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, began today's noon briefing by announcing that the Spokesman's Office had issued a statement yesterday evening on the crash of a helicopter of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) near the village of At Tiri in south Lebanon, at 9:17 p.m. local time. One Irish and four Italian peace-keepers had been killed in the crash. The Secretary-General had extended his deep condolences to the Government, people and families of the victims.

Mr. Eckhard said investigations into the cause of the crash were continuing today. So far, the United Nations had reason to believe that the cause of the crash was suspicious. Meanwhile, UNIFIL had suspended its helicopter operations until further notice. The Mission had released the identities of the five peace-keepers, whose bodies were flown to Tel Aviv. The Italian peace-keepers would be flown to Beirut and then to Italy, while the Irish peace-keeper was expected to be flown to Ireland from Tel Aviv after an autopsy.

The Spokesman then read out the following statement on the Comoros Islands, attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:

"The Secretary-General has been following with concern recent developments in the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros. He appeals to all the Comoran leaders to settle their differences through peaceful means by entering into a dialogue to address the underlying causes of the current crisis.

"The Secretary-General reaffirms his support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Comoros. He welcomes the appointment by the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) of a special envoy to the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros and expresses his support for the peacemaking endeavours of the OAU.

"In accordance with General Assembly resolution 51/30 on special emergency economic assistance to the Comoros, the Secretary-General will dispatch within the next two weeks a multidisciplinary, humanitarian and technical mission in order to carry out a detailed assessment of the needs of the country. The United Nations stands ready to help the Comoros overcome their present economic and social difficulties." (See today's Press Release SG/SM/6299.)

The Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Jamsheed Marker, Chairman of the East Timor talks taking place at Headquarters this week, had informed the Spokesman's Office that those talks would adjourn this afternoon, Mr. Eckhard said. Ambassador Marker would make a brief statement to correspondents at around 5:30 p.m at the stakeout outside the Security Council Chamber, but would not take questions. The Ambassador planned to go to South Africa for talks on East Timor. He has been in touch with the South African authorities, but a date has not yet been confirmed.

On the Cyprus talks, Mr. Eckhard said they would resume on Monday, 11 August, in The Hotel Righi Vaudois in Glion, near Montreux, in Switzerland. Since the hotel has only four parking spaces, the press could not be accommodated. However, a photo opportunity was being organized on a pool basis. A background note, prepared for the press corps in Geneva, would be available in the Spokesman's Office.

Referring to a press conference that was held at 11:30 a.m. by the Chairman of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, Mr. Eckhard said Ambassador Mitsuro Donowaki (Japan), had presented the Panel's recommendations to the Secretary-General at 11 a.m. Among the recommendations were proposals to develop two sets of guidelines: one, to assist the negotiators of peace settlements in developing plans to disarm combatants; and the other, to provide assistance to peace-keeping missions in implementing their mandates based on peace settlements.

The Spokesman then announced that two press releases were available from Bonn, Germany, where the seventh round of talks on the reduction of greenhouse emissions in developed countries had concluded today. During the meetings, which began on 28 July, negotiators had refined the text of a new agreement under the United Nations Climate Change Convention. That text contained some possible targets, including a proposal by the European Union that developed countries cut their emissions by 15 per cent by the year 2000. The final round of negotiations would take place in Bonn at the end of October and would be followed by an intergovernmental meeting in Kyoto, Japan, in December to finalize the agreement.

Mr. Eckhard said the United Nations Spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, had reported that the United Nations International Police Task Force had been pleased with the progress made in establishing cantonal police in the Neretva and Central Bosnian Cantons. In the Neretva Canton, the cantonal police were now operating in Capljina, Citluk, Stolac, Neum and Jablanica. Mr. Ivanko's statement was available in the Spokesman's Office.

From Angola, there was a report that Secretary-General's Special Representative Alioune Blondin Beye had chaired a meeting today of the Joint Commission, Mr. Eckhard said. The Commission had expressed its satisfaction at the progress made to date in the demobilization process and had urged all partners, especially the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), to advance the process before the rainy season arrived.

He said the Commission, established to watch over the implementation of the Angola Peace Accords and the Lusaka Protocol, had deplored a statement made by the UNITA representative in Lisbon and reported on UNITA's radio station, Radio Vorgan, which called all the quartering areas and demobilization areas "concentration camps". It reiterated its appeal to UNITA to ensure that its radio station contributed positively to the demobilization process.

As part of the Secretary-General's programme for today, he would view two United Nations films which were related to his decision to attend the 1997 Venice Film Festival at the end of his vacation, Mr. Eckhard said. The Secretary-General would be taking 10 to 12 days holiday between his two trips to the Nordic countries and was expected to be in Venice, Italy, around 29 August. Nine films made by the Department of Public Information (DPI) would be shown at the Film Festival. One of the films the Secretary-General would view this afternoon was an award-winning DPI film made in the 1970s.

At 3:30 p.m., the Secretary-General would meet with two United Nations representatives based in Kinshasa -- the Director of the United Nations Office in Kinshasa, Cheikh Tidiane-Gaye, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Aliou Diallo. Mr. Diallo had attended a meeting in Geneva of resident representatives, and the Secretary-General had asked him to come to New York to brief him on developments in Kinshasa.

Mr. Eckhard said the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy, would brief correspondents on her recent trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the noon briefing tomorrow.

A correspondent asked about the DPI films that would be screened at the Venice Film Festival. Mr. Eckhard said one of the best kept secrets of the United Nations was that the DPI had won awards very often over the years for its documentary films. One of the films the Secretary-General would see today, "Cyber-tale of Three Cities", was a story of three teenagers -- from the Philippines, Lebanon and Brazil -- who speak to each other through the Internet and discuss their lives, their cities and their hopes.

In response to subsequent questions, Mr. Eckhard said nine DPI films were being shown at the Film Festival. They were all award-winning films, which had been made as far back as 1958. [After checking, Mr. Eckhard informed correspondents that none of the DPI films had been entered in this year's Festival competition.]

Asked if the film screening was part of the Secretary-General's programme to publicize the United Nations worldwide, Mr. Eckhard said it was part of the Secretary-General's plan to reach out to the general public and to give some publicity to the DPI, which deserved some attention for the good work it was doing.

When asked for clarification on the name of the town in which the Cyprus talks would be held, Mr. Eckhard said it was Glion in Switzerland. He spelled it for the benefit of the correspondent.

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