U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing #83, 00-08-17

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From: The Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN) at <http://www.state.gov>

361

U.S. Department of State

Press Briefing

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2000

Briefer: PHILIP REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN

ANNOUNCEMENTS / STATEMENTS
1	Welcome Summer Intern Lauren DeFilippo; U.S. Notes the Resumption
	 of Humanitarian Relief Flights into southern Sudan; U.S. Welcomes
	 Signing of German Foundation for Holocaust Heir Claims 
UNITED NATIONS
1	Secretary Albright's Participation/Meetings at the U.N. Millennium
	 Summit 
ISRAEL
2-3	U.S. Policy Regarding Israeli Weapons Sales to Third Countries;
	 U.S. Plans to Conduct a Comprehensive Review of U.S.-Israel
	 Strategic Relations and U.S. Bilateral Assistance to Israel 
3-4	Public Announcement of Increased Possibility of Terrorist Attack
RUSSIA
5-6	Nuclear Submarine / Timing of U.S. Offer of Assistance
5	Edmund Pope Case / Medical Condition / Consular Access
YUGOSLAVIA
5-7	Yugoslav / Serbian Reaction to New State Department Office of
	 Yugoslav Affairs 
COLOMBIA
6	Colombian Military's Alleged Role in Ambush of School Children /
	 Implications for U.S. Human Rights Certification Process 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

DPB #83

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2000, 1:43 P.M.

MR. REEKER: Welcome back to the State Department this fine Thursday. This will be our last briefing of the week, sticking with our tradition of not briefing on Fridays. But I'll remind you, of course, that I and the trusty staff of the Press Office will be available tomorrow for any of your questions.

I would like to welcome today Lauren DeFilippo, who will be returning to George Mason University as a senior this year, having done an internship this summer in the State Department's Bureau of Human Resources. So we're very pleased to have her here today joining us at the State Department briefing.

I have a couple of statements. As well, we'll release after the briefing and a statement noting the resumption of relief flights under the UN's Operation Lifeline Sudan, those flights into southern Sudan. Also, I have a statement on welcoming the signing into law of the German Foundation for Holocaust Heir Claims. That's been established by a signature on August 12th. That's the Remembrance Responsibility and Future Foundation established there.

And with that, I'll turn to Mr. Barry Schweid of the Associated Press.

QUESTION: Well, Phil, looking ahead a little to next month, there's a Millennium Conference or something, summit in New York. Will the Secretary be going there?

MR. REEKER: Yes. We do expect the Secretary to attend the United Nations Millennium Summit, which takes place in New York, I believe, the 6th, 7th, and 8th of September. That would be a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The President, I understand, will be attending as well, along with a large gathering of heads of state and foreign ministers from around the world.

QUESTION: Would that be an occasion for her to see Mr. Arafat and Mr. Barak?

MR. REEKER: I don't have any specifics, Barry, on meetings that she'll be having during that Millennium Summit, or the following UN General Assembly, which will take place in the following two weeks in September. So, we'll have to stay tuned for details of the Secretary's and the President's schedules involved in those meetings.

QUESTION: While we're on Israel -

MR. REEKER: While we're on Israel, yes. Sure.

QUESTION: There's a wire report from Barry's AP that the United states has reduced its demands for veto rights on the sale of Israeli weapon systems to various countries, following the Israeli agreement to withdraw the PHALCON sale. Do you have any details on that?

MR. REEKER: I did see that report, and I'm not able to give you any specifics in response to that particular report, but, if we go back and look at what that's referring to, you will recall that two weeks ago, President Clinton announced his intention to have a comprehensive review and strengthening of our relationship with Israel in view of the courageous steps that Prime Minister Barak took at Camp David and in view of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

Specifically, at that time, the President said that he plans to conduct a comprehensive review to improve our strategic relationship with Israel, to conclude a memorandum of understanding regarding our bilateral assistance, including a long-term commitment to modernize the Israel defense forces and, third, provide assistance to Israel to upgrade its security in light of its withdrawal from Lebanon.

So a high-level delegation from Israel traveled to Washington last week - I think we discussed it at the time - to explore with us ways to follow up on the President's initiative. We conducted at that time three days of intensive, constructive and beneficial talks with the Israeli delegation. And, while we still have a lot more work to do, we have succeeded in establishing an effective framework and a solid basis for continuing our talks. So we look forward to reconvening those talks very soon and obviously until that process is finished, I can't really get into any specifics on what will come out of those talks. I would just add that additionally both our governments have a mutual interest in enhancing our capability to deal effectively with the growing threat of terrorism from weapons of mass destruction.

This week we formalized a bilateral agreement to promote broad cooperation in scientific law enforcement, medical and operational preparedness in terms of weapons of mass destruction. These collaborative efforts will strengthen both nations' preparedness efforts against catastrophic weapons of mass destruction terrorist activities.

