In progress at UNHQ

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

14 May 1996



Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

19960514 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that things were unusually quiet at Headquarters. She went "on the squawk box yesterday evening offering confidential UN secrets", and was surprised no one called up for more details. She had since learned the system was broken.

Ms. Foa said she was hoping James Jonah, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Liberia, currently briefing the Security Council, would attend the noon briefing. She then revealed her reason for wearing the blue beret: three Member States today had paid their budget assessments for the year. Brunei Darussalam had paid $217,540; Ghana, $108,770; and the Marshall Islands, $108,770. A total of 61 Member States, out of 185 plus two non- Member States, had paid their assessments. The Organization still was owed $2.8 billion: $1.1 billion for the regular budget, and $1.7 billion for peace-keeping. "Hats off to Brunei, Ghana and the Marshall Islands."

Referring to a recent request for Vukovar to "call home", Ms. Foa said they were so happy to be asked for news that they were calling home all the time now. That morning, she had learned that Jacques Klein, the Transitional Administrator in Eastern Slavonia, had now opened a mail service between the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) region and the Republic of Croatia. It was the first mail delivery in four years. There was a small problem with stamps. Neither side would accept the other's stamps. So, the United Nations had decided to rubber-stamp the mail and hoped the International Postal Union (IPU) would not mind. The exchanges would continue three times a week at two crossing points. Anyone who had complaints about their local postal systems should think about the system there. With mail held up for four years, some of the mail coming through must be really old.

The postal system marked the third step in opening up the region to the world of commerce and communication, she said. The first step was the opening of the Belgrade-Zagreb Highway, which had been closed since 1992. Seven kilometres went through the territory of UNTAES. The second step was the oil pipeline between Croatia and Serbia. Now, there was the mail exchange, and it was hoped in the next few weeks that telephone service would begin.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 20,000 Burundi refugees had arrived in Uvira, Eastern Zaire, over the last two weeks, she said. That influx had abated somewhat in recent days from several thousand daily to several hundred in the last 48 hours. One reason might be reduced tension inside Burundi's Cibitoke area. Another

reason might be the border closing which made it more difficult for refugees to leave Burundi. Small arms fire could be heard regularly on both sides of the border. Since early May, when the security situation had worsened inside Burundi, between 150 and 300 people had been arriving daily at the Tanzanian border. Although the border was closed, people who slipped across were generally allowed to stay.

She said there was good news on the ship, the "Bulk Challenge", which, with more than 3,000 people on board, was being allowed to dock at Takoradi, Ghana. According to the UNHCR, disembarkation began shortly after noon their time. The refugees were being taken to an area 10 kilometres from the port. The UNHCR was providing the usual emergency supplies, including tents, plastic sheeting, and blankets, and was willing to "foot the bill" for food, health, social services and shelter. "Thank you very much, Ghana, for letting these people in", she said.

There were also reports that the second ship, the "Victory Reefer", was being allowed to dock in Freetown, Sierra Leone. On board were 908 Sierra Leone refugees that had sought refuge inside Liberia, akin to "going from the frying pan into the fire". Fifteen troops from the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) -- 14 from Sierra Leone, one from Nigeria -- and 21 crew, were also on board. Sixty-five per cent of the people on the ship were women and children. The situation was quite horrible, and there were serious cases of dysentery on board. Sketchy reports from the field today indicated that after several days of relative calm, very heavy fighting had resumed in Monrovia this morning.

Turning to housekeeping matters, Ms. Foa said the International Day of Families would be observed on Wednesday, 15 May, with a panel discussion on the theme, "Families: Victims of Poverty and Homelessness". It would take place at 3 p.m. in Conference Room 4, and everyone was invited. This afternoon at 2 o'clock in the United Nations Correspondents' Association (UNCA) Club, Dr. Ghada Karma, the Chair of the International Campaign for Jerusalem, would talk about the United Nations and Jerusalem -- final status talks. Tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the UNCA Club, Dr. Natalie Goldring, Suzannah Dyer, and Dr. Swadesh Rana would talk about the project on light weapons and international security. Also, tomorrow at 11:15 a.m., Jose Ayala-Lasso, High Commissioner for Human Rights, would speak on his recent trip to the former Yugoslavia.

Asked whether Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Envoy of the Secretary- General and Under-Secretary-General for Special Assignments, had concluded his assignment in Nigeria, Ms. Foa said he was now in Paris preparing a written report for the Secretary-General which was expected before the end of the week.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 14 May 1996

Another correspondent asked if there was any news from Zvornik where seven Muslims had been arrested four days ago, and where their actions were yet to be defined as terrorist. Ms. Foa said that three of the seven people were charged with homicide. The International Police Task Force (IPTF) had been able to visit five of the seven detainees, who seemed to be in good health. The Republic of Srpska police had maintained that the other two were out in the field providing evidence for the police and were, therefore, not available. There is an ongoing investigation under the Republic of Srpska, which could hold the detainees for up to 30 days. To a follow-up question on whether that constituted terrorism by United Nations standards, Ms. Foa said not enough was known about the case to give it a name. When more was known, she would share it. There was a press note from the IPTF in the Spokesman's Office today that provided some more detail.

Following a brief discussion about the availability of James Jonah, who was then briefing the Security Council, she hoped he could brief correspondents today at 3 p.m. Otherwise, she would update correspondents at tomorrow's noon briefing. From what she had heard of his briefing on the security situation in Monrovia, some faction fighters entering the city had not been paid in months and considered the looting of Monrovia, including private homes, to be their pay. It was very difficult for ECOMOG to stop those youths because they were on drugs, and there was quite a bit of crack in evidence.

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For information media. Not an official record.