DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970115
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Acting Spokesman for the Secretary-General, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Secretary-General warmly congratulated the leaders who concluded the Hebron agreement yesterday, as well as those who worked so hard to support the negotiating effort. He then read out the following statement, which was issued this morning:
"The Secretary-General is very much encouraged by the conclusion of the agreement regarding Hebron and other important issues, which has now been reached between Israel and the Palestinians. He considers this to be an important achievement, which he hopes will now pave the way for further progress towards the full implementation of the process envisaged in the Declaration of Principles agreed in Oslo."
Mail delivery to the building resumed this morning, after having been suspended yesterday, Mr. Eckhard said. Additional security measures were now in place for the processing of mail, but he did not want any further information to be provided on that. A security circular was issued this morning to those who work in the building on the subject of explosive devices.
Also this morning, a suspicious envelope -- "perhaps by someone who had read the circular" -- was brought to the attention to the security guard on the thirty-eighth floor, who called in the New York City police to inspect it. A certain number of people on the thirty-eighth floor were moved from their offices temporarily while the item was tested. Mr. Eckhard then announced he had just received word that the item was not a bomb. The Secretary-General was not affected.
At the time, the Secretary-General had been on his way down to Conference Room 7 to address the Eastern European Group of States, for the first of five meetings to be held, one with each of those groups, Mr. Eckhard said. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the broad question of dealing with regional issues through regional organizations. It was also intended to explore that group's particular concerns -- such as the transition to a market economy and the problem of refugees -- and to ask how the United Nations could support the efforts of regional organizations.
The Security Council was addressing the question of Somalia this morning, Mr. Eckhard said. Under the new procedures announced yesterday, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Marrack Goulding was briefing the Council on that subject.
Mr. Eckhard drew attention to a letter from Croatia accepting the date of 16 March for elections in Eastern Slavonia and other parts of the country. It states that Serb residents in the region at the time of the 1991 census would be eligible to vote. Serbs who moved into the region prior to the mandate of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and were still living there also had the option to vote.
In addition, the Serb community was guaranteed representation in local and national government bodies, Mr. Eckhard said. Local Serbs were exempt from military service for two years following the end of the mandate of the UNTAES. After that, exemptions would be considered. It was his understanding United Nations Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, Jacques Klein, felt the letter went a very long way, exceeding expectations with respect to meeting international standards.
Mr. Eckhard then announced that Alvaro de Soto, Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Political Affairs, was now in El Salvador for the fifth anniversary, tomorrow, of the signing of the 1992 agreement between the Government and the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN). Mr. de Soto would be meeting with the President and other leaders, to assess progress in the peace process.
A payment had now been received from Denmark, making it the sixth country to have paid its regular budget contribution in full in advance of the payment deadline, which was the end of January, Mr. Eckhard said.
He also announced that there would be a press conference tomorrow by Bo Kjellen (Sweden), Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the Convention to Combat Desertification, which was holding its tenth session from 6 to 17 January at Headquarters.
A correspondent said there was a letter from Judge Antonio Cassese, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, responding to a letter of Biljana Plavsic. Asked for additional information on its contents, Mr. Eckhard said he was not aware of the Cassese letter. The Plavsic letter, which claimed that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic should be exempted from the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal, was sent by the Secretary-General to the office of his Legal Counsel, where it was being studied. Until they completed that assessment, there would be nothing more to say about it.
Asked about the addressee of the letter found on the thirty-eighth floor, Mr. Eckhard said it had not been addressed to Al-Hayat. He did not know who found it or what made it suspicious, but the good news was that it was not a bomb.
When did the Secretary-General plan to meet the other regional groups? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he did not believe those meetings had been scheduled yet, "but it'll come in pretty rapid succession, I think, over the next weeks". Another correspondent asked if those meetings were intended to ascertain what groups were willing to bear in terms of reform. Mr. Eckhard said that while reform might be on the agenda, the meetings would focus chiefly on regional consultations.
A correspondent asked if the letter found on the thirty-eighth floor had made it through the United Nations mail system, and whether that meant the new security measures were not working perfectly. Mr. Eckhard said he did not know enough about it, since the situation had just developed over the past hour. The item could have been among the backlog of mail that was reviewed through the night on Monday, or it might have been part of the fresh batch that came in this morning. Either way, it would have been screened and subjected to exceptional scrutiny. However, it must be remembered that it was not a bomb.
Were there special procedures for screening mail going to the thirty-eighth floor? a correspondent asked. Also, could an update be provided on how regular mail was now being handled? Mr. Eckhard said that while there were special procedures for the thirty-eighth floor and for the entire building as a result of the recent emergency, information on such security measures would again be limited.
