United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-08-19

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 19 August, 1999

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General strongly condemns violence by Government and rebel forces in Burundi.
• Top UN official in East Timor says security concerns are serious after visit to sites of recent clashes.
• Security Council welcomes significant progress in implementing Tajikistan peace accord.
• UN prepares to deploy military liaison to help carry out ceasefire in Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Security Council members hail Secretary-General's intention to establish UN office in Angola.
• UN sends disaster relief specialists and aid to help Turkey deal with devastation caused by earthquake.
• UN environmental task force to assess impact of Balkans conflict on Danube river.
• Massive forest fires threaten towns and villages in Bolivia, UN emergency aid office reports.

In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Annan said he was "particularly shocked" by the attacks last week in Kanyosha and Ruziba in the province of Bujumbura rural, where innocent civilians were killed by both rebel forces and Government troops.

The Secretary-General called on the Government and the rebel forces to end attacks on the civilian population and urged all parties to abide by international humanitarian law and human principles.

Mr. Annan reiterated his support for the peace process and called on all parties to ensure progress towards the conclusion of the peace agreement.

Speaking at a press conference in Dili, Ian Martin, the Secretary- General's Special Representative and the head of the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), called for the removal of Indonesian army officers who have been associated with militia activities as one indication that Jakarta was applying its policies on the ground.

"We have repeatedly given to different levels of the chain of command the names of serving officers who are clearly -- not only supportive of -- but also engaged in militia activities," Mr. Martin said. "We expect to see action taken to remove them from being able to continue those activities."

Mr. Martin's comments came after he and the leader of the Indonesian Task Force for East Timor, Ambassador Agus Tarmidzi, and other senior Indonesian security officials travelled earlier in the week to Maliana, Suai and Viqueque in response to reports of continuing militia activity in those places. Unfortunately, "they are far from being the only places where we have very serious security concerns", Mr. Martin said.

Meanwhile, East Timorese leaders have agreed to establish a 25- person commission to foster reconciliation and cooperation in the territory until the results of the UN-run autonomy ballot are implemented. Members will be nominated by each side and appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The East Timorese Consultative Commission will be inaugurated on 31 August, the day after the scheduled vote on a proposal that would either grant East Timor autonomy within Indonesia or begin a process that would lead to the territory's independence.

In a Presidential statement by Ambassador Martin Andjaba of Namibia during a formal meeting of the Council, the official declaration by the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) that it had disbanded its armed units and the decision by the Supreme Court of Tajikistan to lift the bans and restriction on activities by the UTO's political parties were both welcomed as "important steps contributing to the democratic development of Tajik society."

The Council further encouraged the parties to undertake concerted measures to ensure the "full and sequential implementation" of the General Agreement, especially the provisions on military issues, including those related to the reintegration of former opposition fighters.

The Council expressed concern at the precarious humanitarian situation in the country and called on Member States to respond promptly and generously to the mid-year review of the 1999 Consolidated Inter- Agency Appeal for Tajikistan.

According to the Secretary-General's Deputy Spokesman, Manoel de Almeida e Silva, the liaison officers will be deployed first in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Rwanda and Kampala, Uganda. Another team will work with the Joint Military Commission (JMC) -- established by the accord to disarm the fighters and monitor the ceasefire -- and will be based wherever its headquarters are established.

As mandated by the Security Council, the military officers will liaise with all parties of the peace agreement, which was signed on 10 July in Lusaka, Zambia. They will also assist and provide technical assistance to the JMC in developing modalities for the implementation of the agreement, and will secure from the parties guarantees of cooperation and assurances of security for the possible deployment in-country of military observers.

Mr. de Almeida e Silva said the UN was not yet planning to deploy further within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo until the ceasefire is signed by the parties who have not yet done so and the necessary assurances about security have been obtained.

In a press statement, Council President Martin Andjaba of Namibia said the members welcomed the status-of-mission agreement with the Angolan Government, noting the letters exchanged by the Angolan Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary-General regarding the establishment of the new UN office.

Ambassador Andjaba said Council members are working on a draft resolution on the matter.

A UN spokesman said on Thursday that the latest Government estimates put the death toll at 6,350, with 27,000 people injured and possibly 35,000 still buried under the rubble. There is still hope that some of those buried will be rescued because weather conditions are favourable, he added.

A UN inter-agency task force met in Geneva on Thursday to see how the United Nations can help Turkey in the post search-and-rescue phase. Specifically, the agencies are exploring ways to help the Government deal with a prolonged emergency, when tens of thousands of homeless people will need assistance.

UN agencies are providing money and urgently needed relief supplies to the Turkey. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is giving $50,000 for relief aid, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced a $200,000 grant, while the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will provide an additional $50,000 for the aid effort. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is sending tents, blankets and plastic sheeting and the World Health Organization (WHO) and OCHA have already sent medical kits to Turkey.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)/Human Settlements (Habitat) Balkans Task Force will leave from Budapest on Monday and travel down the Danube River for a week to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Last month, a previous Balkans Task Force mission assessed environmental damage at selected industrial sites in the country.

The Habitat segment of the Balkans Task Force is still in the Kosovo's provincial capital, Pristina, where it is looking into urban management, rehabilitation, housing, property laws and other issues related to human settlements, the spokesman said.

The fires, which broke out last week near the town of Ascension de Guarayos, about 300 kilometers north of the city of Santa Cruz and 867 kilometers from the capital, La Paz, quickly spread and affected several small towns. Preliminary estimates indicate that more than 600 families, or nearly 3,000 people, have lost their homes, said OCHA.

The fires started as a result of slash-and-burn activities, a common cultivation practice, and were fuelled by strong winds. Some 100,000 hectares have reportedly been directly affected within a 400,000 hectares zone of influence.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) and private relief agencies are supporting an inter-institutional commission assessment of the most affected province, particularly rural areas since information from there is very scarce, said the spokesman.

The UN spokesman said so far, no request for international assistance has been received from the Bolivian Government.

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

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