
on weapons of mass destruction, and therefore means that so long as he
refuses to comply on this critical point, sanctions will remain.
On the other hand, non-compliance by threatening to kick out the inspectors
and declaring huge sanctuaries in Iraq was something that we believed
required us to deploy our forces to the region, it is one of the reasons
our forces are still there. If we make any adjustments in our force posture,
we'll obviously talk about why we did so. But for now, what I can say is
that we remain willing to use all appropriate means to secure Iraqi
compliance with UN resolutions.
QUESTION: Is the Administration seriously discussing now the draw down of
those forces?
MR. RUBIN: Again, I wouldn't want to preview any discussions that we may
or may not be having internally; other than to say that on a regular basis
we carefully review our approach to further challenges by Iraq and meet
regularly to discuss it. And if and when there is any decision to adjust
our force posture, it would be announced either by the President or the
Secretary of Defense.
QUESTION: So Jamie, when the sanctions review comes up in the next week
or two, I gather that the United States will vote against any easing of
sanctions?
MR. RUBIN: Well, there isn't a formal voting process. I can't imagine,
based on the report that Chairman Butler has provided, that any country in
the Security Council - any country would be advocating a suspension of any
part of the sanctions regime because the organization authorized to make
judgments about Iraq's compliance with weapons of mass destruction
requirements has made clear that in case after case, in time after time --
whether it's poison gas, weapons of mass destruction, biological warfare,
missiles, missile warheads -- there is a wholesale pattern of lying
and non-compliance, which would have to change dramatically for any
serious country on the Security Council to want to adjust the sanctions
regime.
QUESTION: So you have no doubt that Russia will stand by you - (inaudible)
- sanctions?
MR. RUBIN: I'm not aware of any country that is now proposing that
sanctions be adjusted in the face of a report of Iraqi across-the-board non-
compliance with UN Security Council resolutions on weapons of mass
destruction.
QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to reports of a large number of Shia
being assassinated, or put to death, rather?
MR. RUBIN: We have no independent confirmation of these reports. However,
we note that these reports are entirely consistent with the practices
described by UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur Max Van der Stoel in his
most recent report on Iraq. He makes clear that torture and execution
without trial and due process are normal practices in Iraq under Saddam
Hussein.
QUESTION: The same wire report said that there were also reports of
increased action by Shia in the south against the regime.
MR. RUBIN: We hear that from time to time; I don't have any information
assessing the current level of opposition activity. I can say that, overall,
Saddam Hussein continues to oppress and abuse the human rights and the
basic rights of Iraqis in the south who are trying to have a minimum of
human rights, and that continues.
QUESTION: Can you comment, Jamie, on a report that there is being
considered a ban on the sale of US arms to Britain because of a discovery
that some of these arms have been found in areas of the world where they
shouldn't be?
MR. RUBIN: This is going to take me a little while, so I hope everyone
will bear with me. I do have a fair amount of information on this.
The decision to revoke outstanding munitions licenses for firearms destined
to the UK was taken in consultation with the UK after discussions with
them. It was not an action directed against United Kingdom policy.
We do not have the evidence to back up the assertion in several press
reports that US firearms exported to the UK or to Europe have found their
way into the wrong hands. As we've indicated, we are concerned that some
problems have been identified that create the prospect that firearms could
be diverted; and we have raised our concerns with Europe and intend to work
constructively with our European allies to solve the problem.
There is no plan to halt firearms sales to EU member countries. The
Department, in carrying out its responsibilities under the Arms Export
Control Act, continuously monitors the national laws and regulations of
recipient countries to ensure that re-transport and import controls are
sufficiently strong. When we identify problems, we bring them to the
attention of the interested foreign governments and try to address the
problems with them through various law enforcement and diplomatic channels.
Wherever possible, actions are taken both by countries to align import and
export actions, and this can take the form of license revocations.
This is what happened in the case of the UK.
