PRESS CONFERENCE BY CUBA

21 June 1996

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY CUBA

19960621 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

The Permanent Representative of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, held a press conference at Headquarters yesterday on the investigation carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), at the request of the Security Council, as well as Cuba and the United States, concerning the downing of two aircrafts on 24 February.

He recalled that the 27 February Security Council presidential statement on the matter had emphasized the need for a comprehensive investigation. The very ICAO procedures set out in the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, of 7 December 1944, in particular in annex XIII and its appendix, set out the requirements for any investigation of that kind and the need for it to include what was termed "relevant causes, events and facts, including information relating to persons, entities and organizations that may have any relationships with incidents of that nature".

This morning, there had been a meeting between the ICAO investigation commission and the Cuban and American delegations, Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla said, adding that an ICAO spokesman had previously qualified that meeting as a "courtesy meeting". "We had hoped that this would be a substantive meeting to permit us to go deeper into the investigation and its final report. We have acted absolutely ethically and that's why you haven't received any information from us on the course of the investigation or on the different drafts of the final report that we have learned about in the last few days."

Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla went on to quote from an official document circulated to the General Assembly and the Security Council dated 21 May (document A/50/959-S/1996/370) concerning the revocation of the pilot's licence of the "terrorist organization called Brothers to the Rescue". He read from the document as follows:

"The interim report of the ICAO team on the progress of the investigation stated that 'by 30 March 1996, the authorities in Cuba had complied fully with all requests by the team for interviews, statements, civil and military data, documents and charts, as well as communications recordings and transcripts'.

"The ICAO team asked the Government of the United States to present seven pieces of evidence as part of the information and additional materials requested. The failure by the United States to produce the seven pieces of evidence in a timely manner forced the ICAO Council to postpone the submission of the final report on the investigation and the consideration of the matter

for another month, extending the time stipulated in the resolution adopted by this organization.

"Given the fact that the evidence requested from the United States by the ICAO team is part of the technical evidence obtained during the occurrence of the incident, the delay in the presentation of said evidence by the aviation authorities and the Government of the United States is worthy of note.

"It is also interesting that among the pieces of evidence requested there is 'information on the status of enforcement actions in progress related to previous incursions into Cuban airspace'."

Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla went on to say that on 18 June the Secretary- General had been requested to officially circulate as documents of the Security Council and the General Assembly two documents relating to the public announcement of new violations of Cuban airspace and territorial waters scheduled for 13 July. That constituted a repetition of the terrorist activities of the organizations concerned.

Both last week and yesterday, the Cuban delegation to the ICAO had stated its serious concern regarding the draft final report, he said. Before the Cuban delegation had been officially notified in the meeting this morning, newspapers in Florida had published certain implications about the draft final report. Cuba's position was coherent and solid, and its cooperation with the ICAO had been absolute. It had delivered absolute proof to the ICAO of the long chain of violations of Cuban airspace, international law, international aviation standards, Cuban law and American law by the organizations in question.

The revocation of the pilot's licence, while appropriate, had been untimely and insufficient, he continued. It also constituted a clear recognition of the awareness of United States authorities of illegal activities. The proper measures had not been taken to preclude violations of Cuban territorial airspace. "It is incredible that this federal investigation started in June 1995 and lasted 10 months to determine whether Cuban airspace was violated." Some of the authors of the violations had even broadcast evidence of their acts on United States television channels. There were bulletins being sold in Miami containing photographs of low overflights over Havana in clear violation of Cuban territorial airspace.

He stressed that the investigation must take full account of all testimony and all facts, including all of the violations that had taken place not only in the long history of aggressions against Cuba, but also in the last two years. It must include information about all organizations concerned, including the so-called Brothers to the Rescue. It must produce an even- handed, fair and technical report with no political overtones, adhering to the ICAO goal of avoiding future incidents.

Cuba Press Conference - 3 - 21 June 1996

In the face of announcements to the press that Cuba's territorial airspace and waters would be violated on 13 July, the ICAO's responsibility, as well as that of the Security Council, grew, he said. The atmosphere of impunity must be eliminated, he added.

