United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-01-27

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, 27 January, 1999

HEADLINES

• UN Secretary-General welcomes reports that Indonesia is considering independence for East Timor.
• United Nations agencies assess food, health and medical needs of Colombian earthquake victims.
• Secretary-General discusses peacekeeping and political issues with Belgian parliamentarians.
• World Food Programme learns of death of staff member in Angola plane crash.
• Secretary-General's special envoy meets Tajik president to review peace process.
• Refugee problems continue to plague Great Lakes region of Africa.
• Investigation of massacre in Kosovo under way, says Deputy Prosecutor of tribunal for former Yugoslavia.
• UN drug control programme opens field office in Teheran, Iran.
• International companies and relief organizations hold first meeting of Business-Humanitarian Forum.

In a statement, the Secretary-General also welcomed the prospect that the imprisoned leader of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, Xanana Gusmao, would be transferred to residential detention.

For some time, the Secretary-General had been urging the Indonesian Government to release Xanana Gusmao, whose role in the political process was of paramount importance, said his spokesman Fred Eckhard. Mr. Annan said he hoped that it would soon be possible for Xanana Gusmao to actively participate in the political dialogue.

The Secretary-General underlined the need for maintaining peace and avoiding unnecessary violence and bloodshed in East Timor. He urged all parties concerned to show maximum restraint and political wisdom in dealing with this important period of transition.

In the meantime, the tripartite talks, which would resume on Thursday would continue to discuss the United Nations autonomy proposal, Mr. Eckhard said. The discussions would doubtless take into account the latest developments, he added.

According to preliminary reports from the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia, approximately 700 people were killed and 2,300 injured in the earthquake. At least 4,500 homes and 170 buildings were destroyed and telecommunications problems continued in most parts of the disaster zone. There were no exact figures on the damage to water, electric and gas supply systems or to roads.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Wednesday that emergency supplies, including tents, blankets, drinking water, generators and cash to buy them locally were needed. So far, he said, the UN had released $200,000 and its disaster assessment teams were on standby, waiting for a green light from the Colombian capital of Bogota.

Canada, the European Union, Japan, France, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Spain, Panama and the United States have provided search, rescue and evaluation teams, cash and in-kind contributions.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Secretary-General paid tribute to peacekeepers killed in Rwanda and said he had been personally saddened by the loss.

According to UN spokesman Fred Eckhard, the Secretary-General also had an audience with King Albert II and then inaugurated the new UN House in Brussels, a facility that will be home to various United Nations agencies working in Belgium.

Later, Mr. Annan met with the Presidents of the Belgian Senate and House of Representatives and they discussed peacekeeping issues, such as rapid deployment and political matters, including Iraq and Rwanda. The two Presidents expressed support for the UN's work in the fields of children's rights, small arms, and human development.

Pedro Moreira, who was WFP's flight monitor, is the UN agency's third employee to die in Angola in the last 12 months, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children.

A United Nations search team on Monday arrived at the site of the plane crash near Huambo, the stronghold of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), in the central highlands of Angola. The arrival of the team at the site of the wreckage, 17 to 20 kilometres north east of Huambo, followed three weeks of protracted negotiations with both the Angolan Government and UNITA. The C-130 aircraft went down soon after take-off from Huambo as it was returning to Luanda after transporting emergency rations to the town.

"The world must not just stand by as humanitarian workers are killed with impunity while helping victims of conflict," said WFP Executive Director, Catherine Bertini on learning of the death of her staff member. She urged the international community to find "tangible ways" to stop the escalation of violence against WFP staff and other humanitarian workers.

Another United Nations-chartered plane crashed in Angola on 26 December last year killing all its crew members and passengers.

United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard told the press that the meeting was part of Mr. Kubis' ongoing contacts with the Tajik parties concerned. After the meeting, Mr. Kubis indicated that they had agreed to step up the implementation of the peace process which had been very slow up until now.