When we identify problems and cannot solve them through bilateral efforts,
we of course reserve the right to take unilateral action, as we did with
regard to Paraguay in 1996. There is no special focus on Europe; it is part
of our normal review of all countries that receive US licensed munitions. A
large part of our attention over the last year or so has been working
closely with Latin American neighbors to adopt in the OAS a new firearms
convention and detailed model regulations to govern this trade.
Our European allies share our broad objectives and concerns about the need
to work together to prevent diversions of firearms. If there are differences,
they center on the best modalities for achieving these objectives, and that
is why we are working on them through the
G-8 process and in other fora to improve these modalities.
One of the items that will be discussed, and we hope endorsed, by the G-7
Heads of State or Government when they meet is a Joint Statement of
Principles and an Action Plan that will give momentum to the whole area of
illegal arms trafficking.
QUESTION: What are the problems you identified with --
MR. RUBIN: Well, the possibility of them being transferred within the
European Union, and then re-exported without reference back to the original
license.
QUESTION: So the problem was a lack of re-export controls in Britain?
MR. RUBIN: It's kind of tricky because within the EU, they don't need
licenses to travel between them under their new laws. And so it became an
issue where one set of laws making it not required to have information
about where you're transferring goods within the European Union came up
against our requirement for re-export information. So we were concerned
that they could be transferred to a third country where they would never
actually arrive at; and the third country would be the re-exporter,
rather than the country that received the license -- if that makes
any sense to you, which I think it does.
QUESTION: Is it only Britain, then?
MR. RUBIN: Where the licenses were revoked - that was a reflection of
their new handgun laws that required us to adjust our licensing policies.
We're going to go back and take another look at all those licenses.
QUESTION: Are you thinking of looking at all the other countries'
specific export practices in regard to arms - in other words, is Britain
the main source of possible leakage, or are there others?
MR. RUBIN: With regard to the United Kingdom, this issue came up because
they changed their laws on handguns. So it required us to take a re-look at
all the licenses so that we would be able to re-implement licenses with
them.
What I'm saying to you is that in general, the trafficking in international
firearms as an illegal trafficking is an area of greater and greater
concern to the United States, where we're going to be following it closer
and closer. With respect to this one area, it was more a function of their
change in their laws than it was a particular problem with British
companies.
Let me emphasize again, the specter that was raised in various news reports
that these weapons are going into Iraq or Iran or other such places is only
a specter as far as we're concerned. It's a concern; it's not something we
believe has already happened.
QUESTION: How do you define the category of arms that you're concerned
about now? I mean, small arms - does that include rifles, though?
MR. RUBIN: Well, again, we are working on a firearms package, and I will
have to get you the details of that for the record after the briefing.
QUESTION: Turkmen President Niyazov --
MR. RUBIN: One more on this. I may have to take it for the record, but --
QUESTION: How long does this ban last?
MR. RUBIN: The license revocation? Until the licenses are reissued to
reflect the new situation; but we'll get you some information on that after
the briefing.
QUESTION: Turkmen President Niyazov is here in Washington. Do you have
anything on this?
MR. RUBIN: Yes. The President met with Secretary Albright yesterday. They
exchanged views on the development of the East-West Caspian Energy
Transport Corridor, Iran, and regional cooperation. Secretary Albright also
urged greater respect for human rights, progress towards democracy and the
release of prisoners of conscience. The President of Turkmenistan will be
meeting with President Clinton later today, I believe, and a joint
statement will be issued at that time.
QUESTION: At this meeting, did he indicate to the Secretary his support
for the Trans-Caspian Pipeline?
MR. RUBIN: I would rather await the President's joint statement about his
meeting with another President before discussing in detail what was agreed
in such a meeting.
QUESTION: Still on Turkmenistan, did the Secretary raise a specific case
of the former Foreign Minister and Radio Liberty employee who was --
MR. RUBIN: We, as a matter of practice, have tried to avoid naming
specific names when we talk about our raising prisoners of conscience; but
let me see if I can get an answer that may break that practice. But she did
raise prisoners of conscience with him.