QUESTION: Are you saying though that the US view of Israeli arms sales to third parties will be part of a comprehensive analysis and statement on US -

MR. REEKER: I think in terms of the review that we're undertaking, as outlined by the President, we will have a comprehensive review, which can improve our overall strategic relationship with Israel and that we will hope to come out with a memorandum of understanding with Israel regarding our bilateral assistance and commitments over the long term to modernizing the Israeli defense forces and certainly, as the President said, providing assistance to Israel to upgrade its own security in light of their withdrawal from Lebanon.

QUESTION: Will that have any bearing on Israel's arm sales?

MR. REEKER: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Will that bear or have any bearing on Israel's arm sales?

MR. REEKER: At this point, Barry, it's discussions that will be ongoing. It's a comprehensive review and so, in that vein, we'll have to see what the final determinations are. But that's keeping very much in line with what the President outlined and, at this point, it's just impossible to make any specific comments, or to look at any of these particular reports, since it's an ongoing process that has not been completed.

QUESTION: On the Middle East?

MR. REEKER: Yes.

QUESTION: More info on the travel warning, please?

MR. REEKER: The public announcement that we -

QUESTION: Public announcement, sorry.

MR. REEKER: - issued yesterday.

You will have noted that yesterday afternoon, we issued a public announcement for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as part of our ongoing process of reviewing the security situation for American citizens around the world under our Consular Information Program.

As the statement said - that announcement - we believe there is an increased possibility for terrorist attacks in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and of course, as we've discussed many times before, we have a responsibility to advise American citizens who live and travel in the area of our assessment of the security situation through our regular release of public announcements and consular information documents under this program.

So we continue to have full confidence in the Government of Israel's very well demonstrated ability and willingness to address security threats and so I think the public announcement pretty much speaks for itself.

QUESTION: It doesn't tell anything about why we believe there's an increased possibility.

MR. REEKER: Well, I think if you do read it, it indicates that we believe at this time in increased possibility for terrorist attacks in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza is there. There is no reason to believe there is a specific threat directed against Americans. But we do urge all Americans traveling or living in those areas to increase their vigilance with respect to their personal security.

I think anyone that's studied the history of the region and those areas for many, many years - decades now - understands the terrorist risks, that we've seen the threats that are out there. We've talked about these many times, and this is simply a way of reminding people of those threats, and that they need to take appropriate steps to watch out for their security.

QUESTION: You said that you have full confidence in the Israeli authorities' ability to keep Americans safe? Do you have the same confidence in the ability of the Palestinian Authority to keep Americans safe who go into the West Bank and Gaza?

MR. REEKER: I think what I tried to indicate was that, over a period of time, there have been a number of threats there. In fact, we've all known about some of the terrorist activity that is taking place, the attacks that have occurred in Israel, in the West Bank and Gaza, in the region broadly. And so what we're highlighting here is the fact that there can be increased possibility given the history of the region, but also the decisions that both sides, the Palestinians and Israelis, are looking at in terms of the Peace Process, heading towards the date when both sides wanted to have a comprehensive peace. And what I indicated was that there has been great success and we have a lot of confidence in security forces there in dealing with these problems.

But what I want to highlight and what the State Department has an obligation to highlight through this announcement is that American citizens need to remember their - the threats that are out there and take that into consideration when planning their travel, their activities. Be mindful of suspicious activities, avoiding public buses and exercising caution when they're traveling out there.

QUESTION: That travel warning coincided with Dennis Ross' trip over there and more heightened optimism, I guess, among the Israelis and the Palestinians. So, is it fair to assume that that's what the link is? Why now?

MR. REEKER: I don't think there is a particular link to Dennis Ross' travel. I think, as I tried to indicate, given the focus in terms of the calendar and approaching the September 13th date that's been discussed, that both parties had called for as a date to have a comprehensive peace agreement and the fact that these issues in the post-Camp David period are being looked at very closely, Israelis and Palestinians are meeting.

Mr. Ross is indeed out there, he arrived this morning. I wouldn't draw a particular parallel between the meetings or Ambassador Ross' travel, but we felt it appropriate to put out that announcement, just to remind people of the risks.

QUESTION: One other thing on that also. Israel apparently expressed some unhappiness that you all issued this travel warning. Have you talked to them about that since then?

MR. REEKER: I'm not aware of particular discussions. Again, this is not a travel warning. This is part of our ongoing Consular Information Program. And those of you that are familiar with the program and regularly review the documents that are provided, hard copy here or available on our much-visited web site, will know that we update these things regularly and have had a number of announcements certainly about that region over a long period of time. So, I think it pretty much stands for itself.

