U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #119, 98-10-29
From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>
603
U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
I N D E X
Thursday, October 29, 1998
Briefer: James B. Foley
ANNOUNCEMENT
1 Assistant Secretary Julia Taft to visit Serbia-Montenegro,
Oct. 31-Nov. 3.
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
1 US strongly condemns today's terrorist attack.
1 Parties must remain strong in refusing to give in to
enemies of peace.
1 US cannot confirm report of Sheik Yassin's house arrest.
2,3 US expects Palestinian security plan to be done by
tomorrow.
2 Each side must fulfill responsibilities reciprocally.
3 Ambassador Ross plans to travel to region after entry into
force of Wye Agreement.
KOSOVO
3 KLA is moving about more freely than before.
3 US continues to have contact with the KLA, presses them to
maintain cease-fire.
4 US looks toward creation of more ethnically representative
police force for Kosovo.
4 Serb police (MUP) forces are estimated to have returned to
their February numbers.
4 Serb army (VJ) units put into Kosovo in February have now
been withdrawn.
COLOMBIA
4-5 Secretary Albright pledged support for peace process to
President Pastrana yesterday
5 Narcotics, civil insurgency part of our bilateral agenda.
TURKEY
5 Head scarf issue is an internal matter; US takes no
position.
9 US view of PKK as a terrorist organization is well-known.
CHINA
5-6 US Embassy has discussed case of arrest of physicist Hua Di
with Chinese officials
6,7 US is aware of and concerned about report of forced
retirement of Tibetan monks.
7 Attempts to restrict fundamental freedoms are steps in
wrong direction.
7 Secretary Albright raised human rights issues during
President's trip.
BELARUS
8 US not prepared to negotiate this violation of Vienna
Convention.
8 Ambassador Speckhard is here in the US.
RUSSIA
8 President Yeltsin's health problems must be addressed by
Russian government.
8 US looks to Prime Minister Primakov to implement needed
economic policies.
IRAN
9 US denounces persecution and imprisonment of Baha'is for
their religious beliefs. US urges Iran to protect the
lives of all Baha'is.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFF-CAMERA DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #119
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1998, 1:12 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. FOLEY: Welcome to the State Department, our daily briefing. I
understand that we're at T- minus, I don't know, 30 minutes, 25 minutes. So
for those of you interested in wanting to watch someone launch other than
myself today - anyway, the duration of the briefing is, as usual, in your
hands.
Just one announcement - Julia Taft, our Assistant Secretary of State for
Population, Refugees and Migration, will visit Serbia-Montenegro Saturday
through Tuesday. The primary purpose of her visit will be to assess the
humanitarian situation in Kosovo and Montenegro and determine what can be
done to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid.
In addition, she will urge FRY officials to continue to work to comply
fully with their government's commitment to facilitate such relief efforts.
I have more information in this statement that we'll post after the
briefing.
QUESTION: Any comment on the developments in the Middle East, including
the supposed arrest of Sheikh Yasin?
MR. FOLEY: First of all, the United States strongly condemns this act of
terrorism. We are well aware that extremists will seek to destroy the hope
for peace and security. We understand that security officials of both
parties - Israel and the Palestinian Authority - are working closely
together on the ground in response to this attack, and we welcome that. We
also understand that Chairman Arafat has condemned the attack in the
strongest terms
We believe that the parties must remain firm in their refusal to give in to
these enemies of peace and continue working toward a lasting peace.
Insofar as Sheikh Yasin is concerned, we are not at this time able to
confirm the news reports of his house arrest. We've seen those reports,
obviously. As we have said in the past, we believe it is in the Palestinians'
interest to maintain security in the areas they control. It's their
decision how best to do so. But clearly, if the reports are true about the
house arrest, that would illustrate the seriousness with which they're
dealing with this matter.
QUESTION: Does house arrest mean for a quadriplegic?
MR. FOLEY: House arrest - look, Sid, I can't confirm the report; so
you're asking a hypothetical question about house arrest. Under any
circumstances, I understand from a layman's perspective that house arrest
means that one has to remain inside one's house. The gentleman in question,
though, as you note, handicapped, presumably is, through various means,
able to travel. That would obviously not be the case if he is subject to
house arrest. But again, I can't confirm the report.