QUESTION: A Turkish state security court sentenced Istanbul's mayor Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to ten months in prison because of a speech he made last
year. Do you have any comment about this?
MR. RUBIN: It is a serious matter when democratically-elected leaders are
subject to criminal prosecution by state security courts for statements
they made as political figures. Such developments weaken confidence in
Turkish democracy. That is our view on that decision.
QUESTION: The Deputy Turkish Foreign Minister is in town, and he had a
meeting with Talbott, Pickering. Do you have anything on that subject,
also?
MR. RUBIN: The Turkish Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs has come to
Washington at State Department invitation for a full round of consultations
on foreign policy issues with senior department and other US officials.
During Prime Minister Yilmaz' visit in December 1997, Turkey and the United
States agreed to institute regular consultations between our respective
political directors, and this visit of the Under Secretary is the first
round of these agreed regular visits.
QUESTION: On Iraq. Russia is involved in some kind of mediation between
Saddam Hussein and the northern Iraq Kurds. Do you have anything on
that?
MR. RUBIN: I have no information on that.
QUESTION: Jamie, you've got the Romanian Foreign Minister here, and I was
wondering whether you think Romania has made any progress since the last
NATO meeting towards future membership?
MR. RUBIN: Well, we will be issuing a statement following the meeting.
QUESTION: I don't want to know about the meeting. I want to know whether
you think Romania has made any progress toward NATO membership?
MR. RUBIN: Well, I will get you a formal answer for the record.
QUESTION: The visit to Canada of Prime Minster --
MR. RUBIN: Probably after I give you the statement.
QUESTION: The visit to Canada of Prime Minister Chretien is rapidly
approaching; it's three or four days away. What are the hopes and
aspirations of the United States for that visit?
MR. RUBIN: We do not believe that construction engagement with Cuba has
yielded success. On the contrary, the only glimmer of hope that we saw in
Cuba was the result of the Pope's visit.
We understand that Prime Minister Chretien's trip would be to follow up on
the 14-point Cooperation Program. Again, as I've said, we've seen no
evidence that this constructive engagement has produced results, and
therefore we hope that Prime Minister Chretien will be focused in his
meetings with the Cuban leadership on the woefully inadequate human rights
situation that exists in Cuba.
Cuba is one of the most repressive regimes in the world. They continue to
hold several hundred political prisoners in jail. One of these is gravely
ill -- that's Marta Beatrice Roque -- but the Cuban Government has denied
her proper medical treatment. To communicate with the outside world, she
had to write a letter on toilet paper that was smuggled out of prison -
this is a copy of the smuggled letter written on toilet paper - where she
was seeking medical treatment from the Cuban Government. None of the
signs that we saw that they were going to allow greater freedom have borne
fruit; and frankly, we hope that the Prime Minister of Canada confronts the
Cuban Government directly on these kinds of grave human rights abuses.
QUESTION: You don't consider the Pope's visit as constructive engagement?
If not, how would you refer to it?
MR. RUBIN: Well, again, that was a religious visit; and the Pope's visit
was about trying to promote religious freedom in Cuba. We did indicate at
the time we thought that the Holy Father had brought a breath of fresh air
to the ability of Cubans to practice religion. There were hundreds of
thousands of Cubans who participated in his masses; and we are hoping, and
still hold hope -- but no more than hope -- that that kind of religious
freedom that was permitted at that time will yield genuine changes
in human rights practices. Even the prisoners that were released
as a result of the Pope's request created a situation where people were
exiled rather than permitted to continue to return to their families.
Others have been in prison since then, and there are, as I said, several
hundred prisoners still there.
QUESTION: Is Cuba currently exhibiting a hostile behavior either directly
toward the United States or towards other democratic counties, especially --
and I would ask specifically with regard to Colombia -- is Cuba in any way
aiding the communist guerrillas involved in the narcotics trade in
Colombia?
MR. RUBIN: It would be difficult for me to get into that kind of issue,
other than to say that Cuba's government is committing hostile acts against
its people every day.