Asked if the Secretary-General had made a statement to the regional group, Mr. Eckhard said he had spoken from talking points. Would there be a read-out on the meeting? the correspondent continued. "If you like", Mr. Eckhard replied.
A correspondent asked whether the Secretary-General was still staying at the Waldorf Astoria hotel and how long he was planning to stay there. Given the financial constraints of the Organization, was there any reason he was not staying at the United Nations Plaza hotel? Mr. Eckhard said he did not know the cost of staying at the Waldorf versus the United Nations Plaza. It had been a security decision to put him there.
Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's residence had been scheduled for plumbing and other fundamental renovations five years ago when the former Secretary-General was coming in, and it was not done then. Building management there felt the work had to be done now and had asked for two months to complete it. In the meantime, security put the Secretary-General in a midtown hotel, the Waldorf.
The Secretary-General had not been happy with that decision, Mr. Eckhard continued. Initially, he had done a walk-through of the residence with the head of the unit that does the maintenance to be assured that the work was essential and that it would indeed take two months to complete. Being satisfied with that assessment, he reluctantly accepted the security recommendation that he go to the Waldorf.
In response to another question, he said he had no information regarding Cyprus today.
Would the Secretary-General be going to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of the United States President and, if not, who would represent him? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said he would not be going there. His dates for Washington were 23 and 24 January, leaving New York on the afternoon of 22 January. It would be necessary to check as to whether he would be represented at the inauguration.
Asked where the Secretary-General would be staying in Washington, Mr. Eckhard said "I don't know that we give out that information, and I'm not sure a final decision has been made".
Was there any reaction to the idea in the Clinton Administration of holding the United States dues in escrow until 1999, when reform would theoretically have been made? a correspondent asked. "No", Mr. Eckhard said. "I think we've only seen that in the newspapers." The United Nations had a position of principle that Member States had a treaty obligation to pay their dues and not impose political conditions on their payment. That was what the United Nations Charter required and those were the rules.
However, there was also the reality of the United States concerns, "and there were multiple concerns in multiple places", Mr. Eckhard said. What the Secretary-General had to do was build a consensus, both within the United States and with the other 184 Member States, on what the Organization was to become, what its strengths were, and where its energy should be focused. That would not be easy, but he had a limited amount of time to deal with the issue, and it was his first priority. He would be pushing ahead with analysis and consultation during the first half of the year, and hoped to reach agreement to build that consensus and begin implementing it during the second half of the year.
Had the Secretary-General read or commented on the letter from Sir John Weston, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, in yesterday's Christian Science Monitor? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said they had not discussed it, but the item was in the clippings he received everyday.
Biljana Plavsic's letter arrived on 2 January, a correspondent said. Why did it take two weeks to study it? Mr. Eckhard said he did not know. It was about six pages long. Maybe it just needed that much time to analyse it from both a legal and a political point of view.
Asked about the Secretary-General's itinerary in Washington for 23 and 24 January, Mr. Eckhard said there were still some unscheduled slots. When it was complete, he would announce it. "Security also requires that we delay the announcing of the agenda until the last minute. We realize that doesn't suit your planning purposes, so we'll try to come up with a compromise."
Was that a standard security procedure or the result of a heightened security awareness at present? a correspondent asked. "No", Mr. Eckhard said. "Although, with the letter-bombs, things have been tightening up, this has been standard procedure." However, it had not suited the needs of the press, and an effort would be made to relax it a bit, so as to inform the press about the Secretary-General's agenda a little earlier on, to enable correspondents to make their own plans to cover it.
In the past, correspondents used to travel with the Secretary-General, a correspondent said. Would they still have that opportunity? "Well, you have to take the initiative", Mr. Eckhard said. "If you feel that's something you would like, then you'd better approach me sooner rather than later and we'll see what we can do." At the moment, there were no plans for him to be accompanied by press from New York. A few correspondents had expressed an interest in following him around in Washington, "but I think we probably need to plan something more detailed if you're going to get security clearances to stay close to him. So if that's your interest, please get to me by the end of today."
Asked how many people would be going with the Secretary-General, Mr. Eckhard said he did not know -- maybe a half dozen, including himself.
To a question about the Secretary-General's meeting yesterday with Madeleine K. Albright, former Permanent Representative of the United States, Mr. Eckhard said it had been a farewell call on her part. They had discussed a number of substantive issues, including reform and his forthcoming visit to Washington.
Asked about a meeting between the Secretary-General and the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Eckhard said he did not have a read-out on that meeting but would try to get one. Asked about a meeting between the Department of Political Affairs and the Ambassador of Burundi regarding the massacre there, he said he would have to check on that as well. Asked if UNTAES Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein was expected at Headquarters prior to the 16 March election, he said he would have to check.
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