QUESTION: Wouldn't it be more meaningful if they, perhaps, cut off his
telephone line or something other than a symbolic gesture of putting a
quadriplegic under house arrest?
MR. FOLEY: A, I'm not sure that it's true; I've just commented on a press
report. B, we'd have to await more information to understand the amplitude
of the measure and why it was taken and what information was at the
disposal of the Palestinian Authority that took this reported action.
The key is, a terrorist act has occurred. The Palestinians have committed,
at Wye, as well as previously, to root out those responsible for such
terrorist acts. We would welcome this move if that's a step in that
direction. But obviously, there are direct perpetrators of this act. We
don't know who they are at this point, but we trust that the Palestinian
Authority is actively pursuing leads in the matter.
QUESTION: Could this be one of those cases where the CIA would become
involved?
MR. FOLEY: Well, of course the agreement is yet to enter into force. Upon
entry into force, as you know, a number of mechanisms are activated,
including a trilateral security committee on which the United States sits
and a bilateral committee with the Palestinians, again on which we sit. So
the United States will play the role that was prescribed at Wye.
As to this specific incident, I couldn't comment. We will have to see.
Those mechanisms are not yet in place.
QUESTION: Have the Palestinians produced a security work plan yet?
MR. FOLEY: My understanding is that we are expecting that the necessary
work will be done tomorrow, Friday, in that regard.
I would add, though, in regard to questions about timing, the security plan,
entry into force and things of that nature, that these questions point to
the larger issue of mistrust between the parties. Resolving the crisis of
confidence between Israelis and Palestinians requires each side to fulfill
a set of responsibilities based on the concept of reciprocity. That is the
essence of the Wye Accords. Both sides must carry out their respective
obligations in accordance with the Wye River Memorandum. These obligations
will be implemented or carried out in a parallel-phased approach in
accordance with the mutually agreed time line.
QUESTION: (Inaudible; about Amb Ross.)
MR. FOLEY: I just spoke to him a few minutes ago, and what he told me is
that his intention is to travel to the region following entry into force of
the Wye Memorandum.
QUESTION: That's Monday, is it?
MR. FOLEY: Yes, that's Monday. I am not giving you a specific day for his
travel. He said following entry into force.
QUESTION: You say on Friday you are expecting the Palestinians to submit
that. How firm is that, because I've seen reports it might be Monday. What
is the basis for saying Friday?
MR. FOLEY: Assurances that we have received. I can't comment specifically,
but that is my understanding.
QUESTION: It was unclear to me, again on this Friday issue. Did you say
that they are actually going to hand over the security plan or that work
would be done?
MR. FOLEY: The words that I used were that work would be done by Friday.
I believe that there is an expectation that we may receive that on Friday,
as well.
QUESTION: Is that firm or not?
MR. FOLEY: That's my understanding.
QUESTION: They expect it?
MR. FOLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: Different subject - in Kosovo, the KLA is apparently not
acting the way you all had asked them to act in light of Yugoslav
withdrawal. Do you have any comment on that?
MR. FOLEY: Sid, that is not my information. Clearly, the KLA is moving
more freely about Kosovo than it had previously. For example, we have seen
KLA personnel checking out villages before the return of civilians; and in
so doing, they have actually been very helpful in providing services such
as disarming booby traps that were left by departing Serb forces.
Our assessment to this point is that the KLA is not interfering in the
process of Serbian withdrawal. KLA commanders in Kosovo are, indeed,
encouraging the internally displaced persons to return to their homes in
areas being vacated by the Serbian forces. We continue to have contact with
KLA representatives, and we continue to press them to maintain the cease-
fire, to guarantee the safety of international personnel and to cooperate
in efforts to gain Serb compliance with Security Council Resolution
1199.
QUESTION: For what it's worth, the Serb information center in Pristina
claims that the KLA is responsible for at least one assassination in the
last two days of a Serbian civilian.
MR. FOLEY: Well, if that's true, that would be a matter of utmost concern
to the United States and to the international community. That would be
wholly unacceptable behavior.
