BAHRAIN
1-2,3 Death of US Diplomatic Courier in Cash of Gulf Air Flight 72
2,4 Search and Rescue Efforts/US Assistance
2-3 Diplomatic Cargo Aboard Gulf Air Flight
LIBERIA
4 Arrest of Four Journalists in Monrovia/US Condemns Arrests
NORTH KOREA
4,6-7 Department Counselor Wendy Sherman's Travel to Russia, Japan and
South Korea to Discuss Full Range of North Korean Issues
5-6 Russian President Putin's Discussions with Kim Jong Il on Missile
Program
CHINA
5 Reported Arrest of Missionaries/US Consular Officers Traveling to
Area
11 US Visit of President of PRC Academy of Military Science
RUSSIA
6,7-9 Update on Edmond Pope Case/Medical Condition/Request for Release
KENYA
10 Reported Death of American Priest in Kenya
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
10 US Position on UN Military Observers Deployment
ALBANIA
10-11 Secretary Albright's Meeting with Albanian Prime Minister
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
12 Background Briefing Today on Assistant Secretary Walker's Trip
12 Ambassador Ross Remains in Region
12 Regional Leaders and Parties Meeting
12-13 US Position on Unilateral Declaration of Independent Palestinian State
MEXICO
13-14 Visit of Vicente Fox/Secretary Albright's Luncheon Today with Fox
AFGHANISTAN
14-15 Secretary Albright's Meeting with Leaders of Campaign Against
Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
COLOMBIA
15 Opposition by NGOs in Colombia to Plan Colombia
VENEZUELA
16 Use of Air Space
PERU/COLOMBIA
16 Peru President Fujimori's Comments on Plan Colombia and Affect on
Neighboring Countries
----
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #86
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2000, 12:55 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have a couple of
statements but let me start off by expressing our very heartfelt sorrow in
announcing the death of U.S. Diplomatic Courier Seth Foti. He was
tragically killed in the crash of Gulf Air Flight 72 last night. He was 31
years old at the time of his death.
Mr. Foti joined the Diplomatic Courier Service in April of 1999. He had
been assigned to the US Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, for approximately 14
months.
His dedication to the mission of the Courier Service was unmatched and he
was clearly an asset to the Department of State and the US Government. His
friends and colleagues in the US Government will miss him very dearly.
Secretary Albright and all of Mr. Foti's colleagues want to offer our
deepest sympathies and condolences to his wife Anisha, his mother and
father and to the entire family. The Secretary is writing to his wife to
express her sympathies and clearly our Embassy and people there are working
with the families.
If I can take the occasion to fill in a little bit for those who may not
know a little bit about the job the couriers do and some of the background
on the situation. First on the crash itself, Bahraini authorities have
told us there are no survivors. Obviously, our sympathies and our prayers
are with the families and loved ones of the 143 passengers and crew who
lost their lives in this tragic accident. There was only one American
aboard, our diplomatic courier, and he died in the crash.
The couriers ensure the secure movement of classified US Government
materials across international borders. We have 97 diplomatic couriers
assigned worldwide. The courier offices are located in Washington, D.C.,
in Ft. Lauderdale, in Abidjan, Pretoria, Bangkok, Seoul, Frankfurt,
Helsinki and Manama. They carry diplomatic papers, files, classified
material and pouches, which can include equipment, construction materials,
construction equipment, sometimes. Some of the pouches can get very big.
He was on a diplomatic courier run. He was escorting diplomatic cargo and
we are working with the US Navy to make sure that the cargo, the pouches,
are retrieved.
There have been six diplomatic couriers who have died in plane crashes.
The last time a diplomatic courier was killed in a plane crash, however,
was on May 10, 1963, in Douala, Cameroon. And the other deaths were
between 1943 and '63.
On the search and rescue effort, the government of Bahrain has coordinated
the search and rescue effort. We certainly commend the government of
Bahrain for their quick response to the tragedy and the excellent
coordination of the comprehensive search and rescue effort.