A correspondent asked if Cuba would seek any kind of Security Council action on the matter. Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla said that the issue was now in the hands of ICAO. The ICAO Council had the competence to send a resolution to the Security Council through the Secretary-General.

Asked if Cuba rejected the preliminary findings leaked in The Miami Herald which showed that the planes had been in international airspace, Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla said Cuba had solid evidence that the downing of the aircraft had taken place in Cuban airspace. "I don't know what degree of information The Miami Herald has; I wonder how an issue that was supposed to be handled internally by the ICAO Council has filtered into the press." It was not clear what documents the journalists had based their reports on.

He added that the draft report did not accord with annex XIII of the Chicago Convention and its appendix, in violation of the ICAO procedures. For example, the document contained an introduction which, curiously, prejudged the conclusions. "I would dare say that it is far from being objective and is very much biased." The chapter on the events did not meet the requirements of the ICAO procedures or the Security Council presidential statement since it did not contain a single word on the relevant causes, events and precedents. The 35 violations of Cuban airspace in the past two years were not addressed.

The document contained some elements which were subjective and which no one could assume were real, he continued. The report ignored three important pieces of evidence submitted by Cuba concerning objects found in Cuban waters which belonged to the aircrafts. Nor did it mention the study of ocean currents in the area and the testimony of some witnesses, such as the captain of a small ship in territorial waters at the time of the downing. The report gave the impression of a threatening Cuba and a moderate and careful United States. The testimony of some witnesses was considered "divine truth" while that of others, including third country citizens, was questioned. The ICAO report recognized that there were great contradictions between military radio reports submitted by Cuba and the United States which could not be explained from a technical point of view.

Concern arose over the fact that the United States authorities had retained seven pieces of evidence requested by the ICAO, he went on. That had resulted in a postponement by the ICAO of consideration of the issue, which was originally to have been resolved in 60 days. "You would have to say that it is a report that omits things, confounds facts, gives reliability to some witnesses and disqualifies others, is not comprehensive and does not adequately hold the United States responsible as the country from which the flights originated."

Cuba Press Conference - 4 - 21 June 1996

Asked if he had a copy of the report, Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla said he did not have a final copy. He added that the report was clearly open to interpretation since it was very ambiguous. Cuba had solid evidence that the downing had been within Cuban airspace. Any other conclusions would be the result of biased or alleged technical evidence delivered by the United States months after the incident which could have been manipulated through technology.

A correspondent asked if there had been any other violations by Brothers to the Rescue since the downing. Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla replied that there had been some in March, adding that others had been announced for 13 July.

Asked if Cuba would use the photos being circulated in bulletins in Miami as evidence, Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla replied, "Absolutely". The photos proved that low-level flights were being conducted over Havana. Other evidence existed about the dropping of propaganda materials and use of the civil aviation frequencies for propaganda. For those reasons, no one could determine whether the airplanes were civilian or not. Since the ICAO said that the nature of flights was determined by their functions, it was absurd to make a connection between the flights in question and those of passenger planes following normal routes.

To a question on the announced 13 July action, Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla said Cuba was deeply worried because of the fact that public announcements were being made with absolute impunity about violations of Cuban airspace on that date. Announcements were not to be underestimated. Such announcements posed a test to ICAO, the international community and the United States Government. Practical, comprehensive measures were needed to prevent provocations by extremist groups which sought a bilateral escalation or even a confrontation posing great military dangers. "I think that it is going to be a test regarding the impunity in which these violations have taken place -- which have not stopped and which must stop."

Asked for copies of the draft report, Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla said it was up to ICAO to determine how it handled its internal documents. "I must not repeat the lack of ethics of giving out documents that are being internally considered." It was hoped that when official documents were ready, ICAO would submit them to the public. The press and the United States public had the responsibility of avoiding new escalations which damaged the national interests of Cuba, as well as the legitimate interests of American taxpayers.

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