What we're looking towards, and what President Milosevic has committed
himself to in his meetings with Ambassador Holbrooke, is, among other
concessions on the Serb part, the constitution of a police force in Kosovo
that will be much more responsive to the needs of the people of Kosovo. So
we would look to that force, which would be more representative of the
ethnic composition of Kosovo, to ensure the safety and security of all the
people of Kosovo. That includes the large majority of Kosovar Albanians,
but it most certainly also includes the roughly 10 percent of ethnic
Serbs who are in the province.
QUESTION: (Inaudible)
MR. FOLEY: I can't confirm that; I have not heard that report, Sid.
QUESTION: On the issue of compliance, do you have anything on the level
of Serb police forces that -- (inaudible) --
MR. FOLEY: Yes, if you bear with me for a second, I have different pieces
of information on that. We estimate that there were about 10,000 MUPP -
what we call MUPP, the special and regular police in Kosovo - in February,
prior to the conflict. Over 4,000 special police reinforcements were sent
in; and roughly that number have been withdrawn. So that's for the police
forces.
We estimate that there were between 11,000 and 12,000 V-J Yugoslav Army
forces in Kosovo in February. About 5,000 additional V-J personnel were
introduced in new units deployed from outside Kosovo and to augment units
already in Kosovo. We estimate that the number of V-J forces has been drawn
down to around the 13,000 level. Now, that is, at this point, not yet a
scientific number.
What we can confirm is that the units that were sent in in February have
been withdrawn. The exact, scientific number of army personnel in the units
that remain and that were there before February is subject to ongoing
assessment.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) - Kosovo?
MR. FOLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: President Pastrana said this morning that the Secretary told
him yesterday that the United States was willing to work with Colombia to
organize an aid donors' conference to help them find alternatives to
narcotics plants. Do you know anything about that?
MR. FOLEY: Well, Secretary Albright and President Pastrana met yesterday
for approximately 45 minutes, just prior to the lunch hosted by Vice
President Gore at the State Department. Their discussion was wide-ranging,
substantive and, of course, very cordial.
Among the issues discussed were President Pastrana's efforts to resolve
Colombia's 40-year-old civil conflict, the issue of human rights, of
counter-narcotics, and the new opportunities for US-Colombian economic
engagement. They certainly shared a convergence of views on all of these
issues.
Now, in terms of your specific question, both the Secretary in her meeting
with President Pastrana and President Clinton in his welcoming address
yesterday pledged US support to the Colombian peace process. An international
donors' conference would be one of a number of ways in which we could offer
support. We want to be as helpful as we can in this respect.
I don't believe that on either side they've gotten down to the nuts and
bolts of specific initiatives that would be undertaken; but that's
obviously one that is going to be looked at.
QUESTION: You (inaudible) donors' conference to the peace process, and
he said it would be both peace process and the search for alternative crops
to replace narcotics plants.
MR. FOLEY: Well, as I enumerated, the issues on our bilateral agenda -
narcotics and the insurgency or the civil conflict there - are part and
parcel of our agenda with Colombia. No one can argue that there are links
between them. I can't argue with your point that a donors' conference which
would be looked at could help deal on both of these issues. As I noted also,
we have a very strong interest in Colombia's economic development and
engaging on that subject with them.
QUESTION: In Turkey, several extreme religious groups used the head
scarf as some kind of political issue. I know the US supports the Turkish
secular democratic system. On this subject, do you have any comment?
MR. FOLEY: Well, not to make light of it, but we don't have a head scarf
position in the State Department. This is an internal matter for a friendly,
allied country - Turkey - to resolve. We don't have a position on
it.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) necessarily consider the wearing of a head scarf a
sign of an extremist person?
MR. FOLEY: The United States does not have a position. I think you can
have your own personal opinions - all of us can - on a personal question of
that nature. But that's not a policy issue as far as the United States is
concerned. I recognize that in some countries, it is; not only in Turkey,
but in European countries such as France, it has become a political issue.
But it's not one for the United States.
QUESTION: The Stanford University has gone public on the arrest of the
Chinese scholar, Hua Di, who's a green card holder. They say the State
Department has also been protesting to the Chinese authorities on this. Do
you know anything?
