DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told correspondents that just a few minutes before the noon briefing the Secretary-General had sent to the President of the Security Council a letter informing the Council that the Secretary-General had approved Iraq's plan for the purchase and distribution of humanitarian supplies under the oil-for-food programme. The letter also stated that the Iraqi Government was informed of the approval today.

Mr. Eckhard then announced that the Secretary-General had appointed Assistant Secretary-General Denis Halliday, a national of Ireland, as Humanitarian Coordinator for the Oil-for-Food Programme in Iraq (Press Release SG/A/646-BIO/3089). Since mid-1994, Mr. Halliday had served as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management. Before taking up that post, he was regional representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand. He had spent most of his United Nations career in development and humanitarian assistance- related functions. Correspondents were informed that a handout on Mr. Halliday's appointment was available in the Spokesman's Office.

The Secretary-General had spoken to the joint United Nations/Organization of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative to the Great Lakes region, Mohamed Sahnoun, about progress made over the weekend on the dispute in Congo- Brazzaville. Ambassador Sahnoun was continuing to negotiate a draft agreement between the parties that would govern political arrangements, pending elections in that country. Those talks were proceeding in Libreville, Gabon, and were being sponsored by President Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon.

The survey team from the Department of Peace-keeping Operations that had just spent more than a week in the region, in Libreville and Brazzaville, would return to Headquarters tomorrow, the Spokesman said. The team would present its assessment for a possible peace-keeping mission to Congo-Brazzaville to the Secretary-General.

Mr. Eckhard went on to say that at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday, local time, while the team was visiting the confrontation line, there was some firing of AK47s and other weapons. There were no casualties, and it was believed that the United Nations team was not the target. There were indications that the firing might have been by "un-uniformed militia" allied with President Lissouba, who had fired in the direction of the opposing forces that the United Nations team was visiting at the time.

The talks on East Timor resumed at Headquarters at 10:30 a.m. today between representatives of Portugal and Indonesia, the Spokesman said. The talks, which were being chaired by the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Jamsheed Marker, were expected to continue until the end of the week. Ambassador Marker had agreed to meet the press when they were over.

Referring to incidents in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the weekend, Mr. Eckhard said several Bosnian-Croat demonstrations had taken place in the area of Jajce in the Muslim-Croat Federation. The local Croats had protested the return of Bosniaks to Jajce and had forced, through intimidation, the evacuation of around 500 Bosniaks, most of whom had recently returned to their former homes in the area.

The International Police Task Force (IPTF) began an investigation on Saturday to look into the role of the local police in the events, he said. United Nations reports indicated that at least 10 homes in the region had been set ablaze. The IPTF had been informed by the local police that a body had been found in one of those houses in the village of Kruscica. Correspondents were informed that a statement made by the IPTF spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, was available in the Spokesman's Office.

Also available in the Spokesman's Office were two press releases from the World Food Programme (WFP) which announced that a United Nations inter- agency group was warning today that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was suffering from a severe drought that had caused the loss of 70 per cent of its maize crop. That would dramatically reduce the availability of cereals for the period from November 1997 to October 1998 and would seriously worsen the difficult food situation in August and September this year.

The inter-agency assessment group had travelled to some provinces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in July to assess the maize crop, he continued. The Government had agreed that a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/WFP crop-and-food supply-assessment mission would determine the full extent of the damage and its impact. The mission was expected to travel to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea next week.

Mr. Eckhard then announced that, at a brief meeting this morning, the General Assembly had decided to include the item of United Nations reform on the draft agenda of its fifty-second session.

On the Secretary-General's schedule of appointments, the Spokesman said, the Secretary-General had met with his Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, before he left for his special mission to Afghanistan. The Secretary- General had also received credentials today from the newly appointed permanent representatives to the United Nations from Uzbekistan, Alisher Vohidov; India, Kamalesh Sharma; Sweden, Hans Dahlgren; and Denmark, Jorgen Bojer. This afternoon, he would meet with the new Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Sylvie Junod.

Mr. Eckhard also announced that the third version of the provisional speakers' list for the forthcoming fifty-second session of the General Assembly was available.

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 4 August 1997

A correspondent asked if there was any indication when the Iraqis would begin to sell oil. Mr. Eckhard said there was not. Under the terms of the agreement between the United Nations and Iraq,there could be no change in the time frame for the sale of oil. Therefore, Iraq only had a number of weeks left instead of the full three months. He assumed that they would be "pumping at maximum capacity as soon as possible".

Asked about reports that the Secretary-General would visit the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, the Spokesman said that they were incorrect. He had said previously that Ambassador Marker was expected to travel to South Africa after this week's talks on East Timor. Information about a visit by the Secretary-General seemed to have come from unnamed sources in South Africa. However, the Secretary-General had assured him today that the information was not correct.

When asked for the dates of the Secretary-General's trip to Scandinavia, Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General would leave for Sweden on Sunday, 10 August. He would then travel to Finland. Following that, he would take a 10- or 12-day vacation, after which he would travel to Denmark, Norway and Iceland. The Secretary-General would be away from Headquarters until the first week of September.

A correspondent asked about Mr. Halliday's new posting -- if it was a demotion since he was a key person in human resources. Mr. Eckhard said that the post Mr. Halliday was taking up was currently being held by Staffan De Mistura, a distinguished humanitarian worker and organizer, who had to leave the post for another assignment. The Secretary-General had decided that Mr. Halliday, given his background in humanitarian affairs and his ability as an administrator, would be a suitable replacement.

The correspondent noted further that, in the context of the reform process, the Secretary-General would be expected to retain the key person who had been dealing with personnel relations. Mr. Eckhard said that they would deal with the reform process one step at a time. One of the next steps would be the appointment of a new head of personnel. However, that should not be seen as a negative reflection of Mr Halliday's performance as head of personnel. On the contrary, the Secretary-General had been very pleased with what Mr. Halliday had accomplished.

Asked about a "photo opportunity" of the East Timor talks, the Spokesman said the participants were "a bit shy". He did not think that they were looking for publicity, but he would inquire.

When asked for an update on the looting of the food stocks of the WFP in Sierra Leone, Mr. Eckhard said he had not received additional information since last Friday. Asked for an update on Angola, he said a reply had been received from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) on the Security Council demands, and it was expected that the Secretary- General's Special Representative, Alioune Blondin Beye, would make a statement this afternoon. The statement would be issued in Luanda and would be made available to correspondents immediately.

Asked if the Secretary-General would be meeting with Jalal Talibani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Mr. Eckhard said he

Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 4 August 1997

would check.

* *** *