United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-02-15

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

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

KOFI ANNAN BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDONESIA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Jakarta from Singapore in the late morning, and began his official program in Indonesia in the early afternoon with a one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab. In a session with the full delegations that followed, they discussed the aftermath of President Abdurrahman Wahid's "deactivation" of General Wiranto as a Cabinet member. The Foreign Minister expressed relief that the crisis had passed.

They also discussed the situations in Aceh, Ambon and the Moluccas, and Shihab said he hoped all those issues could eventually be resolved. They also talked about Indonesia's economic and financial reforms, UN relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations and the plight of the East Timorese refugees in West Timor.

On that last matter, the Secretary-General insisted, "Full access to the people in the camps is essential."

In remarks to reporters following the meeting, Annan said that he wanted to see that those who are accused of the crimes committed in East Timor are made accountable, and noted that the Indonesian Government had shown its determination to do just that.

"If the Government is mounting a credible trial and prosecuting these people, I suspect the Security Council would not rush to set up a competing international tribunal," he added. He applauded the Government's efforts to uphold the rule of law and prosecute suspected perpetrators of atrocities in East Timor.

After the meeting, the Secretary-General visited Indonesia's parliament building, where he met with Amien Rais, Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly. They discussed Indonesia's transition to democracy, the separation from East Timor and the country's economic reform efforts. The Secretary-General later met with the Speaker of the Parliament, Akbar Tandjung, as well as with UN staff and representatives of UN agencies.

On Wednesday, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech to the Indonesian Council on World Affairs.

The speech embargoed for 1: 15 a.m. Wednesday (EST) -- titled "Unity in Diversity," which is the slogan enshrined on Indonesia's coat of arms -- focuses on the challenges facing Indonesia today, including separatism, and the role of the United Nations in enabling peoples to live together without conflict.

The Secretary-General says that, although many separatist movements can be wasteful, "minorities have to be convinced that the state really belongs to them, as well as to the majority, and that both will be losers if it breaks up."

UN FORCE TAKES CONTROL OF EAST TIMOR ENCLAVE

The transfer of military command from the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) to the Jordanian battalion of the UN peacekeeping force took place in the East Timorese enclave of Oecussi today.

The next transfer of military command is scheduled to take place in the Western Sector on February 28. The final transfer of the remaining military administrative structure will also take place on that date, and as of that date, the UN force will be in full control of East Timor.

There have been at least two security incidents in West Timor in the past four days. Last Friday, militias threw stones at a car transporting staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) while they were conducting a mass information campaign at the Fatukmetan refugee settlement in Atambua.

On Monday, Indonesian police escorts poked a rifle at an aid worker and fired guns in the air, demanding to stop the convoy so that they could eat lunch. UNHCR staff called the Indonesian army and the police were sent back, and the convoy proceeded to the town of Batugade in East Timor.

The latest report of the Secretary-General on the regulations promulgated by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor was also made available as a Security Council document today.

UN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC MISSION COMPLETES WORK

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued through his Spokesman, said that the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic "has done much to restore peace and security in the Central African Republic and to create enabling conditions for the successful conduct of national elections," as well as major economic and social reforms.

"The success of the United Nations mission in the Central African Republic once again demonstrates how much can be achieved by peacekeeping operations in Africa and elsewhere with the cooperation and political will of the parties, their commitment to peace and national reconciliation, clear mandate, appropriate resources, and the strong and consistent support of the international community," the statement said.

With the close of the UN Mission today, the United Nations now has 16 peacekeeping operations worldwide. There are approximately 18,600 troops serving in these 16 operations. This figure includes the 185 troops currently deployed in the Central African Republic, who are taking part in the UN liquidation efforts there.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES CYPRUS

Today at 10:30 a.m., the Security Council heard a briefing on Cyprus by the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto.

The latest series of proximity talks on Cyprus, which were opened by the Secretary-General on January 31, ended in Geneva last week, after a total of 14 meetings with the parties. In a news conference last Tuesday in Geneva, de Soto said that the talks, which began last December in New York, were "on track."

The parties have accepted in principle the Secretary-General's invitation to resume the proximity talks on May 23, in New York.

On Wednesday, the Council is expected to hold a private meeting on Kosovo. In response to a question, the Spokesman explained that the meeting would be held in the formal Council chamber and would include more participants than the 15 Council delegations, but would not be an open, formal meeting of the Council.

UN DEMINING TEAM VISITS EGYPT

A UN landmine action team, headed by Mary Fowler, the Officer-in-Charge of the Mine Action Service in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, is now halfway through its visit to Egypt. The team is charged with assessing the impact of landmines and unexploded ordinance in Egypt.