MR. FOLEY: I don't have a lot of information for you on that today. What
I can tell you is that we're certainly aware of the arrest in China of
physicist Hua Di on charges of revealing state secrets. Mr. Hua is a
Chinese citizen who has lived in the United States or had lived in the
United States since 1989 and worked at Stanford University, as you
say.
Our embassy in Beijing has discussed his case with Chinese officials and
has also been in touch with Stanford University regarding the matter. We
are concerned about reports of health problems that Mr. Hua has had. We do
not know the exact basis of the Chinese Government's charges against him,
and we're seeking further information about the situation. I don't have
more information myself to share with you at this point.
QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the reports that the Chinese are
asking several dozen Tibetan monks to retire?
MR. FOLEY: Yes, I've seen that report, if you'll bear with me one moment.
We've read reports alleging that 49 Tibetan monks over the age of 60 have
been forced into retirement in Qinhai province. We don't have independent
information about these forced retirements at this time. But I would note
that traditionally, Tibetan monks have not retired, but rather have lived
out their lives as monks at their home monasteries. Senior monks often
play a crucial role in the transmission of religious teaching; and
their forced retirement raises questions about China's commitment to
respect freedom of religion.
We are concerned about the human rights situation in China overall.
Government efforts to curb the growth of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and
to strictly enforce limits on the number of monks and nuns are particularly
troublesome. We have expressed our concern to Chinese authorities about the
human rights situations for Tibetans, and in particular urged China to
bring a stop to the re-education campaign aimed at monks and nuns in
Tibet.
QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about the deterioration in the
human rights situation in China since they signed that UN covenant?
MR. FOLEY: Well, what I can say is that promoting increased respect for
internationally recognized fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of
expression and association, is one of the US Government's top priorities in
China. We noted a greater degree of tolerance that was exhibited on the
part of Chinese authorities toward political debate over the past
year.
But as your question rightly points out, recent actions by the authorities
demonstrate that sharp limits on what is permissible continue to exist, and
that organized opposition to the Communist Party is not being tolerated.
We are disturbed by the detentions of the past few days and others that
have occurred in recent months, plus recent moves to limit political debate
in China that indicate, as you questioned, that Chinese authorities seem to
be moving to tighten these recently loosened restrictions on these
fundamental freedoms.
It is the strongly held view of the United States that attempts to restrict
internationally recognized fundamental freedoms are, indeed, steps in the
wrong direction. We will continue to make that view clear to our Chinese
counterparts.
QUESTION: How has the United States been demonstrating its displeasure?
How have you been communicating this?
MR. FOLEY: Well, I can tell you in meetings where I've been present that
Secretary Albright has had with her Chinese counterparts -- during the
summit in Manila, for example -- that Secretary Albright has always made
human rights issues and questions front and center of her dialogue.
I think President Clinton made clear when he was in China that while we
have been very encouraged about the overall direction of US-Chinese
relations in the past few years and our ability to engage with China in
positive ways on issues of critical national security importance to the
American people, that the quality of the relationship, the ability of the
two sides to move to closer ties of friendship really will not be fulfilled
as long as we remain troubled about the denial of basic freedoms in China.
That's merely a reflection of what we stand for as a country and the
values we believe in -- that there are inherent limits -- while we continue
to struggle with these differences.
QUESTION: What about the last several weeks? What about most recently?
MR. FOLEY: I'm not aware that Secretary Albright has been in touch with
Foreign Minister Tang in recent weeks. I can't rule it out, but I have not
checked on that before coming out here so I can't speak to that. I would
expect, however, that in Kuala Lumpur that the Secretary will undoubtedly
have an opportunity to meet with her Chinese counterpart and issues such as
these would undoubtedly come up.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) -- trigger the recently enacted Religious Freedom
Act, any provisions in there for action by the United States?
MR. FOLEY: On the religious question, we have seen the reports about the
forced retirement of the Tibetan monks; and I am not sure we have had an
opportunity, because these are very recent reports, to fully assess that.
Also I would have to check to see whether, indeed, there is any assistance
of that nature covered by the Act that would be triggered or other types of
the mechanisms that are involved in the Act. I just don't have an
answer for you right now. I am not aware of other recent instances that
have come to our attention that were prominent such as this report of
forced retirements of Tibetan monks.