The Crown Prince of Bahrain has personally supervised the effort. Our
embassy in Manama reports Bahraini forces include Bahraini Coast Guard,
civil defense and rescue squad, and five night- capable Cobra and Bell 212
helicopters from the Bahraini Air Force. US military helicopters and ships
and official US personnel have assisted the Bahraini government in their
search and rescue. US Navy resources involved include three helicopters,
ten small craft, and our Navy is also responding to a government of Bahrain
request to provide craft to aid in the salvage efforts in wake of the
crash.
So that's a lot of background.
QUESTION: Can you spell the name, please?
MR. BOUCHER: Seth, S-e-t-h. "J" is the middle initial. Foti, F-o-t-i.
QUESTION: F-o-t-i?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
QUESTION: Which of the many installations was he assigned to, and what's
his ultimate -
MR. BOUCHER: He was assigned to Manama.
QUESTION: Okay. Do you have his home town?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't have a home town. I'll see if we can get that
for you later.
QUESTION: Could you kindly, if you can, elaborate on what diplomatic
cargo was - I have no idea - you said sometimes they carry communications,
sometimes they escort equipment. I assume he's escorting some sort of
equipment?
MR. BOUCHER: Our diplomatic material travels in pouches, big orange bags,
usually. It's normally classified papers, may be classified equipment,
like computers or communications equipment. It can also include
construction materials. Some of these can get very large. I have a friend
of mine who is a courier who flew an entire embassy into a country once,
because it has to be controlled the entire time. Yes. We didn't do it
twice; we did it an -
QUESTION: How do you fly --
MR. BOUCHER: We had a pre-fab embassy that had to be controlled in
Ashkhabat, and so a courier had to go with it and ensure that nobody is
able to tamper with the materials as it went in. But in most cases, the
couriers are carrying bags of diplomatic correspondence, things like that.
QUESTION: So that's likely what this is?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I can't - we don't actually - at this point, I don't
even have the exact number of pouches that he was carrying or the poundage
of what he was carrying.
QUESTION: Was he carrying equipment and correspondence?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.
QUESTION: I mean escorting, you know?
MR. BOUCHER: Beyond generally describing what diplomatic pouches are, in
most cases I doubt if we would tell anybody what's inside a particular
pouch.
QUESTION: Is it pieces of things, or is it pieces of papers, or -
MR. BOUCHER: It can be both.
QUESTION: It can be, but you don't know what it is in this case.
MR. BOUCHER: It can be paper. I don't know what it is in this case, and
I'm not sure I will be in a position to say, because we normally don't
identify it.
QUESTION: Is it normal for these diplomatic couriers not to appear on the
manifest of passengers, the passenger lists? Because in this case, he
seems not to have been - the airline doesn't appear to -
MR. BOUCHER: No, normally they - he was on the list? It may have been
that people didn't recognize the name as being an American one, and I'm not
sure how this is always done. But they travel on diplomatic passports with
regular tickets.
QUESTION: - on the list only as a diplomatic courier?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, that may be.
QUESTION: Richard -
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, I have other things to do if anybody - are you on this
subject, or something else?
QUESTION: On this particular subject, is there a need for the US Navy to
secure the aircraft and its contents, or is this necessary under the
circumstances of where this plane is? The plane is in the territorial
waters of Bahrain, I take it?
MR. BOUCHER: I think we know where the plane is. The Bahrainis are
leading the search and rescue effort, which obviously focuses first and
foremost on the possibilities of rescue and the recovery of bodies. We
will be working with the US Navy as well to make sure the pouches are
retrieved. I think one can safely say the likelihood of their being
tampered with in their present location is pretty small.
Yes. Can I do a couple of other things? On August 18th, there were four
journalists that were arrested in Monrovia, Liberia. We have got a
statement on that. The United States obviously strongly condemns this
arrest. Indeed, there appears to be no basis for charges of espionage that
have been leveled against them. We see a free press as a fundamental
component of a free society, a core tenet of international human rights
law, and we call on the government of Liberia to release the four
journalists immediately and unconditionally.