QUESTION: But not against the US?
MR. RUBIN: Again, I said it would be difficult for me to get into those
kinds of details that you asked me about.
QUESTION: A question on China -- how would you respond to criticism that
the US is going too easy on China with respect to the fact that while some
high-profile dissidents have been released, quite a few others have
not?
MR. RUBIN: Well, it isn't a question of whether the US is going easy or
hard. We believe we need to have a policy of engaging the Chinese
Government on issues that matter to the American people and to the world --
whether they be issues of principle, like human rights in China, or issues
of security, like weapons proliferation. And in each of those cases, we
have seen concrete progress based on the Administration's determination to
raise these issues with the Chinese Government and propose practical
solutions to real problems.
I think, as you saw from the press conference that Mr. Wang Dan had today
that the policy of engagement with China has made a big difference in his
life. He is now in the United States and he is free to speak out publicly
on international media, and that is surely going to have an impact in
China. And secondly, there are other prisoners who have been released who,
I think, their release has had a big impact on their lives.
With respect to our overall human rights policy, we have made clear that
the agreement in principle to sign the Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights is a very important step because upon its ratification, the Covenant
will entail a process for scrutinizing China's human rights record. The
spotlight of international attention will remain on China's human rights
record. At the same time, we've pointed out that in recent months, the
Chinese Government's response to dissent has varied, but overall been more
tolerant than in recent years. A number of dissidents, academic and
former officials, have issued public statements, letters or petitions
challenging the government's policies or advocating political reform
without action being taken against them.
But that does not mean that all dissent is tolerated or that China's human
rights record is satisfactory; it still falls far short of internationally
recognized norms. Chinese authorities continue repressive measures such as
intimidation, administrative detention, imposition of prison terms and
extra-judicial re-education through labor sentences, as well as house
arrests. We have repeatedly expressed our views that China should release
all persons detained for the peaceful expression of their political and
religious views. In short, we're not being hard or soft, short or tall,
wide or thin. What we are doing is focusing the spotlight on human
rights abuses and making progress in easing those human rights abuses,
and that's what every American should expect from our policy.
QUESTION: What does Madeleine Albright hope to accomplish in Mongolia?
MR. RUBIN: We'll be having a briefing about that trip shortly this
afternoon.
QUESTION: Has the Administration made any attempt to explain to the
Iranians the decision by the broadcasting Board of Governors to set up
Radio Free Iran, or whatever they're going to call it?
MR. RUBIN: That was a very artfully worded question, and I will artfully
avoid the essence of it. Any possible discussions between Iran and the
United States through diplomatic channels will remain through diplomatic
channels, if they take place.
With respect to our view on that, one certainly hopes that the Iranian
Government saw the explanation that I gave when asked about this, and
understood that we do not see this broadcasting as designed to overthrow
the Iranian Government, but rather to add to what is already a thriving
debate in Iran about matters in Iran and matters around the world.
QUESTION: Can you confirm that this nuclear material which was taken from
the Georgian reactor has been safely evacuated out of the former Soviet
Union?
MR. RUBIN: A team of US Government specialists is helping the government
of Georgia better secure its nuclear material. This effort reflects our
continued cooperation with the former states of the Soviet Union. Because
this is an ongoing operation, we will not provide any additional details at
this time, other than to say that the United Kingdom has played a key role
in this project - and I refer you to London for their comments on
this cooperative effort. If and when this operation is completed,
we will be then in a position to talk to you about it.
QUESTION: There is a report out of Moscow, I think quoting the embassy,
that US military aircraft did fly the material to Scotland already.
MR. RUBIN: Again, I think you heard me, so I'll repeat it in case you
didn't hear me. Clearly, because this is an ongoing operation, we will not
provide any additional details at this time.
QUESTION: Here's what I'm asking - how current is your statement?
MR. RUBIN: You may be distinguishing between different phases of an
operation and we consider it ongoing until it is completed.
QUESTION: Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:20 P.M.)
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