DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Press Briefing

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING OF OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL

Fred Eckhard began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Secretary-General met late yesterday with the Permanent Observer of Palestine, M. Nasser Al-Kidwa. They discussed letters that the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, had sent to the Secretary-General and to the Security Council concerning restrictions already imposed on Palestinians or being considered by the Government of Israel. The Council was expected to take up the matter this week, Mr. Eckhard said.

The Secretary-General also discussed the situation in the Middle East in general, including how to get the peace process back on track, when he met this morning with Yossi Beilin, an old friend and member of the Israeli Knesset, the Spokesman said.

Today, the Security Council was considering a report on Albania, Mr. Eckhard said. It would also hold consultations on the situation in the Central African Republic, on a request for its support for an already-existing inter-African peace-keeping force in that country. Also on the Council's agenda were the situation in Sierra Leone, demining operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Referring to a statement issued yesterday by the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, Mr. Eckhard said it was a strong statement which urged the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to provide the information demanded by the Security Council. The action was taken in concert with the troika of observers of the peace process in Angola -- Portugal, Russian Federation and United States. They considered that the revised proposals on the extension of State administration by UNITA were unacceptable.

The Spokesman said UNITA had not provided more information on its remaining military elements, including its "so-called mining police", nor had it provided information on the measures to transform "Vorgan", its radio station, into a non-partisan broadcasting facility. It was considered imperative that UNITA comply with the Security Council demands to put the peace process back on track and avoid punitive measures, according to the statement -- the full text of which was now available in the Spokesman's Office.

Mr. Eckhard reminded correspondents that last week the Secretary-General had approved the opening of a new border entry point at Al-Walid on the Iraqi- Syrian border, for the oil-for-food programme deliveries. It was now in the process of being set up and was expected to become fully operational in three to four weeks. The border point had been closed for more than 10 years and had only been open for the past three months, under a bilateral agreement

between Iraq and Syria. As a result, much of the infrastructure needed to be rebuilt, including buildings and roads.

He went on to say that 10 United Nations inspectors would be stationed at Al-Walid to authenticate the arrival of humanitarian supplies entering Iraq under the oil-for-food programme. They would live there and work on a 24-hour basis, operating three shifts per day. The Iraqi Government had requested the re-opening of that entry point at the end of June. Other entry points were at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, Trebil at the Iraqi-Jordanian border, and Zakho at the Iraqi-Turkish border.

The report of the Task Force on the Reorientation of United Nations Public Information Activities -- "Global Vision, Local Voice" -- was now available as a United Nations document, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary- General had read the report and agreed with the general thrust of it. However, the Secretary-General was still awaiting specific recommendations to be formulated by the office of the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Maurice Strong. Once they were approved by the Secretary-General, those recommendations would be translated into administrative actions.

The Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan last night hosted a dinner at their residence for the Chairman of the Task Force, Mark Malloch Brown, who is Vice- President for External Relations/United Nations Affairs at the World Bank, and for the other members of the Task Force, Mr. Eckhard said.

The Spokesman also announced that a number of hand-outs and fact sheets from the United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq were now available.

A correspondent drew attention to a break in communications between the United States Administration in Washington and the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to that country. Would the Secretary-General be influenced by that development and act in the same way towards the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations? Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General had no intention of altering his relations with the permanent representatives accredited to the United Nations, including the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That development in question was a matter primarily between the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and those governments which were pressing for implementation of the Dayton Agreement.

What would happen if the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina wanted to meet the Secretary-General? the correspondent asked. Mr. Eckhard said that Mr. Annan would see any properly accredited ambassador who asked to meet with him. "That is part of his job", he added.

Asked what type of measures would be taken against UNITA, the Spokesman said the correspondent would have to ask the members of the Security Council, which had, in the past, discussed sanctions that could be taken, such as no

Daily Press Briefing - 3 - 5 August 1997

trade or stopping the supply of weapons. [Providing additional information after the briefing, Mr. Eckhard said that Security Council resolution 864 (1993) had already imposed sanctions on the supply of oil products and weapons to UNITA, but that other sanctions could be considered in response to the present situation.]

A correspondent asked about the location for the second round of talks on Cyprus, expected to take place next week in Switzerland. Mr. Eckhard said they would be held in a conference facility in a small village near Montreux. The organizers wanted minimum publicity for the talks, to the extent that the Spokesman's Office was still trying to get permission for a photo opportunity. As with the first round, he believed that the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, would brief correspondents when the talks were over. Mr. Eckhard said he would check on the issue of publicity and inform correspondents of the location if that information could be released.

Asked about the meeting of the Secretary-General with Brigadier-General Pierre Daigle, the Spokesman said it was a farewell call.

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