QUESTION: On that, can you say whether, apart from making this public
statement, have you expressed this view to the Liberian government
directly?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, we have. Our ambassador in Monrovia, first of all, has
underscored our concerns to the government of Liberia. He has pressed for
the immediate release of these journalists. I think many of you know as
well that presidential special envoy, Reverend Jesse Jackson, has also
spoken to the Liberian President Charles Taylor, demanded the immediate
release of the journalists. Reverend Jackson has also talked with at least
one of the journalists by phone.
QUESTION: Do you know if Madame Secretary is going to meet also in New
York City with Greek and Turkish foreign ministers together or separately?
MR. BOUCHER: Okay. I have got one more statement, which I will get to.
But this is a question, I could just say, we don't have the meeting
scheduled for the Secretary in New York yet.
Okay. The last thing I would like to mention, we've got a statement coming
out this afternoon on Counselor of the Department, Ambassador Wendy
Sherman's travel to Moscow, 28 and 29 of August, and then to a trilateral
meeting in Seoul on September 1st to meet with Japan and the Republic of
Korea in Seoul. In Moscow and with our allies, they will discuss a full
range of North Korean issues, including North Korea's missile programs.
QUESTION: There is a report - a human rights group in China is reporting
the arrest of evangelical Christians, and three of them are identified as
American missionaries. Do you know about this? I mean, can you - what can
you tell us about this?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we are in the process of confirming it, and we've
actually dispatched a consular officer from Beijing to go down to the area
and see if we can find out about it. Certainly we find the reports deeply
disturbing. According to the available information so far, the people
arrested have done nothing more than to peacefully practice their religion.
That's an international right protected by international human rights
instruments, to which China is a party.
If the arrests are confirmed, we would expect China to grant us consular
access in accordance with the Vienna Convention and our bilateral consular
agreement. So at this point, we have seen the reports; we are still trying
to confirm them, but we do have people - consular officers - on their way
down there.
QUESTION: Can we go back to North Korea and the Moscow trip?
MR. BOUCHER: Anywhere.
QUESTION: How much does this have to do - the trip to Moscow - have to do
with Putin's meeting with Kim Jong-il and his supposed offer of scrapping
the missile program in exchange for money and space satellites?
MR. BOUCHER: That's part of it. They will discuss a whole range of
issues, certainly the international community's nonproliferation goals and
then they want to follow up on the discussions between Kim Jong-il and
President Putin on the missile issues. We have talked with Russia on
numerous occasions about the Korean Peninsula, and like us, Russia has
encouraged the engagement on the peninsula.
We have also strongly encouraged concrete action by North Korea to achieve
progress in addressing all these concerns of the international community,
both on the missile export program and on its indigenous missile programs.
So those are going to be subjects that we will discuss with the Russians as
well.
QUESTION: Can I follow up? Do you think that, apparently during the
meeting, he made this offer to Putin to scrap the missile program, and then
later said to South Korean journalists that he was just kidding. How
serious do you think this offer is, and how willing would the United States
be to participate in a program where they would fund this kind of thing and
fund space satellites for North Korea?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we all want to know more about it. And since the
Russians have had the direct discussions with North Koreans on this, we are
going to want to talk to the Russians about it, and see what they know, and
how they evaluate it.
Certainly, it is in the interest of the international community, and the
international community has made quite clear they want to see the North
Korean missile programs curbed. The Russians share that desire, and we
will be talking to them about how to do it as well as talking to our
allies.
QUESTION: Richard, I mean, do you have any reason to believe that there
has been further communication between the North Koreans and the Russians
on this subject since President Putin and President Clinton discussed it in
Okinawa?
MR. BOUCHER: I can't remember the various reports. But there certainly -
QUESTION: There hasn't been any information about it from any - well, I
mean, that's come out publicly since the original thing, except for the
idea that Kim says that he was joking. I mean, is there some reason that
you think that the Russians have more information than they did before?
MR. BOUCHER: I think that is one of the questions we will be asking them
and talking to them about and see if they can go into more detail on their
understanding or whether they've gotten any subsequent information.
QUESTION: This might be an historical question but what did the North
Koreans promise when we originally agreed to give them crude oil and build
a nuclear power plant way back when? I mean, isn't this the same sort of
thing?
MR. BOUCHER: I would be glad to give you thousands of pages of documents
on that subject.
