DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19960729
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Sylvana Foa, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that a suspicious package, about eight inches by five inches in size, had been found at the gate to the Delegates' Entrance of the Secretariat building. It was spotted by United Nations security personnel who called the New York City bomb squad. The Spokesman's office would be kept informed of developments related to the package. (At about 12:30 p.m., the Spokesman's office announced that the package had proved to be a harmless package of diaper wipes.)
Ms. Foa then announced that the Secretary-General was in a meeting with some of his senior advisers from the Departments of Political Affairs and the Office of Legal Affairs to discuss the problems of international terrorism and what the United Nations could do to help fight the problem. The Spokesman reminded correspondents that the Secretary-General had issued many statements on international terrorism and how it should be attacked at its sources -- at the stages of fund-raising and planning for such acts.
The Secretary-General's tri-monthly progress report to the General Assembly on the work of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan was issued today, Ms.Foa said (document A/50/908/Add.1). That report stated that in order to strengthen the Special Mission and to rationalize the Organization's political presence in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General had decided that the Office of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan (OSGA) should cease to exist. All United Nations peace-making activities in that country would be, henceforth, integrated into the Special Mission, which now consisted of the newly appointed Head, Norbert Holl, a Deputy Head, five political officers and two military advisers.
The report, the Spokesman continued, also stated that the objectives of a durable cease-fire and a peaceful transfer of power mandated by the General Assembly, and vigorously sought by the Special Mission, were far from being achieved. The warring parties' preference to seek their objectives by military means rather than peaceful negotiations appeared deep and enduring. The Secretary-General therefore appealed to the Afghan leaders and to the countries concerned to help the United Nations find constructive ways to facilitate the peace process. Ms. Foa added that the new head of the Special Mission, Mr. Holl, had gone to Kabul today to talk to senior Afghan government officials. He would then visit other cities in the country. He had moved the Special Mission's headquarters to Jalalabad so that he could be in closer touch with the parties.
The Security Council was expected to adopt a resolution today endorsing the Secretary-General's recommendation that the mandate of the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) be extended for another six months, Ms. Foa said. Its current mandate would expire on 31 July. The Council was also expected to adopt another resolution today authorizing an extension of the mandate of 100 military observers serving in Eastern Slavonia under the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) for another six months. However, she noted that there seemed to be conflict in the draft regarding the time period for the extension -- whether it would be for five-and-a-half months or six months.
On Angola, Ms. Foa said, over the weekend the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, officially opened the last quartering camp for the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) soldiers. There were now 56 such camps, with a total of 56,828 UNITA soldiers. Yesterday, UNITA turned in 770 tons of weapons and munitions to the United Nations as part of the disarmament process. Ms. Foa reported that on Saturday, a jeep from the Zimbabwean battalion of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III) hit a land-mine about 70 kilometres south of Saurimo. The driver -- a Zimbabwean corporal -- was killed instantly and a Zimbabwean captain died later. Four other Zimbabwean soldiers who were injured were taken to the Romanian field hospital in Viana.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sent word regarding the offensive against Iranian Kurds in northern Iraq, the Spokesman continued. The report stated that over 2,000 people, mostly women and children, had fled the fighting and had reached the UNHCR's Office in Erbil in northern Iraq. The UNHCR's first priority was to get water to those refugees. There were about 6,000 Kurdish refugees in the area, 3,800 of whom were already being assisted by the UNHCR. The organization had expressed concern about the situation and had asked the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint. Ms. Foa reminded correspondents that there were 139 United Nations guards in northern Iraq -- "not a lot".
On Burundi, Ms. Foa said, United Nations personnel there had reported that the capital, Bujumbura, was calm. She did not have more information on developments there.
The Spokesman then announced that the World Food Programme (WFP) had issued a press release which reported that the Programme was extending its operations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to reach more than 1.5 million people. Donors had responded rapidly to its appeal which had allowed the expansion of the assistance. However, another $10 million was still desperately needed. The press release was available in the Spokesman's office.
Ms. Foa then reported that the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 661 (1990), which is monitoring the sanctions against Iraq, Tono Eitel (Germany), had announced that the meeting of the Committee, which had been scheduled for today, had been
Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 29 July 1996
postponed until 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, 31 July. It would be held in Conference Room 7. Following the meeting, Ambassador Eitel would brief other interested delegations and then meet with correspondents in room 226. Correspondents were reminded that it might not be possible to put that briefing on the in- house audio-visual system. It depended on the time Ambassador Eitel would be available, since late broadcasts had been curtailed by the financial crisis.
In another announcement, Ms. Foa said that at 2 p.m today in the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Club there would be a briefing by Arben Zha Feri, a member of Parliament, and Agni Dika, Vice-President of the "illegal" Albanian University of Tetovo, on the jailings of the founders of the Albanian University and the threat to stability in the region. The briefing is entitled: "Trouble in the [former Yugoslav Republic of] Macedonia".
A correspondent asked about the request made by the Solomon Islands three weeks ago for a good offices mission. Ms. Foa promised a response by tomorrow. She added that the matter was being discussed at Headquarters and there had been meetings by the parties here but she did not have a full briefing on them.
Asked about the mandate of the American troops that had landed in Haiti last week, Ms. Foa said that it was a bilateral exercise.
When asked for more information on the suspicious package, Ms. Foa said it was found at the gate through which the delegates' cars depart the Secretariat -- on First Avenue. First Avenue was closed as a result of the discovery. In response to another question, she said there had been no telephone threats.
A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General had made a comment on the bomb explosion in Atlanta. Ms. Foa said that he had issued a statement on Saturday. (See Press Release SG/SM/6030 issued today.) Asked for the gist of the statement, Ms. Foa said the Secretary-General had called the bombing a repugnant violation of the spirit of the Olympic Games and had said that "the joy and global brotherhood engendered by the Olympic Games can never be vanquished by the actions of a despicable few". The Secretary-General also conveyed his deepest condolences to the President of the United States and to the victims and families of those who were killed or wounded in the assault.
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