QUESTION: The Chinese Foreign Ministry today attacked the Defense
appropriations bill, saying (inaudible) to extend the Theater Missile
Defense System to Taiwan. Do you know anything about this?
MR. FOLEY: No I don't. I haven't seen that report. I will be glad to take
the question and look into it. I'm not aware, though, that that issue is a
prominent one in our relationship with Taiwan at the moment; but I'd be
glad to take the question.
QUESTION: Do you have anything on Belarus and the diplomatic residence
situation there? I understand that there was a mission from the EU there
yesterday.
MR. FOLEY: I had something the other day; I don't have it before me. I
may be able to get it for you afterwards. But the report that I had seen
indicated that they were inviting ambassadors whose residences, contrary to
the Vienna Convention, had been, in effect, taken over to come back and, I
think, negotiate, as I understood the report, over the question of the
residences.
We're not prepared to do that. This is a clear-cut violation of the Vienna
Convention and our ambassador would not be going back, absent assurances
that his rights would be restored in that respect.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) - all the ambassadors except the American
ambassador.
MR. FOLEY: I can't speak to other nations, but I'm recalling what I had
seen the other day about the United States' position. We'll get that for
you after the briefing.
QUESTION: Is Ambassador Speckhard here in the US or is he in a neighboring
country?
MR. FOLEY: I ran into maybe a week or two ago, so as of then, he was not
only in this country but in this building.
QUESTION: There's a report today quoting one of Yeltsin's aides saying
Yeltsin no longer has the right to be distracted with day-to-day issues.
How do you interpret that?
MR. FOLEY: Clearly, President Yeltsin is facing health problems and he's
taking a rest at the moment. We're aware of that; everyone is aware of
that.
As to his function in office and the impact of his health situation on his
ability to fulfill his responsibilities, I'd have to leave that to Russian
spokesmen to comment on. We continue to work with the Russian Government.
Prime Minister Primakov, obviously, has been charged with some heavy
responsibilities, particularly in the economic field, and we're looking to
him and his government to implement some policies in that regard.
QUESTION: Does it seem like Yeltsin will live out his term, until the
end of 2000?
MR. FOLEY: I couldn't possibly answer that question. I'm not a doctor. We
wish him well, certainly.
QUESTION: Have you heard anything about an Iranian crackdown on the
Baha'is and closing down of this informal university?
MR. FOLEY: Yes, I have. We, of course, denounced the anti-Baha'i
persecution in Iran upon the first reports that we received, I believe it
was October 1st. We understand that more than 500 homes and office
buildings owned or rented by Iranian Baha'is and associated with the Baha'i
Institute of Higher Education were raided with at least 36 Baha'i faculty
members arrested and materials confiscated.
Apparently all but four of these people have been released. However, the
four faculty members who have not been released join 13 other Baha'is now
in prison in Iran, six of whom are currently on death row.
We've read that the materials confiscated in the recent raid were neither
religious nor political; instead, they were textbooks on subjects such as
dentistry and accounting. Some laboratory equipment was also confiscated.
The persons arrested, again, are members of the Baha'i Institute of Higher
Education, a university founded in 1987 in response to the virtual banning
of Baha'i from public universities in Iran. We have publicly called on the
government of Iran to protect the lives of all Baha'is. We continue to urge
the government of Iran to eliminate restrictions on the practice of
religion, and to recognize and uphold the fundamental human right to
freedom of conscience and belief.
In July, the United States strongly condemned the Iranian Government's
execution of Ruhollah Rowhani, who was a Baha'i charged with converting a
Muslim to the Baha'i faith. We also understand two additional Baha'is are
in imminent danger of execution; we spoke to that earlier in the month.
The United States urges the government of Iran to exercise restraint and
not carry out these death sentences.
QUESTION: Can you confirm the PKK terror organization's leader moved to
Moscow? Also, when you have diplomatic contact with the Russian officials,
did you urge them to extradite this terrorist in Turkey or something?
MR. FOLEY: I'm really not aware of that person's whereabouts in any given
particular country, so I couldn't comment on it. Our views on the PKK are
well known; I don't need to repeat them for you.
Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:40 P.M.)
|