QUESTION: But I mean, are they similar, is what I'm asking about.
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we don't know exactly what this offer is that they
have made to Putin. We're still following up with the Russians. The
Russians have been following up, we think, with the North Koreans to find
out more about it.
QUESTION: On Ed Pope, also in Moscow -
QUESTION: Can we stay - (inaudible) - for one second? Do you know who
Ambassador Sherman will be meeting with in those countries?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have a list or a schedule yet. She will meet with
senior Russian officials. That's about as far as we can go for the moment.
QUESTION: Can I ask just one more question? Why isn't she meeting
directly with North Korea to discuss the offer rather than, you know, talk
about what he talked about with Putin?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we've certainly continued our missile discussions with
the North Koreans. It is a question we have asked them in discussions with
the North Koreans. You remember the Secretary asked the Foreign Minister
about it. I think a lot of people in Bangkok asked the North Korean
Foreign Minister about it. At that time, he was not prepared to provide
any information.
So, certainly, all of us who are concerned about the issue of missiles in
North Korea - and the international community is concerned - are looking
for concrete action by the North Koreans or looking for clarification of
what this means. We will obviously raise it directly but we will also talk
to other people who are interested.
QUESTION: On Ed Pope, yesterday apparently a court rejected his appeal to
be let out of prison for treatment. And I know that when he was first
arrested, this was something that the State Department had brought up, or
the Embassy had brought up, that they thought he should be released for
treatment.
Was this another attempt to do that or were they responding to the Embassy
request, I mean, this late? I think they have already said no before,
right? So what was this second -
MR. BOUCHER: I am not exactly sure of the court procedure involved here
but it was a court hearing on the subject. It was a request to be released
pending trial. It was denied. We understand he does intend to appeal and
we are providing a letter to support his appea,l as requested by his
lawyers, and that letter will note our concerns about Mr. Pope's health and
the lack of appropriate medical care for him.
I have to also note as well that, despite our request to the Russian
government, the hearing was closed and our consular officer was not able to
attend. At this point, there is no trial date set.
We do remain concerned about his health which, as we've said before,
appears to have deteriorated during his incarceration and repeat once again
we've seen no evidence that Mr. Pope has violated any Russian laws and we
are both disturbed and concerned that he remains in custody.
QUESTION: Not to allow a US representative into the hearing, a violation
of any Vienna Convention or imprisonment or -
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I'm aware of. Not that I'm aware of.
QUESTION: So we can complain but we don't have a law to point to let us
into these hearings?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, we have a right to access but not necessarily to the
trial.
QUESTION: His health has obviously deteriorated and continues to
deteriorate over the last few weeks. Is this still being taken up at the
ambassador level or how high up in the State Department is this being
taken? Is the White House considering getting involved in it?
MR. BOUCHER: We have raised it again and again at different levels. I
think the President talked to President Putin about this last week, the
16th, if I remember correctly. It was that phone call.
Certainly, this is an issue we continue to follow and continue to press at
very high levels and we, frankly, believe it is well past the time for the
Russian government to release him and allow him to return home.
QUESTION: The Embassy doctor had met with the prison doctor and had
suggested, requested, that the Russians do tests, certain tests that had
not been done to help further assess his physical condition. Do you know
if those tests have been done?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, our information is those tests have not yet
been done. We continue to insist that Mr. Pope be allowed to see our
doctor immediately. The Russian government clearly bears a responsibility
for protecting the welfare of detained American citizens and it is our
right to act to ensure that protection.
QUESTION: I know you will say this is a hypothetical, but his health is
continuing to deteriorate. What if he dies in jail? I mean, is this going
to affect US-Russia relations in a major way?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we have made quite clear that the Russian government
has a responsibility for his health. We have made quite clear that we are
very seriously concerned about the way they've acted in this matter. I
think we have said before, as I will say again today, that we have to
therefore examine quite closely the implications of the Russian actions.
But to speculate on such a tragic eventuality is not something I would like
to do.
QUESTION: Two quick things. First of all, did you protest the court
hearing being closed and did the consular officer make a stink that he
wasn't allowed in? And, two, did you not also make clear to the Russians
that they bore the responsibility for the health of this guy who died in
prison over there last month?