Their field visits have included the area of El Alamein, a major battleground during the Second World War, where some 80 percent of Egypt's landmines are located.

The delegation is expected to complete its work in Egypt on February 22 and return to New York the following day, when it will begin compiling their findings, which will be released in a public report upon its completion.

KOSOVO SERBS IN GRACANICA ENDORSE UN MEASURES

In Kosovo today, a package of measures proposed by the UN Special Representative, Bernard Kouchner, to restore security in and around Mitrovica won the endorsement of the leaders of the Serb National Council in Gracanica.

Kouchner presented the plan to Bishop Artemije, the highest-ranking Orthodox cleric in Kosovo, in the Serb monastery in Gracanica. He had also presented the package to Kosovo's Interim Administrative Council yesterday.

The measures include the immediate redeployment of 100 UN police from other parts of Kosovo to the largely Serb northern parts of Mitrovica, with an additional 200 police to go to the area in subsequent days. That redeployment would bring the number of UN police in the Mitrovica region to about 600.

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo will also appoint international judges and prosecutors to Mitrovica and maintain a nightly curfew and restrictions on public demonstrations.

Also today, the Interim Administrative Council discussed regulations on voter registration, the compilation of a voters' list and the organization of political parties, in order for elections to be held later this year. Those issues will also be taken up by the Kosovo Transitional Council on Wednesday. For more information, click here.

In response to a question, the Spokesman said Kouchner was expected to visit the United Nations and other stops in North America during the first week of March.

UN REFUGEE AGENCY REPORTS CONTINUED CHECHEN EXODUS

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that, in a continued exodus from Chechnya, more than 450 people have fled rebel-controlled mountainous areas south of the capital Grozny since last Friday, as Russia's military push has shifted from Grozny to the south.

An estimated 180,000 people displaced from Chechnya remain in Ingushetia.

Russia, meanwhile, has declared whatever is left of Grozny closed to potential returnees until the end of February, to allow some time to remove unexploded ordnance and clean up, according to the UNHCR briefing notes.

UN RECONAISSANCE MISSION VISITS EASTERN SIERRA LEONE

Today the first reconnaissance mission has returned to Freetown from Koidu, a rebel stronghold in the heart of the diamond mining area in eastern Sierra Leone. Five military observers escorted by a platoon from the Kenya battalion conducted the mission on Monday, primarily to assess the conditions of the road to Koidu. Cheering crowds accompanied the convoy along the road.

At a rebel roadblock about 75 miles from Koidu the peacekeepers were blocked. In order not to cancel the patrol altogether, the military observers proceeded alone to Koidu and visited the town.

IRAQ: OIL SALES UPDATE ISSUED, AS WFP REPRESENTATIVE RESIGNS

The latest update on UN's humanitarian program for Iraq noted that Iraq last week exported a total of 15 million barrels of crude oil, for an estimated revenue of $383 million.

The Security Council Committee overseeing the "oil-for-food" program has so far approved 95 oil sales contracts under Phase VII, with a total volume of 266.8 million barrels.

In addition, $1.57 billion worth of humanitarian supplies has so far been approved under Phase IV of the program, and $1.6 billion under Phase V.

In response to reports that the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Iraq had resigned, the Spokesman noted that the WFP had reported that its representative in Baghdad had made a "personal decision" to leave that post and to return to the service of her Government.

She added that WFP has identified the representative as Jutta Burghardt of Germany. Okabe noted that, although the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Hans von Sponeck, had announced his resignation over the weekend, it will take effect on March 31. (Okabe later said that there were more than 200 UN staff involved in humanitarian work in Iraq.)

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Roberto Garreton, the human rights special rapporteur on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, issued two statements today in Geneva on the human rights situation in the DRC. He expressed his deep concern following the execution between January 28 and February 2 of 19 members of the army in Kinshasa who were executed only hours after being sentenced to death by a military court. Garreton also expressed concern about the arrest of Monsignor Emmanuel Kalaliko, the Bishop of Bukavu, in the rebel-controlled eastern town of Goma on February 12.

The latest weekly update on assistance for Afghanistan notes that, between September and December of last year, the World Food Programme (WFP) employed 600 female surveyors in Mazar-I-Sharif and 300 female surveyors in Jalalabad, to conduct house-to-house surveys to determine who would receive baked goods from WFP. The release notes that Taliban authorities agreed to allow the women to move freely through both cities to conduct the surveys.

The Acting Deputy Spokesman John Mills is out with an illness this week, and that Hiro Ueki, formerly of the Spokesman's Office, will join the office in his absence, specializing on Iraq, East Timor and peacekeeping matters.

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