President Rakhmonov and Sayed Abullo Nuri, the chairman of the Commission on Reconciliation and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, had earlier reached a general agreement on all major issues pertaining to the peace process even though they still differed on matters relating to appointments, Mr. Eckhard said.

Mr. Nuri agreed to hold the meeting of the Commission and the contact group of countries concerned with the peace process to undertake an overall assessment of the peace process. According to the spokesman, that meeting is expected take place tomorrow.

Through the UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT), the United Nations is assisting Tajikistan, which plunged into a civil war in 1992 following attainment of independence the previous year in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

At a press briefing at the Hague, Graham Blewitt said that the probe was going on despite the fact that Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour had not been granted access to investigate in Kosovo. He said that arrangements had been made to interview monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He added that the Office of the Prosecutor was awaiting the report from the Finish forensic team which had been performing autopsies of the victims.

Mr. Blewitt also said that the investigators who had remained in Skopje, the capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, had arrived back at the Hague.

Mr. Blewitt also announced that, at the invitation of the Council of Europe, Louise Arbour planned to participate in the Council's debate on Kosovo scheduled for Thursday in Strasbourg.

Fighting in Congo Brazzaville between the army and militia supporting former President Lissouba and Premier Kolelas has degenerated in the past week into artillery exchanges in the capital of Brazzaville. Instability in the Pool region, southeast of the capital has forced 40,000 people to flee into the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of Congolese refugees arriving in Kigoma, Tanzania from South Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, says the UNHCR. Refugees say there have been more clashes between rebels and allied Government forces, loyal to President Kabila, particularly in the vicinity of Kalemi.

Nearly 30,000 people have arrived in the last six months. Recent arrivals claim to have been warned by Mai-Mai warriors of more clashes with anti- Kabila rebels in the area, and say a lack of boats and fare for the crossing has stopped more Congolese from fleeing.

Meanwhile, a second Tanzania/Rwanda/UNHCR Tripartite Commission meeting was held in Arusha earlier this week at the request of the Rwandan Government. Among the issues covered were the 13,500 Rwandan refugees living in Tanzania and possible measures to deal with new influxes.

Participants at the fourth round of Burundian peace talks, currently under way in Arusha, underscored the need to create a climate in Burundi that will encourage the return of its citizens.

On Tuesday the Executive Director of UNDCP, Pino Arlacchi, and the Secretary-General of Iran's Drug Control Headquarters, Mohammad Fallah signed in Vienna a Memorandum of Understanding for the setting up of the office.

After the signing of the memorandum, Mr. Alarcchi said that the decision to establish the office in Teheran was taken in recognition of the crucial role played by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the common fight against illicit drugs and the "excellent cooperation between Iran and the UNDCP." For his part, Mr Fallah stressed that the new office would strengthen cooperation in drug control. "We greatly appreciate UNDCP's serious approach and the constructive attitude of the UNDCP's Executive Director towards the drug issue," he added.

The office, which should begin to operate within a few weeks, will promote and monitor UNDCP programmes and projects at the national level, and develop a strategic framework for cooperation between Iranian authorities and UNDCP.

Iran, which has lost more than 2,000 people over the past twenty years in the fight against illicit drug production and trafficking, reported a considerable increase in seizures or illicit substances in 1998. During that year, it also launched several educational and prevention programmes to reduce demand.

Jointly organized by Sadako Ogata, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), John C. Whitehead, chairman of the board of the International Rescue Committee, and John Imle, president of Unocal Corporation, the meeting is focusing on ways to improve communication and cooperation to promote stability in countries affected by conflicts and natural disasters.

Discussions are specifically dealing with how business and humanitarian organizations can better prepare for and, if possible, prevent humanitarian emergencies and provide assistance to affected populations during and after a crisis.

Forum organizers have said that global companies and humanitarian organizations share the ultimate objective of promoting the long-term stability and economic growth of countries in the developing world. According to the convenors of the meeting, multinational corporations can, through their investments, local operations and humanitarian assistance, have a positive impact on the well-being of populations affected by conflicts and natural disasters.

For information purposes only - - not an official record

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

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