MR. BOUCHER: We have made that quite clear all along to the Russians.
QUESTION: So what leads you to believe that your flailing about verbally
is actually going to do anything? I mean, you already said you made your
concerns clear in one case and the guy died. And now you have another case
-
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not quite sure what you are suggesting the alternative
is. I mean, we are not - the United States government presses very, very
hard on these things. We push for the access that we have a right to, we
push for access to things like the trial. We make quite clear to the
Russians our disappointment and make quite clear our dissatisfaction with
the way that they have handled this.
We do have to review the implications of these actions for US citizens who
are traveling in Russia. But in the end, we just have to keep pushing and
pushing and that's what we have done.
QUESTION: I just want to add, the track record of the Russians in this
area is not very good, right?
MR. BOUCHER: And it's about time for them to change their track record
and let Mr. Pope go. We think it is well past the time for him to be
allowed to return home.
QUESTION: How would they make a distinction between a consular officer
visiting him and a doctor? Why don't you designate a doctor as a consular
officer? I mean, you know -
MR. BOUCHER: We went through that the other day.
QUESTION: Maybe I missed it. I don't know what's in their mind.
MR. BOUCHER: We don't either, in the end. We think that our consular
officers have a right to visit, our embassy personnel are allowed to
accompany them in our interpretation of the rules and that's the way we
operate here.
QUESTION: Have you all had an increased interest by American companies in
the safety and security of their people in Russia? Has the Department seen
an up-tick in interest by people who have companies there?
MR. BOUCHER: That's a good question and not one I have asked. Let me
check on that. Certainly our Embassy in Moscow keeps in very close touch
with the American business community and people who are there.
QUESTION: I believe you did protest the death of the American on the 31st
of July.
MR. BOUCHER: Absolutely.
QUESTION: How did you protest it? What did you do? And is it considered
a case closed? Are you -
MR. BOUCHER: Let me go back and check on that and see how exactly we did
that.
QUESTION: This is kind of related. Another American in a foreign
country, an individual. I am wondering if you have anything on this
American priest who was killed in Kenya? Apparently this guy has been
quite a prominent anti-government -
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't. We've seen the reports. We are looking into
them. We don't have anything we can say at this moment. Clearly, if the
reports prove true, there will be Privacy Act and notification questions
that come up. But at this point, I don't have anything for you.
QUESTION: The Embassy in Nairobi seems to have already gone ahead and
confirmed the death -
MR. BOUCHER: Then why do you have to ask me?
QUESTION: Huh? Because I was looking for a little bit more. I was kind
of looking for, like in the China case, the Embassy in Beijing has already
said what you said and I was hoping that you could give me something -
MR. BOUCHER: I will be happy to convey things to you as soon as we have
them but, at this point, we don't have them.
QUESTION: Same continent. Do you have any comment on the Congolese
government's decision to allow UN monitors to deploy, contrary to their
previous position which you were so critical of?
MR. BOUCHER: It is sort of - there were two things said yesterday which
we think are mixed signals with regard to the position of the Congolese
government. We are seeking clarification of their position.
There was a statement by the Congolese Human Rights Minister that is at
odds with President Kabila's statement to the UN Secretary General, the UN
Secretary General's Special Envoy Abu Bakar that he will allow UN military
observers to deploy. We do think that the government should support and
continue to carry out the agreement and the deployment will be a welcome
action in that regard. We think the Lusaka Accords remain the most viable
means for achieving a just and stable peace in the Congo.
QUESTION: In yesterday's talks with the Albanian Prime Minister, did you
also discuss any prospect for giving to Albania military aid like heavy
equipment, war planes, helicopters, et cetera? Any military aid?
MR. BOUCHER: The general topic of assistance with Albania came up, but
there was no discussion of something like that.
QUESTION: She gave the impression, though, that you are going to maintain
the level and, I assume, the categories. There are categories, currently.
And I got the impression that it's ongoing.
MR. BOUCHER: We have provided very significant assistance and I can
probably get you the details of that. But I was asked if they discussed
helicopters and planes and military equipment like that. No, they didn't
discuss it. I can get you the breakdown of what our aid is.