QUESTION: Do you have any requests from the Russians regarding the sub yet? Where do things stand?

MR. REEKER: As I was coming out, my good friend, Admiral Quigley, was briefing at the Pentagon on that very subject and I would refer you generally to the Pentagon as having the most up-to-date information on that. But let me tell you what I did have.

Obviously, as Admiral Quigley indicated, we are continuing to follow the situation very closely. This is clearly a great tragedy and we are not going to just look away until we see what happens there. Rescue attempts are reportedly continuing and I understand from the media reports that weather conditions and strong currents and poor visibility at those depths are causing difficulties. I believe some Russian officials have reported the situation as extremely desperate.

We are in close contact with the British and Norwegian governments who have informed us that sub rescue efforts are moving toward the area where the submarine, the Kursk, went down. I would want to refer you to those governments for the details of that. I think, as we discussed a bit yesterday, over at the Pentagon, NATO as well as some individual NATO countries, like the UK and Norway, have been in touch with Russia with offers of assistance if the Russians could follow up.

We, as we talked earlier in the week, also offered assistance and the President in a phone call with President Putin reiterated our offer of assistance should they need that. I'm not aware at this point that they've taken up specific offers from us. But, as I indicated, I think the UK and Norway were working with them on sending some assets up there.

QUESTION: Do you have anything more on Mr. Pope's condition and whether he has received the extra test?

MR. REEKER: Yeah. I don't have updates on his condition but I can say that the consular visit that we had asked for has been scheduled for tomorrow. We are still insisting on permission for our doctor, the embassy doctor, to see Mr. Pope in the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow. We remain very concerned about Mr. Pope's health, which as we noted, appears to have deteriorated during his incarceration since April. As I said earlier in the week, our embassy doctor did meet with the Russian medical officials who had access to Mr. Pope in the prison to compare notes. They agreed to perform additional tests that we recommended. I don't have any information on when those tests will occur. But after tomorrow's consular visit, perhaps we'll have some updates.

QUESTION: Have you seen yet the Yugoslav Government comments on the State Department forming this new Yugoslav Office you told us about earlier in the week? They say the US is setting up this office to run the Serbian opposition.

MR. REEKER: Yes, I did see some reports that quoted Mr. Sainovic of the Yugoslav Government. I would just remind you that Mr. Sainovic is an indicted war criminal and like his cohort Mr. Milosevic and others, belongs in the Hague rather than trying to make comments about the opposition or democracy in Serbia.

I think as we've indicated for a long time now, we support a democratic Serbia, we support a Serbia, a democratic Serbia taking its rightful place in Europe, where certainly the people of Serbia belong. We have maintained certain contacts with a wide range of democratic forces in Serbia for a long time, including political parties, media, nongovernmental organizations and local leaders. There is a democratic mainstream in Serbia and that's something we very much want to support and we want those people to know that we support them.

We are going to continue to do so through the office in Budapest that we described earlier in the week and those forces that want to talk to us, those individuals that are interested in talking to us, we will continue to be happy to meet with. I think, as we pointed out, we are not in the position of endorsing particular candidates. What we want to do is support a unified opposition so that, again, the people of Serbia can elect leaders that can truly represent their goals, their aspirations and help Serbia to return to its rightful place, to have its economy recover and see a return of democracy there.

QUESTION: You moved a little bit into the Russian submarine problem which opens the door to other questions, because State seems to be tracking this. You say that the US offered help. Did the US wait for Russia to be open to help before offering help? And was that an approach that the US thinks maybe was not too wise to hold off for days and depend on their own, apparently unsuccessfully, depend on their own facilities. Because everybody else was willing to and I'm sure that the US would have been happy to do what it could, but everybody waited for Russia to say, please help us. Is that true of the US as well?

MR. REEKER: If you - maybe you weren't here earlier in the week, Barry, but I think it was Monday when the reports of this accident first came out that we had offered assistance. I believe it was National Security Advisor Berger who in a pre-scheduled phone call with his counterpart Sergei Ivanov, offered help, and at that time, we had thanks and appreciation for our offers. The Russians were looking at what steps might be taken.

We've reiterated those offers ourselves through NATO, with allies. And as I indicated, the President of the United States, in his phone call with the President of Russia, also reiterated our concern, and if there was anything we could do to help, we might offer, so that has been out there.

QUESTION: To follow up on Terri's question, not only government, but the opposition leader, one of the presidential candidates in Serbia, was very much against the opening of the office in Budapest. And he is the person that this office should, or is supposed, to assist. And how do you comment that? I mean, he was very -

MR. REEKER: Well, again, this office in our efforts are not designed at any particular individual. This is a way for us to have people in the region, obviously not in Serbia - since our embassy there was closed - but in Budapest, where they can meet with representatives of Serbian democracy, whether they're political parties, whether they're media, whether they're non-governmental organizations.

