DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19970224
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents at today's noon briefing that the Secretary-General had addressed the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C., this morning and received a standing ovation from the nearly 1,000 college and university leaders in attendance. (The statement has been issued as Press Release SG/SM/6165 of 24 February).
Yesterday afternoon, 23 February, the Secretary-General had met with former United States Senator Robert Dole in Washington, and the Secretary-General had explained his two-track approach to United Nations reform, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General and Mr. Dole also discussed peace-keeping and the ongoing efforts to persuade the United States Congress to approve the payment of past assessments to the United Nations.
The Spokesman said the Secretary-General had also met yesterday with the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Princeton Lyman, the United States State Department official looking after matters concerning the United Nations. The Secretary-General was returning today on the 12:30 p.m. shuttle to New York, he added.
There were two incidents in Kabul involving workers of the organization "Action Contre la Femme" and the Taliban this past Friday, Mr. Eckhard said. In the first, armed members of the Taliban broke into the organization's staff house and disrupted an all-female farewell party being held in honour of a French aid worker. The Taliban ordered the women to cover themselves "properly" (put on their veils), reportedly slapped one of the women in the stomach and took hand-held radios and other valuables from the premises. The members of the Taliban returned about 15 minutes later and arrested two local cooks, both male.
In a second related incident later on in the evening, the Taliban forced their way into the United Nations compound demanding the arrest of two male workers of "Action Contre la Femme". A United Nations team leader, who was called to the compound by radio, was able to persuade the Taliban to leave. The team leader then met with the Taliban leadership, including the Taliban mayor of Kabul, who demanded that two French aid workers at the United Nations compound be turned over the next morning. The United Nations team leader did not agree to that demand. The next morning, however, the Taliban returned to the United Nations compound and insisted that the two French aid workers leave the building. When the workers came out of the compound, they were immediately seized by the Taliban, who took them to an undisclosed location.
The French Charge d'affaires in Afghanistan, Mr. Le Roi, was in Kabul now, Mr. Eckhard said, and spent most of yesterday working on a resolution of the matter. Four points were being impressed upon the Taliban for the prompt release of the French workers. The first point was that the Taliban had violated United Nations premises. Second, unless the two workers were released, the Taliban's international image would be further undermined. Third, the non-governmental community that is currently serving the Afghan people might be inclined to leave the country. Fourth, the two aid workers committed no offence to justify their arrest and should be released on humanitarian grounds.
The joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Mohamed Sahnoun, met today with a number of senior European Commission leaders and heads of development agencies in Brussels, Mr. Eckhard said. He also met with the French Foreign Minister, Herve de Charette, who was in Brussels as well.
The daily United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report on eastern Zaire said that some 25,000 Rwandan refugees were again forced to abandon makeshift camps as Kalima fell to forces of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, Mr. Eckhard said. Kalima is a refugee camp that was set up 10 days ago to provide aid to the wandering refugees.
The Tajik parties reached agreement on the main outstanding issues relating to the Commission on National Reconciliation, as inter-Tajik talks ended in Mashhad, Iran, last Friday, Mr. Eckhard said. The Tajiks had also signed three documents concerning terrorism, the Statute of the proposed Commission and an additional protocol to the Statute. The Statute provided for 13 members from both sides and would be headed by a representative of the United Tajik Opposition and one deputy from the Government. The Commission would begin its work two weeks after signing an agreement on military issues.
Mr. Eckhard said that the inter-Tajik talks would resume in Moscow on 26 February. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, Gerd Merrem, would be present at those talks.
Although there were no scheduled meetings of the Security Council today, Mr. Eckhard noted that the Polish Ambassador, Zbigniew Maria Wlosowicz, the President of the Security Council for the month of March, would be meeting with the Secretary-General this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. before the Secretary-General left for Europe tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow, he went on, the Security Council would take up Angola and Somalia with consultations at 10:30 a.m. On Wednesday, the Council would consider the Sudan and Bosnia and Herzegovina and on Thursday it would again consider Angola and then Afghanistan.
The composition of the Historical Clarification Commission was finalized in Guatemala City on 22 February as part of the implementation of the Guatemala Peace Accords, Mr. Eckhard said. The Commission's mandate was to investigate human rights violations and other violence committed during the 35-year armed conflict as well as to promote national reconciliation. A press release with more information on that was available in the Spokesman's office.
Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents of the press conference tomorrow at 10:30 a.m sponsored by the Mission of Morocco. The guests would be representatives of the First International Congress on Maternal Mortality to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 8 to 14 March.
Mr. Eckhard drew correspondents' attention to a press release relating to the session of the Commission for Social Development, which starts tomorrow, which introduced a report "on productive employment and sustainable livelihoods" -- "Full Employment Is Attainable Goal". Journalists were invited to attend a two-part panel discussion by international experts on employment strategies. The first panel would meet on Wednesday, 26 February, in Conference Room 2. The second would take place at the same time and location the following day, Thursday, 27 February.
During the subsequent question-and-answer session, a correspondent asked what had transpired in the meetings between the members of the Rwanda Tribunal and the Secretary-General. Mr. Eckhard replied that the Secretary-General had a phone conversation with the President of the Rwanda Tribunal and was assessing what he heard as well as the recommendations he had received on Friday. The Secretary-General would be making an announcement soon, Mr. Eckhard added.
The Secretary-General heard the recommendations on Friday of the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph E. Connor, and Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell. That same day he also met separately with Justice Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor for both the Rwanda Tribunal and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; Honore Rakotomanana, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Tribunal for Rwanda; and Andronico Adede, the Registrar.
A correspondent asked if the Secretary-General's announcement on the Rwanda Tribunal would be made today. Mr. Eckhard said that announcement would be made in a matter of days.
Has the Secretary-General offered a new post to Yasushi Akashi? a correspondent asked. He was reappointed as Head of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Eckhard said.
The Taliban did not document any charges that would justify their arrest of the two French aid workers, Mr. Eckhard said in response to a correspondent's question about why the Taliban had singled out the two aid workers. The absence of charges was one of the four points being pressed against the Taliban, he added.
The correspondent also asked if that action by the Taliban was part of a larger effort to oust the United Nations presence as well as non-governmental organizations. Mr. Eckhard said that there had been some strain between the international non-governmental organizations and the Taliban, but that he could not comment on its implications.
Did Senator Dole promise any support to the Secretary-General? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that he did not. The meeting between the Secretary-General and Senator Dole was primarily an opportunity for review of the reform agenda. The main reason for the visit was that the Secretary-General had not been able to meet Senator Dole during the Secretary-General's first visit to Washington, D.C., he added.
Did Senator Dole promise to work on the United States Congress for payment of the arrears? a correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that the Senator did not, but a request for help was implicit in the Secretary-General's discussion of the reform agenda.
Asked about the status of the formation of a government of national unity in Angola, Mr. Eckhard said the "clock was ticking" as the head of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Jonas Savimbi, had not accepted the position in the government that was offered to him and so efforts continued on that and a few remaining points needed to form a government of national unity. The Security Council would meet on Angola later this week, he added.
Continuing, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General's report on Angola presented two options, one in case a government of national unity was formed before the mandate of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III) expired, and the other if it was not.
There were reports linking the suspected gunman in the Empire State Building to United Nations agencies, a correspondent said, asking if there were any biographical details available to confirm those reports. Mr. Eckhard said that there were not at present, but that his staff would continue to seek any relevant information.
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