As the Secretary said, there is $30-$40 million a year. There is a lot of
aid for democracy, a significant chunk of rule of law, legal assistance.
And I'll check, there may be a military component as well.
QUESTION: Going back to China for a second, if I could? There was a
piece in this morning's Washington Times which said that there is a Chinese
delegation visiting an apparently very sensitive facility of ours down in
Norfolk, which is in the middle of an exercise on joint war fighting
capability, which is apparently something the Chinese are not supposed to
be allowed to look at.
The Pentagon is not having a briefing today but I wondered whether you
would comment on why we would continue to allow them access to this kind of
thing?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, let me start at the bottom. For more details, I would
refer you to the Pentagon. But let me tell you the basics of the
situation.
A Chinese general by the name of Wang Zuxun, he's president of the Academy
of Military Science of the People's Liberation Army. He is visiting the
United States with a small delegation from August 18th to September 1st.
His visit is part of the bilateral military-to-military relationship
between the United States and China which supports our overall bilateral
relationship.
The delegation will participate in unclassified facility tours and
unclassified briefings on general topics appropriate to each facility
visited and within the guidelines of the recent congressional legislation.
We are quite aware that, when people visit our facilities, we need to be
properly reticent about what people see and what is explained to them. But
I think all of our facilities are used to giving a variety of unclassified
tours and that is what these people get.
QUESTION: With recent developments in the Middle East, I wondered whether
anybody in this building or including -
MR. BOUCHER: Or anybody on vacation?
QUESTION: - or anybody on vacation has been active diplomatically in the
last 48 hours?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything particularly new to report. I would
remind you, we're doing a briefing on background by a senior official this
afternoon on some of the Middle East issues, including Assistant Secretary
Walker's trip - especially Assistant Secretary Walker's trip.
Certainly, we have continued to stay in touch with the parties. Ambassador
Ross remains in the region on vacation, but he is also continuing to meet
with negotiators from both sides. He will do that throughout the end of
his trip.
The meetings that are going on, for example, with Egypt or the Jordanian
King, are part of ongoing efforts by regional leaders and the parties
themselves to build upon the process made at Camp David and move forward
towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. We certainly appreciate
President Mubarak's efforts to encourage the parties to make the difficult
choices which can permit an historic agreement.
So, we are in close touch with people but we also support the efforts that
they are making.
QUESTION: What about - (inaudible).
MR. BOUCHER: We support - the same thing.
QUESTION: I thought his government, his father's government had ceded any
say-- or "say" is the wrong word - any authority over the holy sites to the
Palestinians, effectively taking Jordan out of that. Now they're jumping
back in with advice. Do you find that helpful? Does it complicate things
even more than they are already?
MR. BOUCHER: I think that I would have to ask Jordan exactly what their
position is on some of those things. But certainly we find the efforts of
the Jordanian King to be a helpful part of this process of regional
leaders, trying to build upon the process of Camp David. Certainly, we do
see that as helpful.
QUESTION: Can I ask about Senator Feinstein joined by Senator Lugar
saying yesterday that when the Senate comes back in early September they
are going to introduce legislation with the purpose of preventing or
stopping or discouraging the Administration from dealing with - supporting,
anyway - an independent Palestinian state if one is declared, if one
doesn't emerge through negotiations but is simply unilaterally declared.
Is that helpful? Is that something that the State Department has an
opinion on?
MR. BOUCHER: This came up before, I think, with regard to similar
proposals in the House. We have said many times before we oppose
unilateral action such as a unilateral declaration of an independent
Palestinian state. We continue to call for the resolution of all permanent
status issues through direct discussion by the parties. As the President
has said, if the Palestinians were to declare a state unilaterally, we
would have to review our entire relationship with the Palestinians.
That said, though, we do not believe that the legislation is helpful, given
the ongoing efforts to encourage direct negotiations between the parties.
QUESTION: Another thing, I don't know who Mr. Barak's bookie is but he
says the chances of peace with the Palestinians are about 50/50. Have you
got an odds maker on the beach?