As I noted, we support a democratic Serbia, and support a democratic Serbia taking its rightful place in Europe. Mr. Kostunica, to whom you're referring, is obviously entitled to his own opinion. We certainly aren't insisting that he meet with us. As I said, for years, we've maintained these contacts with a broad spectrum of democratic forces within Serbia, and we're going to continue to do so through the office in Budapest.

I think it's obvious that we don't share Mr. Kostunica's views regarding US interest in a democratic Serbia, nor do those democratic forces who do want to talk to us. It's not, as I indicated, our position to endorse any one particular candidate. We believe that Mr. Kostunica is indeed a genuine democratic leader, and he is entitled to his opinions. That doesn't mean that we have to agree with him in all of those opinions and on all issues.

QUESTION: Are you suggesting that the idea behind the office is to sort of break up what remains of Yugoslavia?

MR. REEKER: I think that's sort of a ridiculous suggestion. Slobodan Milosevic is responsible for the breakup of Yugoslavia. And we can certainly look to a library of books and other things that have been written on the subject, as Milosevic over the past decade has taken his country down the path of destruction and dragged a lot of other people with it. He is isolated now; his economy is in shambles; he's cut off; he's indicted; he should be in the Hague. He's a war criminal.

He is responsible for all this, and what we want to see is an opportunity for the true democratic forces of Serbia, that represent the people of Serbia, to be able to get their country back on track and return to the mainstream of Europe, which is where they very much belong. They have a history and a heritage of being an important center of industry and of economy, of learning in Central Europe, and that's what the people deserve; they'd like to get back to that. They won't be able to do that until they have a democratic leadership, and until Milosevic is out of power, out of his country, and in the Hague.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. REEKER: One more in the back, and another - sorry. Please, go ahead, and then over here.

QUESTION: This is on Colombia.

MR. REEKER: Colombia.

QUESTION: This is exactly on the killings of the children. There's a lot of reports saying that the military had something to do, and it was not a mistake. I don't know if you have some comments on that?

MR. REEKER: Well, we put out a statement yesterday in which we said how appalled we were by the event, and sadly noting that the true victims of the ongoing civil strife in Colombia are innocent civilians.

In terms of the most recent news and reports on that tragedy, I do understand that President Pastrana has personally said he will oversee the investigation into allegations that the army was responsible for the deaths of those children. We certainly hope that the investigation will get to the bottom of the tragedy, and those responsible will be punished.

But as we have done in the past, we're going to continue to call for all sides in the conflict to obey international humanitarian law and move to reduce the impact of this conflict on innocent civilians, including children. They should immediately abandon attacks in areas where civilians may be killed or injured, and that's what we will continue to call for.

QUESTION: But as of today, you don't have any facts on who might be responsible? Was the military - Colombian military really involved in that, because -

MR. REEKER: Again, as I just indicated, we understand that President Pastrana has said he's going to lead an investigation into it. We don't have any facts. Those will be facts that will have to come from Colombia. But we want to reiterate our distress and how appalled we are at the incident yesterday, which resulted in the deaths of students. Six children were killed; five additional ones were injured. They were strolling through the countryside during a school trip in there. That is truly appalling.

So we will hope this investigation can get to the bottom of that, and we will wait for the investigation, certainly. But the bottom line is that, as we've said for a long time, all sides of the conflict should obey international humanitarian law, and immediately abandon attacks in areas where civilians can get in the way.

QUESTION: Do you think this case will be a problem for the certification process that the government has to do in, like, two or three days in human rights for Colombia?

MR. REEKER: Well, I think I indicated everything we know about this case. There will be an investigation into the specifics of the case; it's a tragedy. It was a terrible thing that happened, and we certainly condemned it. But I'm just unable to make any broader observations until we know what it is.

QUESTION: No. But see, there are talks going on right now with NGOs and at the State Department.

MR. REEKER: That's right.

QUESTION: Would this be a point against processing of the --

MR. REEKER: As I was telling your colleague, we don't know. There are no hard facts on this. The hard facts are that children died. And we condemn that. So we have to wait for an investigation before we can talk about exactly what happened in that case. So I can't speculate on any of that.

I think the views, in terms of certification and our human rights concerns, and the fact that Plan Colombia is a comprehensive plan that includes a lot of work on human rights and economic aspects, and improving the lives of Colombian citizens, is very important, as well as our goal of wiping out the narco-trafficking that is so dangerous and causes so much destruction.

So, in terms of the specifics of the incident, we just don't know. We have to wait for facts and investigation.

Thanks.

(The briefing concluded at 2:08 p.m.)

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