MR. BOUCHER: No, we don't. We don't do the odds. We just keep working.
QUESTION: Does that sound a little high to you? 50/50?
QUESTION: Richard, as part of these contacts, Mr. Ben Ami said that Egypt
had offered some interesting ideas on how to close the gap. I wondered,
have they shared these ideas with you and what are they?
MR. BOUCHER: Good try. We continue to be in close touch with the parties
and with the negotiators, but I am not going to get into details of any
particular ideas.
QUESTION: You're being left out of the loop on this one?
MR. BOUCHER: I would doubt that seriously. But you are. (Laughter.)
You're used to it.
QUESTION: Do you know, does the State Department know more than it did
before Sadat went to Jerusalem, for instance? I mean, the US has been left
out of the loop of Egyptian diplomacy in the past.
MR. BOUCHER: I would not make that assumption at this stage.
QUESTION: New subject?
MR. BOUCHER: Please.
QUESTION: Mexico. I know the Secretary hasn't had her one-on-one yet
with Mr. Fox, but she was at the White House this morning. Does she have
any comments on any of his ideas yet, the sort of EU model for NAFTA?
MR. BOUCHER: No, she's not back from the White House yet. The lunch that
she is hosting starts in about 20 minutes, if it's on schedule.
This is a get-acquainted chance, obviously, for him to come to Washington
and talk to a variety of people. The Secretary looks forward to discussing
US-Mexico relations, our partnership, the very sort of broad and rich
relationship that we do have, the many things that we're doing. She looks
forward to discussing with him some of the things we're doing in the North
American, in the trilateral context, including the issues that she
discussed last week on her trip - I guess 10 days ago now - when she had
the trilateral meeting in Santa Fe, various aspects of cooperation between
the US, Mexico and Canada.
On the broader questions that he has raised, certainly as partners in this
enterprise together we do need to discuss some of the longer-term things,
and those will be part of the discussion. But we also have to remember
that there are issues involved that we need to deal with now. We need to
be able to deal with them in the short and medium term as we talk about
those long-term things.
So there will be a lot of discussion of how we handle the relationship, how
we move forward in the kind of rich partnership we already do have.
QUESTION: So what kind of things would you put at the top of the list?
MR. BOUCHER: The kind of things that we have talked about in our past
discussions, the kind of things that Mr. Fox is raising himself:
immigration, counter- narcotics efforts, questions of trade, cooperation
with Mexico broadly in the Hemisphere; broader issues, like support for
democracy in the Hemisphere. There is a lot we do together with Mexico and
we will continue to do. Some of the trilateral issues that were discussed
out in Santa Fe: education, cultural cooperation, things like that that can
be done with Canada and Mexico together.
QUESTION: One of the things he said he is coming to push for is the end
to the certification of Mexico's drug program, and also Barry Mcafrey has
kind of come out saying that the certification program isn't working. Do
you see any time soon the administration favoring the OAS multilateral
model?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, certainly we favor the OAS process. We certainly
support the OAS certification process, evaluation process, whatever they
call it. It's important to us that we allow it to work, that we make it
work. I don't have a position as to whether that someday eventually that
might substitute for the current process. We support the law; we support
the certification process that we do as well.
At lunch today, there will be an opportunity to discuss a whole variety of
subjects. I don't know if this one will come up, but the Secretary has
invited a lot of people: Janet Reno, the Attorney General will be there;
General Mcafry will be there; Richard Fisher, Deputy US Trade
Representative, will be there. So there will be an opportunity to discuss
a whole variety of subjects with him.
QUESTION: Later this afternoon the Secretary is meeting with a group of
people who are wanting additional US pressure on the Taliban on the women's
issues. Is she - can you just give us an idea of what the Secretary - is
she expecting to be able to tell them anything, or is she expecting to get
anything from them? What exactly is the purpose of this meeting?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, I think it is a chance to listen to each other to
discuss the status of efforts in a cause that they all care about, and a
chance to discuss various steps that might be taken to move forward. I
don't expect any decisions or promises to come out of the meeting, but
we'll see.
She meets at 4:00 this afternoon with the leaders of what is called the
Campaign Against Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. This group has been very
active since 1997 in mobilizing support for improvement of the human rights
situation of Afghan women, particularly in Taliban-occupied areas of
Afghanistan. The Secretary certainly shares their goals.
As you know, under the Taliban, women are largely denied the opportunity to
work, to be educated, to travel. They have limited access to education and
medical care. Ending the repression of women in Afghanistan has long been
an important objective of the United States. Secretary Albright, on
October 16, 1996, at the Security Council, said the approach there to
women's rights is medieval. It can't be justified or defended, and since
then, we have continued to work very hard, raising the issues repeatedly
with Taliban authorities, working with other countries and with the United
Nations to bring about change.
I would also point out we are among the largest donor to the humanitarian
assistance programs for Afghans. Our contribution this year is over $100
million, and we have devoted particular attention to programs for women.
QUESTION: Colombia. There's a number of organizations, some NGOs in
Colombia, others such as the ALM and the FARC that are very much opposed to
the visit of President Clinton and especially the aid package that the
United States is participating in. So what would you reply, response, be
to those that are critical?
MR. BOUCHER: I would say that this package is an important part of
opposing the violence, opposing the drug trafficking that has undermined
Colombia and led to the shipment of drugs to the United States. Certainly
there are other pieces to it that need to be done. But we also think that
the certification process that we are going through, that we certified
yesterday, is a contribution to improving the human rights situation, and
to supporting the steps that the government is trying to make in that
regard.
We see a good faith effort going on by the government. We have seen a
number of steps. We expect to see more steps in the near future, and I
think if you look, for example, at some of the materials the White House
has transmitted to Congress, you will see a great deal of detail on the
positive efforts that are being made.
QUESTION: Just as a follow-up briefly, if I could, Richard, what of those
who say that this will exacerbate the war, will be like pouring water on
hot grease?
MR. BOUCHER: We don't agree with the analogy or with the analysis.
QUESTION: Just to stay on this, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister today, I
think - or yesterday - said for the first time that the Venezuelans had a
right to be worried about US military aid to Colombia given the fact that
the Venezuelans don't allow our drug planes to fly over their air space.
Can you sort of comment on - would you think this could be a potential
problem, given their neutrality?
MR. BOUCHER: It's an issue I haven't looked into for some time, and I
haven't seen the new statement, so I will get something for you on that. I
think we did something a week or two ago - two weeks ago - on the subject
of drug cooperation with Venezuela, so I will get that for you.
QUESTION: President Fujimori also said yesterday - I believe it was -
that there was a danger that the US aid package, and Plan Colombia
generally, would extend the conflict into neighboring countries, including
possibly his own. Do you have any response to that?
MR. BOUCHER: I think we responded to that a couple of days ago, just to
the general idea. It is important to see what we are doing in Colombia as
part of a regional effort, part of a regional effort obviously centered on
a place that - I think 90 percent of the cocaine coming into the United
States comes from Colombia at this point - but our efforts there are part
of a broader regional effort. Money in the package that was approved by
Congress goes also to neighboring countries, including Peru, and we have
provided some details on that.
So it is not an effort to deal with it in one place merely to force it
somewhere else, but rather as an attempt on our part and on the part of the
countries of the region to deal with this issue more comprehensively.
QUESTION: Can I go back to the "pouring water on hot grease"? Your
ambassador to the Court of Saint James appears to have thrown a gallon of
gasoline, at least, on top of the smoldering embers of the controversy that
his daughter created in an interview in the Tattler. But are you at all
upset that he actually responded to this? That he wrote a letter of
complaint to the magazine and rekindled this whole thing? Is it something
that you would just prefer to have let die a quiet death?
MR. BOUCHER: I didn't even know, and nobody I had talked to knows
(laughter). It's not something that we have tried to manage, handle, or
have views on.
QUESTION: Well, will you actively discourage the children of other
diplomats from writing provocative things in their host countries?
MR. BOUCHER: One wouldn't want to censor the children, would we?
QUESTION: So the answer is no?
MR. BOUCHER: The answer is we don't have any views one way or the other
on this issue.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: Thank you.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:35 p.m.)
